Signal transmission method, communication apparatus, storage medium, and program product

Abstract

The present application provides a signal transmission method, a communication apparatus, a storage medium, and a program product. The method comprises: a second communication apparatus sends first indication information to a first communication apparatus, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating phase factors corresponding to M reference signal ports, the M reference signal ports correspond to M antenna ports, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Correspondingly, the first communication apparatus receives the first indication information, so as to adjust, on the basis of the first indication information, phases corresponding to all or some of the M antenna ports, so that when the first communication apparatus receives downlink signals by means of the M antenna ports, the signals can superimpose on each other, thereby increasing the power of the received signals.

Description

Signal transmission methods, communication devices, storage media and software products

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411749542.9, filed on November 29, 2024, entitled “Signal Transmission Method, Communication 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 communications, and in particular to signal transmission methods, communication devices, storage media, and program products in the field of communications. Background Technology

[0003] In communication systems, the power of the received signal can affect communication performance. For example, interference and noise may exist in communication systems. The lower the power of the useful signal received by the receiver, the lower the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), which limits the demodulation performance of the receiver.

[0004] In Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology, the power of the received signal is increased by increasing the receiving area (e.g., increasing the number of receiving antennas). However, increasing the number of antennas is difficult for terminal devices. On the one hand, the small size of terminal devices may result in insufficient isolation between antennas, potentially introducing non-ideal factors such as antenna mutual coupling. On the other hand, deploying more antennas may increase the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0005] Therefore, improving the signal reception power of terminal devices is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a signal transmission method, communication device, storage medium, and program product, with the aim of improving the power of received signals of terminal equipment.

[0007] In a first aspect, this application provides a signal transmission method, the method comprising: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate phase factors corresponding to M reference signal ports, the M reference signal ports corresponding to M antenna ports, the phase factors being used to adjust the phase of the M antenna ports, M being an integer greater than or equal to 1; and receiving downlink signals through the M antenna ports.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the method can be performed by a first communication device. The first communication device can be a terminal device, or a circuit or chip applicable to 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), which is not limited in this application.

[0009] In the above technical solution, the first communication device can adjust the phase of all or part of the antenna ports among the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports based on the phase factors indicated by the first indication information (optionally, the reference signal ports and antenna ports can be in one-to-one correspondence), so that when the first communication device receives downlink signals through the M antenna ports, the signals can be superimposed on each other, thereby improving the power of the received signal.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the above signal transmission method can be applied to a time division duplex (TDD) system. As an example and not a limitation, the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports can be determined based on the reference signals transmitted by the first communication device. Since the uplink and downlink channels have good reciprocity in a TDD system, the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports determined based on the reference signals transmitted by the first communication device can be used by the first communication device to receive downlink signals. For example, the first communication device can adjust the phase of all or part of the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports based on the phase factors, so that when receiving downlink signals through the M antenna ports, the signals can be superimposed, thereby improving the power of the received signal.

[0011] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the first indication information indicates the phase factor corresponding to each of the M reference signal ports.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the M reference signal ports, excluding the first reference signal port, relative to the first reference signal port.

[0013] By using one of the aforementioned M reference signal ports as a reference (which can be referred to as the reference port), the first indication information only needs to indicate the phase factor of the other reference signal ports relative to the aforementioned reference port. This allows the signaling to carry fewer phase factors, thus reducing signaling overhead. Furthermore, it also reduces the number of antenna ports that the first communication device needs to adjust the phase for, thereby reducing processing complexity and power consumption.

[0014] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the aforementioned M reference signal ports belong to at least one reference signal port group, and each reference signal port group in the at least one reference signal port group includes at least one reference signal port.

[0015] By dividing the above M reference signal ports into different reference signal port groups, it is convenient to share the radio frequency link. For example, the antenna ports corresponding to the reference signal ports belonging to the same reference signal port group can share a radio frequency link. This helps to reduce the overhead of the radio frequency link and reduce the cost and power consumption of the first communication device.

[0016] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the first reference signal port group includes N reference signal ports, the first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the N reference signal ports except the second reference signal port relative to the second reference signal port, the first reference signal port group is one of the at least one reference signal port group, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0017] In other words, for any one of the at least one reference signal port group mentioned above, one reference signal port in that group can be used as a reference (which can be called a reference port). The first indication information only needs to indicate the phase factor of other reference signal ports in the group relative to the reference port. In this way, the number of phase factors carried by the signaling can be reduced, thereby helping to reduce signaling overhead. In addition, it can also reduce the number of antenna ports that the first communication device needs to adjust the phase, thereby helping to reduce the processing complexity of the first communication device and reduce the power consumption of the first communication device.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending second indication information for indicating one or more reference signal port groups, the one or more reference signal port groups including the at least one reference signal port group mentioned above.

[0019] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving third indication information for indicating at least one reference signal port group.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups include reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping modes, and the aforementioned second indication information is also used to indicate the multiple reference signal port grouping modes.

[0021] By reporting one or more reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping methods by the first communication device, the second communication device can determine the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal ports included in at least one of the one or more reference signal port groups under different reference signal port grouping methods. This facilitates the determination of a better reference signal port grouping method and the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal ports under that grouping method. When this method is applied to a TDD system, due to the reciprocity of uplink and downlink channels, the first communication device can adjust the phase of the antenna port based on the aforementioned better reference signal port grouping method and the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal ports under that grouping method, thereby receiving downlink signals. This allows the signals to be superimposed, which helps to improve the quality of the received signal.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate a first reference signal port grouping mode, the first reference signal port grouping mode being one of the plurality of reference signal port grouping modes described above.

[0023] In other words, when the first communication device reports multiple reference signal port grouping methods and / or reports one or more reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping methods to the second communication device, the second communication device can indicate one of the reference signal port grouping methods to the first communication device.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending fifth indication information for indicating a second reference signal port grouping mode, the second reference signal port grouping mode being one of the plurality of reference signal port grouping modes, such as the reference signal port grouping mode used by the first communication device.

[0025] In other words, when the first communication device reports multiple reference signal port grouping methods and / or reports one or more reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping methods to the second communication device, the first communication device may also indicate one of the reference signal port grouping methods to the second communication device. The reference signal port grouping method may be, for example, the reference signal port grouping method used by the first communication device.

[0026] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the second indication information includes at least one bit map, each bit in the first bit map corresponds to a reference signal port, the reference signal port corresponding to the bit in the first bit map that takes a preset value belongs to a reference signal port group, and the first bit map is any one of the at least one bit map.

[0027] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the at least one bit map includes a bit map corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group, and the number of bit maps corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group is equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group, or equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group minus 1.

[0028] When the number of bitmaps corresponding to at least one of the above-mentioned reference signal port groups is equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group minus 1, for example, it can be a scenario where the first communication device and the second communication device agree on the number of M reference signal ports or M antenna ports. In this way, by reducing the number of indicated bitmaps, it is beneficial to reduce signaling overhead.

[0029] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the aforementioned second indication information and / or fifth indication information are further used to indicate the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port used by the first communication device, wherein the used antenna port belongs to the aforementioned M antenna ports (or, in other words, the used antenna port is one of the aforementioned M antenna ports). Thus, by implicitly indicating the antenna port used by the first communication device through the second indication information and / or fifth indication information, the first communication device does not need to separately indicate the used antenna port through signaling, which helps to reduce signaling overhead.

[0030] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending a sixth indication message indicating a first quantity, the first quantity being the number of antenna ports used by the first communication device, or the first quantity being the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use.

[0031] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the first quantity is the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use, and the method further includes: receiving a seventh indication information, the seventh indication information indicating the antenna ports used by the first communication device, the used antenna ports belonging to the M antenna ports (or, the used antenna ports are the M antenna ports).

[0032] In other words, when the first communication device reports the maximum number of usable antenna ports to the second communication device, the second communication device can indicate the antenna ports to be used to the first communication device, so that the first and second communication devices can reach an agreement on the antenna ports to be used.

[0033] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the antenna ports that the first communication device can use at most include a first antenna port on a first frequency band and a second antenna port on a second frequency band, wherein the first frequency band is the frequency band in which the first communication device receives downlink signals, and the second frequency band is different from the first frequency band.

[0034] The first communication device borrows the antenna port on the second frequency band, which allows for an increase in the number of receiving antennas without increasing the number of antennas deployed, thereby improving the power of the received signal of the first communication device.

[0035] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the sixth indication information further indicates the second frequency band, or at least one frequency band of the second antenna port may be used, the at least one frequency band including the second frequency band.

[0036] In other words, the first communication device can also indicate to the second communication device which frequency band of antenna port to borrow, or at least one frequency band of the borrowed antenna port can be used, which facilitates the second communication device to perform scheduling based on the information.

[0037] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving eighth indication information, the eighth indication information indicating at least one reference signal resource set, the at least one reference signal resource set being configured based on the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use or the number of antenna ports used by the first communication device.

[0038] Secondly, another signal transmission method is provided, which includes: sending first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the phase factors corresponding to M reference signal ports, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and sending downlink signals.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the method can be executed by a second communication device. This second communication device can be a network device, or a circuit or chip applicable to a network device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), and this application does not limit it to this.

[0040] In the above technical solution, the second communication device indicates the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports to the first communication device, so that the first communication device can adjust the phase of all or part of the antenna ports among the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports based on the phase factors (optionally, the reference signal ports and antenna ports can be in one-to-one correspondence), so that when the first communication device receives downlink signals through the M antenna ports, the signals can be superimposed on each other, thereby improving the power of the received signal.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the above signal transmission method can be applied to a TDD system. As an example and not a limitation, the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports can be determined based on the reference signals transmitted by the first communication device. Since the uplink and downlink channels in a TDD system have good reciprocity, the phase factors of the M reference signal ports determined based on the reference signals transmitted by the first communication device can be used by the first communication device to receive downlink signals. For example, the first communication device can adjust the phase of all or part of the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports based on the phase factors, so that when receiving downlink signals through the M antenna ports, the signals can be superimposed, thereby improving the power of the received signal.

[0042] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the aforementioned M reference signal ports correspond to M antenna ports, and the aforementioned phase factor is used to adjust the phase of the aforementioned M antenna ports.

[0043] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the first indication information indicates the phase factor corresponding to each of the M reference signal ports.

[0044] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the M reference signal ports, excluding the first reference signal port, relative to the first reference signal port.

[0045] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the aforementioned M reference signal ports belong to at least one reference signal port group, and each reference signal port group in the at least one reference signal port group includes at least one reference signal port.

[0046] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the first reference signal port group includes N reference signal ports, the first indication information indicating the phase factor of each of the N reference signal ports except the second reference signal port relative to the second reference signal port, the first reference signal port group being one of the at least one reference signal port group, and N being an integer greater than 1.

[0047] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving second indication information for indicating one or more reference signal port groups, the one or more reference signal port groups including the at least one reference signal port group mentioned above.

[0048] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending third indication information for indicating at least one of the aforementioned reference signal port groups.

[0049] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups include reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping modes, and the aforementioned second indication information is also used to indicate the aforementioned multiple reference signal port grouping modes.

[0050] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate a first reference signal port grouping mode, the first reference signal port grouping mode being one of the plurality of reference signal port grouping modes described above.

[0051] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate a second reference signal port grouping mode, the second reference signal port grouping mode being one of the aforementioned plurality of reference signal port grouping modes.

[0052] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the second indication information includes at least one bit map, each bit in the first bit map corresponds to a reference signal port, the reference signal port corresponding to the bit in the first bit map that takes a preset value belongs to a reference signal port group, and the first bit map is any one of the at least one bit map.

[0053] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the at least one bit map includes a bit map corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group, and the number of bit maps corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group is equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group, or equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group minus 1.

[0054] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the aforementioned second indication information and / or fifth indication information are further used to indicate the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port used by the first communication device, wherein the used antenna port belongs to the M antenna ports corresponding to the aforementioned M reference signal ports.

