Communication method and apparatus, and storage medium and program product

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, and a storage medium and a program product. The method comprises: a network device sending a plurality of first reference signals; a terminal device sending a plurality of pieces of first information, wherein each piece of first information indicates one piece of first precoding information, and the one piece of first precoding information comprises a first precoding weight corresponding to at least one first port; the network device sending second precoding information, which indicates a correspondence between a first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one piece of first precoding information, and / or at least one second precoding weight corresponding to a second port set; and on at least one second port, the terminal device using the second precoding information to send a second reference signal. When the network device configures the second precoding information, the number of second ports is less than the number of ports configured in an existing multi-station transmission mode, so that the number of ports can be reduced, a sending period of the second reference signal can be shortened, and CSI aging can be alleviated, thereby 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. 202411551834.1, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration 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 may both adopt massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) arrays. Considering that hybrid beamforming (HBF) architecture may be adopted 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, CSI aging is severe, 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 ports corresponding to the second reference signal and improve the accuracy of channel estimation in a 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; transmits a plurality of first information, each of the plurality of first information indicating a first precoding information, the first precoding information being obtained based on a first reference signal, the first precoding information including at least one first precoding weight corresponding to at least one first port, the at least one first port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; receives second information, the second information being used to configure second precoding information, the second precoding information indicating a second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the at least one second port being a port corresponding to the second reference signal, the at least one second port including at least one of the following: a first port set, a second port set, the second precoding information indicating at least one of the following: the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in the at least one first precoding information, at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set, any port in the first port set and the second port set being different; and transmits the second reference signal using the second precoding information at the at least one second port.

[0010] Using this method, the terminal device receives second precoding information configured by the network device. This second precoding information indicates the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port. The second precoding corresponding to at least one second port is obtained based on the first precoding weights corresponding to at least one first port reported by the terminal device. When determining the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the strength of the spatial correlation between the first precoding weights corresponding to at least one first port is considered, so that the number of second ports can be less than the number of ports configured in the existing multi-station transmission mode. This reduces the number of second ports, shortens the transmission period of the second reference signal, alleviates CSI aging, and improves the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0011] 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.

[0012] In this method, a network device transmits a plurality of first reference signals; receives a plurality of first information, each of which indicates a first precoding information, the first precoding information being obtained based on a first reference signal, the first precoding information including at least one first precoding weight corresponding to at least one first port, the at least one first port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; transmits second information, the second information being used to configure second precoding information, the second precoding information indicating a second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the at least one second port being a port corresponding to the second reference signal, the at least one second port including at least one of the following: a first port set, a second port set, the second precoding information indicating at least one of the following: the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in the at least one first precoding information, at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set, any port in the first port set and the second port set being different; and receives the second reference signal transmitted using the second precoding information at the at least one second port.

[0013] Using this method, when configuring the second precoding information, the network device indicates the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port. The second precoding corresponding to at least one second port is obtained based on the first precoding weights corresponding to at least one first port reported by the terminal device. When determining the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the strength of the spatial correlation between the first precoding weights corresponding to at least one first port is considered, so that the number of second ports can be less than the number of ports configured in the existing multi-station transmission mode. This reduces the number of second ports, shortens the transmission period of the second reference signal, alleviates CSI aging, and improves the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0014] Thirdly, a communication device is provided. This communication device may relate to the methods described in the first aspect or any of the designs within the first aspect. For example, the communication device may be a chip or a terminal device. The above-described methods can be implemented through software, hardware, or by executing corresponding software through hardware.

[0015] 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").

[0016] The transceiver unit is configured to receive a plurality of first reference signals; the processing unit is configured to generate a plurality of first information, each of the plurality of first information indicating a first precoding information, the first precoding information being obtained based on a first reference signal, the first precoding information including at least one first precoding weight corresponding to at least one first port, the at least one first port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit the plurality of first information; the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second information, the second information being used to configure second precoding information, the second precoding information indicating a second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the at least one second port being a port corresponding to the second reference signal, the at least one second port including at least one of the following: a first port set, a second port set, the second precoding information indicating at least one of the following: the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in the at least one first precoding information, at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set, any port in the first port set and the second port set being different; and the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit the second reference signal using the second precoding information at the at least one second port.

[0017] Further features and beneficial effects can be found in the relevant description in the first aspect.

[0018] Fourthly, a communication device is provided. This communication device may relate to the methods described in the second aspect or any of the designs within the second aspect. For example, the communication device may be a chip or a network device. The methods described above can be implemented through software, hardware, or by executing corresponding software through hardware.

[0019] 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").

[0020] The transceiver unit is configured to transmit a plurality of first reference signals; the transceiver unit is also configured to receive a plurality of first information, each of the plurality of first information indicating a first precoding information, the first precoding information being obtained based on a first reference signal, the first precoding information including at least one first precoding weight corresponding to at least one first port, the at least one first port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; the processing unit is configured to generate second information, the second information being configured to configure second precoding information, the second precoding information indicating a second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the at least one second port being a port corresponding to the second reference signal, the at least one second port including at least one of the following: a first port set, a second port set, the second precoding information indicating at least one of the following: the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information, at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set, and any port in the first port set and the second port set being different; the transceiver unit is also configured to transmit the second information; and the transceiver unit is also configured to receive the second reference signal transmitted using the second precoding information at the at least one second port.

[0021] Further features and beneficial effects can be found in the relevant description in the second part.

[0022] In another possible design, the communication device in the third to fourth aspects 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 the computer program (or computer-executable instructions) and / or data necessary 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.

[0023] In another possible design, the communication device in the third and fourth aspects 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 methods through logic circuits or executed code instructions. The transceiver device can be a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or an 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.

