Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. In the method, a network device may indicate, to a terminal device, feature types of N features to be matched, wherein the N features correspond to M levels of areas in a serving cell; the terminal device may perform feature matching on the basis of the N feature types, and determine a first area from the serving cell on the basis of degrees of correlation between reference features and a feature obtained by measurement. Thus, the terminal device can obtain channel feature information of the first area, and use the obtained channel feature information to assist in communication, thereby facilitating improvement of spectral efficiency.

Description

Communication methods and communication devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411749092.3, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on November 29, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Communication Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication method and a communication device. Background Technology

[0003] Channel maps can be used to store a large amount of channel characteristic information, which can be used to assist communication. For example, to solve the problem of limited pilot measurement resources in wireless communication systems, channel maps can be used to provide candidate beam sets at specific locations, reducing the overhead of beam scanning in actual communication; or, channel maps can also provide prior information about the channel at specific locations, using prior information to help reduce pilot overhead, and so on.

[0004] However, how to extract channel characteristic information that accurately reflects the current communication environment of the communication equipment from a large amount of channel characteristic information remains an unsolved problem. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and a communication device that can flexibly configure the feature type of the feature to be matched, thereby facilitating the matching of channel feature information from the channel spectrum that is closer to the current communication environment of the communication device, and thus better assisting communication.

[0006] Firstly, a communication method is provided. This method can be applied to a terminal device, for example, it can be executed by the terminal device itself, or by a component configured in the terminal device (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) or system-in-package (SIP) chip containing a modem core, etc.); or it can be implemented by a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc., and this application does not limit this. Alternatively, the method can be executed by a first communication device, which can be a terminal device, a component configured in the terminal device (such as a modem chip, or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc., and this application does not limit this. For ease of explanation, the method of the first aspect is described below using a terminal device as an example.

[0007] For example, the method includes: receiving first information, the first information indicating the feature types of N features to be matched, the N features corresponding to M-level regions in a serving cell, one or more of the N features corresponding to a first-level region in the M-level regions, each feature being a reference feature of the corresponding first-level region; wherein N is greater than or equal to M, and N and M are integers greater than or equal to 1; determining a first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and measurement results of the channel and / or location, the first region being one or more regions in the serving cell; and sending indication information for the first region.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, network devices can indicate the feature types of one or more features to be matched to terminal devices via signaling. This allows terminal devices to perform feature matching based on the indicated feature types, rather than being restricted to a fixed feature type. Therefore, network devices can flexibly indicate highly discriminative feature types to terminal devices based on factors such as scenario and channel conditions. This enables terminal devices to quickly and accurately identify areas (i.e., the first area) that are relatively close to the current channel environment, thereby obtaining channel feature information for that area. Furthermore, it eliminates the limitation that one or more fixed feature types may be unavailable due to factors such as scenario conditions, demonstrating strong robustness.

[0009] Optionally, the measurement result is obtained based on the measurement of a reference signal, which includes: a reference signal for channel measurement and / or a reference signal for positioning.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving channel feature information of the first region, wherein the channel feature information of the first region is used to indicate the channel features of the first region.

[0011] Terminal devices can assist communication based on the channel characteristic information received from the first region, such as more accurate channel estimation or channel measurement, which helps to improve spectrum efficiency.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the feature types of the N features come from M feature type sets, the M feature type sets correspond to the M level regions, and each feature type set includes one or more feature types of the corresponding level region.

[0013] By defining N feature types within M feature type sets, it is convenient to indicate and flexibly adjust the N feature types. For example, with a fixed set of M feature types, N feature types can be selected from these M sets. Thus, network devices can flexibly indicate N feature types based on the predefined or preconfigured M feature types. Furthermore, the indication of these N feature types can be achieved by indicating their respective identifiers within their respective feature type sets, thereby allowing for the indication of N feature types with minimal overhead.

[0014] Optionally, the M feature type sets include at least one of the following candidate feature type sets: virtual location feature set, physical location feature set, large-scale channel feature set, and small-scale channel feature set.

[0015] Furthermore, M is greater than 1. That is, the community is divided into multi-level areas.

[0016] Terminal devices can perform progressive matching within a cell range based on a variety of features, from coarse to fine, resulting in high matching accuracy.

[0017] For example, the M feature type sets can be virtual location feature sets and physical location feature sets. Or, for another example, the M feature type sets can be large-scale channel feature sets and small-scale channel feature sets.

[0018] Combining feature types of different dimensions can improve the discriminative power of features and overcome the problems of low accuracy, low matching efficiency, and time-consuming matching caused by single-type feature matching.

[0019] Optionally, before determining the first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and measurements of the channel and / or location, the method further includes receiving second information, the second information indicating the set of M feature types.

[0020] One possible design is that the first information is physical layer signaling, such as downlink control information (DCI); and the second information is higher layer signaling, such as radio resource control (RRC) messages or medium access control (MAC) control elements (CE).

[0021] By configuring M feature type sets through higher-layer signaling and indicating the N feature types currently in use through physical layer signaling, the M feature type sets can remain unchanged over a longer period of time, while the N feature types can be dynamically adjusted within the range of feature types included in the M feature type sets. Therefore, a trade-off can be achieved between signaling overhead and flexible configuration.

[0022] Optionally, the set of M feature types is predefined.

[0023] That is, the set of M feature types can be fixed. Within the range of feature types included in the set of M feature types, N feature types can be flexibly configured using the first information, which can further reduce signaling overhead.

[0024] Optionally, the set of multiple candidate feature types is predefined, such as protocol predefined.

[0025] Optionally, the method further includes receiving fourth information, which indicates the set of candidate feature types. One possible design is that the fourth information is higher-level signaling, such as an RRC message.

[0026] By predefining multiple candidate feature type sets through protocol or preconfiguring higher-level signaling, it is convenient to indicate M feature type sets.

[0027] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the serving cell is divided into the M-level regions, wherein the next level region in the M-level region is obtained based on the division of the previous level region.

[0028] The service cell is divided into M-level areas, which means that the N characteristic types corresponding to the M-level area can be flexibly configured by network devices.

[0029] The next-level region is derived from the division of the previous-level region. That is, the m-th level region is derived from the division of the (m-1)-th level region, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M. In other words, each previous-level region can include multiple next-level regions.

[0030] Because of the hierarchical relationship between M-level regions, the terminal device can perform progressive matching from coarse to fine within the cell range based on N features, thus achieving high matching accuracy.

[0031] Optionally, before determining the first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and measurements of the channel and / or location, the method further includes receiving a set of feature information, the set of feature information indicating the N features.

[0032] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the serving cell is divided into L-level regions, the M-level regions belong to the L-level regions, and in the L-level regions, the next level region is obtained based on the division of the previous level region, where L is a positive integer greater than M.

[0033] The serving cell is classified as a Level L area, which means that the feature types corresponding to some levels of the area within this Level L area can be flexibly configured by network devices, while the feature types corresponding to other levels of the area can be predefined. This satisfies the need for flexible feature type configuration while avoiding the significant signaling overhead associated with configuration.

[0034] The next-level region is derived from the division of the previous-level region. That is, the m-th level region is derived from the division of the (m-1)-th level region, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M. In other words, each previous-level region can include multiple next-level regions.

[0035] Because of the hierarchical relationship between L-level regions, terminal devices can perform progressive matching from coarse to fine within the cell based on various features, resulting in high matching accuracy.

[0036] Optionally, the M-level region belongs to the L-level region, and the (LM)-level regions in the L-level region other than the M-level region correspond to J features. The feature types of the J features are predefined, and one or more of the J features correspond to the first-level regions in the (LM)-level region. Wherein, J is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and L is a positive integer greater than M.

[0037] Optionally, determining the first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location includes: determining the first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and the J features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location.

[0038] Optionally, before determining the first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and the J features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location, the method further includes: receiving a set of feature information, the set of feature information being used to indicate the N features and the J features.

[0039] By receiving a set of feature information from network devices, reference features for matching can be obtained, and the terminal device can then determine the first region based on the reference features and the measured features.

[0040] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving third information, the third information being used to indicate the format of the feature information in the feature information set used to indicate each feature.

[0041] The third information indicates the format of the feature information used to indicate each feature, which makes it easier for the terminal device to correctly parse each feature from the feature information set.

[0042] Secondly, a communication method is provided. This method can be applied to a network device, for example, it can be executed by the network device itself, or by a component configured in the network device (such as a modem chip, or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.); or it can be implemented by a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc., and this application does not limit this. Alternatively, the method can be executed by a second communication device, which can be a network device, a component configured in the network device (such as a modem chip, or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc., and this application does not limit this. For ease of explanation, the method of the second aspect will be described below using a network device as an example.

[0043] For example, the method includes: determining the feature types of N features to be matched, wherein the N features correspond to M-level regions in the serving cell of the terminal device, one or more of the N features correspond to a first-level region in the M-level regions, and each feature is a reference feature of the corresponding first-level region; wherein N is greater than or equal to M, and N and M are integers greater than or equal to 1; and sending first information to the terminal device, wherein the first information is used to indicate the feature types of the N features.

[0044] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the feature types of the N features come from M feature type sets, the M feature type sets correspond to the M-level regions, and each feature type set includes one or more reference feature types of the corresponding first-level region.

[0045] Optionally, the method further includes: sending second information to the terminal device, the second information being used to indicate the M feature type sets.

[0046] Optionally, the M feature type sets are predefined.

[0047] Optionally, the M feature type sets include at least one of the following candidate feature type sets: virtual location feature set, physical location feature set, large-scale channel feature set, and small-scale channel feature set.

[0048] Optionally, the set of multiple candidate feature types is predefined.

[0049] Optionally, the method further includes: sending fourth information to the terminal device, the fourth information being used to indicate the plurality of candidate feature type sets.

[0050] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the serving cell is divided into the M-level regions, wherein the next level region in the M-level regions is obtained based on the division of the previous level region.

[0051] Optionally, the serving cell is divided into the M-level region, and the method further includes: receiving indication information of a first region from the terminal device, wherein the first region is determined by the terminal device from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location.

[0052] Optionally, before receiving indication information from the first region of the terminal device, the method further includes: sending a set of feature information to the terminal device, the set of feature information being used to indicate the N features.

[0053] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the serving cell is divided into the L-level region, the M-level region belongs to the L-level region, and the next level region in the L-level region is obtained based on the division of the previous level region, where L is a positive integer greater than M.

[0054] Optionally, the serving cell is divided into L-level regions, and the M-level regions belong to the L-level regions; the method further includes: receiving indication information of a first region from the terminal device, wherein the first region is determined by the terminal device from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and J features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location, wherein the feature types of the J features are predefined, and the (LM)-level regions in the L-level regions other than the M-level regions correspond to the J features, and one or more of the J features correspond to the first-level regions in the (LM)-level regions; wherein J is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and L is a positive integer greater than M.

[0055] Optionally, before receiving the indication information from the first region of the terminal device, the method further includes: sending a set of feature information to the terminal device, the set of feature information being used to indicate the N features and the J features.

[0056] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending third information to the terminal device, the third information being used to indicate the format of the feature information in the feature information set used to indicate each feature.

[0057] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending channel feature information of the first region to the terminal device, wherein the channel feature information of the first region is used to indicate the channel features of the first region.