[0055] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving sixth indication information, the sixth indication information indicating a first quantity, the first quantity being the number of antenna ports used by the first communication device, or the first quantity being the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use.

[0056] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the first quantity is the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use, and the method further includes: sending a seventh indication message indicating the antenna ports used by the first communication device, the used antenna ports belonging to the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports.

[0057] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the antenna ports that the first communication device can use at most include a first antenna port on a first frequency band and a second antenna port on a second frequency band, wherein the first frequency band is the frequency band in which the first communication device receives downlink signals, and the second frequency band is different from the first frequency band.

[0058] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the sixth indication information further indicates the second frequency band, or at least one frequency band of the second antenna port may be used, which includes the second frequency band.

[0059] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending an eighth indication message indicating at least one set of reference signal resources, the at least one set of reference signal resources being configured based on the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use or the number of antenna ports used by the first communication device.

[0060] It should be understood that the second aspect of this application corresponds to the technical solution of the first aspect of this application, and the beneficial effects obtained by the second aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar to those of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0061] Thirdly, this application provides another signal transmission method, which includes: receiving multiple reference signals based on multiple receiving modes; and transmitting multiple CSIs associated with the multiple reference signals in a single channel state information (CSI) report, wherein the multiple CSIs correspond one-to-one with the multiple receiving modes, and each of the multiple CSIs includes at least one of the following: channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), or layer indicator (LI).

[0062] In one possible implementation, the method can be executed by a first communication device. This first communication device can be a terminal device, or a circuit or chip applicable to the terminal device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), and this application does not limit it in this regard.

[0063] In the above technical solution, the first communication device can receive multiple reference signals based on multiple receiving modes, and based on these multiple reference signals, report multiple CSIs corresponding one-to-one with the multiple reference signals to the second communication device, so as to facilitate the second communication device to schedule the first communication device.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the above method can be applied to frequency division duplex (FDD) systems.

[0065] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments of the third aspect, each of the above-described multiple reception modes includes antenna port grouping and / or adjustment of reception parameters of antenna ports within a group.

[0066] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving a downlink signal based on a first receiving mode, the first receiving mode being one of the aforementioned multiple receiving modes.

[0067] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving ninth indication information, the ninth indication information being used to indicate the first receiving mode described above.

[0068] In other words, the second communication device can instruct the first communication device to use one of a variety of receiving modes.

[0069] One possible design is that the aforementioned ninth indication information indicates a first reference signal, the aforementioned first receiving mode is a receiving mode used by the first communication device when receiving the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is one of the aforementioned plurality of reference signals.

[0070] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments of the third aspect, the method further includes: sending a tenth indication message indicating the number of reception modes supported by the first communication device.

[0071] The first communication device can report the number of supported reception modes to the second communication device, so that the second communication device can configure a set of reference signal resources for the first communication device based on the number of reception modes supported by the first communication device. For example, the number of reference signal resources in the set of reference signal resources configured by the second communication device can be equal to the number of reception modes supported by the first communication device.

[0072] Fourthly, another signal transmission method is provided, which includes: transmitting multiple reference signals; and receiving multiple CSIs associated with the multiple reference signals in a single CSI report, wherein the multiple CSIs correspond one-to-one with multiple receiving modes, and each of the multiple CSIs includes at least one of the following: CQI, PMI, RI, or LI.

[0073] In one possible implementation, the method can be executed by a second communication device. This second communication device can be a network device, or a circuit or chip applicable to a network device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), and this application does not limit it to this.

[0074] In the above technical solution, the second communication device can transmit multiple reference signals, so that the first communication device can receive the multiple reference signals based on multiple receiving modes, and report multiple CSIs corresponding one-to-one with the multiple reference signals to the second communication device, so that the second communication device can schedule the first communication devices. For example, when the second communication device schedules multiple first communication devices, for any one of the multiple receiving modes, the second communication device can indicate to it one of the multiple receiving modes to receive downlink signals.

[0075] In one possible implementation, the above method can be applied to an FDD system.

[0076] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments of the fourth aspect, each of the above-described multiple reception modes includes antenna port grouping and / or adjustment of reception parameters of antenna ports within a group.

[0077] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: sending a ninth indication message for indicating a first receiving mode, the first receiving mode being one of the aforementioned multiple receiving modes.

[0078] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned ninth indication information indicates a first reference signal, the first receiving mode being a receiving mode used by the first communication device when receiving the first reference signal, and the first reference signal being one of the aforementioned plurality of reference signals.

[0079] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: receiving tenth indication information, the tenth indication information indicating the number of reception modes supported by the first communication device.

[0080] It should be understood that the fourth aspect of this application corresponds to the technical solution of the third aspect of this application, and the beneficial effects obtained by the fourth aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar to those of the third aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0081] Fifthly, this application provides a communication device for performing the methods described in the first to fourth aspects and any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the communication device includes a module for performing the described methods.

[0082] Sixthly, this application provides another communication device, including a processor coupled to a memory, which can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the methods in the first to fourth aspects and any possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, to which the processor is coupled.

[0083] In one implementation, the communication device is a terminal device or a network device. When the communication device is a terminal device or a network device, the communication interface can be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0084] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip applicable to terminal devices or network devices. When the communication device is a chip applicable to terminal devices or network devices, the aforementioned communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0085] A seventh aspect provides a processor, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, causing the processor to execute the methods described in the first to fourth aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0086] In the specific implementation process, the processor can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, gate circuit, flip-flop, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, output to a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter. Furthermore, the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation method of the processor and various circuits.

[0087] Eighthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory, receive signals via a receiver, and transmit signals via a transmitter to execute the methods described in the first to fourth aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0088] Optionally, the processor may be one or more, and the memory may be one or more.

[0089] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be separated from the processor.

[0090] In the specific implementation process, the memory can be a non-transitory memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), which can be integrated with the processor on the same chip or set on different chips. This application does not limit the type of memory or the way the memory and processor are set.

[0091] It should be understood that related data interaction processes, such as sending configuration information, can be a process of outputting configuration information from the processor, and receiving configuration information can be a process of the processor receiving input configuration information. Specifically, the data output by the processor can be sent to the transmitter, and the input data received by the processor can come from the receiver. The transmitter and receiver can be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0092] The communication device in the eighth aspect above can be a chip. The processor can be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, integrated circuit, etc. When implemented in software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor that reads software code stored in memory. The memory can be integrated into the processor or located outside the processor and exist independently.

[0093] Ninthly, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when the computer program is run, causes a computer to perform the methods of the first to fourth aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0094] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods of the first to fourth aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0095] It should be understood that the fifth to tenth aspects of this application correspond to the technical solutions of the first to fourth aspects of this application, and the beneficial effects obtained by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0096] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a scenario affecting the power of the received signal according to an embodiment of this application;

[0097] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applied in an embodiment of this application;

[0098] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the signal transmission method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0099] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the maximum number of antenna ports that the terminal device provided in the embodiments of this application can use;

[0100] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the antenna port of the shared radio frequency link provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0101] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating another signal transmission method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0102] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0103] Figure 8 is another schematic block diagram of the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0104] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0105] Before describing the technical solutions in this application, the following points should be noted.

[0106] First, in this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used to distinguish identical or similar items with essentially the same function and effect. For example, "first instruction information" and "second instruction information" are merely used to distinguish different instruction information and do not limit their order. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and that the terms "first" and "second" do not necessarily imply that they are different.

[0107] Second, in this application, the words "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is being described as an example, illustration, or illustration. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of the words "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0108] Third, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of singular or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0109] Fourth, in this application, predefined content generally refers to information defined by standards, requiring no configuration from other devices, and pre-recorded / written in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, or information that cannot be changed by network devices or other terminal devices. Predefined content typically refers to information pre-recorded / written in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, which can be determined by the equipment manufacturer and can be changed through software or hardware.

[0110] Pre-configuration can be divided into network device pre-configuration and terminal device pre-configuration. For network device pre-configuration, it can be done through system information block (SIB) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling. For terminal device pre-configuration, it can be done according to PC5-RRC signaling or by the equipment manufacturer.

[0111] Fifth, in this application, "instruction" can include direct and indirect instructions, as well as explicit and implicit instructions. The information indicated by a certain instruction 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. It can also indirectly indicate the information to be instructed by indicating other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed; or it can indicate only a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction can be implemented by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol predefined) arrangement of various information, thereby reducing the instruction overhead to some extent. This application does not limit the specific method of instruction. It is understood that for the sender of the instruction, the instruction can be used to indicate the information to be instructed, and for the receiver of the instruction, the instruction can be used to determine the information to be instructed.

[0112] Sixth, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 5th Generation (5G) systems, or New Radio (NR) systems, or future communication systems, etc. This application does not limit them in this regard.

[0113] In communication systems, the power of the received signal can affect communication performance. For example, interference and noise may exist in communication systems; the lower the power of the useful signal received by the receiver, the lower the SINR, thus limiting the demodulation performance of the receiver. In some scenarios, the power of the received signal may be relatively low. Figure 1 below illustrates two possible scenarios where the received signal power is low.

[0114] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a scenario that affects the power of the received signal, provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0115] As shown in Figure 1a), at the cell edge or cooperative set edge, the received signal power of the terminal device may be low due to path loss. As shown in Figure 1b), indoors or in the presence of obstructions, the received signal power of the terminal device may be low due to penetration loss.

[0116] Currently, one method to improve the power of the received signal is to increase the number of receiving antennas. For network devices, since there are no size limitations and power consumption is not a concern, deploying more antennas is relatively simple, making this method feasible. However, for terminal devices, on the one hand, their smaller size may result in insufficient isolation between antennas, potentially introducing non-ideal factors such as antenna coupling. On the other hand, deploying more antennas may increase the power consumption of the terminal device. Therefore, increasing the number of antennas is relatively difficult.

[0117] In view of this, this application provides a signal transmission method in which a network device indicates a phase factor corresponding to at least one reference signal port to a terminal device. Based on the phase factor, the terminal device can adjust the phase of all or part of the antenna ports of at least one antenna port corresponding to the at least one reference signal port (optionally, the reference signal port and the antenna port of the terminal device can be in one-to-one correspondence) so that the signals received by the terminal device are superimposed, thereby increasing the power of the received signal. The network device is an example of a second communication device, and the terminal device is an example of a first communication device.

[0118] In one possible implementation, the above signal transmission method can be applied to a TDD system. As an example and not a limitation, the network device can determine the phase factor corresponding to at least one reference signal port based on the uplink reference signal transmitted by the terminal device, and then indicate the phase factor to the terminal device. Since the uplink and downlink channels in a TDD system have good reciprocity, the phase factor determined based on the uplink reference signal can be used by the terminal device to receive downlink signals. For example, the terminal device can adjust the phase of all or part of the antenna ports in at least one antenna port corresponding to the at least one reference signal port based on the phase factor, and then receive downlink signals through the at least one antenna port. This allows the signals received by the terminal device to be superimposed, thereby increasing the power of the received signal.

[0119] Before describing the above method in detail, the communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to FIG2.

[0120] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 200 applied in an embodiment of this application. The communication system 200 may include at least one network device, such as network device 210 shown in Figure 2; the communication system 200 may also include at least one terminal device, such as terminal device 220 shown in Figure 2. Network device 210 and terminal device 220 can communicate via a wireless link. In one possible scenario, network device 210 can act as a receiver, and terminal device 220 can act as a transmitter, with terminal device 220 sending signals to network device 210. In another possible scenario, network device 210 can act as a transmitter, and terminal device 220 can act as a receiver, with network device 210 sending signals to terminal device 220.

[0121] It should be noted that the network device (such as network device 210) is an example of the second communication device, and the terminal device (such as terminal device 220) is an example of the first communication device. This application does not limit the method provided in this application to communication between network devices and terminal devices.