[0024] When the communication device in the third to fourth aspects 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.

[0025] In conjunction with any of the first to fourth aspects described above, in one possible design, each first piece of information further indicates the order of at least one first precoding weight in the first precoding information.

[0026] With this design, at least one first precoding weight in a first precoding message is reported sequentially to facilitate subsequent network devices in matching ports with the first precoding weights based on this order.

[0027] Alternatively, the order of at least one first precoding weight in the first precoding information can be predefined by the protocol.

[0028] In conjunction with any of the first to fourth aspects described above, in another possible design, the plurality of first information includes a plurality of first identifiers, each of the plurality of first identifiers being used to identify a first precoded information, and the second information indicating whether the second precoded information is associated with the at least one first precoded information identified by at least one first identifier.

[0029] With this design, the terminal device can report multiple pieces of first information. A first identifier is used to identify a reported first precoded information, so as to facilitate the subsequent configuration of second precoded information based on the identifier.

[0030] In another possible design, in conjunction with any of the first to fourth aspects described above, the second information further indicates the at least one first identifier, provided that the second information indicates that the second precoding information is associated with the at least one first precoding information identified by at least one first identifier.

[0031] In another possible design, in conjunction with any of the first to fourth aspects described above, the second precoding information indicates the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information, including: the second precoding information indicates whether the first precoding weight corresponding to each first port in at least one first port included in the at least one first precoding information is adopted.

[0032] By employing this design, by indicating whether the first precoding weight corresponding to each of the at least one first ports included in at least one first precoding information is used, it is possible to accurately determine which first precoding weights corresponding to first ports are used and which first precoding weights corresponding to first ports are not used.

[0033] In another possible design, in conjunction with any of the first to fourth aspects described above, the second precoding information also indicates the order of the at least one second precoding weight.

[0034] With this design, the second precode corresponding to at least one second port indicated by the second precode information is indicated sequentially, so as to facilitate the matching of port and second precode weights by terminal equipment and network equipment based on this order.

[0035] In combination with any of the first to fourth aspects described above, in another possible design, where the at least one second port only includes the first port set, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one first precoding weight according to the order of the at least one first precoding weight in the at least one first precoding information and the index of the at least one second port in the first port set.

[0036] By adopting this design, when determining that all the second precodes corresponding to at least one second port adopt at least one first precode reported by the terminal device based on the strength of the spatial correlation between the precodes indicated by multiple first information, the second precode weights corresponding to at least one second port are sequentially matched with the adopted at least one first precode weights according to the order of the adopted at least one first precode weights in at least one first precode information and the index of at least one second port in the first port set, so that the second precode weights corresponding to each second port can be accurately determined.

[0037] In conjunction with any of the first to fourth aspects described above, in another possible design, when the at least one second port includes the first port set and the second port set, the first port set corresponds sequentially to the at least one adopted first precoding weight according to the order of the at least one adopted first precoding weight in the at least one first precoding information and the index of the at least one second port in the first port set; and the second port set corresponds sequentially to the at least one second precoding weight according to the order of the at least one second precoding weight indicated by the second information and the index of the at least one second port in the second port set.

[0038] Using this design, when determining the second precode corresponding to at least one second port based on the strength of the spatial correlation between precodes indicated by multiple first information, in addition to partially adopting at least one first precode reported by the terminal device and partially indicating new second precode weights based on at least one first precode reported by the terminal device, the first port set corresponds sequentially to the at least one adopted first precode weight according to the order of the at least one adopted first precode weight in at least one first precode information and the index of at least one second port in the first port set; and the second port set corresponds sequentially to at least one second precode weight according to the order of the at least one second precode weight indicated by the second information and the index of at least one second port in the second port set. This allows for accurate determination of the second precode weight corresponding to each second port.

[0039] In combination with any of the first to fourth aspects described above, in another possible design, where the at least one second port only includes the set of second ports, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one second precoding weight according to the order of the at least one second precoding weight indicated by the second information and the index of the at least one second port in the set of second ports.

[0040] With this design, when it is determined that the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port needs to be re-indicated based on at least one first precoding information reported by the terminal device, according to the order of the at least one second precoding weight indicated by the second information and the index of at least one second port in the second port set, the at least one second port and the at least one second precoding weight are sequentially corresponding, and the second precoding weight corresponding to each second port can be accurately determined.

[0041] In another possible design, combining any of the first to fourth aspects mentioned above, the first reference signal is a channel state information reference signal and the second reference signal is a probe reference signal.

[0042] In conjunction with any of the first to fourth aspects described above, in yet another possible design, the second information further indicates the power value of a reference port among the at least one second port, and the offset of the power values ​​of the other second ports among the at least one second port relative to the power value of the reference port.

[0043] By employing this design, the power of a port can be accurately determined by indicating the power value of the reference port and the offset of the power value of the other second ports in at least one of the second ports relative to the power value of the reference port. By matching different power values ​​according to the channel state of different ports, more accurate channel state information can be obtained based on the reference signal corresponding to the second port.

[0044] Fifthly, a communication system is provided, the communication system comprising a communication device as described in the third aspect or any design of the third aspect, and a communication device as described in the fourth aspect or any design of the fourth aspect.

[0045] A sixth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored 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.

[0046] In a seventh 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

[0047] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 1000 used in the embodiments of this application;

[0048] 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.

[0049] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0050] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the communication between TRP and UE in multi-station transmission mode;

[0051] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the first precoding information reported by the UE in multi-station transmission mode;

[0052] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0054] The embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] 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.

[0062] 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.

[0063] 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] 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.

[0068] 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. Understandably, 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.

[0069] 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.

[0070] 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.

[0071] 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.

[0072] It is understood that this application can be applied between network devices and terminal devices.