[0058] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the measurement result is obtained based on the measurement of a reference signal by the terminal device, the reference signal including: a reference signal for channel measurement and / or a reference signal for positioning.

[0059] It should be understood that the technical solution of the second aspect corresponds to the technical solution of the first aspect. For some possible implementation methods and beneficial effects of the second aspect, please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0060] Thirdly, a communication apparatus is provided for performing the methods of the first or second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the apparatus may include units and / or modules for performing the methods of the first or second aspect and any possible implementation thereof, such as processing units and / or communication units.

[0061] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device). When the device is a communication device, the communication unit can be a transceiver or an input / output interface; the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0062] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module for communication equipment (such as terminal equipment or network equipment). When the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit for communication equipment, the communication unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0063] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, the device comprising: at least one processor configured to cause the device to perform the methods of the first or second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0064] Optionally, the at least one processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions to perform the methods described in the first or second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0065] Optionally, the device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or instructions.

[0066] Optionally, the at least one processor is coupled to a memory for storing the computer program or instructions. The memory may be located externally to the device.

[0067] Optionally, the device also includes a communication interface through which the processor reads instructions from memory. This can be understood as the communication interface being coupled to the processor and used to input computer programs or instructions to the processor, or to output information from the processor.

[0068] Unless otherwise specified, or if the transmission and acquisition / reception operations involved do not contradict their actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, they can be understood as output, input, or other operations, or as transmission and reception operations performed by radio frequency circuits and antennas. This application does not limit them in this regard.

[0069] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device).

[0070] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, circuit, or communication module for communication devices (such as terminal devices or network devices). Optionally, the chip is a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core.

[0071] Fifthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program (e.g., program code) or instructions, which, when executed, cause the methods of the first or second aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be performed.

[0072] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions, which, when executed, cause the methods in the first or second aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be performed.

[0073] A seventh aspect provides a communication system, comprising: a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device is configured to execute the method provided in any implementation of the first aspect, and the network device is configured to execute the method provided in any implementation of the second aspect.

[0074] The third to seventh aspects of this application correspond to the technical solutions of the first to second aspects of this application. The beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0075] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0076] Figures 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of two possible system architectures applicable to the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0077] Figure 4 is another schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0078] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0079] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between candidate feature types and the set of candidate feature types provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0080] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a possible implementation of steps 530 and 560 provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0081] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0083] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the chip system provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0084] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0085] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following points will be explained first:

[0086] First, in this application, the indication includes direct indication (also known as explicit indication) and indirect indication (also known as implicit indication). Direct indication information A refers to information A; indirect indication information A can refer to indicating information A through a direct or indirect correspondence between information A and information B, and direct indication information B; or it can indicate information A through a preset rule that can be used to determine A based on B, and direct indication information B. The correspondence between information A and information B, and the preset rule, can be predefined, pre-stored, pre-burned, or pre-configured.

[0087] Second, for ease of understanding, the method provided in this application is described in several accompanying drawings. These drawings are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. For example, the order of steps shown in the drawings may be modified simply according to their function and internal logic; or, for example, all steps in the drawings may be performed, or only some of them may be performed, as long as the same function as in the embodiments of this application can be achieved.

[0088] Third, the use of prefixes such as "first" and "second" in this application is solely for the purpose of distinguishing different things belonging to the same name category, and does not constrain the order, size, or quantity of things. For example, "first instruction information" and "second instruction information" are simply different instruction information, and there is no temporal sequence, size, or priority relationship between them; similarly, "first channel" and "second channel" are simply different channels, and there is no quantity constraint, size relationship, or priority relationship between them. It should be understood that the objects described in this way can be interchanged where appropriate, so as to describe solutions other than those in the embodiments of this application.

[0089] Fourth, 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 an "or" relationship between the preceding and following related objects, but it does not exclude the possibility of indicating an "and" relationship. The specific meaning can be understood in conjunction with the context. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Here, a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0090] Fifth, in this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to a terminal device" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal device, which can include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission via the air interface from other units or modules. "Receive information from a network device" can be understood as the source of the information being the network device, which can include direct reception from the network device via the air interface or indirect reception from the network device via the air interface from other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between a terminal device and a network device, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via a bus, wiring, or interface.

[0091] Sixth, in the embodiments of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device making corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited to a time, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when it is implemented, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0092] Seventh, in this application, the words "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described as "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the words "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0093] Eighth, the correspondences shown in the tables of this application are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this application. The content in each table is only illustrative and can be configured with other content; this application does not limit this. When configuring these correspondences, it is not necessarily required to configure all the correspondences shown in each table. For example, the correspondences shown in some rows may not be configured. For another example, some columns may be replaced with other forms. Furthermore, appropriate modifications and adjustments can be made to the tables shown herein, such as splitting, merging, etc.

[0094] In addition, tables are only one possible form of correspondence. In specific implementations, other data structures can also be used, such as arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear lists, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables, or hash tables.

[0095] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as 5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, time division duplex (TDD) systems, wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, satellite communication systems, future communication systems, or integrated systems of multiple systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems or other communication systems.

[0096] In a communication system, a device can send signals to or receive signals from another device. These signals may include information, signaling, or data. The device can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, communication equipment, communication module, node, communication node, etc.; this disclosure uses a device as an example. For instance, a communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send downlink signals to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send uplink signals to the network device. It is understood that the terminal device in this disclosure can be replaced by a first communication device, and the network device can be replaced by a second communication device, both performing the corresponding communication methods described in this disclosure.

[0097] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in this application. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting system architecture. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 10 also includes an Internet 300. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). The terminal device 120 is wirelessly connected to the RAN node 110. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or via a wired connection. The core network equipment in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device that integrates core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0098] RAN 100 can be used for cellular systems related to the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), such as 4G (4G4). th RAN 100 can be a generation (4G), 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system. It can also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system. RAN 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0099] RAN node 110, sometimes referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, is part of the communication system and helps terminals achieve wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 1 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal devices 120j accessing RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; but for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN node 110 and terminal device 120 are sometimes both referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0100] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station (BS). The term "base station" can broadly encompass, or be replaced by, various names including: network equipment, access network equipment, NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmit / receive point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station, auxiliary station, motor slide retainer (MSR) node, femtocell, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 1, 110a), a micro base station or indoor station (as shown in Figure 1, 110b), a relay node, a donor node, or the like, or a combination thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip installed within the aforementioned equipment or apparatus. A base station can also be a mobile switching center, equipment performing base station functions in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, or equipment performing base station functions in future communication systems. A base station can support networks using the same or different access technologies. Optionally, a RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or equipment forms used in the network equipment.

[0101] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CUs (control planes, CPs), CUs (user planes, UPs), or RUs, etc. CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0102] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called an open CU (O-CU), DU can also be called an open DU (O-DU), CU-CP can also be called an open CU-CP (open-CU-CP, O-CU-CP), CU-UP can also be called an open CU-UP (open-CU-UP, O-CU-UP), and RU can also be called an open RU (open-RU, O-RU). For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0103] In this embodiment, the apparatus for implementing the functions of a network device can be a network device itself; it can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system, hardware circuit, software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. This apparatus can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device. In this embodiment, the example of a network device being used to implement the functions of a network device is provided only and does not constitute a limitation on the solutions described in this embodiment.

[0104] Terminal equipment can also be called a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. A terminal device can be a device that provides voice and / or data, such as a handheld device with wireless connectivity, an in-vehicle device, etc. Currently, examples of terminals include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, 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 wireless modems, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks, or future public land mobile communication networks. Terminal devices in a network (PLMN), Wi-Fi stations (STAs), etc. This application does not limit this to specific examples.

[0105] Terminal devices can also be terminal devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) system, also known as IoT nodes. 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 interaction and machine-to-machine interaction. Connections can be made using broadband or narrowband technologies. IoT technology, for example, can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and low power consumption at the terminal through narrowband (NB) technology.

[0106] 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 data from network devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to network devices.

[0107] Terminal devices can also be wearable devices. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not just hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are feature-rich, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses, as well as those that focus on a specific application function and require the use of other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0108] In this embodiment, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or it can be any device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system. This device can be installed in or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In this embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete components. This embodiment only uses the terminal device as an example to illustrate the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device, and does not constitute a limitation on the solution of this embodiment.

[0109] This application does not limit the specific form of the terminal device and network device. The terminal device and network device can be hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or software functions running on general-purpose hardware. They can also be virtualized devices, for example, implemented through general-purpose hardware and instantiated virtualization functions, or dedicated hardware and instantiated virtualization functions. Among them, general-purpose hardware can be servers, such as cloud servers.

[0110] Figures 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of two possible system architectures applicable to the communication method provided in this application. Both system architectures shown in Figures 2 and 3 can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1. For example, the core network 200 shown in Figure 1 may include, but is not limited to, the core network elements shown in Figure 2. As another example, the RAN nodes 110a or 110b shown in Figure 1 may have the distributed architecture shown in Figure 3. This application does not limit the scope of the application.

[0111] Figure 2 illustrates some core network elements, access network equipment, and terminal equipment. The core network elements shown in Figure 2 may include one or more of the following: access and mobility management function (AMF), location management function (LMF), map management function (MMF), and sensing management function (SMF). The AMF has mobility management functions and is responsible for user mobility management, including mobility state management, assigning temporary user identities, authenticating and authorizing users. The LMF can be used to implement location estimation for terminal equipment. The SMF is responsible for processing related to sensing services, such as acquiring the echo signal of the sensing signal and determining the sensing result based on the acquired echo signal. The MMF can be used to manage the channel map, such as constructing and updating the channel map, and associating gratings with scatterers, etc. The AMF can communicate with access network equipment (such as gNB) through the next-generation (NG) - control plane (C) interface, and with the MMF, LMF, and SMF through the NLs interface. Therefore, the AMF acts as a router for communication between access network devices and the LMF, MMF, and SMF. Terminal devices can communicate with access network devices via the air interface.

[0112] It should be understood that Figure 2 is merely an example, showing some core network elements and the interfaces between them, but this should not constitute any limitation on this application. The core network may also include other network elements capable of performing the same or similar functions as AMF, MMF, LMF, SMF, etc., and the core network may also include network elements with other functions, which are included but not limited to in this application.

[0113] It should also be understood that the naming of these network elements is merely illustrative, and this application does not preclude the possibility of defining network elements with other names in future standards for the same or similar functions.

[0114] Figure 3 illustrates the access network equipment, some core network elements, and terminal equipment in a distributed architecture. As shown, the access network equipment may include CU, DU, RU, and SU. For details regarding CU, DU, and RU, please refer to the description above in conjunction with Figure 1, which will not be repeated here. RU can communicate with terminal equipment via the air interface. CU can communicate with core network elements (such as AMF). SU can be a software module, a hardware device, or a combination of both. SU communicates and collaborates with other RAN nodes to realize the overall radio access network functionality.

[0115] For example, the SU can assume the following responsibilities:

[0116] Protocol processing: Handling protocols related to wireless access, such as air interface protocols and MAC protocols;

[0117] Data processing: Processing uplink and downlink data, including encoding, decoding, modulation, demodulation, etc.