[0122] The aforementioned communication devices, such as network device 210 or terminal device 220 in Figure 2, can be configured with multiple antennas. These multiple antennas may include at least one transmitting antenna for transmitting signals and at least one receiving antenna for receiving signals. Additionally, each communication device also includes a transmitter chain and a receiver chain, which, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, may include multiple components related to signal transmission and reception (e.g., processors, modulators, multiplexers, demodulators, demultiplexers, filters, or RF integrated circuits, etc.). Therefore, network device 210 and terminal device 220 can communicate via multi-antenna technology.

[0123] Optionally, the communication system 200 may also include other network entities such as a network controller and a mobility management entity, but the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0124] The aforementioned terminal equipment can also be referred to as: user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user equipment, etc.

[0125] Terminal devices can be devices that provide voice / data connectivity to users, such as handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, etc. Currently, examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to: mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities (such as laptops, PDAs, etc.), mobile internet devices (MIDs), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, wireless terminals in remote medical care, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminals in 5G networks, or future public land mobile communication networks. Terminals in a network (PLMN), such as laptop computers and machine-type communication (MTC) terminals.

[0126] Furthermore, terminal devices can also be terminals in Internet of Things (IoT) systems. IoT is an important component of future information technology development. Its main technical characteristic is connecting objects to networks through communication technologies, thereby realizing an intelligent network that enables human-machine interconnection and machine-to-machine interconnection. IoT technology can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and low power consumption at the terminal level through technologies such as narrowband (NB).

[0127] In addition, terminal devices may also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Their main functions include collecting data (for some terminal devices), receiving control information and downlink signals from network devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to network devices.

[0128] Furthermore, the aforementioned network equipment can be a device that communicates with terminal equipment, and this network equipment can also be called a radio access network device (or simply access network device). Network equipment can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, access points, etc. In systems employing different radio access technologies, the name of the network equipment may differ. For example, it can be a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved NodeB (eNB) in an LTE system, a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in an NR system, etc. This application does not limit its scope in this regard.

[0129] It should be understood that Figure 2 exemplarily illustrates a network device 210 and a terminal device 220, but this should not constitute any limitation on this application. Optionally, the communication system 200 may also include a greater number of network devices and / or terminal devices.

[0130] It should also be understood that the method provided in the embodiments of this application can be applied to a variety of communication systems, including NR communication systems. Communication system 200 is only an example. This application does not limit the specific architecture of the applicable system, nor does it limit the number and form of various devices contained in each communication system.

[0131] The signal transmission method of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 3. The embodiments shown in this application illustrate the method provided by this application from the perspective of device interaction. The specific form and number of each device shown are merely examples and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation of the method provided by this application. Below, the signal transmission method of the embodiments of this application will be described in detail using network devices and terminal devices as examples. The aforementioned terminal device is an example of a first communication device, and the network device is an example of a second communication device.

[0132] It should be understood that a terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or a chip, chip system, or circuit that supports the terminal device in implementing signal transmission methods, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device; a network device can be the network device itself, or a chip, chip system, or circuit that supports the network device in implementing signal transmission methods, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the network device. This application does not make any specific limitations in this regard.

[0133] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a signal transmission method 300 provided in an embodiment of this application. This method 300 can be applied, for example, to a communication system 200, and includes the following steps:

[0134] In step 310, the network device sends first indication information, which indicates the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information.

[0135] Where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The above M reference signal ports may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: a sounding reference signal (SRS) port or a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port.

[0136] The aforementioned M reference signal ports correspond to the aforementioned M antenna ports. For example, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the aforementioned M reference signal ports and the aforementioned M antenna ports; in other words, each reference signal port corresponds to one antenna port.

[0137] The phase factors corresponding to the aforementioned M reference signal ports can also be understood as the phase factors corresponding to the aforementioned M reference signal ports' antenna ports. These phase factors can be used to adjust the phase of the aforementioned M antenna ports.

[0138] For example, the network device sends first indication information, which indicates the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information. Based on the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports and the correspondence between the M reference signal ports and the M antenna ports, the terminal device can adjust the phases of the M antenna ports so that when receiving downlink signals (or downlink data) through the M antenna ports, the signals can be superimposed, thereby increasing the power of the received signal. The correspondence between the M reference signal ports and the M antenna ports can be predefined, configured, or pre-configured, or it can be determined by the terminal itself as an implementation behavior; this application does not limit this.

[0139] For example, taking SRS ports as an example, the network device sends indication information 1, which indicates the phase factors corresponding to the eight SRS ports, which correspond to eight antenna ports. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the indication information 1. Then, based on the phase factors corresponding to the eight SRS ports and the correspondence between the eight SRS ports and the eight antenna ports, the terminal device adjusts the phase of the eight antenna ports and receives downlink signals through these eight antenna ports.

[0140] It should be understood that the aforementioned phase factor can describe phase changes used to adjust the phase of the antenna port. Optionally, the aforementioned phase factor describes the amount of phase adjustment at the antenna port, rather than describing a specific value of the phase at the antenna port. The aforementioned phase factor can be expressed in complex form, such as eiθ, where i is the imaginary unit and θ is the phase angle. The aforementioned phase factor can also be called a phase adjustment factor, or other names, and its name is not limited in this application.

[0141] It should also be understood that the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports are used to adjust the phases of the M antenna ports. Alternatively, the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports can be used to adjust the phases of K antenna ports out of the M antenna ports, where K is less than M and K is an integer. That is, the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports are used to adjust the phases of some of the M antenna ports. For example, one possible scenario is that (MK) of the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports have a value of 0, meaning that there is no need to adjust the phases of the antenna ports corresponding to the (MK) reference signal ports. In this case, the terminal device only needs to adjust the phases of the K antenna ports. Optionally, the first indication information may not indicate the phase factors corresponding to the (MK) reference signal ports.

[0142] It should also be understood that the above example, which uses the network device indicating the phase factor of the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port (i.e., the aforementioned M antenna ports) to the terminal device, should not constitute any limitation on this application. For example, in some implementations, the network device may also indicate the phase factor of the reference signal port corresponding to L antenna ports of the terminal device, where the L antenna ports include the aforementioned M antenna ports, and L>M, where L is an integer. Optionally, the aforementioned L antenna ports may be, for example, the maximum number of antenna ports that the terminal device can use.

[0143] Optionally, in the embodiments of this application, the antenna port used by the terminal device can be understood as the antenna port used by the terminal device when receiving downlink signals (or downlink data).

[0144] In step 320, the network device sends downlink signals, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the downlink signals through the aforementioned M antenna ports.

[0145] For example, the terminal device can adjust the phase of all or part of the M antenna ports according to the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports and the correspondence between the M reference signal ports and the M antenna ports, and then receive downlink signals through the M antenna ports.

[0146] In the above method 300, the network device can instruct the terminal device on the phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports, so that the terminal device can adjust the phase of all or part of the antenna ports among the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports. By adjusting the phase of all or part of the antenna ports among the M antenna ports, the signals can be superimposed when the terminal device receives downlink signals through the M antenna ports, thereby improving the power of the received signal.

[0147] Optionally, the method 300 further includes: before the network device sends the first indication information, the terminal device sends an uplink reference signal (such as SRS, DMRS) through the M antenna ports, and the network device receives the uplink reference signal. Further, the network device can determine the phase factor corresponding to the M reference signal ports based on the uplink reference signal.

[0148] By sending an uplink reference signal through the terminal device, the network device can measure the channel quality corresponding to the M antenna ports based on the uplink reference signal, and then determine the phase factor corresponding to the M antenna ports. For example, when this method is applied to a TDD system, due to the reciprocity of uplink and downlink channels, the phase factor determined based on the uplink reference signal can be used for downlink signal reception. In other words, the terminal device can adjust the phase of all or some of the M antenna ports based on the phase factor, so that when receiving downlink signals through the M antenna ports, the signals can be superimposed, thereby improving the power of the received signal.

[0149] It should be understood that the above example uses the terminal device transmitting uplink reference signals using antenna ports (i.e., the aforementioned M antenna ports), but this should not constitute any limitation on this application. For example, in some implementations, the terminal device can use more antenna ports (e.g., L antenna ports, L>M) to transmit uplink reference signals, where the L antenna ports include the M antenna ports. Optionally, the aforementioned L antenna ports may be, for example, the maximum number of antenna ports that the terminal device can use.

[0150] In one possible implementation, the method 300 shown in FIG3 further includes: before the terminal device transmits the uplink reference signal, the network device transmits eighth indication information, which indicates at least one set of reference signal resources configured for the uplink reference signal. The at least one set of reference signal resources may be configured based on the maximum number of antenna ports that the terminal device can use, or it may be configured according to the number of antenna ports used by the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the aforementioned eighth indication information.

[0151] A set of reference signal resources may include at least one reference signal resource. A reference signal resource corresponds to at least one reference signal port. A reference signal port can be considered as a division of the reference signal resource. For example, a reference signal resource may correspond to at least one reference signal port, such as 1, 2, or 4. A reference signal port corresponds to an antenna port of a terminal device, or in other words, a reference signal port corresponds to an antenna of a terminal device.

[0152] One possible design is that the network device can configure at least one set of reference signal resources based on the number of antenna ports used by the terminal device, such that the number of reference signal ports corresponding to the reference signal resources included in the at least one set of reference signal resources is equal to the number of antenna ports used by the terminal device. This design can be applied, for example, to scenarios where the network device and the terminal device agree on the number of antenna ports to be used.

[0153] Another possible design is that the network device can also configure at least one set of reference signal resources based on the maximum number of antenna ports that the terminal device can use, such that the number of reference signal ports corresponding to the reference signal resources included in the at least one set of reference signal resources is equal to the maximum number of antenna ports that the terminal device can use. This design can, for example, be applied to scenarios where the network device and the terminal device have not reached an agreement on the number of antenna ports to be used.

[0154] By instructing the terminal device to provide at least one set of reference signal resources through the network device, the terminal device can transmit uplink reference signals based on this set. This allows the network device to determine the phase factors corresponding to the aforementioned M reference signal ports based on the uplink reference signals. Furthermore, configuring the at least one set of reference signal resources based on the maximum number of antenna ports the terminal device can use or the number of antenna ports used by the terminal device helps reduce the possibility of configuring too many or too few reference signal resources, ensuring full utilization of the reference signal resources and improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0155] Optionally, the terminal device and the network device can agree on the number of antenna ports to use before the terminal device sends the uplink reference signal.

[0156] In one possible implementation, the terminal device reports the number of antenna ports used. Exemplarily, the method 300 shown in FIG3 further includes: the terminal device sending sixth indication information indicating a first quantity, which is the number of antenna ports used by the terminal device. Accordingly, the network device receives the aforementioned sixth indication information. It is understood that the terminal device may also implicitly indicate the number of antenna ports used through the second and / or fifth indication information described below; a detailed explanation can be found below, and will not be repeated here.

[0157] Another possible implementation is that the terminal device reports the maximum number of antenna ports that can be used. Optionally, the network device can indicate the number of antenna ports to be used to the terminal device. For example, the method 300 shown in FIG3 further includes: the terminal device sending sixth indication information, which indicates a first number, the first number being the maximum number of antenna ports that the terminal device can use. Accordingly, the network device receives the sixth indication information. Optionally, the network device, based on the sixth indication information, indicates the antenna ports to be used to the terminal device. For example, the network device sends seventh indication information, which indicates the antenna ports used by the terminal device, and these used antenna ports belong to the aforementioned M antenna ports. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the seventh indication information.

[0158] Optionally, the terminal device may use a maximum of the following antenna ports: a first antenna port on a first frequency band and a second antenna port on a second frequency band. The first frequency band is the frequency band in which the terminal device receives the downlink signal, and the second frequency band is different from the first frequency band.

[0159] In other words, the terminal device can use a maximum of both antenna ports on the currently used first frequency band and antenna ports on the borrowed second frequency band. Alternatively, the terminal device can use a maximum of both antennas corresponding to the antenna ports on the currently used first frequency band (optionally, there is a one-to-one correspondence between antenna ports and antennas) and antennas corresponding to the antenna ports on the borrowed second frequency band. This allows for an increase in the number of receiving antennas without increasing the number of antennas deployed, thereby improving the power of the received signal from the terminal device.