[0073] 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.

[0074] Optionally, the protocol layer structure between network devices and terminal devices may also include an artificial intelligence (AI) layer for transmitting AI-related data.

[0075] 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.

[0076] 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.

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] Future communication systems place higher demands on system capacity and spectral efficiency, evolving towards higher frequency bands (such as the upper half of 6GHz (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.

[0081] 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.

[0082] 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.

[0083] 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.

[0084] 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.

[0085] In view of this, this application provides a communication scheme in which a terminal device receives second precoding information configured by a network device. The second precoding information indicates a second precoding corresponding to at least one second port. The second precoding corresponding to at least one second port is obtained based on the first precoding weights corresponding to at least one first port reported by the terminal device. When determining the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the strength of the spatial correlation between the first precoding weights corresponding to at least one first port is considered, so that the number of second ports can be less than the number of ports configured in the existing multi-station transmission mode. This reduces the number of second ports, shortens the transmission period of the second reference signal, alleviates CSI aging, and improves the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0086] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0087] 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.

[0088] Accordingly, the UE receives the multiple first reference signals.

[0089] 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. n is a positive integer.

[0090] 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 (CORESETPOOLIndex) corresponding to the downlink control information (DCI) sent by the TRP. This application does not limit the identification information of the nth TRP.

[0091] 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.

[0092] 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.

[0093] Figure 4 illustrates the communication between the TRP and the UE in a multi-station transmission mode. Signals sent from the TRP to the UE can be transmitted directly to the UE, or through reflection or refraction by a scatterer. Similarly, signals sent from the UE to the TRP can be transmitted directly to the TRP, or through reflection or refraction by a scatterer. Depending on the location of the multiple TRPs, the scatterer can be an independent scatterer or a common scatterer shared by at least two TRPs.

[0094] S302. The UE sends multiple first messages to the network device.

[0095] Accordingly, the network device receives these multiple first pieces of information.

[0096] After receiving multiple first reference signals from multiple stations under the network device, the UE measures the first reference signal sent by each station separately. Based on the reciprocity of the uplink and downlink channels, it obtains a first precoding information, that is, a first precoding information is obtained based on a first reference signal. The first precoding information includes at least one first precoding weight corresponding to at least one first port (each first port corresponds to one first precoding weight), and 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 to correspond 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; this application does not limit the type of the second reference signal.

[0097] Taking the second reference signal as SRS as an example, the calculation method for the first precoding information corresponding to the first reference signal transmitted by a TRP in the measurement by the UE is as follows: 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. Select the first N statistical eigenvectors V1, V2…V from the spatial domain statistical eigenvector matrix. N The first precoding information corresponding to the SRS on the UE side is reassembled, where N is the number of ports of the SRS.

[0098] After the UE measures and obtains a first precoding information corresponding to the first reference signal transmitted for each TPR, it sends multiple first information messages to the network device. Each of these multiple first information messages indicates a first precoding message. For example, the UE can report the multiple first information messages simultaneously or report each first information message separately. The multiple first information messages include multiple first identifiers, each of which is used to identify a first precoding message. Each first precoding message is identified by a single first identifier.

[0099] Furthermore, the UE can report the aforementioned first information multiple times, that is, report multiple first precoding information multiple times.

[0100] Furthermore, before executing step S302, the network device may also send reporting configuration information for the first information to the UE. This reporting configuration information indicates the content to be reported by the UE, as well as the reporting resource (on which the UE reports). Based on the above reporting configuration information, the UE sends the aforementioned multiple pieces of first information to the network device.

[0101] For example, the network device can configure the reporting configuration information for each TRP individually (i.e., the UE reports the first reference signal sent by different TRPs based on different reporting configuration information). Correspondingly, the UE reports a first precoding information corresponding to the first reference signal sent by each TRP based on the reporting configuration information for each TRP.

[0102] Furthermore, each of the aforementioned first pieces of information may also indicate the number of first ports.

[0103] The aforementioned first precoding information includes at least one first precoding weight corresponding to at least one first port. The first precoding weights corresponding to at least one first port in the first information are reported sequentially. For example, each first precoding weight has an index, and they are reported sequentially according to the index size. Furthermore, each piece of first information also indicates the order of at least one first precoding weight in a first precoding information. For example, each piece of first information includes an index of at least one first precoding weight in a first precoding information.

[0104] In another embodiment, the first information may not indicate the order of at least one first precoding weight in a first precoding information, but rather the order of at least one first precoding weight in a first precoding information is predefined by the protocol. Subsequently, when configuring the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the network device can sequentially map at least one second port to at least one first precoding weight based on this protocol-predefined order, as described in detail below.

[0105] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the first precoding information reported by the UE in multi-station transmission mode. The UE reports a first precoding information 1, which includes the first precoding weights corresponding to the two first ports: P 1-1 and P 1-2 (P 1-1 The index is less than P 1-2 (index), P 1-1 and P 1-2 It is obtained based on the first reference signal transmitted by TRP1, and the first precoding information 1 is identified by identifier 1; and the UE reports a first precoding information 2, which includes first precoding weights corresponding to two first ports: P 2-1 and P 2-2 (P 2-1 The index is less than P 2-2 (index), P 2-1 and P 2-2It is obtained based on the measurement of the first reference signal sent by TRP2, and the first precoded information 2 is identified by identifier 2.

[0106] S303. The network device sends a second message to the UE.

[0107] Accordingly, the UE receives this second information.