[0118] Resource management: Managing wireless resources, such as spectrum, power, and time slots, to ensure efficient resource utilization;

[0119] Security features: Provide security mechanisms such as encryption, authentication, and authorization to protect the security of wireless communications;

[0120] Interface function: Interacts with other RAN nodes or external networks to achieve data exchange and collaborative work.

[0121] It should be noted that the specific functions and definitions of the SU may vary depending on different implementations and application scenarios. For example, in the embodiments of this application, the function of the first network element can be implemented in the SU, that is, the SU can store and / or update the channel map, and then transmit it to the CU / DU when called.

[0122] In the access network equipment shown in Figure 3, the SU can communicate with the CU, the CU can communicate with the DU, and the DU can communicate with each other, thereby communicating with the terminal equipment through the RU. In addition, the CU can also communicate with the AMF in the core network.

[0123] It should be understood that although Figure 3 only shows one SU, one DU, and one DU, this should not constitute any limitation on this application. One SU can communicate with one CU, and one CU can communicate with multiple DUs; therefore, one SU can also communicate with multiple DUs. The access network device shown in Figure 3 is one possible architecture and should not constitute any limitation on this application.

[0124] Under the ORAN architecture, it is understandable that SU, CU, DU and RU can be replaced by O-SU, O-CU, O-DU and O-RU respectively, which will not be elaborated further.

[0125] Figure 4 is another schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to embodiments of this application. The wireless communication system shown in Figure 4 may include a core network (CN), access network equipment (such as RAN), and terminal equipment. The access network equipment communicates with core network elements through a backhaul link and with terminal equipment through an air interface.

[0126] For example, a BBU in an access network device can communicate with core network elements via a backhaul link, while an RU in the access network device can communicate with terminal devices via an air interface. The BBU can communicate with the RU via a fronthaul link; the BBU and RU may or may not be co-located. In some deployments, the BBU includes at least one CU and at least one DU, and the CU and DU can communicate with each other via a midhaul link. An RU can communicate with one or more UEs via a radio link. The DU and RU may or may not be co-located. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs.

[0127] It should be understood that Figure 4 is only a schematic diagram, and the wireless communication system may also include other devices, such as SU, which are not shown in Figure 4. To better understand the methods provided in the embodiments of this application, the terms used in this application will be briefly explained below.

[0128] To better understand the methods provided in the embodiments of this application, the terms involved in this application will be briefly explained below.

[0129] 1. Channel Map: Also known as a channel knowledge map, it is defined as a dataset used to store location-based feature information. This feature information can include both location information and channel feature information. For example, a physical cell can be divided into multiple levels of regions based on a two-dimensional grid, with each level potentially including multiple regions. Location information can be used to indicate the coordinates of each region within each level. Each region can be associated with a set of channel features, which can be described using channel feature information. In other words, channel feature information can be used to indicate the channel characteristics of the corresponding region. Channel features can include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: channel statistical covariance matrix, angular delay spectrum, power delay distribution, path loss, space-frequency basis, spatial basis, frequency basis, time-domain (or Doppler domain) basis, and combinations of these basis types. For instance, the channel characteristics of each region can be represented by matrices, vectors, or scalars; these matrices, vectors, or scalars are the channel feature information.

[0130] Furthermore, "region" is only one possible name and can also be replaced with "grid," "range," "cell," "mesh," etc., without limitation.

[0131] 2. Channel Characteristics: In wireless communication systems, channel characteristics refer to the information used to indicate the channel characteristics as a signal is affected by factors such as interference, attenuation, and multipath effects during transmission. These channel characteristics may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: channel statistical covariance matrix, power angular spectrum, power delay distribution, path loss, space-frequency basis, spatial basis, frequency basis, time-domain (or Doppler domain) basis, and combinations of the above basis types. In the embodiments of this application, channel characteristics can be indicated by channel characteristic information.

[0132] 3. Reference signal (RS): Also known as reference sequence, pilot, or pilot signal. It can be used for channel measurement, channel estimation, or beam quality monitoring. Depending on the LTE or NR protocol, uplink reference signals may include: sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), positioning reference signal (PRS), etc.; downlink reference signals may include: synchronization signal block (SSB), DMRS, PTRS, channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), cell reference signal (CRS) in LTE, tracking reference signal (TRS), PRS, etc.

[0133] The reference signal in this application may also be a reference signal other than those listed above, which will not be listed here.

[0134] 4. Large-scale fading: The phenomenon of signal gradually attenuating with propagation distance and path loss, mainly affected by environmental obstacles (such as buildings, hills, etc.) and terrain. Large-scale fading reflects the intensity variation of a signal over a long distance or a large area.

[0135] The channel characteristics of a large-scale fading channel can be referred to as large-scale channel characteristics. These characteristics can be characterized by large-scale parameters, which include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: delay spread (DS), angular spread (AS), Ricean factor, and shadow fading (SF).

[0136] 5. Path Loss: This describes the power attenuation of a signal during propagation. As the distance between the transmitter and receiver increases, the signal power gradually weakens. This weakening is called path loss, also known as propagation loss, or simply path loss. Path loss is affected by various factors, such as distance, frequency, and scattering objects.

[0137] 6. Shadowing Fading: Caused by obstacles between the transmitter and receiver. These obstacles attenuate signal power through absorption, reflection, scattering, and diffraction, and in severe cases, can block the signal, causing power variations across the obstacle's distance. In mobile communication propagation environments, electromagnetic waves encounter obstacles such as hills, buildings, and forests along their propagation path, forming shadow areas that cause a slow change in the median signal strength, resulting in fading. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as the shadowing effect, and the resulting fading is called shadowing fading, also known as slow shadowing fading.

[0138] 7. Shadow Standard Deviation: Used to describe the blurriness of shadows. The larger the shadow standard deviation, the blurrier the shadow; the smaller the shadow standard deviation, the sharper the shadow.

[0139] 8. Delay Spread: In wireless channel transmission, the delay difference caused by the multipath propagation of a signal before it reaches the receiver. When a signal reaches the receiver through different propagation paths, the signal will have different propagation delays due to differences in path length and propagation speed. Delay spread can be used to describe the magnitude and distribution of these delay differences.

[0140] 9. Angle Spread: This describes the statistical characteristics of multipath signals in both angle and fading dimensions, representing the degree of dispersion of the multipath signal in the angle dimension. For example, angle spread can include: azimuth angle spread of arrival (ASA), azimuth angle spread of departure (ASD), zenith angle spread of arrival (ZSA), and zenith angle spread of departure (ZSD).

[0141] 10. Multipath Clusters and Intra-Cluster Sub-Paths: In multipath propagation, a multipath cluster refers to a set of paths with similar propagation characteristics. A multipath cluster can include multiple sub-paths (or multiple paths), which typically have similar characteristics in time, frequency, or space, and therefore can be treated as a whole. A multipath cluster can also be simply called a cluster. Sub-paths within a multipath cluster are called intra-cluster sub-paths.

[0142] 11. Coherence time: refers to the maximum time difference within which a channel remains constant. Within the coherence time, when the same signal from the transmitter arrives at the receiver, the fading characteristics of the signals are completely similar, and the receiver perceives them as a single signal.

[0143] 12. Coherence distance: refers to the maximum spatial distance at which the channel response of a spatial point can remain correlated.

[0144] 13. Channel covariance: also known as the channel statistical covariance matrix, it describes the statistical characteristics of the channel impulse response. The channel statistical covariance matrix contains the correlation information of the channel at different times, frequencies or spatial locations.

[0145] 14. Small-scale fading: refers to the rapid fluctuation of a signal over a short distance or time. It is mainly caused by multipath propagation, where the signal arrives at the receiver through multiple paths (reflection, scattering, diffraction, etc.). When the signal arrives along these paths, phase differences and interference occur, leading to signal enhancement or attenuation.

[0146] The characteristics of small-scale fading channels can be called small-scale channel characteristics, or multipath-level channel characteristics.

[0147] 15. Power Delay Profile (PDP): Also known as the power delay spectrum, it refers to the relationship between the power of the signal received by the receiver and its arrival time delay in a wireless channel. The power delay profile reflects the differences in signal propagation time along different paths. In one possible implementation, the power delay profile can be represented by the delay and / or power of several paths (e.g., the strongest path), or it can be represented by the delay index and / or power index of these paths, without limitation.

[0148] 16. Power Azimuth Spectrum (PAS): This refers to the angular distribution of the power spectral density of a signal in a wireless channel. In multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, the power azimuth spectrum is crucial for beamforming and interference management. In one possible implementation, the power azimuth spectrum can be represented by the time delay and / or power of several paths (e.g., the strongest path), or by the time delay index and / or power index of these paths; there is no limitation on this.

[0149] 17. Channel feature basis: The basis can be regarded as a set of basis vectors. The basis vectors can be eigenvectors, discrete Fourier transform (DFT) vectors, discrete cosine transform (DCT) vectors, etc. This application does not limit them.

[0150] The channel feature basis involved in this application embodiment is used to describe channel features. Exemplarily, the channel feature basis may include one or more of the following: a space-frequency basis, a spatial basis, a frequency domain basis, a time domain (or Doppler domain) basis, or a combination of two or more of the above basis types. The combination of multiple basis types can be a combination of two or more of the above spatial, frequency, space-frequency, and time domain basis types according to a preset rule. Each basis vector may be a vector composed of multiple weighting coefficients. For example, a space-frequency basis includes multiple vectors composed of weighting coefficients, each weighting coefficient corresponding to a spatial vector and a frequency vector; a spatial basis includes multiple vectors composed of weighting coefficients, each weighting coefficient corresponding to a spatial vector; a frequency domain basis includes multiple vectors composed of weighting coefficients, each weighting coefficient corresponding to a frequency vector; and a time domain basis includes multiple vectors composed of weighting coefficients, each weighting coefficient corresponding to a time vector. For more detailed explanations of the above-mentioned base types, please refer to the relevant content on codebook feedback in the current standard, which will not be elaborated further here.

[0151] 18. Channel Eigenvalues: Eigenvalue decomposition of the channel covariance matrix yields one or more eigenvalues ​​and one or more corresponding eigenvectors. These eigenvalues ​​represent the channel's power distribution; the corresponding eigenvectors represent the channel's spatial characteristics.

[0152] For example, assuming the channel covariance matrix is ​​C, the eigenvalue decomposition of the channel covariance matrix can be expressed as: C = VDV H , where V is a matrix composed of eigenvectors of the channel covariance matrix C, with each column representing an eigenvector; D is a diagonal matrix of eigenvalues ​​of the channel covariance matrix C, with each element on the diagonal representing an eigenvalue corresponding to an eigenvector; the superscript H indicates the conjugate transpose.

[0153] It should be understood that channel eigenvalues ​​and eigenvectors can also be obtained by performing singular value decomposition (SVD) on the channel matrix, but for the sake of brevity, this will not be elaborated on.

[0154] 19. Physical location: refers to the exact location of an object in the real world. Physical location can be represented by absolute location information or relative location information.

[0155] Absolute location information is used to represent the actual location of an object (such as a terminal device) in space. For example, it can be described using location coordinates, latitude and longitude, floor level, room number, etc. Location coordinates refer to the object's position in a global coordinate system, such as a geographic coordinate system or a geodetic coordinate system. A geographic coordinate system uses a three-dimensional sphere to define the location on the Earth's surface, allowing reference to points on the Earth's surface via latitude and longitude. A geodetic coordinate system is a coordinate system established in geodesy using a reference ellipsoid as a reference surface. Absolute location information is typically obtained through positioning methods such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS).