[0160] Optionally, the terminal device may not borrow the RF link corresponding to the antenna port on the second frequency band. The borrowed antenna port can share the RF link with the antenna port on the first frequency band. On the one hand, this can reduce the power consumption caused by borrowing the RF link, and on the other hand, it can help avoid the performance loss caused by the non-ideal nature of the RF device on different frequency bands.

[0161] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the maximum number of antenna ports that the terminal device provided in the embodiments of this application can use.

[0162] As shown in Figure 4, the terminal device can use a maximum of 8 antenna ports, of which 4 are antenna ports on the first frequency band and the other 4 are antenna ports on the second frequency band. Alternatively, the terminal device can use a maximum of 8 antennas, of which 4 are antennas on the first frequency band and the other 4 are antennas on the second frequency band.

[0163] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the antenna port of the shared radio frequency link provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0164] As shown in Figure 5, the terminal device has 4 antenna ports (or original antenna ports) in the first frequency band and 4 antenna ports (or borrowed antenna ports) in the second frequency band, for a maximum of 8 antenna ports that the terminal device can use. Among these 8 antenna ports, the antenna ports in the first and second frequency bands share the same RF link. In other words, the terminal device can avoid borrowing the RF link corresponding to the antenna ports in the second frequency band. This reduces power consumption caused by borrowing RF links and helps avoid performance loss due to the non-ideal characteristics of RF devices in different frequency bands.

[0165] In one possible implementation, the sixth indication information above also indicates the second frequency band, or at least one frequency band of the second antenna port above can be used, which includes the second frequency band.

[0166] In other words, the terminal device can also indicate to the network device the second frequency band corresponding to the borrowed second antenna port, or it can use at least one frequency band, including the second frequency band, of the aforementioned second antenna port. By indicating the aforementioned second frequency band or the use of at least one frequency band of the aforementioned second antenna port by the terminal device, the network device can perform scheduling based on this information.

[0167] For example, when a network device sends downlink signals to a terminal device on the first frequency band but not on the second frequency band, it can schedule the terminal device to use an antenna (port) on the second frequency band to receive downlink signals on the first frequency band. That is, the network device sends a seventh indication message, instructing the terminal device to use the antenna (port) on both the first and second frequency bands. For instance, the network device can perform this scheduling when it detects that the channel quality of the current terminal device on the first frequency band is better than that on the second frequency band.

[0168] The first instruction information mentioned above will be described in detail below.

[0169] Optionally, the first indication information indicates the phase factor corresponding to the M reference signal ports, including the following three possible designs:

[0170] Design 1: The first indication information mentioned above indicates the phase factor corresponding to each of the M reference signal ports.

[0171] For example, taking SRS ports as an example, if a network device receives SRS from a terminal device on 8 SRS ports, the network device indicates to the terminal device the 8 phase factors corresponding to the 8 SRS ports, with each SRS port corresponding to one phase factor.

[0172] Design 2: The first indication information mentioned above indicates the phase factor of each of the above M reference signal ports, except for the first reference signal port, relative to the first reference signal port.

[0173] The first reference signal port is one of the M reference signal ports, and can be considered as a reference port among the M reference signal ports. That is, with the first reference signal port among the M reference signal ports as a reference, the first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the M reference signal ports other than the first reference signal port relative to the first reference signal port, so that the terminal device can adjust the phase of the antenna ports corresponding to the other reference signal ports based on the phase factors corresponding to the other reference signal ports.

[0174] It should be noted that, for any of the M reference signal ports other than the first reference signal port (such as the third reference signal port), the phase factor of the third reference signal port relative to the first reference signal port can be understood as the phase factor of the antenna port corresponding to the third reference signal port relative to the antenna port corresponding to the first reference signal port. In other words, in this application, the phase factor corresponding to a reference signal port can be understood as the phase factor corresponding to the antenna port associated with the reference signal port.

[0175] For example, taking an SRS port as an example, if a network device receives an SRS from a terminal device on 8 SRS ports, the network device can use one of the 8 SRS ports as a reference port to indicate the phase factors corresponding to the other 7 SRS ports to the terminal device. Each of the other 7 SRS ports can correspond to a phase factor.

[0176] For example, each of the above 8 SRS ports corresponds to a port index. If the port indices of the above 8 SRS ports are 1 to 8 respectively, taking SRS port 1 as a reference, the network device can indicate the phase factor of SRS port 2 relative to SRS port 1, the phase factor of SRS port 3 relative to SRS port 1, the phase factor of SRS port 4 relative to SRS port 1, etc. to the terminal device, which will not be listed here.

[0177] It should be understood that, in this application, the port indexes corresponding to the above 8 SRS ports may be indexed in chronological order or in ascending order of port number.

[0178] By using one of the aforementioned M reference signal ports as the reference port, the first indication information only needs to indicate the phase factor of the other reference signal ports relative to the reference port. This allows the signaling to carry fewer phase factors, thus reducing signaling overhead. Furthermore, it reduces the number of antenna ports that the terminal device needs to adjust the phase for, thereby reducing processing complexity and power consumption.

[0179] Optionally, the aforementioned reference port (such as the first reference signal port) may be predefined, configured, or pre-configured, and this application does not limit this.

[0180] It is understood that when the first indication information indicates the phase factor of the other reference signal ports among the M reference signal ports (excluding the reference port) relative to the reference port, it does not contradict the first indication information indicating the phase factor corresponding to the M reference signal ports. For example, it can be considered that the first indication information indicates that the phase factor corresponding to the reference port is zero, or it can be considered that the number of phase factors corresponding to the M reference signal ports is equal to the difference between the number of the M reference signal ports and the number of reference ports.

[0181] In one possible implementation, the M reference signal ports mentioned above belong to at least one reference signal port group, and each reference signal port group in the at least one reference signal port group includes at least one reference signal port.

[0182] In this context, a reference signal port group can be understood as a set of at least one reference signal port, or as a group of at least one reference signal port, or as a combination of at least one reference signal port, etc., and this application does not limit it in this way.

[0183] Optionally, in this application, at least one antenna port corresponding to at least one reference signal port belonging to the same reference signal port group can share a radio frequency link. This helps reduce the overhead of the radio frequency link and lower the cost of the terminal equipment. In addition, the downlink signals received by the antenna ports corresponding to the reference signal ports belonging to the same reference signal port group can be superimposed, which helps to improve the power of the received signal.

[0184] It should be understood that in the embodiments of this application, the antenna ports share a common radio frequency link, which can be understood as the antennas corresponding to the antenna ports sharing a common radio frequency link.

[0185] For example, taking SRS ports as an example, the above M reference signal ports include 8 SRS ports, and the port indices corresponding to these 8 SRS ports are 1 to 8 respectively. These 8 SRS ports belong to at least one SRS port group. For example, SRS port 1 and SRS port 5 belong to one SRS port group, SRS port 2 and SRS port 6 belong to one SRS port group, SRS port 3 and SRS port 7 belong to one SRS port group, and SRS port 4 and SRS port 8 belong to one SRS port group. That is to say, the above 8 SRS ports belong to 4 SRS port groups.

[0186] It should be noted that reference signal ports belonging to the same reference signal port group may include reference signal ports corresponding to antenna ports on the first frequency band and reference signal ports corresponding to antenna ports on the second frequency band, or they may all be reference signal ports corresponding to antenna ports on the first frequency band, or they may all be reference signal ports corresponding to antenna ports on the second frequency band.

[0187] For example, among the above 8 SRS ports, the antenna ports corresponding to SRS ports 1 to 4 are antenna ports on the first frequency band, and the antenna ports corresponding to SRS ports 5 to 8 are antenna ports on the second frequency band. Each SRS port group includes an SRS port corresponding to an antenna port on the first frequency band and an SRS port corresponding to an antenna port on the second frequency band. For example, SRS ports 1 and 5 belong to one SRS port group, SRS ports 2 and 6 belong to one SRS port group, SRS ports 3 and 7 belong to one SRS port group, and SRS ports 4 and 8 belong to one SRS port group.

[0188] As previously mentioned, antenna ports corresponding to reference signal ports belonging to the same reference signal port group can share the RF link. In the above scheme, the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports on the first frequency band and the reference signal ports corresponding to the (borrowed) antenna ports on the second frequency band form a reference signal port group. In this way, the antenna ports on the second frequency band and the antenna ports on the first frequency band can share the RF link. As a result, the terminal device does not need to borrow the RF link corresponding to the antenna port on the second frequency band. On the one hand, this can reduce the power consumption caused by borrowing the RF link, and on the other hand, it helps to avoid the performance loss caused by the non-ideal nature of RF devices in different frequency bands.

[0189] When the aforementioned M reference signal ports belong to at least one reference signal port group, the network device can indicate the phase factor corresponding to the aforementioned M reference signal ports through the following design three.

[0190] Design 3: The first reference signal port group includes N reference signal ports. The first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the N reference signal ports, except for the second reference signal port, relative to the second reference signal port. The first reference signal port group is one of the at least one reference signal port group, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0191] The aforementioned second reference signal port is one of the N reference signal ports in the aforementioned first reference signal port group, and this second reference signal port can be considered as a reference port in the first reference signal port group. That is, for one of the reference signal port groups mentioned above, the network device can use one of the reference signal ports in the reference signal port group as a reference to indicate the phase factor of other reference signal ports in the reference signal port group relative to the reference port to the terminal device.

[0192] For example, taking SRS ports as an example, the above M reference signal ports include 8 SRS ports. If the port indices corresponding to these 8 SRS ports are 1 to 8, these 8 SRS ports belong to 4 SRS port groups. For example, SRS port 1 and SRS port 5 belong to one SRS port group, SRS port 2 and SRS port 6 belong to another SRS port group, SRS port 3 and SRS port 7 belong to another SRS port group, and SRS port 4 and SRS port 8 belong to another SRS port group. Each of the above 4 SRS port groups... Using an SRS port as a reference, such as SRS port 1, SRS port 2, SRS port 3, and SRS port 4, the network device can indicate to the terminal device the phase factor of SRS port 5 relative to SRS port 1 (which can be understood as the phase factor of the antenna port corresponding to SRS port 5 relative to the antenna port corresponding to SRS port 1, which will not be explained in detail below), the phase factor of SRS port 6 relative to SRS port 2, the phase factor of SRS port 7 relative to SRS port 3, and the phase factor of SRS port 8 relative to SRS port 4. This reduces the number of phase factors carried in the signaling, thus reducing signaling overhead. Additionally, it reduces the number of antenna ports that the terminal device needs to adjust the phase for, thereby reducing the processing complexity and power consumption of the terminal device.

[0193] It should be understood that when N=1, that is, when the first reference signal port group includes 1 reference signal port, the first indication information may indicate the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal port, or it may not indicate the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal port.

[0194] It should also be understood that when the above M reference signal ports are divided into at least one reference signal port group, the network device may also indicate to the terminal device the phase factor corresponding to each of the above M reference signal ports, that is, adopt design one; or, it may take one of the above M reference signal ports as a reference and indicate to the terminal device the phase factor of other reference signal ports relative to that reference port, that is, adopt design two. This application does not limit this.

[0195] Optionally, the reference port (such as the second reference signal port) in each of the at least one reference signal port group can be predefined, configured, or pre-configured, and this application does not limit this.

[0196] As previously mentioned, in some implementations, the network device can also indicate the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal port associated with the L antenna ports of the terminal device, where the L antenna ports include the aforementioned M antenna ports, and L>M. Optionally, the L antenna ports can be, for example, the maximum number of antenna ports that the terminal device can use. In this case, the network device can still use the methods described in Design 1, Design 2, and Design 3 to indicate the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal port associated with the L antenna ports of the terminal device, which will not be elaborated here.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the method 300 shown in FIG3 further includes: the terminal device sending second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate one or more reference signal port groups, the one or more reference signal port groups including the aforementioned at least one reference signal port group. Accordingly, the network device receives the aforementioned second indication information.