[0108] As mentioned earlier, the UE may receive a first reference signal from the TRP reflected or refracted by an independent scatterer, or it may receive a first reference signal from the TRP reflected or refracted by a common scatterer. After receiving multiple first information messages from the UE, the network device analyzes the received multiple first precoding messages. Generally, precoding messages obtained based on the first reference signals of different TRPs received from a common scatterer have strong spatial correlation, while precoding messages obtained based on the first reference signals of different TRPs received from their respective independent scatterers have weak spatial correlation. After receiving the above multiple first precoding messages, the network device can configure second precoding messages corresponding to each TRP based on the strength of the spatial correlation between the precoding messages indicated by the multiple first information messages. This second precoding message is used by the UE to send a second reference signal to the TRP based on the second precoding message. That is, the second precoding message can be configured separately for each TRP.

[0109] First, the network device can configure at least one second port based on the strength of the spatial correlation between the first precoding weights indicated by the aforementioned plurality of first information. The at least one second port is a port corresponding to a second reference signal, that is, the at least one second port is a port corresponding to a second reference signal configured by the network device. The number of second ports can be less than or equal to the number of first ports. For example, the second reference signal can be an SRS, etc., and this application does not limit the type and number of second reference signals.

[0110] Specifically, the network device can determine the number of second ports that use the first precoding weights reported by the UE as second precoding weights, and / or the number of second ports that need to be re-indicated for the second precoding weights, based on the strength of the spatial correlation between the first precoding weights indicated by the multiple first information. Furthermore, the second ports that use the first precoding weights reported by the UE as second precoding weights can be divided into a first port set, and the second ports that need to be re-indicated for the second precoding weights can be divided into a second port set. Thus, the at least one second port configured by the network device can be divided into at least one of the following port sets: a first port set and a second port set (or, at least one second port includes at least one of the following: a first port set and a second port set), where any port in the first port set and the second port set is different. This means that at least one second port configured on a network device can be divided into a first port set and a second port set. For example, if a network device is configured with M second ports, the first port set includes m1 second ports, and the second port set includes m2 second ports, where M = m1 + m2, and m1 can be greater than, equal to, or less than m2, and M, m1, and m2 are all positive integers. Alternatively, all at least one second port configured on a network device can be assigned to the first port set. For example, if a network device is configured with M second ports, the first port set includes M second ports. Or, all at least one second port configured on a network device can be assigned to the second port set. For example, if a network device is configured with M second ports, the second port set includes M second ports.

[0111] Then, the network device can determine a second precode corresponding to at least one second port (each second port corresponds to one second precode). Based on the strength of the spatial correlation between the precodes indicated by the plurality of first information, the network device can use at least one first precode weight (referred to as the at least one adopted first precode weight) from the at least one first precode information as at least one second precode, and / or the network device can also re-indicate at least one second precode. The plurality of first information includes a plurality of first identifiers, each of which is used to identify a first precode information. The at least one first precode information used to determine the second precode corresponding to at least one second port can be at least one first precode information identified by at least one first identifier (each first identifier is used to identify the first precode information in a first information). The at least one first precode information can be at least one first precode information indicated in a single report of multiple first information by the UE, or it can be at least one first precode information indicated in multiple reports of multiple first information by the UE.

[0112] After determining the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the network device generates second precoding information. This second precoding information indicates the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port. For example, the second precoding information indicates at least one of the following: the correspondence between a first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information, and at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set. Specifically, if at least one second port includes only the first port set, the second precoding information indicates the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information; if at least one second port includes both a first port set and a second port set, the second precoding information indicates: the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information, and at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set; if at least one second port includes only the second port set, the second precoding information indicates at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set.

[0113] Then, the network device sends second information to the UE, which is used to configure second precoding information. For example, the network device can carry the above-mentioned second information through RRC signaling, medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling, etc.

[0114] The following discussion will address different scenarios:

[0115] (1) When the network device is configured with at least one second port that only includes the first port set (i.e., the second precode corresponding to at least one second port adopts at least one first precode reported by the UE), at least one second port corresponds to at least one first precode weight in sequence according to the order of the adopted at least one first precode weight in at least one first precode information and the index of at least one second port in the first port set.

[0116] As mentioned above, each first piece of information also indicates the order of at least one first precoding weight in a first precoding information (or the protocol predefines the order of at least one first precoding weight in a first precoding information). If at least one second port configured by the network device has an index, then if the at least one second port configured by the network device only includes the first port set, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one first precoding weight in the order of the at least one first precoding weight in the at least one first precoding information and the index of the at least one second port in the first port set.

[0117] For example, still referring to Figure 5, the UE receives the first reference signal sent by TRP1 and reports a first precoding information 1, which includes the first precoding weights corresponding to the two first ports: P 1-1 and P 1-2 (P 1-1 The index is less than P 1-2 (index); and upon receiving the first reference signal sent by TRP2, reporting another first precoding information 2, which also includes the first precoding weights corresponding to the two first ports: P 2-1 and P 2-2 (P 2-1 The index is less than P 2-2 (The index). Assume P 1-2 and P 2-2 Low spatial correlation, P 1-2 The corresponding SRS port and P 2-2 The corresponding SRS ports have minimal interference with each other; therefore, network devices do not need to recalculate precoding weights. Because P 1-2 and P 2-1 These are precodings obtained from the first reference signals of TRP1 and TRP2, respectively, based on refraction or reflection from a common scatterer. They reflect similar channel characteristics, and network devices can use P... 1-2 and P 2-1 Any one of the configurations in the list can be assigned to TRP1 or TRP2, without needing to assign P. 1-2 and P 2-1 By configuring both TRP1 and TRP2 respectively, the number of second ports can be reduced.