[0156] Relative position information is used to represent the position of an object (e.g., a terminal device) relative to other objects (e.g., network devices), thereby indirectly representing the object's true geographical location. Relative position information can be described, for example, through relative position coordinates, topological relationships, etc. Relative position coordinates refer to the position of an object (e.g., a terminal device) in a local coordinate system, which is a coordinate system established with the aforementioned other objects (e.g., network devices) as its origin. Relative position can be achieved through Wi-Fi positioning, Bluetooth positioning, indoor positioning systems, positioning based on angle of arrival (AOA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), or multiple round-trip times (RTT), fingerprint positioning, environmental + ray tracing positioning, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0157] It should be understood that both absolute and relative position information can be used to determine the true position of an object in space.

[0158] 20. Virtual Location: In this embodiment, virtual location is a concept relative to physical location. Virtual location is location information obtained by matching channel features as an index. In the field of wireless communication, signals may be affected by factors such as interference, attenuation, and multipath effects during transmission, which collectively determine the signal transmission characteristics. By collecting and analyzing the transmission characteristics of signals under different channel conditions, key channel feature parameters can be extracted. These channel feature parameters are then used to construct a multi-dimensional feature space, where each dimension represents a specific channel feature. Using these channel features as indexes, the current signal can be quickly matched and identified. For example, in this feature space, the signal to be matched can be represented as a point, and the signal corresponding to each channel feature can also be represented as a point. By calculating the distance or similarity between these points, the closest channel feature can be matched.

[0159] In this embodiment, the location information of the virtual location can be represented, for example, by an area identifier. The area is obtained by dividing the physical cell into two-dimensional grids.

[0160] 21. Strong Beam Identifier (ID): A strong beam refers to one or more beams with high received power, determined by measurements of a reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS), which can be obtained from historical measurement results. The strong beam ID can be the ID of the beam or the ID of the reference signal resource used to transmit the beam. This application does not limit this.

[0161] 22. Interaction Point Location: This refers to the location where a signal, propagating in a gradually changing medium, undergoes reflection, diffraction, refraction, transmission, etc., at the medium interface. For example, in an outdoor to indoor (O2I) scenario, the interaction point location could be the point where a signal (such as an uplink or downlink signal) passes through an obstacle (i.e., the medium, such as a wall or glass) from outdoors to indoors (or from indoors to outdoors). "Interaction point" is only one possible name; it can also be replaced with reflection point, penetration point, etc., and this application does not limit this terminology.

[0162] 23. Spectral Index: A data retrieval method that quickly locates and retrieves information by analyzing and comparing the characteristics of data. In the embodiments of this application, the channel spectrum can be defined as a database, in which one or more levels of indexes can be created. One or more features measured by the terminal device can be matched with features obtained from the spectrum to obtain spectrum data that is close to the measurement results of the terminal device.

[0163] As mentioned earlier, channel maps can be used to assist communication. Therefore, it is desirable to obtain channel characteristic information from channel maps that accurately reflects the current channel environment of communication equipment, thereby better assisting communication.

[0164] In view of this, this application provides a method in which a network device can indicate the feature type of one or more features to be matched to a terminal device via signaling. This facilitates matching by the terminal device based on the indication, rather than being restricted to a fixed feature type. Therefore, the network device can flexibly indicate highly discriminative feature types to the terminal device based on factors such as scenario and channel state, enabling the terminal device to quickly and accurately identify areas that are relatively close to the current channel environment (i.e., the first area below), and thus obtain the channel feature information of that area. Furthermore, it can also remove the limitation that one or more fixed feature types cannot be obtained due to the influence of factors such as scenario, and has strong robustness.

[0165] The communication method provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the embodiments provided below can be applied to the scenarios shown in the above figures and are not limited thereto. In addition, the terminology used below can be referred to the above description and will not be repeated.

[0166] For ease of understanding and explanation, the parameters involved in the following embodiments are briefly explained below:

[0167] N: The number of feature types indicated by the first information, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

[0168] N': The number of candidate feature types. The feature types of the N features indicated by the first information come from these N' candidate feature types. N' is an integer greater than or equal to N.

[0169] M: The number of feature type sets indicated by the second information, or in other words, the number of feature type sets to which the above N feature types belong, that is, the number of levels of the region corresponding to the N features. M is a positive integer less than or equal to N.

[0170] M': The number of candidate feature type sets. The M feature type sets come from the M' candidate feature type sets, where M' is a positive integer greater than or equal to M.

[0171] L: The number of levels of the service cell is divided into regions, that is, the cell is divided into L levels of regions, where L is a positive integer greater than M;

[0172] J: The number of feature types corresponding to (LM) level regions other than M level regions in the L level region, where J is a positive integer greater than or equal to (LM);

[0173] T: The number of feature types of T features corresponding to the L-level region, T = N + J, where T is a positive integer greater than or equal to L;

[0174] Furthermore, the embodiments below involve various identifiers, which are named type identifier, set identifier, and combination identifier for ease of distinction and understanding, respectively corresponding to feature type, feature type set, and combination of feature type set. These names are provided solely for ease of distinction and understanding and should not constitute any limitation on this application.

[0175] As an example, Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of this application. For ease of description, the method provided in this application is described below using the interaction between a terminal device and a network device as an example. However, this should not constitute any limitation on this application. The terminal device can also be replaced by internal circuitry or chips (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.); it can also be replaced by logic modules or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the terminal device, etc. Similarly, the network device can also be replaced by internal circuitry or chips (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, etc.); it can also be replaced by logic modules or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the network device, etc. This application does not limit this. Furthermore, the steps described below as being performed by a single execution entity can also be divided into steps performed by multiple execution entities, which can be logically and / or physically separated.

[0176] Referring to Figure 5, the method 500 shown in Figure 5 includes steps 510 to 540. Optionally, it also includes one or more of steps 550 to 580. The various steps in method 500 are described in detail below.

[0177] In step 510, the network device determines the feature types of the N features to be matched.

[0178] Here, the N features to be matched refer to one or more features used by the terminal device for feature matching. Through feature matching, the terminal device can obtain channel feature information from the channel map that is relatively close to the current channel environment of the terminal device.

[0179] When a network device needs to send a channel map to a terminal device, it can determine the feature types of N features to be matched. For example, a terminal device can send a request message to the network device to request channel feature information, and the network device can determine the feature types of the N features to be matched based on the request message.

[0180] For example, the network device can first determine the approximate location of the terminal device, for instance, based on the terminal device's location information or prior information, such as previous measurements of the terminal device. Based on the approximate location of the terminal device, the network device can determine features that make the area to which that location belongs significantly different from other areas. One or more features with significant differences are then selected as N features to be matched. Alternatively, if the area to which the terminal device belongs does not differ significantly from other areas, multiple features can be selected as N features to be matched.

[0181] It should be noted that channel maps can typically be stored on the network side, for example, in a network element used for channel map management. Terminal devices can obtain this channel map from the network element used for channel map management through network devices. For example, the network element used for channel map management can be an MMF (Multi-Functional Function) element in the core network, from which network devices can receive channel maps. For example, the network element used for channel map management can be a serving unit (SU) in a distributed access network device, and specifically, the network device obtains the channel map by having a DU (Dedicated Unit) obtain the channel map from the SU.

[0182] It should be understood that network devices can obtain partial information from the channel map, such as the characteristic information of the cell managed by the network device, or the characteristic information of the cell managed by the network device and its neighboring cells; or, network devices can obtain all the information from the channel map, which is not limited in this application.

[0183] It should also be understood that the network elements used for channel map management illustrated above are merely examples, and this application does not preclude the possibility of storing channel maps in other network elements. Accordingly, network devices can also obtain channel maps from other network elements. This application includes, but is not limited to, this.

[0184] In step 520, the network device sends first information to the terminal device, which indicates the feature type of N features. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first information.

[0185] For example, feature types include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: path loss, shadow standard deviation, delay spread, angular spread, number of multipath clusters, number of sub-paths within a cluster, coherence time, coherence distance, Rice factor, power delay distribution, power angular spectrum, channel covariance, channel eigenvalues, channel feature basis, strong beam ID, interaction point location, absolute location of terminal equipment, relative location of terminal equipment, etc. Different types of features can describe the characteristics of a region from different dimensions, such as location, channel characteristics, etc.

[0186] In this application embodiment, the N features refer to the feature types, or N feature types. These N feature types may include some or all of the various feature types listed above, and this application does not limit their scope. For example, the various feature types listed above may be referred to as candidate feature types. Optionally, the N feature types are derived from N' candidate feature types. These N' candidate feature types may be predefined, such as protocol predefined types, or configured through other signaling, such as higher-layer signaling, such as RRC messages or MAC CE. This application does not limit their scope.

[0187] It should be understood that this application does not limit the N' candidate feature types or the feature types included in each of the N feature types.

[0188] Optionally, the aforementioned N' candidate feature types can be defined in M' different sets of candidate feature types, each set of candidate feature types may include one or more candidate feature types. The M' sets of candidate feature types and the candidate feature types included in each set can be predefined or preconfigured. For example, the protocol can predefine the M' sets of candidate feature types and the candidate feature types included in each set. Alternatively, the network device can configure the M' sets of candidate feature types and the candidate feature types included in each set via higher-layer signaling. Optionally, the method further includes: the network device sending fourth information to the terminal device, the fourth information being used to configure the M' sets of candidate feature types. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the fourth information from the network device. For example, the fourth information is carried in an RRC message (i.e., an example of higher-layer signaling).

[0189] For example, the M feature type sets include at least one of the following M' candidate feature type sets: large-scale channel feature set, small-scale channel feature set, virtual location feature set, and physical location feature set.

[0190] For example, the large-scale channel feature set includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following feature types: path loss, shadow standard deviation, DS, AS, number of multipath clusters, number of sub-paths within a cluster, coherence time, coherence distance, Rice factor.

[0191] For example, the small-scale feature set includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following feature types: power delay distribution, power angle spectrum, channel covariance, channel eigenvalues, and channel feature basis.

[0192] For example, the virtual location feature set includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following feature types: strong beam ID, interaction point location, large-scale channel features, and small-scale channel features. The large-scale channel features can be one or more features from the large-scale channel feature set mentioned above, and the small-scale channel features can be one or more features from the small-scale channel feature set mentioned above.

[0193] For example, the set of physical location features includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following feature types: the absolute location of the terminal device and the relative location of the terminal device.

[0194] It should be understood that a more detailed explanation of the feature types exemplified above can be found in the terminology description above, and will not be repeated here. This application does not limit the number of candidate feature type sets, nor the feature types or their quantities included in each candidate feature type set.

[0195] There are multiple ways to use the first piece of information to indicate N feature types. The following will explain several different implementation methods.

[0196] In the first possible implementation, the network device can indicate N feature types out of N' candidate feature types. This implementation can be simply referred to as a first-level indication.

[0197] For example, the aforementioned N' candidate feature types can correspond to N' type identifiers. This correspondence between the N' candidate feature types and the N' type identifiers can be predefined or preconfigured. For instance, the protocol can predefine the correspondence between the N' candidate feature types and the N' type identifiers. As another example, the network device can configure the correspondence between the N' candidate feature types and the N' type identifiers through higher-layer signaling. Based on this correspondence, the network device can carry the N type identifiers corresponding to the N' candidate feature types in the first information, thereby indicating the feature type of the N features. For example, this first information can be... N binary bits are used to indicate N feature types.