[0198] In other words, the terminal device can report one or more reference signal port groups to the network device, and then the network device can indicate to the terminal device at least one of the one or more reference signal port groups, and indicate the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal port in the at least one reference signal port group.

[0199] Example 1, using SRS ports as an example, assume there are 8 SRS ports, with port indices 1 to 8. The terminal device can report one or more of the following SRS port groups to the network device: (SRS port 1, SRS port 2), (SRS port 1, SRS port 3), (SRS port 1, SRS port 4), (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 1, SRS port 7), (SRS port 1, SRS port 8), (SRS port 2, SRS port 3), (SRS port 2, SRS port 4), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 7), (SRS port 1, SRS port 8), (SRS port 2, SRS port 3), (SRS port 2, SRS port 4), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 8), (SRS port 2, SRS port 3), (SRS port 2, SRS port 4), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 7 ... SRS port 7), (SRS port 2, SRS port 8), (SRS port 3, SRS port 4), (SRS port 3, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 3, SRS port 8), (SRS port 4, SRS port 5), (SRS port 4, SRS port 6), (SRS port 4, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8), (SRS port 5, SRS port 6), (SRS port 5, SRS port 7), (SRS port 5, SRS port 8), (SRS port 6, SRS port 7), (SRS port 6, SRS port 8), (SRS port 7, SRS port 8). The network device indicates at least one SRS port group to the terminal device, such as (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8), and indicates the phase factor corresponding to the above 8 SRS ports to the terminal device.

[0200] As previously mentioned, antenna ports corresponding to reference signal ports belonging to the same reference signal port group share a common radio frequency link. Optionally, in some implementations, the terminal device reports one or more reference signal port groups, which can be understood as reporting multiple shared radio frequency link modes. The network device instructs the terminal device to indicate at least one of these one or more reference signal port groups, which can be understood as indicating a recommended shared radio frequency link mode.

[0201] It is understood that the above example is merely an example and should not constitute any limitation on this application. In practical applications, terminal devices may report more or fewer SRS port groups, and this application does not limit this.

[0202] In one possible design, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups can be different combinations of reference signal ports used by the terminal device. That is, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups are different combinations of reference signal ports corresponding to the M antenna ports used by the terminal device. For example, the reference signal ports used by the terminal device include: SRS port 1, SRS port 5, SRS port 2, and SRS port 6. In Example 1, the terminal device can report the SRS port groups: (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), and (SRS port 2, SRS port 5).

[0203] It should be understood that, based on the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports used by the terminal equipment, including SRS port 1, SRS port 5, SRS port 2, and SRS port 6, (SRS port 1, SRS port 5) and (SRS port 2, SRS port 6) are one combination of reference signal ports, and (SRS port 1, SRS port 6) and (SRS port 2, SRS port 5) are another combination of reference signal ports.

[0204] It should also be understood that the one or more reference signal port groups reported above are different combinations of reference signal ports used by the terminal device. This can be understood as the terminal device reporting multiple modes of shared radio frequency links in the antenna ports in use.

[0205] In another possible design, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups can be a combination of reference signal ports used by the terminal device. That is, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups are a combination of reference signal ports corresponding to the M antenna ports used by the terminal device. For example, the reference signal ports used by the terminal device include: SRS port 1, SRS port 5, SRS port 2, and SRS port 6. In Example 1, the terminal device reports the SRS port group: (SRS port 1, SRS port 5) and (SRS port 2, SRS port 6).

[0206] As mentioned earlier, at this time the terminal device only reports one combination of reference signal ports, which can be understood as instructing the network device to share a radio frequency link in the antenna ports used by the terminal device, such as the mode adopted by the terminal device.

[0207] In another possible design, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups can also be different combinations of reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports most frequently used by the terminal device. For example, the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports most frequently used by the terminal device include: SRS port 1 to SRS port 8. In Example 1, the terminal device reports the following SRS port groups: (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8), (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 8), (SRS port 4, SRS port 7).

[0208] It should be understood that, based on the reference signal ports (including SRS ports 1 to 8) corresponding to the antenna ports used by the terminal equipment, (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), and (SRS port 4, SRS port 8) are one combination of reference signal ports; and (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 8), and (SRS port 4, SRS port 7) are another combination of reference signal ports.

[0209] It should also be understood that the one or more reference signal port groups reported above are different combinations of the most available reference signal ports for the terminal device. This can be understood as the terminal device reporting multiple modes of shared radio frequency links among the most available antenna ports.

[0210] In another possible design, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups can also be a combination of reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports most frequently used by the terminal device. For example, the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports most frequently used by the terminal device include: SRS port 1 to SRS port 8. In Example 1, the terminal device reports the SRS port groups: (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8).

[0211] As mentioned earlier, at this time the terminal device only reports one combination of reference signal ports, which can be understood as instructing the network device to share the radio frequency link among the most available antenna ports, such as the mode adopted by the terminal device.

[0212] It is understood that the terminal device may report the above-mentioned one or more reference signal port groups before or after an agreement is reached on the antenna port to be used, and this application does not limit this.

[0213] Optionally, in some implementations, the terminal device reports multiple combinations of reference signal ports, which can be understood as reporting multiple shared RF link modes. Subsequently, the network device can indicate a combination of reference signal ports to the terminal device, which can be understood as indicating a recommended shared RF link mode. Optionally, when the network device indicates a combination of reference signal ports to the terminal device, it can indicate the combination by indicating the reference signal port group under that combination; or it can directly indicate the combination. Detailed indication methods can be found in the description of the third indication information below. One way the terminal device reports one or more of the above-mentioned reference signal port groups is by reporting them via a bitmap.

[0214] For example, the second indication information includes at least one bitmap, each bit in the first bitmap corresponds to a reference signal port, and the reference signal ports corresponding to bits in the first bitmap that have a preset value belong to a reference signal port group. The first bitmap can be any one of the at least one bitmap. The at least one bitmap is used to indicate the one or more reference signal port groups.

[0215] A reference signal port group can correspond to a bit map. Taking the first bit map as an example, optionally, the first bit map can be the bit map corresponding to one of the at least one reference signal port groups mentioned above. Each bit in the first bit map corresponds to a reference signal port. The reference signal port corresponding to a bit with a preset value belongs to a reference signal port group. For example, the first bit map includes 0 and 1, and the reference signal port corresponding to a bit with a value of 1 belongs to a reference signal port group. However, this should not constitute any limitation on this application. For example, the reference signal port corresponding to a bit with a value of 0 can also belong to a reference signal port group.

[0216] For example, taking SRS ports 1 to 8 as examples, if the terminal device reports four SRS port groups, such as (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), and (SRS port 4, SRS port 8), the terminal device can send four bitmaps. One bit in each bitmap corresponds to one SRS port. Bits with a value of 1 correspond to SRS ports belonging to one SRS port group. The antenna ports corresponding to the SRS ports in this SRS port group total [number missing]. Using an RF link, for example, the above 4-bit bit diagram is 10001000, 01000100, 00100010, 00010001, where 10001000 indicates the SRS port group (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), 01000100 indicates the SRS port group (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), 00100010 indicates the SRS port group (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), and 00010001 indicates the SRS port group (SRS port 4, SRS port 8).

[0217] Optionally, the at least one bit map includes a bit map corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group, and the number of bit maps corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group is equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group, or equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group minus 1.

[0218] One possible example is that the number of bitmaps corresponding to at least one reference signal port group to which the aforementioned M reference signal ports belong is equal to the number of reference signal port groups. This can be applied, for example, to scenarios where the network device and the terminal device have not reached an agreement on the number of antenna ports to be used. Taking SRS ports 1 to 8 as an example, the terminal device uses the 8 antenna ports corresponding to these 8 SRS ports, and the network device and the terminal device have not reached an agreement on the number of antenna ports to be used (the aforementioned 8 SRS ports correspond to 8 antenna ports). The terminal device can then report 10001000, 01000100, 00100010, and 00010001. Here, 10001000 indicates SRS port groups (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), 01000100 indicates SRS port groups (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), 00100010 indicates SRS port groups (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), and 00010001 indicates SRS port groups (SRS port 4, SRS port 8). In this mode, it can be understood that the terminal device indicates to the network device the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports it is using, as well as the grouping of these reference signal ports, which is equivalent to implicitly indicating the antenna ports used by the terminal device.

[0219] Another possible example is that the number of bitmaps corresponding to at least one reference signal port group to which the above M reference signal ports belong is equal to the number of reference signal port groups minus 1. For example, this can be applied to scenarios where the network device and the terminal device agree on the number of antenna ports used. For example, taking SRS ports 1 to SRS ports 8 as an example, if the network device and the terminal device agree on the number of antenna ports used (the above 8 SRS ports correspond to 8 antenna ports), the terminal device can report 10001000, 01000100, 00100010, where 10001000 indicates the SRS port group (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), 01000100 indicates the SRS port group (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), and 00100010 indicates the SRS port group (SRS port 3, SRS port 7). Based on the above SRS port groups, the network device can determine that the remaining SRS ports 4 and 8 among the above 8 SRS ports belong to one SRS port group.

[0220] In one possible implementation, the second indication information is further used to indicate the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port used by the terminal device, wherein the used antenna port belongs to the M antenna ports, or in other words, the used antenna port is one of the M antenna ports.

[0221] For example, the second indication information indicates at least one group of reference signal ports to which the aforementioned M reference signal ports belong. This is equivalent to indicating both the M reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports used by the terminal device and the grouping of the M reference signal ports; that is, by indicating the M reference signal ports corresponding to the M antenna ports used, the M antenna ports used are implicitly indicated. Furthermore, the second indication information can also implicitly indicate the number of antenna ports used.

[0222] For example, taking SRS ports 1 through 8 as an example, if a terminal device indicates the following SRS port groups to the network device: (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), it means that the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports used by the terminal device are SRS ports 1, 5, 2, 6, 3, and 7. Since there is a one-to-one correspondence between the reference signal ports and the antenna ports, the antenna ports used can be implicitly indicated. Additionally, the number of antenna ports used can also be implicitly indicated.

[0223] The above method of indicating the antenna port used eliminates the need for the terminal device to separately indicate the antenna port through signaling, which helps reduce signaling overhead.

[0224] Furthermore, it should be understood that the method of implicitly indicating the antenna port used and the specific design scheme of the second indication information are decoupled; that is, the second indication information can adopt the bit map design scheme mentioned above, or other design schemes. Regardless of the design scheme, the antenna port used can be implicitly indicated.

[0225] It should also be understood that, optionally, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups may be predefined / preconfigured. In this case, the terminal device sending the second indication information may be to indicate the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port used, and the grouping of the aforementioned reference signal ports (i.e., the case where the antenna ports share the RF link). For example, the predefined / preconfigured one or more reference signal port groups include two combinations of reference signal ports: the first combination includes (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), and the second combination includes (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 8), and (SRS port 4, SRS port 7). Optionally, the second indication information may include only one bit to indicate which combination the terminal device uses, for example, indicating the use of the first combination, that is, indicating that the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports used by the terminal device are SRS port 1, SRS port 5, SRS port 2, and SRS port 6, and the corresponding grouping. It should be understood that, optionally, the second indication information can also reuse the bitmap indication method described above, and this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0226] Optionally, the method 300 shown in FIG3 further includes: the network device sending third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate the at least one reference signal port group, and correspondingly, the terminal device receiving the third indication information.

[0227] For example, the terminal device indicates one or more reference signal port groups to the network device, and the network device indicates at least one reference signal port group actually in use to the terminal device, and indicates the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal port in the at least one reference signal port group. For example, the terminal device reports one or more SRS port groups as shown in Example 1 to the network device, and the network device indicates at least one SRS port group in the one or more SRS port groups to the terminal device, such as (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8). It should be understood that the at least one SRS port group is merely an example and should not constitute any limitation on this application.