[0118] One configuration method is to configure two SRS ports for TRP1 on the network device, with the corresponding second precoding weight being P. 1-1 (Unchanged), P 1-2 (Unchanged) (Assuming the two configured SRS ports are: port 0 and port 1 (the index of port 0 is less than the index of port 1), the order of the first precoding weights used is: P 1-1 and P 1-2 Then the second precoding weight corresponding to port 0 is P. 1-1 The second precoding weight corresponding to port 1 is P. 1-2 Configure one SRS port (port 2) for TRP2, with the corresponding precoding being P. 2-2(Unchanged). After the network device determines the second precoding weights corresponding to the two SRS ports of TRP1, it can generate second precoding information 1, which indicates the second precoding weights corresponding to the two SRS ports, and send second information to the UE. This second information is used to configure the second precoding information 1. In this case, since the network device does not need to indicate new second precoding weights, it only needs to indicate the correspondence between the first port set (including port 0 and port 1) and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information. For example, the above-mentioned second precoding information can be a bitmap, that is, the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information can be indicated by the bitmap. Specifically, it indicates whether the first precoding weight corresponding to each first port in at least one first port included in at least one first precoding information is adopted. In the example of Figure 5, the UE reports the first precoding information 1 (including the first precoding weights corresponding to the two first ports: P) obtained based on the first reference signal sent by TRP1. 1-1 P 1-2 (Identified by identifier 1), the network device configures two SRS ports for TRP1, with the corresponding second precoding weight being P. 1-1 (Unchanged), P 1-2 When (unchanged), since the second precoding weights corresponding to port 0 and port 1 are obtained based on the first precoding information 1 identified by identifier 1, the network device first indicates in the second information that it is associated with the first precoding information corresponding to identifier 1, and then the network device can send a 2-bit bitmap "11" to indicate P. 1-1 P 1-2 The precoding weight is P (in the bit diagram, "1" indicates that the precoding is used, and "0" indicates that the precoding is not used. Alternatively, "0" can indicate that the precoding is used, and "1" indicates that the precoding is not used. This application does not limit this. Similar descriptions can be found in the following text). The UE receives this bit diagram and can determine the second precoding weight P corresponding to port 0 based on it. 1-1 The second precoding weight corresponding to port 1 is P. 1-2 Similarly, the first precoding information 2 obtained by the UE based on the first reference signal sent by TRP2 (including the first precoding weights corresponding to the two first ports: P) 2-1 P 2-2 (Identified by identifier 2), the network device configures one SRS port for TRP2, with the corresponding precoding being P. 2-2 (Unchanged), then the network device first indicates in the second information that it is associated with the first precoded information corresponding to identifier 2, and then the network device can send the bitmap "01" to indicate P.2-1 Not adopted, P 2-2 It was adopted. It can be seen that, due to P... 1-2 and P 2-1 These are precodings obtained from the first reference signals of TRP1 and TRP2, respectively, based on refraction or reflection from a common scatterer. They reflect similar channel characteristics, and the network device will use P... 1-2 The configuration has been given to TRP1, so there is no need to configure P for TRP2. 2-1 In contrast, existing technologies may also configure two SRS ports for TRP2, thus reducing the number of second ports compared to existing technologies.

[0119] Another configuration method is to configure one SRS port (port 0) for TRP1 on the network device, with the corresponding second precoding weight being P. 1-1 (Unchanged); Configure two SRS ports (ports 2 and 3) for TRP2, with the corresponding second precoding weight being P. 1-2 (unchanged) and P 2-1 (Unchanged). After the network device determines the second precoding weight corresponding to one SRS port (port 0) of TRP1, the second precoding weight corresponding to port 0 is obtained based on the first precoding information 1 identified by identifier 1. Therefore, the network device first indicates the association with the first precoding information corresponding to identifier 1 in the second information, and then the network device can send a 2-bit bitmap "10" to indicate P. 1-1 Adopted, P 1-2 Not adopted. The UE receives this bitmap and can determine the second precoding weight P corresponding to port 0 based on it. 1-1 After the network device determines the second precoding weights corresponding to the two SRS ports (port 2 and port 3) of TRP2, these second precoding weights are obtained based on the first precoding information 1 identified by identifier 1 and the first precoding information 2 identified by identifier 2. The network device first indicates in the second information that it is associated with the first precoding information corresponding to identifiers 1 and 2. Then, the network device can send the bitmap "0110" to indicate P. 1-1 Not adopted, P 1-2 Adopted, P 2-1 Adopted, P 2-2 Not adopted. It can be seen that, due to P... 1-2 and P 2-1 These are precodings obtained from the first reference signals of TRP1 and TRP2, respectively, based on refraction or reflection from a common scatterer. They reflect similar channel characteristics, and the network device will use P... 1-2 The configuration has been assigned to TRP2, so there is no need to configure P for TRP1. 1-2In contrast, existing technologies may configure two SRS ports for TRP1, thus reducing the number of second ports compared to existing technologies.

[0120] (2) Each first information also indicates the order of at least one first precoding weight in a first precoding information (or the protocol predefines the order of at least one first precoding weight in a first precoding information), and the network device configures at least one second port with an index. In the case where the network device configures at least one second port including a first port set and a second port set (i.e., the second precoding part corresponding to at least one second port adopts at least one first precoding reported by the UE, and part of it is the second precoding indicated by the network device), the first port set corresponds to the at least one first precoding weight in sequence according to the order of the at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information and the index of at least one second port in the first port set; and the second port set corresponds to at least one second precoding weight in sequence according to the order of the at least one second precoding weight indicated by the second information and the index of at least one second port in the second port set.

[0121] In one example, the index of at least one second port in the first port set is less than the index of at least one second port in the second port set. That is, the at least one first precoding weight to be used is first matched sequentially with the second ports with smaller indices (the number of which is described above). Then, for the second ports with larger indices, the network device indicates the second precoding weight corresponding to that second port (the number of which is described above).