[0198] For example, the first information can also be represented by a bitmap of length N' to indicate the N feature types. This bitmap can include N' binary bits, corresponding to N' candidate feature types, and the value of each binary bit can be used to indicate whether the corresponding candidate feature type belongs to any of the N feature types. Alternatively, the first information can also be represented by a bitmap using a higher base value. In this case, the length of the second information also changes accordingly; for simplicity, this will not be elaborated upon here.

[0199] In a second possible implementation, the network device can indicate the M feature type sets to which the N feature types belong, and indicate the N feature types within the M candidate feature type sets. This implementation can be simply referred to as two-level indication. The indication of the N feature types within the M candidate feature type sets can be indicated by first information, and the indication of the M feature type sets can also be indicated by the first information or other information; this application does not limit this. For ease of distinction and explanation, the information used to indicate the M feature type sets will be referred to as second information below.

[0200] It should be understood that the first and second information can be sent in the same signaling, such as in physical layer signaling, like DCI. Network devices can send the first and second information through the same sending step, and terminal devices can receive the first and second information through the same receiving step.

[0201] The first and second information can also be carried in different signaling messages. For example, the first information can be carried in physical layer signaling, such as DCI; and the second information can be carried in higher layer signaling, such as RRC messages or MAC CE. Network devices can send the first and second information using different sending steps, and terminal devices can receive the first and second information using different receiving steps. This application does not limit this.

[0202] Optionally, prior to step 520, the method further includes step 550: the network device sends second information to the terminal device, the second information indicating a set of M feature types. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second information from the network device.

[0203] The aforementioned N feature types can be derived from M feature type sets out of M' candidate feature type sets. Therefore, the network device can first indicate M feature type sets from the M' candidate feature type sets, and then indicate N feature types from the M feature type sets.

[0204] In this second implementation, the candidate feature types included in each candidate feature type set can be indicated by type identifiers, similar to the implementation in the first method described above. However, in this second implementation, the type identifiers in each candidate feature type set can be independent of each other. Therefore, the type identifiers in the first implementation can be called global type identifiers, and the type identifiers in the second implementation can be called local type identifiers.

[0205] For ease of understanding, Tables 1 and 2 show two examples of the correspondence between candidate feature types and type identifiers included in the two candidate feature type sets.

[0206] Table 1

[0207] Table 2

[0208] The following details the indication of the second information to the set of M feature types.

[0209] One possible design is that the correspondence between the M' candidate feature type sets and the M' set identifiers can be predefined or preconfigured. For example, the protocol can predefine the correspondence between the M' candidate feature type sets and the M' set identifiers. Another example is that the network device configures the correspondence between the M' candidate feature type sets and the M' set identifiers via higher-layer signaling. Based on this correspondence, the network device can indicate the M set identifiers of the M feature type sets within the M' candidate feature type sets. For example, the second information can be obtained through... N binary bits are used to indicate N feature types.

[0210] For ease of understanding, Table 3 shows the correspondence between multiple candidate feature type sets and multiple set identifiers, as well as an example of the candidate feature types included in each candidate feature type set.

[0211] Table 3

[0212] It should be understood that Table 3 is merely an example. In specific implementations, Table 3 can also be split into multiple tables for configuration. For example, the correspondence between set identifiers and candidate feature type sets can be configured as one table, and the candidate feature type sets and their included candidate feature types can be configured as another table. This application does not limit this. Furthermore, the correspondence between each set identifier and candidate feature type set in Table 3 is merely an example and should not constitute any limitation on this application.

[0213] Alternatively, the order of the M' candidate feature type sets can be fixed and correspond to M' binary bits, with each binary bit indicating whether a corresponding candidate feature type set belongs to the M feature type sets. For example, the second information can indicate the M feature type sets using a bitmap of length M'.

[0214] The second possible design is that multiple candidate feature type sets from the M' candidate feature type set can be combined to obtain various possible combinations, each of which can include multiple candidate feature sets. Each combination of candidate feature type sets can be called a format type of the channel map.

[0215] Network devices can indicate one of the combinations that the set of M feature types corresponds to among the multiple combinations.

[0216] For example, these multiple combinations can be indicated by multiple different combination identifiers. The correspondence between these multiple combinations and the multiple combination identifiers can be predefined or preconfigured. For example, the protocol can predefine the correspondence between these multiple combinations and the multiple combination identifiers, as well as the set of candidate features included in each combination. As another example, the network device can configure the correspondence between these multiple combinations and the multiple combination identifiers, as well as the set of candidate features included in each combination, through higher-layer signaling. The network device can, based on the correspondence between these multiple combinations and the multiple combination identifiers, indicate the combination identifiers corresponding to M feature type sets in these multiple combinations. For example, assuming the number of combinations is G, the second information can be... Each binary bit is used to indicate the G combinations.

[0217] For ease of understanding, Table 4 shows an example of the correspondence between different combinations of multiple candidate feature type sets and combination identifiers.

[0218] Table 4

[0219] It should be understood that the correspondence between each combination identifier in Table 4 and the set of candidate feature types included in the combination is merely an example and should not constitute any limitation on this application.

[0220] For example, the order of these multiple combinations can be fixed and correspond to multiple binary bits, each binary bit being used to indicate whether the corresponding combination is a combination of M feature type sets. For instance, assuming the number of combinations is G, the second information can indicate a combination consisting of M feature type sets through a bit map of length G.

[0221] Taking the four candidate feature type sets listed above as examples, these four candidate feature type sets are: large-scale channel feature set, small-scale channel feature set, virtual location feature set, and physical location feature set. The feature types included in these four candidate feature type sets have been listed above and will not be repeated here.

[0222] An example corresponding to the first design mentioned above is as follows: Assume that the N feature types are shadow standard deviation, number of multipath clusters, and power delay distribution, i.e., 3 feature types. These 3 feature types belong to 2 feature type sets, namely, the large-scale channel feature set and the small-scale channel feature set.

[0223] The second piece of information can be indicated by the set identifiers corresponding to the two feature type sets. Taking the correspondence shown in Table 3 as an example, this second piece of information can indicate the set identifiers "0" and "1".

[0224] Alternatively, the second information can also be indicated by a 4-bit bitmap. If the four candidate feature type sets shown in Table 3 are matched with the bits of the bitmap in a top-to-bottom order, the bitmap can be "1100".

[0225] Furthermore, based on the correspondence shown in Tables 1 and 2 above, the first information can indicate the type identifiers "1, 4" and "0".

[0226] An example corresponding to the second design mentioned above is as follows: Assume the N feature types are strong beam ID and the absolute location of the terminal device, i.e., two feature types. These two feature types belong to two feature type sets, namely, the virtual location feature set and the physical location feature set. The second information can indicate the two feature type sets through the combination identifier corresponding to the combination formed by these two feature type sets. Taking the correspondence shown in Table 4 as an example, the second information can indicate the combination identifier "1"; or, the second information can also indicate the combination formed by these two feature type sets through a 2-bit bitmap. If the two combinations shown in Table 4 are matched with the bits of the bitmap in the order from bottom to top, the bitmap can be "01".

[0227] Furthermore, by combining the correspondence between each candidate feature type and its type identifier in each candidate feature type set, the first information can indicate both the type identifier of the strong beam ID and the type identifier of the absolute position. For simplicity, no table is attached here.

[0228] It should be understood that the N feature types exemplified above, and the way the first information indicates the N types, are merely examples and should not constitute any limitation on this application.

[0229] It should also be understood that the N feature types indicated by the first information are the feature types used by the terminal device for subsequent feature matching. These N features are features provided by the channel map, and therefore can also be called reference features, statistical features, or features to be matched, etc., without limitation.

[0230] For ease of understanding, Figure 6 exemplarily illustrates the relationship between candidate feature types and sets of candidate feature types. As shown in Figure 6, Figure 6 illustrates the configuration of two possible format types of channel maps, and the set of candidate feature types included in each format type and the candidate feature types they contain. Format type 1 includes large-scale channel features and small-scale channel features, where large-scale channel features are primary features and small-scale channel features are secondary features. That is, primary features are features in the set of large-scale channel features, and secondary features are features in the set of small-scale channel features. Format type 2 includes virtual location features and physical location features, where virtual location features are primary features and physical location features are secondary features. That is, primary features are features in the set of virtual location features, and secondary features are features in the set of physical locations. Primary and secondary features can be considered as features corresponding to two levels of regions, where primary features can correspond to the first-level region and secondary regions can correspond to the second-level region. The correspondence between feature types and each level of region will be explained in detail below, and will not be elaborated here.

[0231] The network device can indicate M feature type sets through the second information, namely the large-scale channel features and small-scale channel features shown in the figure, that is, format type 1; the network device can indicate N features through the first information, namely the shadow standard deviation and the number of multipath clusters in the large-scale channel features shown in the figure, and the angular delay spectrum in the small-scale channel features.

[0232] It should be understood that the multiple tables and the sets of candidate feature types shown in Figure 6 above, as well as the candidate feature types included in each set, are merely illustrative examples for ease of understanding and should not constitute any limitation on this application. In specific implementations, the type of feature indicated by the feature information in the channel map may include some or all of the multiple feature types listed above, or may include other feature types. This application does not limit this.

[0233] In this embodiment, N feature types can correspond to M-level regions. Each level region within the M-level regions can correspond to one or more feature types from the N feature types. Each feature is a reference feature for its corresponding level region. That is, one or more reference features corresponding to each level region can be used by the terminal device for feature matching.

[0234] In one possible design, N features correspond one-to-one with M-level regions, meaning N equals M. Each level of region corresponds to one feature type, which can be determined by feature matching using one feature type. As mentioned earlier, these N feature types can be the feature types used by the terminal device for subsequent feature matching. When the terminal device is located in a certain region, the features corresponding to that region in the channel map can be used to characterize the channel characteristics and / or location information of the terminal device.

[0235] For example, the M-level region is obtained by dividing the serving cell. More specifically, the M-level region includes multiple regions obtained by dividing the cell according to different granularities. The serving cell is the cell for which network devices provide network services to terminal devices.

[0236] One possible scenario is that the serving cell is divided into M levels of regions. The next level of regions within these M levels can be obtained by subdividing the previous level, thus forming multiple levels (or hierarchical levels, etc.) of regions. In other words, the m-th level region can be obtained by subdividing the (m-1)-th level region, the l-th level can be considered the next level region of the (m-1)-th level region, and the (m-1)-th level region can be considered the previous level region of the m-th level region. Here, m can be a positive integer from 2 to M. In this case, configuring N feature types on the network device means that all feature types used for feature matching are configured by the network device.