[0228] It should be understood that the M reference signal ports included in at least one reference signal port group indicated by the network device to the terminal device cannot have the same reference signal port. For example, as in the above example, the network device cannot simultaneously indicate (SRS port 1, SRS port 5) and (SRS port 1, SRS port 6) to the terminal device, because both SRS port groups include SRS port 1. Optionally, the third indication information can also be designed using a bitmap. Specific details can be found in the relevant content of the second indication information, and will not be elaborated here.

[0229] Optionally, the third indication information may indicate the antenna port, such as the antenna port recommended by the network device for the terminal device after calculation, and / or a shared radio frequency link mode, such as the shared radio frequency link mode recommended by the network device for the terminal device. For details, please refer to the relevant content of the second indication information, which will not be repeated here.

[0230] Optionally, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups can also be predefined / preconfigured. In this case, the network device sends third indication information, which may be to indicate the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port recommended for use by the terminal device and / or the recommended combination of reference signal ports (or the mode of recommended antenna ports sharing the RF link). For example, the predefined / preconfigured one or more reference signal port groups include two combinations of reference signal ports: the first combination includes (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), and (SRS port 4, SRS port 8); the second combination includes (SRS port 1, SRS port 6) and (SRS port 2, SRS port 5). Optionally, the third indication information may include only one bit to indicate which combination the terminal device uses. For example, it may indicate the use of the first combination, which means that the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports recommended for use by the terminal device are SRS port 1, SRS port 5, SRS port 2, SRS port 6, SRS port 3, SRS port 7, SRS port 4, and SRS port 8, as well as the recommended combination (or the recommended shared RF link mode). It is understood that the third indication information may also include more bits. If there are more possibilities for the combination of reference signal ports, the third indication information may include more bits to indicate the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports recommended for use by the network device and / or the recommended combination of reference signal ports. It is also understood that the third indication information may be indicated using a bitmap method; for details, please refer to the relevant content of the second indication information, which will not be elaborated here.

[0231] Optionally, when the terminal device reports one or more reference signal port groups that consist of M reference signal ports used by the terminal device, and only one combination of these M reference signal ports is reported, the network device does not need to send third indication information to the terminal device. That is, the network device does not need to indicate to the terminal device which combination to use. For example, if the SRS ports corresponding to the antenna ports used by the terminal device are SRS ports 1 to SRS ports 8, and the SRS port groups to which these 8 SRS ports belong are (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), and (SRS port 4, SRS port 8), and the terminal device reports the above 4 SRS port groups, then the network device does not need to indicate the above 4 SRS port groups to the terminal device.

[0232] In one possible design, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups include multiple reference signal port grouping modes, and the aforementioned second indication information is also used to indicate the multiple reference signal port grouping modes.

[0233] The above-mentioned reference signal port grouping method can also be understood as a reference signal port combination method. Under a reference signal port combination method, there is a reference signal port combination, which includes at least one reference signal port group.

[0234] In other words, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups are reference signal port groups under different reference signal port grouping methods. The terminal device can also indicate to the network device which reference signal port groups are reference signal port groups under the same reference signal port grouping method. It can be understood that reference signal port groups under the same reference signal port grouping method do not contain identical reference signal ports. For example, (SRS port 1, SRS port 5) and (SRS port 1, SRS port 6) both include SRS port 1; therefore, these two SRS port groups cannot be reference signal port groups under the same reference signal port grouping method.

[0235] For example, one or more SRS port groups reported by the terminal device are: (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8), (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8), wherein (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8) belong to one (or a kind of) reference signal port grouping mode of SRS port 1 to SRS port 8, (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8) 6) (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8) belong to another reference signal port grouping method of SRS port 1 to SRS port 8. The terminal device can also indicate to the network device that (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8) is a reference signal port group under one reference signal port grouping method, and (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8) is a reference signal port group under another reference signal port grouping method.

[0236] By having the terminal device report one or more reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping methods, the network device can determine the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal port under different reference signal port grouping methods. This facilitates the determination of a superior reference signal port grouping method and the corresponding phase factor of the reference signal port under that grouping method. When this method is applied to a TDD system, due to the reciprocity of uplink and downlink channels, the terminal device can adjust the shared RF link mode and the phase of all or some of the M antenna ports based on the aforementioned superior reference signal port grouping method and the corresponding phase factor of the reference signal port under that grouping method. As a result, when receiving downlink signals through the aforementioned M antenna ports, the signals can be superimposed, thereby improving the quality of the received signal.

[0237] Optionally, which reference signal port groups belong to the same reference signal port grouping method can also be predefined. For example, the first to fourth reference signal port groups can be predefined as belonging to one reference signal port grouping method, and the fifth to eighth reference signal port groups can be predefined as belonging to another reference signal port grouping method. In this case, the second indication information does not need to additionally indicate the grouping method of the reference signal ports.

[0238] It should be understood that in the above example, when the terminal device reports one or more reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping methods, it may include duplicate reference signal port groups. For example, under different reference signal port grouping methods, SRS port 3 and SRS port 7 both belong to one SRS port group, and SRS port 4 and SRS port 8 both belong to one SRS port group. These two SRS port groups (SRS port 3, SRS port 7) and (SRS port 4, SRS port 8) can be reported repeatedly, but this should not constitute any limitation on this application. For example, when the reference signal ports all belong to the same reference signal port group under different reference signal port grouping methods, the terminal device may report the reference signal port group only once.

[0239] When a terminal device reports only one reference signal port grouping method, or in other words, when a terminal device reports a reference signal port group under a reference signal port grouping method, the terminal device and network device use the reference signal port grouping method by default. The terminal device or network device may not specify the reference signal port grouping method to be used.

[0240] When a terminal device reports multiple reference signal port grouping methods, it needs to determine the reference signal port grouping method to be used. One possible implementation is that the network device indicates the reference signal port grouping method to be used. For example, the method 300 shown in FIG3 further includes: the network device sending fourth indication information, which is used to indicate a first reference signal port grouping method, which is one of the multiple reference signal port grouping methods mentioned above.

[0241] In other words, when a terminal device indicates multiple reference signal port grouping methods to a network device, the network device can indicate one of those multiple reference signal port grouping methods to the terminal device. The reference signal port grouping method indicated by the network device can be the reference signal port grouping method used by the terminal device. In other words, the terminal device can receive downlink signals based on the phase factors corresponding to the reference signal ports included in the reference signal port group under that reference signal port grouping method. For example, by adjusting the phase of the antenna port corresponding to the reference signal port under that reference signal port grouping method, the downlink signals received by the antenna ports corresponding to the reference signal ports in the same reference signal port group can be superimposed, which is beneficial to improving the power of the received signal.

[0242] Optionally, when the terminal device receives the reference signal port grouping method indicated by the network device, it will adjust the shared radio frequency link mode accordingly.

[0243] Another possible implementation is that the terminal device indicates the reference signal port grouping method used. Exemplarily, the method 300 shown in FIG3 further includes: the terminal device sending fifth indication information, which indicates a second reference signal port grouping method, the second reference signal port grouping method being one of the aforementioned plurality of reference signal port grouping methods. Accordingly, the network device receives the aforementioned fifth indication information.

[0244] For example, the terminal device indicates to the network device multiple SRS port groups under multiple SRS port grouping modes through the second indication information. For instance, the second indication information indicates (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8), (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8), and indicates to the network device that (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8) is a reference signal port group under one SRS port grouping mode, and (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8) is a reference signal port group under another SRS port grouping mode. The terminal device can also indicate one of the two SRS port grouping methods mentioned above to the network device through the fifth indication information. For example, each SRS port grouping method corresponds to a grouping method index, and the terminal device can indicate the grouping method index to the network device.

[0245] In one possible implementation, the fifth indication information is further used to indicate the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port used by the terminal device, wherein the used antenna port belongs to the M antenna ports, or in other words, the used antenna port is one of the M antenna ports.

[0246] For example, when the second indication information indicates one or more reference signal port groups under a plurality of reference signal port grouping methods, the fifth indication information can also implicitly indicate the antenna ports used by indicating one of the reference signal port grouping methods (such as the second reference signal port grouping method). That is, by indicating the second reference signal port grouping method, the fifth indication information implicitly indicates the antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports included in at least one reference signal port group under the second reference signal port grouping method, i.e., the antenna ports used. In addition, the fifth indication information can also indicate the number of antenna ports used.

[0247] For example, taking SRS ports 1 to 8 as an example, the terminal device indicates the following SRS port groups to the network device through the second indication information: (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), where (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6) is a reference signal port group under one grouping mode, and (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5) is a reference signal port group under another grouping mode. That is, it indicates the SRS port group under two SRS port grouping modes, and the terminal device indicates one of the SRS port grouping modes through the fifth indication information, such as (SRS port 1, SRS port 5) or (SRS port 2, SRS port 6). This indicates that the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports used by the terminal device are SRS port 1, SRS port 5, SRS port 2, and SRS port 6. Since the reference signal ports and antenna ports correspond one-to-one, the antenna ports used can be implicitly indicated. In addition, the number of antenna ports used can also be implicitly indicated.

[0248] For example, the terminal device indicates the following SRS port groups to the network device through the second indication information: (SRS port 1, SRS port 5), (SRS port 2, SRS port 6), (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8), where (SRS port 1, SRS port 5) and (SRS port 2, SRS port 6) are reference signal port groups under one packet mode, and (SRS port 1, SRS port 6), (SRS port 2, SRS port 5), (SRS port 3, SRS port 7), (SRS port 4, SRS port 8) are reference signal port groups under another packet mode. That is, it indicates the SRS port group under two SRS port grouping modes, and the terminal device indicates one of the SRS port grouping modes through the fifth indication information, such as (SRS port 1, SRS port 5) or (SRS port 2, SRS port 6). This indicates that the reference signal ports corresponding to the antenna ports used by the terminal device are SRS port 1, SRS port 5, SRS port 2, and SRS port 6. Since the reference signal ports and antenna ports correspond one-to-one, the antenna ports used can be implicitly indicated. In addition, the number of antenna ports used can also be implicitly indicated.

[0249] The above method of indicating the antenna port used eliminates the need for the terminal device to separately indicate the antenna port through signaling, which helps reduce signaling overhead.

[0250] Similarly, network devices can also indicate to terminal devices the antenna ports used and / or the number of antenna ports used via third and / or fourth indication information.

[0251] For example, when the second indication information indicates one or more reference signal port groups, the third indication information indicates the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports included in the at least one reference signal port group, i.e., the antenna ports used. Additionally, the third indication information may also indicate the number of antenna ports used.

[0252] For example, when the second indication information indicates one or more reference signal port groups under a plurality of reference signal port grouping methods, the fourth indication information can also implicitly indicate the antenna ports used by indicating one of the reference signal port grouping methods (such as the first reference signal port grouping method). That is, by indicating the first reference signal port grouping method, the fourth indication information implicitly indicates the antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports included in at least one reference signal port group under the first reference signal port grouping method, i.e., the antenna ports used. In addition, the fourth indication information can also indicate the number of antenna ports used.

[0253] It is understandable that, optionally, if the uplink and downlink channels are not reciprocal, such as in an FDD system, the downlink channel quality cannot be determined by the uplink reference signal sent by the terminal device, and thus the terminal device cannot use the phase factor determined based on the uplink reference signal to receive the downlink signal.

[0254] Therefore, this application also provides a signal transmission method, in which a terminal device can receive multiple reference signals based on various reception modes and determine a better reception mode to receive downlink signals, thereby improving the power of the received signals. Alternatively, in a single CSI report, the terminal device sends multiple CSIs associated with the aforementioned multiple reference signals, so that when the network device schedules multiple terminal devices, it can instruct the terminal devices to use a reception mode, thereby improving the flexibility of scheduling.

[0255] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating another signal transmission method 600 provided in an embodiment of this application. This method 600 can be applied, for example, to a communication system 200, and includes the following steps:

[0256] In step 610, the network device sends multiple reference signals, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the multiple reference signals based on multiple receiving modes.

[0257] The aforementioned reference signals can be any of the following: channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), cell specific reference signal (CS-RS), user equipment specific reference signal (US-RS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.