[0122] In another example, the index of at least one second port in the first port set is greater than the index of at least one second port in the second port set. That is, at least one second precoding weight indicated by the network device is first mapped to the second ports with smaller indices in sequence, and then at least one first precoding weight to be used is mapped to the second ports with larger indices in sequence.

[0123] For example, still referring to Figure 5, P 1-2 and P 2-1 It is the first precoding weight obtained by the UE based on the first reference signal received by the common scatterer, and the network device based on P 1-2 and P 2-1 A new precoding weight P3 is calculated, which is independent of the first precoding weights (P) of the two TRPs. 1-1 and P 2-2 The spatial correlation of P is very low, the interference between ports is small, and network devices are less affected by P. 1-1 and P2-2 No recalculation is required. The network device then configures two SRS ports (port 0 and port 1) for TRP1, with corresponding second precoding weights P and P, respectively. 1-1 (Unchanged), P3 (re-indication); and configure TPR2 with one SRS port (port 2), with the corresponding second precoding weight being P. 2-2 (Unchanged). It can be seen that the UE reported the first precoded P of the two SRS ports based on the first reference signal received from TRP1. 1-1 and P 1-2 And the first precoded P of the two SRS ports obtained from the first reference signal received from TRP2 2-1 and P 2-2 The network device configures two SRS ports for TRP1 and one SRS port for TRP2. In contrast, existing technologies configure two SRS ports for both TRP1 and TRP2, thus reducing the number of SRS ports compared to existing technologies. In this case, the network device needs to indicate not only the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information, but also at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set. Specifically, in the example above, the network device configures two SRS ports for TRP1, and the corresponding second precoding weight is P. 1-1 (Unchanged), P3 (reindication), where P 1-1 To identify the precoding in the first precoding information 1 identified by identifier 1, the network device first indicates in the second information that it is associated with the first precoding information corresponding to identifier 1. Then, the network device sends a 2-bit bitmap "10" to the UE, representing P in the first precoding information 1. 1-1 Adopted, P 1-2 Not adopted; in addition, the network device also indicates the second precoding weight corresponding to port 1 to the UE. In the above example, the network device configures one SRS port for TRP2, and the corresponding second precoding weight is P. 2-2 (Unchanged), then the network device first indicates in the second information that it is associated with the first precoding information corresponding to identifier 2, and then the network device sends a 2-bit bitmap "01" to the UE, representing P in the first precoding information 2. 2-1 Not adopted, P 2-2 It was adopted.

[0124] (3) In the case where the network device is configured with at least one second port that only includes a set of second ports, the at least one second port corresponds to the at least one second precoding weight in sequence according to the order of the at least one second precoding weight indicated by the second information and the index of the at least one second port in the set of second ports.

[0125] For example, still referring to Figure 5, P 1-2 and P 2-1 It is the first precoding weight obtained by the UE based on the first reference signal received by the common scatterer, and the network device based on P 1-2 and P 2-1 A new precoding weight P3 is calculated, which is independent of the two TRP SRS precoding weights (P). 1-1 and / or P 2-2 Increased spatial correlation necessitates recalculation to reduce interference between SRS ports. (Orthogonal to P3).

[0126] One configuration method is to configure two SRS ports (port 0 and port 1) for TRP1 on the network device, with the corresponding second precoding weight being... (Redirection) (e.g., P3 and P) 1-1 (Highly correlated), P3 (reindication); and if P 2-2 The spatial correlation between P3 and P3 is not high, therefore P 2-2 The network device is configured with one SRS port (port 2) for TPR2, and the corresponding second precoding weight is P. 2-2 (Unchanged). After determining the port and precoding configuration of TRP1, the network device sends a second message to TRP1. The second message indicates the association with the first precoding information corresponding to 0 identifiers. Then, the second message indicates the second precoding weights corresponding to the two SRS ports respectively. P3. Wherein, the second information indicates the second precoding weight. P3 is indicated sequentially. After receiving this second information, the UE can, according to the indicated order and the indices of port 0 and 1, connect port 0 with... Correspondingly, port 1 is mapped to P3. The network device configures one SRS port for TRP2, with the corresponding second precoding weight being P. 2-2 (Unchanged), then the network device first indicates in the second information that it is associated with the first precoding information corresponding to identifier 2, and then the network device sends a 2-bit bitmap "01" to the UE, representing P in the first precoding information 2. 2-1 Not adopted, P 2-2 It was adopted.

[0127] Another configuration method is for the network device to recalculate. The network device configures two SRS ports (port 0 and port 1) for TRP1, with a corresponding second precoding weight of P. 1-1 (Unchanged)(P3 as well as P) 1-1 (lower correlation), P3 (reindication); and if P2-2 If the spatial correlation between P3 and P increases, then P should be recalculated. 2-2 ,get The network device configures one SRS port (port 2) for TPR2, with the corresponding second precoding weight being... (Redirection). The network device is configured with two SRS ports for TRP1, with the corresponding second precoding weight being P. 1-1 (Unchanged), when P3 (re-indication), since the second precoding weights corresponding to port 0 and port 1 are obtained based on the first precoding information 1 identified by identifier 1, the second information indicates that it is associated with the first precoding information corresponding to identifier 1. The network device can send a 2-bit bitmap "10" to indicate P. 1-1 Adopted, P 1-2 Not adopted. The UE receives this bitmap and can determine the second precoding weight P corresponding to port 0 based on it. 1-1 In addition, the network device also indicates the second precoding weight P3 corresponding to port 1 to the UE. The network device configures one SRS port (port 2) for TRP2, with the corresponding second precoding weight being P3. (Re-indication) Then the network device sends a second message to the UE, which indicates the association with the first precoding information corresponding to 0 identifiers, and then the second message indicates the second precoding weight corresponding to port 2.