[0237] Another possible scenario is that the serving cell is divided into L levels of regions. The M-level region can be a partial region within the L-level region; in other words, the M-level region belongs to the L-level region. The next level region within the L-level region can be obtained by subdividing the previous level region, thus forming multiple levels (or hierarchical levels, etc.) of regions. In other words, the l-th level region can be obtained by subdividing the (l-1)-th level region. The l-th level can be considered the next level region of the (l-1)-th level region, and the (l-1)-th level region can be considered the previous level region of the l-th level region. Here, l can be a positive integer from 2 to L. In this case, the network device configures N feature types, which means that not all feature types used for feature matching are entirely configured by the network device. The N feature types corresponding to the M-level region are configured by the network device, while the J feature types for the other (LM)-level regions can be predefined. The correspondence between the J feature types and the (LM)-level regions can be understood by referring to the correspondence between the N feature types and the M-level regions, and will not be elaborated further.

[0238] In step 530, the terminal device determines a first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between N features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location.

[0239] After determining the feature types of N features to be matched, the terminal device can perform feature matching based on the feature types. In this embodiment, feature matching specifically refers to comparing one or more (e.g., N) features (i.e., reference features) in the channel map with one or more (e.g., N) corresponding features (e.g., measured features) in the measurement results obtained through measurement, according to the feature types. Based on the correlation between the features, features that are closer to the measurement results are determined from the serving cell, and the area corresponding to the feature is then determined as the first area.

[0240] The measurement results for the channel and / or location can include channel characteristics and / or location characteristics. Channel characteristics can include various channel-related features listed above (such as path loss, shadowing standard deviation, channel covariance, etc.), which can be obtained based on measurements of a reference signal used for channel measurement. Location characteristics can include virtual location characteristics and physical location characteristics. Virtual location characteristics can also be obtained based on measurements of a reference signal used for channel measurement (such as CSI-RS), and physical location characteristics can also be obtained based on measurements of a reference signal used for positioning (such as PRS). In other words, among the various feature types listed above, those related to channel characteristics (such as path loss, shadowing standard deviation, channel covariance, etc.) can be obtained by measuring the reference signal used for channel measurement. For example, a terminal device can obtain channel-related features by measuring CSI-RS (i.e., an example of a reference signal). Features related to physical location (such as absolute position) can be obtained by measuring the reference signal used for positioning, or by other means. For example, a terminal device can obtain its physical location information by measuring the PRS (i.e., another example of a reference signal). Alternatively, a terminal device can obtain its physical location information through methods such as GPS or BDS.

[0241] One possible scenario is that the serving cell is divided into M-level regions. The terminal device can acquire one or more features corresponding to each of the M-level regions in the channel map, and perform feature matching sequentially from the M-level regions to determine the first region. In this case, the terminal device can acquire N features corresponding to the M-level region in the channel map.

[0242] Another possible scenario is that the serving cell is divided into L-level regions. The terminal device can acquire one or more features corresponding to each of the L-level regions in the channel map, and perform feature matching sequentially from the L-level regions to the M-level regions to determine the first region. Here, the M-level region within the L-level region corresponds to N feature types, and other (LM)-level regions besides the M-level region can also correspond to one or more other feature types. The one or more feature types corresponding to each of the other (LM)-level regions can be predefined, such as protocol predefined, and this application does not limit this. In this case, the terminal device can acquire T features corresponding to the L-level region in the channel map, where the T features include N features corresponding to the M-level region and J features corresponding to other (LM)-level regions.

[0243] It should be noted that N feature types can include repeated feature types, and T feature types can also include repeated feature types. However, since repeated feature types correspond to different levels of regions, the specific features may also differ, so they are defined as different feature types. For example, if a certain feature type can correspond to two levels of regions, then this feature type is defined as two feature types.

[0244] The above provides examples of various possible feature types. For different feature types, the correlation between the reference feature and the measured feature can be determined using different functions, and the criteria for determining whether they are close can also vary accordingly. Table 5 provides examples of the criteria for different feature types. When a region at a certain level corresponds to a feature type in the table below, the criteria listed in the table can be used to determine the region at that level that most accurately reflects the channel environment and / or physical location of the terminal device. The region determined in this way can be called the recommended candidate region for that level. Each recommended candidate region can include one or more regions at that level.

[0245] Table 5

[0246] The distance can be, for example, Euclidean distance, Mahalanobis distance (also known as covariance distance), etc. Similarity can be, for example, cosine similarity, covariance, Pearson correlation coefficient, etc. Furthermore, K corresponds to different feature types. l The values ​​of K can be the same or different. Corresponding to different levels of regions with the same feature type, K... l The values ​​of K can be the same or different. l This is merely an example intended to represent one or more preceding units corresponding to the level 1 region, but not limited to the preceding unit, and should not constitute any limitation on this application.

[0247] The various distance and similarity metrics mentioned above, used to determine the correlation between reference features and measured features, can be collectively referred to as functions, and the calculated values ​​are function values. For each feature type, the value calculated using the function used to determine the correlation between the reference feature and the measured feature can be called the function value corresponding to that feature type.

[0248] When a certain level of region corresponds to a feature type, the candidate regions for that level can be determined based on the correlation between the reference features and the measured features of that feature type. As shown in the table above, for feature types such as path loss, shadow standard deviation, delay spread, angular spread, number of multipath clusters, number of sub-paths within a cluster, coherence time, coherence distance, Rice factor, power delay distribution, angular delay spectrum, channel eigenvalues, interaction point location, absolute location, and relative location, the distance between the reference features and the measured features can be used as the criterion. It can be understood that the distance between the reference features and the measured features reflects the magnitude of the difference between them. The smaller the difference, the more similar they are, i.e., the higher the correlation; the larger the difference, the less similar they are, i.e., the lower the correlation. For the channel feature basis, the similarity between the reference features and the measured features can be used as the criterion. It is understandable that the higher the similarity, the higher the correlation; the lower the similarity, the lower the correlation. For strong beam IDs, if the strong beam ID is the ID of a beam, the judgment can be based on whether the reference feature and the measured feature are the same; if the strong beam ID is the ID of a reference signal resource, the judgment can be based on whether the reference signal resource is the same or adjacent, where adjacent can include being adjacent in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0249] For any feature type, the above function can be used to determine the recommended candidate regions. For example, from the multiple regions included in the l-th level region, the distance between the reference feature and the measured feature is calculated according to the corresponding feature type (e.g., path loss, shadow standard deviation, delay spread, angle spread, number of multipath clusters, number of sub-paths within a cluster, coherence time, coherence distance, Rice factor, power delay distribution, angle delay spectrum, channel eigenvalue, interaction point location, absolute location, relative location, etc.). The distances corresponding to these multiple regions are then sorted in ascending order, and the top K are selected. l The region at position l is determined as the recommended candidate region. For example, from the multiple regions included in the l-th level region, the similarity between the reference feature and the measured feature is calculated according to the corresponding feature type (such as channel covariance). The similarity scores of these multiple regions are then sorted in descending order, and the top K regions are selected as the candidate regions. l The region with the specified value is determined as the recommended candidate region. For example, from the multiple regions included in the level 1 region, regions whose candidate values ​​are the same as or adjacent to the measured strong beam ID are selected as recommended candidate regions.

[0250] When a region at a certain level corresponds to multiple feature types, candidate regions for recommendation at that level can be determined based on the correlation between the reference features of those multiple feature types and the measured features. One possible implementation is to use the weighted sum of the function values ​​corresponding to the multiple feature types for each region at that level as the criterion. For example, if the weighted sum of the function values ​​corresponding to the multiple feature types for a particular region at that level is greater than or equal to a preset threshold, that region is determined as a candidate region for recommendation at that level. Another example is to sort the weighted sums of the function values ​​corresponding to the multiple feature types for those regions from largest to smallest, and select the top K regions. l The region in question is determined as the candidate region recommended for this level.

[0251] For example, a certain level of region includes P (P is an integer greater than 1) regions. The terminal device can obtain Q (Q is an integer greater than 1) features corresponding to this level of region based on the measurement results. Then, for each feature, the similarity and / or distance between the reference features obtained from the channel map corresponding to the P regions and the measured features can be calculated, thereby obtaining P function values ​​corresponding to the P regions. For each of the Q features, the corresponding P function values ​​can be calculated. Subsequently, the Q function values ​​corresponding to the same region and the Q features can be weighted and summed to obtain the weighted sum corresponding to that region. For P regions, P weighted sums can be obtained. The terminal device can sort the P weighted sums in descending order and determine the regions corresponding to the top K weighted sums as the regions that meet the judgment criteria. The weighting coefficients used to calculate the weighted sums can be predefined or flexibly adjusted according to the actual network conditions, such as assigning larger weights to items with larger feature differences and smaller weights to items with smaller feature differences, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0252] It should be understood that the above description, which combines different functions to determine the degree of correlation between reference features and measured features of different feature types, is detailed above. The functions and examples listed above are provided for ease of understanding only and should not be construed as limiting this application. Based on the same concept, those skilled in the art can also conceive of more possible functions to determine the degree of correlation between reference features and measured features, and can also conceive of more judgment conditions for determining candidate regions for recommendation at each level.

[0253] It should be noted that the recommended candidate regions can refer to regions whose features are closely similar to the measured features obtained by the terminal device through feature matching for a region at a certain level. The terminal device can report these regions to the network device so that the network device can determine the candidate regions for the next level, or it can not report them to the network device and keep them for reference for feature matching of the next level region. This application does not limit this.

[0254] Optionally, prior to step 530, the method further includes step 560: the terminal device receives a set of feature information from the network device, the set of feature information being used to indicate various features. Accordingly, the network device sends the set of feature information to the terminal device.

[0255] The feature information set can be feature data obtained from the channel map. For details on how network devices obtain the channel map, please refer to step 510 above; further explanation is unnecessary.

[0256] For the case where the serving cell is classified into an M-level area, this feature information set can be used to indicate N features; for the case where the serving cell is classified into an L-level area, this feature information can be used to indicate T features, which include N features. For ease of explanation, the following text will use the term "feature information set used to indicate multiple features" to describe this uniformly.

[0257] A network device can send a set of feature information to a terminal device through one or more transmission steps to indicate various features to the terminal device. For example, the network device can send a first set of feature information (i.e., an example of a feature information set) indicating features corresponding to one or more candidate level 1 regions; send a second set of feature information (i.e., another example of a feature information set) indicating features corresponding to one or more candidate level 2 regions; and so on, without further elaboration. The first and second sets of feature information can be sent simultaneously or separately, without limitation.

[0258] To facilitate understanding, the process of steps 530 and 560 above will be explained in detail below using the example of a cell being divided into two levels of regions. These two levels of regions are Level 1 and Level 2. The serving cell of the terminal device can include multiple Level 1 regions, which can be obtained by dividing the serving cell. Each Level 1 region includes multiple Level 2 regions, which can be obtained by dividing the Level 1 regions. These two levels of regions correspond one-to-one with two feature types. For example, the feature type corresponding to the Level 1 region is the shadow standard deviation and the number of multipath clusters in the large-scale channel feature set, while the feature type corresponding to the Level 2 region is the power delay distribution in the small-scale channel feature set. Another example is that the feature type corresponding to the Level 1 region is the strong beam ID in the virtual location feature set, while the feature type corresponding to the Level 2 region is the absolute position in the physical location feature set.

[0259] In this context, a two-level region can be understood as the serving cell being divided into M levels, where M equals 2, and the corresponding two feature types are also N equals 2. Alternatively, a two-level region can be understood as the serving cell being divided into L levels, where L equals 2, and the corresponding two feature types are T equals 2. In other words, both of the above feature types can be indicated by the network device through first information (or first information and second information), or one of the above two feature types can be indicated by the network device through first information (or first information and second information), while the other is predefined.