[0258] For example, a network device sends multiple reference signals, and a terminal device receives the multiple reference signals based on multiple receiving modes to obtain multiple CSIs associated with the multiple reference signals.

[0259] Optionally, each of the above-mentioned multiple reception modes includes antenna port grouping and / or adjustment of the reception parameters of the antenna ports within the group. The aforementioned reception parameters may be, for example, the phase factor corresponding to the antenna port, or the phase factor corresponding to the reference signal port. The aforementioned antenna port grouping can be replaced by reference signal port grouping, or it can be understood as a mode in which antenna ports share a radio frequency link. For details regarding reference signal port groups, reference signal port grouping methods, and shared radio frequency link modes, please refer to the relevant explanations in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0260] One possible example is that each of the aforementioned multiple reception modes includes antenna port grouping. The terminal device can use antenna port groups under different antenna port grouping methods (i.e., the reference signal port grouping methods mentioned above) to receive the multiple reference signals. Antenna ports belonging to the same antenna port group share the RF link. Therefore, different antenna port grouping methods can also be understood as different modes of sharing the RF link. For example, antenna port grouping method A: (antenna port 1, antenna port 5), (antenna port 2, antenna port 6), (antenna port 3, antenna port 7), (antenna port 4, antenna port 8), and antenna port grouping method B: (antenna port 1, antenna port 6), (antenna port 2, antenna port 5), (antenna port 3, antenna port 7), (antenna port 4, antenna port 8). The terminal device can use the antenna port group under antenna port grouping method A to receive one reference signal and use the antenna port group under antenna port grouping method B to receive another reference signal.

[0261] Another possible example is that each of the aforementioned reception modes includes adjusting the phase factor of the antenna ports within a group. The terminal device can use different phase factors to adjust the phase of the antenna ports within the antenna port group, thereby receiving a downlink reference signal through that antenna port. For example, in antenna port grouping mode A: (antenna port 1, antenna port 5), (antenna port 2, antenna port 6), (antenna port 3, antenna port 7), (antenna port 4, antenna port 8), the terminal device can adjust the phase of the antenna ports within the group based on the phase factor corresponding to the antenna ports under antenna port grouping mode A, thereby receiving a reference signal through the adjusted antenna ports; in antenna port grouping mode B: (antenna port 1, antenna port 6), (antenna port 2, antenna port 5), (antenna port 3, antenna port 7), (antenna port 4, antenna port 8), the terminal device can adjust the phase of the antenna ports within the group based on the phase factor corresponding to the antenna ports under antenna port grouping mode B, thereby receiving another reference signal through the adjusted antenna ports.

[0262] In step 620, the terminal device sends multiple CSIs associated with the aforementioned multiple reference signals in a single CSI report, wherein each of the multiple CSIs corresponds one-to-one with the aforementioned multiple reception modes. Correspondingly, the network device receives multiple CSIs associated with the aforementioned multiple reference signals in a single CSI report.

[0263] Each of the above CSIs includes at least one of the following: CQI, PMI, RI, or LI.

[0264] The aforementioned CSI report can refer to a report submitted according to a CSI reporting configuration set by higher-level signaling.

[0265] Optionally, the method 600 further includes: receiving a downlink signal based on a first receiving mode, wherein the first receiving mode is one of the above-mentioned multiple receiving modes.

[0266] One possible design is that the first receiving mode is determined by the terminal device. For example, the terminal device receives the multiple reference signals based on various receiving modes to obtain multiple CSIs associated with the reference signals. The terminal device can determine the best CSI among the multiple CSIs, such as maximum CQI or maximum RI, etc. This application does not limit the standard for measuring the best CSI. The terminal device can receive downlink signals based on the receiving mode corresponding to the best CSI. Optionally, in this design, the terminal device may not need to send multiple CSIs, but instead send the best CSI in a single CSI report.

[0267] Another possible design is that the first reception mode described above is indicated by the network device. For example, in a single CSI report, the terminal device sends multiple CSIs associated with the aforementioned multiple reference signals. The network device sends a ninth indication message, which indicates the first reception mode. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the ninth indication message.

[0268] Optionally, the aforementioned ninth indication information indicates a first reference signal, the aforementioned first receiving mode is a receiving mode used by the terminal device when receiving the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is one of the aforementioned plurality of reference signals.

[0269] For example, a network device can indicate the index / identifier of a first reference signal to a terminal device. As another example, a network device can indicate the index / identifier of a reference signal resource in which the first reference signal resides, such as a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI).

[0270] Optionally, before step 610, the method 600 further includes: the terminal device sending tenth indication information, which indicates the number of reception modes supported by the terminal device. Accordingly, the network device receives the tenth indication information.

[0271] Terminal devices can report the number of supported reception modes to network devices, so that network devices can configure a set of reference signal resources for terminal devices based on the number of supported reception modes. For example, the number of reference signal resources in the set of reference signal resources configured by the network device can be equal to the number of supported reception modes of the terminal device.

[0272] It should be noted that the order of the methods listed above does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

[0273] The signal transmission method of the embodiments of this application has been described in detail above. The communication device of the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below. The communication device includes modules or units for performing each part of the above embodiments. The modules or units may be software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The following only provides a brief illustrative example of the communication device; for details of the implementation, please refer to the description of the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated below.

[0274] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 7, the communication device 700 includes a transceiver module 710.

[0275] In one possible implementation, the communication device 700 is used to implement the steps corresponding to the terminal device (an example of the first communication device) in the method 300 described above.

[0276] The transceiver module 710 is used to receive first indication information, which indicates the phase factor corresponding to M reference signal ports, which correspond to M antenna ports. The phase factor is used to adjust the phase of the M antenna ports, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The transceiver module 710 is also used to receive downlink signals through the M antenna ports.

[0277] Optionally, the communication device 700 further includes a processing module 720 for adjusting the phase of the M antenna ports based on the phase factor.

[0278] Optionally, the first indication information indicates the phase factor corresponding to each of the M reference signal ports.

[0279] Optionally, the first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the M reference signal ports, excluding the first reference signal port, relative to the first reference signal port.

[0280] Optionally, the above M reference signal ports belong to at least one reference signal port group, and each reference signal port group in the at least one reference signal port group includes at least one reference signal port.

[0281] Optionally, the first reference signal port group includes N reference signal ports, and the first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the N reference signal ports except the second reference signal port relative to the second reference signal port. The first reference signal port group is one of the at least one reference signal port group, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0282] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to transmit second indication information, which indicates one or more reference signal port groups, including the aforementioned at least one reference signal port group.

[0283] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is also configured to receive third indication information, which is used to indicate at least one of the above-mentioned reference signal port groups.

[0284] Optionally, the above-mentioned one or more reference signal port groups include reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping modes, and the above-mentioned second indication information is also used to indicate the multiple reference signal port grouping modes.

[0285] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to receive fourth indication information, which indicates a first reference signal port grouping mode, which is one of the aforementioned plurality of reference signal port grouping modes.

[0286] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to send a fifth indication information, which indicates a second reference signal port grouping mode, which is one of the aforementioned plurality of reference signal port grouping modes.

[0287] Optionally, the second indication information mentioned above includes at least one bit map, each bit in the first bit map corresponds to a reference signal port, the reference signal port corresponding to the bit in the first bit map that takes a preset value belongs to a reference signal port group, and the first bit map is any one of the at least one bit map mentioned above.

[0288] Optionally, the at least one bit map includes a bit map corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group, and the number of bit maps corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group is equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group, or equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group minus 1.

[0289] Optionally, the second and / or fifth indication information may also be used to indicate the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port used by the first communication device, wherein the antenna port used belongs to the M antenna ports (or, the antenna port used is one of the M antenna ports).

[0290] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to send a sixth indication message, which indicates a first quantity, which is the number of antenna ports used by the first communication device, or the first quantity is the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use.

[0291] Optionally, the first quantity is the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use. The method further includes receiving a seventh indication information, which indicates the antenna ports used by the first communication device, and the used antenna ports belong to the M antenna ports (or, the used antenna ports are the M antenna ports).

[0292] Optionally, the first communication device may use at most antenna ports including a first antenna port on a first frequency band and a second antenna port on a second frequency band. The first frequency band is the frequency band in which the first communication device receives downlink signals, and the second frequency band is different from the first frequency band.

[0293] Optionally, the sixth indication information may further indicate the second frequency band, or at least one frequency band of the second antenna port may be used, which includes the second frequency band.

[0294] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to receive an eighth indication information, which indicates at least one set of reference signal resources, configured based on the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use or the number of antenna ports used by the first communication device.

[0295] In another possible implementation, the communication device 700 is used to implement the steps corresponding to the network device (an example of the second communication device) in the method 300 described above.

[0296] The transceiver module 710 is used to send first indication information, which indicates the phase factors corresponding to M reference signal ports, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the transceiver module 710 is also used to send downlink signals.

[0297] Optionally, the communication device 700 further includes a processing module 720 for determining the first instruction information.

[0298] Optionally, the M reference signal ports correspond to M antenna ports, and the phase factor is used to adjust the phase of the M antenna ports.

[0299] Optionally, the first indication information indicates the phase factor corresponding to each of the M reference signal ports.

[0300] Optionally, the first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the M reference signal ports, excluding the first reference signal port, relative to the first reference signal port.

[0301] Optionally, the above M reference signal ports belong to at least one reference signal port group, and each reference signal port group in the at least one reference signal port group includes at least one reference signal port.

[0302] Optionally, the first reference signal port group includes N reference signal ports, and the first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the N reference signal ports except the second reference signal port relative to the second reference signal port. The first reference signal port group is one of the above-mentioned at least one reference signal port group, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0303] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to receive second indication information, which indicates one or more reference signal port groups, including the at least one reference signal port group mentioned above.

[0304] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to transmit third indication information, which is used to indicate at least one reference signal port group.

[0305] Optionally, the aforementioned one or more reference signal port groups include reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping modes, and the aforementioned second indication information is also used to indicate the aforementioned multiple reference signal port grouping modes.

[0306] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to send a fourth indication information, which indicates a first reference signal port grouping mode, which is one of the plurality of reference signal port grouping modes.

[0307] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to receive a fifth indication information, which indicates a second reference signal port grouping mode, which is one of the plurality of reference signal port grouping modes.

[0308] Optionally, the second indication information mentioned above includes at least one bit map, each bit in the first bit map corresponds to a reference signal port, the reference signal port corresponding to the bit in the first bit map that takes a preset value belongs to a reference signal port group, and the first bit map is any one of the at least one bit map mentioned above.

[0309] Optionally, the at least one bit map includes a bit map corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group, and the number of bit maps corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group is equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group, or equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group minus 1.

[0310] Optionally, the second and / or fifth indication information may also be used to indicate the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port used by the first communication device, wherein the used antenna port belongs to the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports.

[0311] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to receive a sixth indication information, which indicates a first quantity, which is the number of antenna ports used by the first communication device, or the first quantity is the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use.

[0312] Optionally, the first quantity is the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use. The method further includes: sending a seventh indication message, which indicates the antenna ports used by the first communication device, and the used antenna ports belong to the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports.

[0313] Optionally, the first communication device may use a maximum of two antenna ports, including a first antenna port on a first frequency band and a second antenna port on a second frequency band. The first frequency band is the frequency band in which the first communication device receives downlink signals, and the second frequency band is different from the first frequency band.

[0314] Optionally, the sixth indication information may further indicate the second frequency band, or at least one frequency band of the second antenna port may be used, which includes the second frequency band.

[0315] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to transmit an eighth indication message, which indicates at least one set of reference signal resources, configured based on the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use or the number of antenna ports used by the first communication device.

[0316] In another possible implementation, the communication device 700 is used to implement the steps corresponding to the terminal device (an example of the first communication device) in the method 600 described above.

[0317] The transceiver module 710 is used to receive multiple reference signals based on multiple receiving modes; the transceiver module 710 is also used to send multiple CSIs associated with the above-mentioned multiple reference signals in a single CSI report, wherein the multiple CSIs correspond one-to-one with the above-mentioned multiple receiving modes, and each of the multiple CSIs includes at least one of the following: CQI, PMI, RI or LI.