[0128] It can be seen that the UE reported the first precoded P of the two SRS ports based on the first reference signal received from TRP1. 1-1 and P 1-2 And the first precoded P of the two SRS ports obtained from the first reference signal received from TRP2 2-1 and P 2-2 The network device configures two SRS ports for TRP1 and one SRS port for TRP2. In contrast, in the prior art, the network device configures two SRS ports for both TRP1 and TRP2. Therefore, the number of SRS ports is reduced compared to the prior art.

[0129] Furthermore, power control can also be performed when transmitting the second reference signal to the at least one second port. The second information can also indicate the power value of the reference port among the at least one second port, and the offset of the power values ​​of the other second ports among the at least one second port relative to the power value of the reference port. For example, the reference port can be the port with the smallest or largest index among the at least one second port, or the reference port can be the port with the smallest or largest power value. Upon receiving the second information, the terminal device can obtain the power value of the reference port and determine the power values ​​of the other ports based on the power value of the reference port and the offset values. For example, if the network device configures four SRS ports (port 0 to port 3) for TRP1, and the second information indicates that the power value of the reference port (e.g., port 0) is Power1, and indicates three offset values ​​as offset1, offset2, and offset3 respectively, then after receiving the second information, the UE can obtain the power value corresponding to port 0 as Power1, the power value corresponding to port 1 as Power1 + offset1, the power value corresponding to port 2 as Power1 + offset2, and the power value corresponding to port 3 as Power1 + offset3. This allows the terminal device to accurately determine the power value of each port and match different power values ​​according to the channel state of different ports, and obtain more accurate channel state information based on the reference signal corresponding to the second port.

[0130] S304. The UE sends a second reference signal to the network device using second precoded information on at least one second port.

[0131] Accordingly, the network device receives a second reference signal transmitted by the UE using second precoded information at at least one second port.

[0132] After receiving the aforementioned second information, the UE can parse it to obtain the second precoding information, that is, obtain the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port. The UE then uses the corresponding second precoding to send the second reference signal to the network device at at least one second port. By sending the precoded second reference signal, the signal-to-noise ratio of the second reference signal can be improved.

[0133] According to a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application, a terminal device receives second precoding information configured by a network device. The second precoding information indicates a second precoding corresponding to at least one second port. The second precoding corresponding to at least one second port is obtained based on the first precoding weights corresponding to at least one first port reported by the terminal device. When determining the second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the strength of the spatial correlation between the first precoding weights corresponding to at least one first port is considered, so that the number of second ports can be less than the number of ports configured in the existing multi-station transmission mode. This reduces the number of second ports, shortens the transmission period of the second reference signal, alleviates CSI aging, and improves the accuracy of channel estimation.

[0134] 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.

[0135] 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.

[0136] 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.

[0137] Figures 6 and 7 are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in 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.

[0138] As shown in Figure 6, the communication device 600 includes a processing unit 610 and a transceiver unit 620. The communication device 600 is used to implement the functions of the UE or network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3 above.

[0139] When the communication device 600 is used to implement the functions of the UE: the transceiver unit 620 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the UE in steps S301 to S304 of the embodiment shown in FIG3.

[0140] When the communication device 600 is used to implement the functions of a network device: the transceiver unit 620 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the network device in steps S301 to S304 of the embodiment shown in FIG3.

[0141] A more detailed description of the processing unit 610 and the transceiver unit 620 can be obtained directly from the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3, and will not be repeated here.

[0142] 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.

[0143] 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.

[0144] 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.

[0145] As shown in Figure 7, the communication device 700 includes a processor 710 and may also include an interface circuit 720. The processor 710 and the interface circuit 720 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 720 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 700 may also include a memory 730 (shown as a dashed line in Figure 7) for storing instructions executed by the processor 710, or storing input data required by the processor 710 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 710 executes instructions.

[0146] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the UE: the interface circuit 720 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the UE in steps S301 to S304 of the embodiment shown in FIG3.

[0147] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of a network device: the interface circuit 720 is used to implement one or more operations implemented by the network device in steps S301 to S304 of the embodiment shown in FIG3.

[0148] A more detailed description of the processor 710 and interface circuit 720 can be obtained directly from the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in Figure 3, and will not be repeated here.

[0149] 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.

[0150] 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.

[0151] 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.

[0152] 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.

[0153] This application also provides a communication system, including the communication device described above.

[0154] 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.

[0155] 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.

[0156] 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.

[0157] 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.

[0158] 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.

[0159] 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.

[0160] 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).

[0161] 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.

[0162] 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.

[0163] 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.

[0164] 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.

[0165] 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.

[0166] 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.

[0167] 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.

[0168] 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 a plurality of first information, each of the plurality of first information indicating a first precoding information, the first precoding information being obtained based on a first reference signal, the first precoding information including a first precoding weight corresponding to at least one first port, the at least one first port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; Receive second information, the second information being used to configure second precoding information, the second precoding information indicating a second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the at least one second port being a port corresponding to the second reference signal, the at least one second port including at least one of the following: a first port set, a second port set, the second precoding information indicating at least one of the following: the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information, at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set, and any port in the first port set and the second port set being different; The second reference signal is transmitted using the second precoded information at the at least one second port.

2. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send multiple first reference signals; Receive multiple first information, each of the multiple first information indicating a first precoding information, the first precoding information being obtained based on a first reference signal, the first precoding information including at least one first precoding weight corresponding to a first port, the at least one first port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; Send second information, the second information being used to configure second precoding information, the second precoding information indicating a second precoding corresponding to at least one second port, the at least one second port being a port corresponding to the second reference signal, the at least one second port including at least one of the following: a first port set, a second port set, the second precoding information indicating at least one of the following: the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information, at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set, and any port in the first port set and the second port set being different; The second reference signal, transmitted using the second precoded information, is received at the at least one second port.