[0260] One possible implementation of steps 530 and 560 is shown in Figure 7 and can be illustrated by steps 701 to 705 below. In other words, steps 530 and 560 in method 500 can be replaced by steps 701 to 705 below.

[0261] In step 701, the network device sends a first set of feature information to the terminal device, the first set of feature information being used to indicate the features of one or more candidate level 1 regions. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first set of feature information from the network device.

[0262] The candidate one or more Level 1 regions can be some or all of the Level 1 regions in the serving cell. For example, the network device can determine the candidate one or more Level 1 regions based on the approximate location of the terminal device. The network device can obtain features corresponding to the candidate one or more Level 1 regions from the channel map and send them to the terminal device through a first feature information set. It should be understood that the features indicated by the first feature information set are reference features.

[0263] For example, the first feature information set includes feature information for indicating one or more candidate Level 1 regions. For instance, the first feature information set includes region identifiers and corresponding feature information for one or more candidate Level 1 regions. For example, if the feature type corresponding to a Level 1 region is shadow standard deviation and the number of multipath clusters, the features indicated by the first feature information set may include one or more candidate values ​​for shadow standard deviation and one or more candidate values ​​for the number of multipath clusters. As another example, if the feature type corresponding to a Level 1 region is strong beam ID, the features indicated by the first feature information set may include one or more candidate values ​​for strong beam ID. Wherein, one or more candidate values ​​of the aforementioned features (shadow standard deviation, number of multipath clusters, or strong beam ID) correspond one-to-one with the one or more Level 1 regions indicated by the aforementioned region identifier.

[0264] Step 702: The terminal device determines a second region from one or more candidate first-level regions based on the degree of correlation between the features indicated by the first feature information set and the measurement results of the channel and / or location. The second region includes one or more of the candidate first-level regions.

[0265] It should be understood that this second region is the recommended candidate region in the first-level region.

[0266] The terminal device can acquire features corresponding to one or more candidate Level 1 regions based on the measurement results of the channel, or in other words, the measurement results of the reference signal. It should be understood that the features acquired by the terminal device based on the measurement results are measured features.

[0267] For example, the feature types corresponding to the first-level region are the shadow standard deviation and the number of multipath clusters. The features obtained by the terminal device based on the measurement results may include the shadow standard deviation and the number of multipath clusters obtained by measuring the reference signal, that is, the measured shadow standard deviation and the measured number of multipath clusters.

[0268] The terminal device can determine the top K1 first-level regions as second regions from one or more candidate first-level regions based on the correlation between one or more candidate values ​​of the shadow standard deviation and the measured shadow standard deviation, and the correlation between one or more candidate values ​​of the number of multipath clusters and the measured number of multipath clusters.

[0269] For example, the feature type corresponding to the first-level region is the strong beam ID. The features obtained by the terminal device based on the measurement results may include the strong beam ID obtained from the measurement of the reference signal, that is, the measured strong beam ID.

[0270] The terminal device can determine a second region from one or more first-level regions that is the same as the measured strong beam ID, based on one or more candidate values ​​of the strong beam ID and the measured strong beam ID respectively.

[0271] In step 703, the terminal device sends indication information for the second area to the network device. Accordingly, the network device receives the indication information for the second area from the terminal device.

[0272] The terminal device can report the determined second region to the network device, so that the network device can determine candidate second-level regions based on the second region. For example, the second region can be indicated by the region identifier of a first-level region. The indication information for the second region can be the region identifiers of K1 first-level regions.

[0273] In step 704, the network device sends a second set of feature information to the terminal device. This second set of feature information is used to indicate the features of one or more candidate level 2 regions. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second set of feature information from the network device.

[0274] The candidate one or more Level 2 areas may be determined based on a Level 2 area reported by the terminal device. For example, it may include one or more Level 2 areas within the coverage area of ​​the Level 2 area, or one or more other Level 2 areas near the Level 2 area. Alternatively, the candidate one or more Level 2 areas may be determined by the network device itself, for example, it may include some or all of the Level 2 areas in the serving cell. This application does not limit this.

[0275] Network devices can obtain features corresponding to one or more candidate Level 2 regions from the channel map and send them to terminal devices via a second feature information set. It should be understood that the features indicated by the second feature information set are also reference features.

[0276] For example, the second feature information set includes feature information for indicating one or more candidate Level 2 regions. For instance, the second feature information set may include region identifiers and corresponding feature information for one or more candidate Level 2 regions. For example, if the feature type corresponding to a Level 2 region is power delay distribution, the feature indicated by the second feature information set may include one or more candidate values ​​of the power delay distribution. As another example, if the feature type corresponding to a Level 2 region is absolute position, the feature indicated by the second feature information set may include one or more candidate values ​​of the absolute position. Wherein, one or more candidate values ​​of the aforementioned feature (strong beam ID or absolute position) can correspond one-to-one with one or more Level 2 regions indicated by the aforementioned region identifier.

[0277] Step 705: The terminal device determines a first region from the one or more second-level regions based on the degree of correlation between the features indicated by the second feature information set and the measurement results of the channel and / or location. The first region includes one or more of the one or more second-level regions mentioned above.

[0278] It should be understood that, since this example assumes the serving cell is divided into two levels of areas, the one or more Level 2 areas determined in step 705 are considered the first areas. If the serving cell is divided into more levels of areas, the one or more Level 2 areas determined in step 705 are recommended candidate areas among the Level 2 areas.

[0279] The terminal device can acquire features corresponding to one or more candidate Level 2 regions based on measurements of the channel and / or location. It should be understood that the power delay distribution acquired by the terminal device based on the measurement results is a measured feature.

[0280] For example, the feature type corresponding to the Level 2 region is power delay distribution. The features obtained by the terminal device based on the measurement results may include the power delay distribution measured from the reference signal, that is, the measured power delay distribution.

[0281] The terminal device can determine the top K2 (K2 is an integer greater than or equal to 1) second-level regions as the first region from one or more candidate second-level regions based on the degree of correlation between one or more candidate values ​​of the power delay distribution and the measured power delay distribution.

[0282] For example, the feature type corresponding to the second-level region is absolute location. The features obtained by the terminal device based on the measurement results may include the location information obtained by locating the terminal device. This location information can be used to determine the absolute location of the terminal device, that is, the measured absolute location.

[0283] The terminal device can determine the top K2 second-level regions as the first region from one or more candidate second-level regions based on the degree of correlation between one or more candidate values ​​of absolute position and the measured absolute position.

[0284] The terminal device can report the determined first area to the network device. For example, this first area can be indicated by the area identifier of a second-level area. The indication information for the first area can be the area identifiers of K2 second-level areas.

[0285] It should be noted that, among the feature types listed above, physical location information involves privacy such as personal information, so network devices can transparently transmit the physical location information obtained from the core network to terminal devices. Optionally, this physical location information can be encrypted.

[0286] It is easy to see that the process described above, through steps 701 to 705, illustrates an example of a network device sending a set of characteristic information to a terminal device through multiple transmission steps. However, this should not constitute any limitation on this application. Based on the same concept, those skilled in the art can make simple modifications to obtain more possible implementations.

[0287] For example, a network device can send a first set of feature information and a second set of feature information in a single transmission step. The terminal device determines a second region from the candidate one or more first-level regions based on the correlation between reference features of the candidate first-level regions indicated by the first set of feature information and the measured features. The terminal device may not report the second region, but can use it as a reference, for example, selecting features of a second-level region within the coverage area of ​​the second region from the features indicated by the second set of feature information for feature matching, and determining a first region from the second region based on the correlation between reference features of the second-level region within the coverage area of ​​the second region and the measured features.

[0288] Since different feature types can be characterized by different types of data—for example, standard shadow difference can be represented by specific numerical values, and channel feature basis can be represented by matrices—network devices, when sending a set of feature information to terminal devices, can further indicate the format of the information used to indicate each feature in that set.

[0289] Optionally, the method further includes step 570: the network device sends third information to the terminal device, the third information indicating the format of the feature information in the feature information set used to indicate each feature. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third information from the network device.

[0290] Table 6 below illustrates the formats corresponding to different feature types.

[0291] Table 6

[0292] It should be understood that the format corresponding to different feature types, that is, the format corresponding to features of different feature types, is the format of the information used to indicate the feature in the feature information set.

[0293] It should also be understood that the above examples of different feature types are merely illustrative and should not constitute any limitation on this application. For example, the format of channel covariance or channel feature basis can also be replaced with the number of bits and rows, or the number of bits and columns, as long as the terminal device can correctly parse the corresponding information set from the feature information set according to the format.

[0294] Network devices can generate third information based on the formats corresponding to the different feature types mentioned above, ensuring that the feature information in the feature information set that indicates each feature satisfies the constraints of the aforementioned formats. In this way, terminal devices can parse various features from the feature information set based on the third information.

[0295] In step 540, the terminal device sends indication information for the first region to the network device. Accordingly, the network device receives the indication information for the first region from the terminal device.

[0296] After determining the first area, the terminal device can send indication information of the first area to the network device. For example, the indication information of the first area can be carried in uplink control information (UCI).

[0297] In this embodiment, since the cell is divided into multiple levels, each level's area can be indicated by a set of area identifiers. For example, a level 1 area can be indicated by a level 1 area identifier, a level 2 area can be indicated by a level 2 area identifier, and so on, with the level l area indicated by a level l area identifier. Since the first area is determined through hierarchical matching, the first area is the level l area within the level l area and can be identified by the level l area identifier.

[0298] In one possible design, since the level 1 region can be obtained by dividing the (l-1) level region, a certain region can be indicated by a combination of multi-level region identifiers. For example, if the first region is a level L region, it can be jointly indicated by the level L region identifier corresponding to the first region, the region identifier of the (l-1) level region to which the first region belongs, the region identifier of the (l-2) level region to which the (l-1) level region belongs (i.e., the (l-2) level region to which the first region belongs), and so on, up to the region identifier of the level 1 region to which the first region belongs. In this way, the identifier of the level 1 region within its (l-1) level region can be unique, but the region identifiers of the level 1 regions in different (l-1) level regions can be independent of each other.

[0299] In another possible design, a set of area identifiers can be defined for each level of region; that is, L sets of area identifiers can be defined for level L regions. The level l region can be indicated by the area identifier of the level l region. The first region can be indicated by the level L region.

[0300] Optionally, the method further includes step 580: the network device sends channel characteristic information of the first region to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the channel characteristic information of the first region from the network device.

[0301] For example, the channel feature information can be used to indicate channel features, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: channel statistical covariance matrix, angular delay spectrum, power delay distribution, path loss, space-frequency basis, spatial basis, frequency basis, time basis, and combinations of two or more of the above basis.

[0302] The network device can obtain channel characteristic information of the first region from the channel map based on the indication information of the first region, and then send it to the terminal device. The network device can obtain part or all of the channel characteristic information of the first region from the channel map, and this application does not limit this. In addition, the network device may also send channel characteristic information of other regions near the first region to the terminal device, not only to the terminal device. This application does not limit this.