[0318] Optionally, the communication device 700 further includes a processing module 720 for determining the plurality of CSIs based on the plurality of reference signals.

[0319] Optionally, each of the above-mentioned multiple reception modes includes antenna port grouping and / or adjustment of reception parameters of antenna ports within the group.

[0320] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is also configured to receive downlink signals based on a first receiving mode, which is one of the aforementioned multiple receiving modes.

[0321] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is also configured to receive a ninth indication information, which indicates the aforementioned first receiving mode.

[0322] Optionally, the aforementioned ninth indication information indicates a first reference signal, the aforementioned first receiving mode is a receiving mode used by the first communication device when receiving the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is one of the aforementioned plurality of reference signals.

[0323] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is also configured to send a tenth indication information, which indicates the number of receiving modes supported by the first communication device.

[0324] In another possible implementation, the communication device 700 is used to implement the steps corresponding to the network device (an example of the second communication device) in the method 600 described above.

[0325] The transceiver module 710 is used to transmit multiple reference signals; the transceiver module 710 is also used to receive multiple CSIs associated with the multiple reference signals in a single CSI report, wherein the multiple CSIs correspond one-to-one with multiple receiving modes, and each of the multiple CSIs includes at least one of the following: CQI, PMI, RI or LI.

[0326] Optionally, each of the above-mentioned multiple reception modes includes antenna port grouping and / or adjustment of reception parameters of antenna ports within the group.

[0327] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is also configured to send a ninth indication message, which indicates a first receiving mode, which is one of the aforementioned multiple receiving modes.

[0328] Optionally, the aforementioned ninth indication information indicates a first reference signal, the first receiving mode being the receiving mode used by the first communication device when receiving the first reference signal, and the first reference signal being one of the aforementioned plurality of reference signals.

[0329] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is also configured to receive tenth indication information, which indicates the number of reception modes supported by the first communication device.

[0330] It should be understood that the communication device 700 here is embodied in the form of a functional module. The term "module" here can refer to application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electronic circuits, processors (e.g., shared processors, proprietary processors, or group processors, etc.) and memories for executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuits, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the art will understand that the communication device 700 can specifically be a terminal device or network device as described in the above embodiments. The communication device 700 can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments; to avoid repetition, these will not be described again here.

[0331] The communication device 700 described above has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method; the above functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device 700 in FIG7 can also be a chip, such as a SoC.

[0332] It should be understood that the module division in the embodiments of this application is illustrative and only represents a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments 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.

[0333] Figure 8 is another schematic block diagram of the communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0334] The communication device 800 can be a chip system, or it can be an apparatus configured with a chip system to implement the methods described in the above-described method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0335] As shown in FIG8, the communication device 800 may include a processor 810, which can be used to execute computer programs or instructions in memory to implement the steps performed by the terminal device or network device in the embodiment shown in FIG3 or FIG6.

[0336] The communication device 800 also includes a communication interface 820. The communication interface 820 can be used to communicate with other devices via a transmission medium, thereby enabling the communication device 800 to communicate with other devices. The communication interface 820 can be, for example, a transceiver, interface, pin, bus, circuit, or a device capable of transmitting and receiving functions. The processor 810 can use the communication interface 820 to input and output data and to implement the steps performed by the network device or terminal device in the embodiments shown in FIG3 or FIG6.

[0337] In one possible implementation, the communication device 800 further includes at least one memory 830 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 830 is coupled to the processor 810. The coupling in this embodiment is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, and can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 810 may operate in conjunction with the memory 830. The processor 810 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 830. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

[0338] It should be understood that the coupling in the embodiments of this application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, used for information interaction between devices, units, or modules. The processor 810 may operate in conjunction with the memory 830. The specific connection medium between the processor 810, communication interface 820, and memory 830 is not limited in the embodiments of this application. Optionally, the processor 810, communication interface 820, and memory 830 are connected via a bus 840. The bus 840 is represented by a thick line in Figure 8. The connection methods between other components are only illustrative and not intended to be limiting. The bus can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used in Figure 8, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0339] This application also provides a communication system including a network device and a terminal device as described above. In one possible implementation, the terminal device may, for example, implement the steps performed by the terminal device in the method shown in FIG3, and the network device may, for example, implement the steps performed by the network device in the method shown in FIG3; or, the terminal device may, for example, implement the steps performed by the terminal device in the method shown in FIG6, and the network device may, for example, implement the steps performed by the network device in the method shown in FIG6.

[0340] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program (also known as code or instructions) that, when run, can implement the steps executed by the network device or terminal device in the embodiments shown in FIG3 or FIG6.

[0341] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is run, it can implement the steps performed by the network device or terminal device in the embodiments shown in FIG3 or FIG6.

[0342] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by the integrated logic circuitry in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The processor can be a combination of one or more of the following: a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor unit (MPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an artificial intelligence processor (AI processor) or a neural processing unit (NPU), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly embodied in the execution of a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can reside in a mature storage medium in the field, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0343] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be a cache, random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0344] The terms "unit," "module," etc., used in this specification can be used to refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. In the embodiments of this application, "unit" and "module" have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably.

[0345] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application. In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for example, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the shown or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be through some interfaces; indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0346] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0347] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0348] In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit can be implemented entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (programs) 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 website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs, DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state drives, SSDs), etc.

[0349] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the technology, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0350] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

A signal transmission method, characterized in that, Applied to a first communication device, the method includes: Receive first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate the phase factor corresponding to M reference signal ports, the M reference signal ports correspond to M antenna ports, the phase factor is used to adjust the phase of the M antenna ports, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; Downlink signals are received through the M antenna ports. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first indication information indicates the phase factor corresponding to each of the M reference signal ports. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the M reference signal ports, excluding the first reference signal port, relative to the first reference signal port. The method as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The M reference signal ports belong to at least one reference signal port group, and each reference signal port group in the at least one reference signal port group includes at least one reference signal port. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The first reference signal port group includes N reference signal ports. The first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the N reference signal ports, except for the second reference signal port, relative to the second reference signal port. The first reference signal port group is one of the at least one reference signal port group, and N is an integer greater than 1. The method as described in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second indication message, the second indication message being used to indicate one or more reference signal port groups, the one or more reference signal port groups including the at least one reference signal port group. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive third indication information, which is used to indicate the at least one reference signal port group. The method as described in claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, The one or more reference signal port groups include reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping modes, and the second indication information is also used to indicate the multiple reference signal port grouping modes. The method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive fourth indication information, the fourth indication information being used to indicate a first reference signal port grouping method, the first reference signal port grouping method being one of the plurality of reference signal port grouping methods. The method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a fifth indication message, which is used to indicate a second reference signal port grouping method, which is one of the plurality of reference signal port grouping methods. The method as described in any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that, The second indication information includes at least one bit map, each bit in the first bit map corresponds to a reference signal port, the reference signal port corresponding to the bit in the first bit map that takes a preset value belongs to a reference signal port group, and the first bit map is any one of the at least one bit map. The method as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The at least one bit map includes the bit map corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group. The number of bit maps corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group is equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group, or equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group minus 1. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 12, characterized in that, The second indication information and / or the fifth indication information are also used to indicate the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port used by the first communication device, wherein the used antenna port belongs to the M antenna ports, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate the second reference signal port grouping method in the multiple reference signal port grouping method, wherein the reference signal port group under the multiple reference signal port grouping method includes the at least one reference signal port group. The method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a sixth indication message, the sixth indication message indicating a first quantity, the first quantity being the number of antenna ports used by the first communication device, or the first quantity being the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use. The method as described in claim 14, characterized in that, The first quantity is the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use, and the method further includes: Receive a seventh indication message, which indicates the antenna port used by the first communication device, and the used antenna port belongs to the M antenna ports. The method as described in claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The first communication device can use at most antenna ports, including a first antenna port on a first frequency band and a second antenna port on a second frequency band. The first frequency band is the frequency band in which the first communication device receives the downlink signal, and the second frequency band is different from the first frequency band. The method as described in claim 16, characterized in that, The sixth indication information also indicates the second frequency band, or at least one frequency band of the second antenna port may be used, the at least one frequency band including the second frequency band. A signal transmission method, characterized in that, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Send first indication information, which is used to indicate the phase factors corresponding to M reference signal ports, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; Send downlink signal. The method as described in claim 18, characterized in that, The M reference signal ports correspond to the M antenna ports, and the phase factor is used to adjust the phase of the M antenna ports. The method as described in claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The first indication information indicates the phase factor corresponding to each of the M reference signal ports. The method as described in claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the M reference signal ports, excluding the first reference signal port, relative to the first reference signal port. The method as described in any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized in that, The M reference signal ports belong to at least one reference signal port group, and each reference signal port group in the at least one reference signal port group includes at least one reference signal port. The method as described in claim 22, characterized in that, The first reference signal port group includes N reference signal ports. The first indication information indicates the phase factor of each of the N reference signal ports, except for the second reference signal port, relative to the second reference signal port. The first reference signal port group is one of the at least one reference signal port group, and N is an integer greater than 1. The method as described in claim 22 or 23, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate one or more reference signal port groups, the one or more reference signal port groups including the at least one reference signal port group. The method as described in claim 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a third indication message, which is used to indicate the at least one reference signal port group. The method as described in claim 24 or 25, characterized in that, The one or more reference signal port groups include reference signal port groups under multiple reference signal port grouping modes, and the second indication information is also used to indicate the multiple reference signal port grouping modes. The method as described in claim 26, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a fourth indication message, which is used to indicate a first reference signal port grouping method, wherein the first reference signal port grouping method is one of the plurality of reference signal port grouping methods. The method as described in claim 26, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate a second reference signal port grouping method, the second reference signal port grouping method being one of the plurality of reference signal port grouping methods. The method as described in any one of claims 24 to 28, characterized in that, The second indication information includes at least one bit map, each bit in the first bit map corresponds to a reference signal port, the reference signal port corresponding to the bit in the first bit map that takes a preset value belongs to a reference signal port group, and the first bit map is any one of the at least one bit map. The method as described in claim 29, characterized in that, The at least one bit map includes the bit map corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group. The number of bit maps corresponding to the at least one reference signal port group is equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group, or equal to the number of reference signal port groups in the at least one reference signal port group minus 1. The method as described in any one of claims 24 to 30, characterized in that, The second indication information and / or the fifth indication information are also used to indicate the reference signal port corresponding to the antenna port used by the first communication device, wherein the used antenna port belongs to the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate the second reference signal port grouping method in the multiple reference signal port grouping method, wherein the reference signal port group under the multiple reference signal port grouping method includes the at least one reference signal port group. The method as described in any one of claims 18 to 31, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a sixth indication message, the sixth indication message indicating a first quantity, the first quantity being the number of antenna ports used by the first communication device, or the first quantity being the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use. The method as described in claim 32, characterized in that, The first quantity is the maximum number of antenna ports that the first communication device can use, and the method further includes: Send a seventh indication message, which indicates the antenna port used by the first communication device, and the antenna port used belongs to the M antenna ports corresponding to the M reference signal ports. The method as described in claim 32 or 33, characterized in that, The first communication device can use at most antenna ports, including a first antenna port on a first frequency band and a second antenna port on a second frequency band. The first frequency band is the frequency band in which the first communication device receives the downlink signal, and the second frequency band is different from the first frequency band. The method as described in claim 34, characterized in that, The sixth indication information also indicates the second frequency band, or at least one frequency band of the second antenna port may be used, the at least one frequency band including the second frequency band. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17, or includes modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 18 to 35. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a processor configured to invoke a computer program in memory to cause the communication device to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17, or to cause the communication device to implement the method as described in any one of claims 18 to 35. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program that, when executed, implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17, or implements the method as described in any one of claims 18 to 35. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes instructions that, when executed, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17, or implement the method as described in any one of claims 18 to 35.

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