3. The method as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Each first piece of information also indicates the order of at least one first precoding weight in the first precoding information.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The plurality of first information includes a plurality of first identifiers, each of the plurality of first identifiers being used to identify a first precoded information, and the second information indicating whether the second precoded information is associated with the at least one first precoded information identified by at least one first identifier.

5. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, In cases where the second information indicates that the second precoding information is associated with the at least one first precoding information identified by at least one first identifier, the second information also indicates the at least one first identifier.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The second precoding information indicates the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information, including: the second precoding information indicates whether the first precoding weight corresponding to each first port in at least one first port included in the at least one first precoding information is used.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The second precoding information also indicates the order of the at least one second precoding weight.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, When the at least one second port only includes the first port set, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one first precoding weight according to the order of the at least one first precoding weight in the at least one first precoding information and the index of the at least one second port in the first port set.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, In the case where the at least one second port includes the first port set and the second port set, the first port set corresponds sequentially to the at least one first precoding weight according to the order of the at least one first precoding weight in the at least one first precoding information and the index of the at least one second port in the first port set; The order of the at least one second precoding weights indicated by the second information and the index of at least one second port in the second port set, wherein the second port set corresponds sequentially to the at least one second precoding weight.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, In the case where the at least one second port only includes the set of second ports, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one second precoding weight according to the order of the at least one second precoding weight indicated by the second information and the index of the at least one second port in the set of second ports.

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

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The second information also indicates the power value of the reference port among the at least one second port, and the offset of the power value of the other second port among the at least one second port relative to the power value of the reference port.

13. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes: a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: The transceiver unit is used to receive multiple first reference signals; The processing unit is configured to generate a plurality of first information, each of the plurality of first information indicating a first precoding information, the first precoding information being obtained based on a first reference signal, the first precoding information including at least one first precoding weight corresponding to at least one first port, the at least one first port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; The transceiver unit is also used to send the plurality of first information messages; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive second information, which is used to configure second precoding information. The second precoding information indicates a second precoding corresponding to at least one second port. The at least one second port is a port corresponding to the second reference signal. The at least one second port includes at least one of the following: a first port set and a second port set. The second precoding information indicates at least one of the following: the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information, at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set, and any port in the first port set and the second port set being different. The transceiver unit is further configured to transmit the second reference signal using the second precoded information at the at least one second port.

14. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes: a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: The transceiver unit is used to transmit multiple first reference signals; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a plurality of first information, each of the plurality of first information indicating a first precoding information, the first precoding information being obtained based on a first reference signal, the first precoding information including at least one first precoding weight corresponding to a first port, the at least one first port being a port corresponding to a second reference signal; The processing unit is configured to generate second information, which is used to configure second precoding information. The second precoding information indicates a second precoding corresponding to at least one second port. The at least one second port is a port corresponding to the second reference signal. The at least one second port includes at least one of the following: a first port set and a second port set. The second precoding information indicates at least one of the following: the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information; at least one second precoding weight corresponding to the second port set; and any port in the first port set and the second port set is different. The transceiver unit is also used to send the second information; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive the second reference signal transmitted using the second precoded information at the at least one second port.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, Each first piece of information also indicates the order of at least one first precoding weight in the first precoding information.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13-15, characterized in that, The plurality of first information includes a plurality of first identifiers, each of the plurality of first identifiers being used to identify a first precoded information, and the second information indicating that the second precoded information is associated with the at least one first precoded information identified by at least one first identifier.

17. The method as described in claim 16, characterized in that, In cases where the second information indicates that the second precoding information is associated with the at least one first precoding information identified by at least one first identifier, the second information also indicates the at least one first identifier.

18. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13-17, characterized in that, The second precoding information indicates the correspondence between the first port set and at least one first precoding weight in at least one first precoding information, including: the second precoding information indicates whether the first precoding weight corresponding to each first port in at least one first port included in the at least one first precoding information is used.

19. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13-18, characterized in that, The second precoding information also indicates the order of the at least one second precoding weight.

20. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13-19, characterized in that, When the at least one second port only includes the first port set, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one first precoding weight according to the order of the at least one first precoding weight in the at least one first precoding information and the index of the at least one second port in the first port set.

21. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13-19, characterized in that, In the case where the at least one second port includes the first port set and the second port set, the first port set corresponds sequentially to the at least one first precoding weight according to the order of the at least one first precoding weight in the at least one first precoding information and the index of the at least one second port in the first port set; The order of the at least one second precoding weights indicated by the second information and the index of at least one second port in the second port set, wherein the second port set corresponds sequentially to the at least one second precoding weight.

22. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13-19, characterized in that, In the case where the at least one second port only includes the set of second ports, the at least one second port corresponds sequentially to the at least one second precoding weight according to the order of the at least one second precoding weight indicated by the second information and the index of the at least one second port in the set of second ports.

23. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13-22, characterized in that, The first reference signal is the channel state information reference signal, and the second reference signal is the probe reference signal.

24. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13-23, characterized in that, The second information also indicates the power value of the reference port among the at least one second port, and the offset of the power value of the other second port among the at least one second port relative to the power value of the reference port.

25. 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, 3-12, or to implement the method as described in any one of claims 2-12, through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

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

27. 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, 3-12, or to perform the method as described in any one of claims 2-12.

28. 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, 3-12, or the method as described in any one of claims 2-12.

29. 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, 3-12, or the method as described in any one of claims 2-12.

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