[0303] Based on the above scheme, network devices can indicate the feature types of one or more features to be matched to terminal devices via signaling. This allows terminal devices to perform feature matching based on the indicated feature types, rather than being restricted to a fixed feature class. Therefore, network devices can flexibly indicate highly discriminative feature types to terminal devices based on factors such as scenario and channel conditions. This enables terminal devices to quickly and accurately identify areas that are relatively close to the current channel environment (i.e., the first area below), thereby obtaining channel feature information for that area. Furthermore, it eliminates the limitation that a fixed type of feature may be unavailable due to factors such as scenario conditions, demonstrating strong robustness.

[0304] Furthermore, since the cell is divided into multi-level regions based on different granularities, the terminal device can perform progressive matching within the cell range from coarse to fine based on multiple features, resulting in high matching accuracy. Moreover, because multiple types of features can characterize the features of a region from different dimensions, the discriminative power of the features can be improved, and the problems of low accuracy, low matching efficiency, and time-consuming matching caused by single-type feature matching can be overcome.

[0305] It should be understood that in the embodiments shown above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the sequence number of each step does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each step should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0306] The methods provided by the embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to Figures 5 to 7. The apparatus provided by the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 8 to 10. It should be understood that the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the method embodiments; therefore, any content not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiments above, and for the sake of brevity, will not be repeated.

[0307] As an example, Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 800 includes a transceiver unit 810 and a processing unit 820. The transceiver unit 810 can be used to implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver unit 810 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit. The processing unit 820 can be used to perform processing, such as determining a first region.

[0308] Optionally, the device 800 may further include a storage unit for storing instructions and / or data, and the processing unit 820 may read the instructions and / or data from the storage unit to enable the device to implement the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0309] In one possible design, the device 800 can be the terminal device in method 500 shown in FIG5, which can be used to implement the steps or processes executed by the terminal device in the corresponding method embodiments above. The transceiver unit 810 can be used to perform operations related to transmission and reception in the method embodiments above, such as steps 520 and 540 in FIG5, or one or more of steps 550 to 580 in FIG5; or one or more of steps 701, 703, and 704 in FIG7. The processing unit 820 can be used to perform processing-related operations in the method embodiments above, or operations other than transmission and reception, such as step 530 in FIG5; or one or more of steps 702 and 705 in FIG7.

[0310] For example, the transceiver unit 810 can be used to receive first information indicating the feature types of N features to be matched, the N features corresponding to M-level regions in the serving cell, one or more of the N features corresponding to a first-level region in the M-level regions, and each feature being a reference feature of its corresponding first-level region; wherein N is greater than or equal to M, and N and M are integers greater than or equal to 1. The processing unit 820 can be used to determine a first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location, the first region being one or more regions in the serving cell. The transceiver unit 810 can also be used to transmit indication information of the first region.

[0311] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is further configured to receive channel characteristic information of a first region, which is used to indicate the channel characteristics of the first region.

[0312] In one possible implementation, the feature types of the N features come from M feature type sets, which correspond to the M-level regions. Each feature type set includes one or more feature types of the corresponding first-level region.

[0313] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is also configured to receive second information, which indicates a set of M feature types.

[0314] One possibility is that the service cell is divided into M-level areas.

[0315] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is also configured to receive a set of feature information, which is used to indicate N types of features.

[0316] Another possible scenario is that the serving cell is divided into L-level regions, and the aforementioned M-level regions belong to these L-level regions; the (LM)-level regions in the L-level regions other than the M-level regions correspond to J features, the feature types of the J features are predefined, and one or more of the J features correspond to the first-level regions in the (LM)-level regions; where T is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and L is a positive integer greater than M.

[0317] Optionally, the processing unit 820 is further configured to determine a first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between N features and the J features with the measurement results of the channel and / or location.

[0318] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is further configured to receive a set of feature information, which is used to indicate the N features and the J features.

[0319] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is also configured to receive third information, which is used to indicate the format of the feature information in the feature information set used to indicate each feature.

[0320] In another possible design, the device 800 can be the network device in method 500 shown in FIG. 5, which can be used to implement the steps or processes executed by the network device in the corresponding method embodiments above. The transceiver unit 810 can be used to perform operations related to transmission and reception in the method embodiments above, such as steps 520 and 540 in FIG. 5, or one or more of steps 550 to 580 in FIG. 5; or one or more of steps 701, 703, and 704 in FIG. 7. The processing unit 820 can be used to perform processing-related operations in the method embodiments above, or operations other than transmission and reception, such as step 510 in FIG. 5; or, for example, determining one or more candidate second-level regions based on the second region in the process shown in FIG. 7.

[0321] For example, the processing unit 820 can be used to determine the feature types of N features to be matched, where the N features correspond to M-level regions in the serving cell of the terminal device, one or more of the N features correspond to a first-level region in the M-level regions, and each feature is a reference feature of the corresponding first-level region; wherein N is greater than or equal to M, and N and M are integers greater than or equal to 1. The transceiver unit 810 can be used to send first information to the terminal device, the first information indicating the feature types of the N features.

[0322] In one possible implementation, the feature types of the N features come from M feature type sets, which correspond to the M-level regions. Each feature type set includes one or more feature types of the corresponding first-level region.

[0323] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is further configured to send second information to the terminal device, the second information being used to indicate the M feature type sets.

[0324] One possibility is that the service cell is divided into M-level areas.

[0325] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is further configured to receive indication information of a first region from the terminal device, the first region being determined by the terminal device from the serving cell based on the correlation between N characteristics and the measurement results of the channel and / or location.

[0326] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is also configured to send a set of feature information to the terminal device, the set of feature information being used to indicate N types of features.

[0327] Another possibility is that the serving cell is classified as an L-level area, and the aforementioned M-level area belongs to this L-level area.

[0328] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is further configured to receive indication information of a first region from the terminal device. The first region is determined by the terminal device from the serving cell based on the correlation between N features and J features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location. The feature types of the J features are predefined. The (LM) level regions in the L level region, excluding the aforementioned M level regions, correspond to the J features. One or more of the J features correspond to the first level regions in the (LM) level regions. Wherein, J is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and L is a positive integer greater than M.

[0329] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is further configured to send a set of feature information to the terminal device, the set of feature information being used to indicate the N types of features and the J types of features.

[0330] Optionally, the transceiver unit 810 is further configured to send third information to the terminal device, the third information being used to indicate the format of the feature information in the feature information set used to indicate each feature.

[0331] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit performing the above-mentioned corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0332] It should also be understood that the device 800 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electronic circuitry, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a proprietary processor, or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuitry, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 800 can specifically be the communication device in the above embodiments, and can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the communication device in the above method embodiments; to avoid repetition, these will not be described again here.

[0333] The apparatus 800 of each of the above-described schemes has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the terminal device or network device in the above-described methods. The function 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; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (e.g., the sending unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as processing units, can be replaced by processors, each executing the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0334] In addition, the transceiver unit 810 described above can also be a transceiver circuit (for example, it may include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit can be a processing circuit.

[0335] It should be noted that the device in Figure 8 can be the communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the foregoing embodiments, or it can be a circuit, chip, or chip system, such as a SoC or SIP system. The transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. No limitations are imposed here.

[0336] As an example, Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of this application. The device 900 includes a processor 910 coupled to a memory 920, the memory 920 being used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data, and the processor 910 being used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 920, or to read the data stored in the memory 920, to perform the methods in the method embodiments described above.

[0337] Optionally, there may be one or more processors 910.

[0338] Optionally, the memory 920 may be one or more.

[0339] Alternatively, the memory 920 can be integrated with the processor 910, or it can be set separately.

[0340] Optionally, as shown in FIG9, the device 900 further includes a transceiver 930 for receiving and / or transmitting signals. For example, the processor 910 is used to control the transceiver 930 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0341] As an example, processor 910 may have the functions of processing unit 820 shown in FIG8, memory 920 may have the functions of storage unit, and transceiver 930 may have the functions of transceiver unit 810 shown in FIG8.

[0342] As one option, the device 900 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments.

[0343] For example, processor 910 is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory 920 to implement the relevant operations of terminal devices or network devices in the various method embodiments described above.

[0344] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0345] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes the following forms: 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).

[0346] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0347] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0348] As an example, Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1000 provided in an embodiment of this application. The chip system 1000 (or may also be called a processing system) includes logic circuitry 1010 and an input / output interface 1020.

[0349] The logic circuit 1010 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 10. The logic circuit 1010 can be coupled to a memory unit, calling instructions from the memory unit, enabling the chip system 1000 to implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of this application. The input / output interface 1020 can be an input / output circuit in the chip system 1000, outputting processed information from the chip system 1000, or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 1000 for processing.

[0350] As one approach, the chip system 1000 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the various method embodiments described above.

[0351] For example, logic circuit 1010 is used to implement processing-related operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments; input / output interface 1020 is used to implement sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments.

[0352] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions for implementing the methods executed by a terminal device or network device in the above-described method embodiments. For example, when the computer program or instructions are run, the method 500 shown in FIG5 is executed.

[0353] This application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement the method described above, which is executed by a terminal device or a network device. For example, when the computer program or instructions are run, the method 500 shown in FIG5 is executed.

[0354] This application also provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device can be used to execute the methods executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments, such as the method executed by the terminal device in method 500 shown in FIG. 5. The network device can be used to execute the methods executed by the network device in the above method embodiments, such as the method executed by the network device in method 500 shown in FIG. 5.

[0355] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working process and beneficial effects of the systems, devices and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0356] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, 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 mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of apparatus or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0357] 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.

[0358] 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.

[0359] 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. This 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 via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media can 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 disks (SSDs)).

[0360] 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 prior art, 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, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0361] 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

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive first information, which indicates the feature type of N features to be matched, wherein the N features correspond to M-level regions in the serving cell, and one or more of the N features correspond to a first-level region in the M-level regions, and each feature is a reference feature of the corresponding first-level region; wherein N is greater than or equal to M, and N and M are integers greater than or equal to 1; Based on the correlation between the N features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location, a first region is determined from the serving cells, wherein the first region is one or more regions in the serving cells; Send the indication information for the first region.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The measurement results are obtained based on the measurement of reference signals, which include: reference signals for channel measurement and / or reference signals for positioning.

3. The method as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: The channel characteristic information of the first region is received, and the channel characteristic information of the first region is used to indicate the channel characteristics of the first region.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The N features are derived from M feature type sets, which correspond to the M-level regions. Each feature type set includes one or more feature types of the corresponding first-level region.

5. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, Before determining the first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and measurements of the channel and / or location, the method further includes: Receive second information, which is used to indicate the M feature type sets.

6. The method as described in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The M feature type sets include at least one of the following candidate feature type sets: virtual location feature set, physical location feature set, large-scale channel feature set, and small-scale channel feature set.

7. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The set of multiple candidate feature types is predefined.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The serving cell is divided into the M-level regions, and the next level region in the M-level regions is obtained based on the division of the previous level region.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The serving cell is divided into the M-level regions. Before determining the first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location, the method further includes: Receive a set of feature information, which is used to indicate the N features.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The serving cell is divided into L-level regions, and the M-level regions belong to the L-level regions. In the L-level regions, the next level region is obtained by dividing the previous level region, where L is a positive integer greater than M.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and 10, characterized in that, The serving cell is divided into L-level regions, the M-level regions belong to the L-level regions, and the (LM)-level regions in the L-level regions other than the M-level regions correspond to J features. The feature types of the J features are predefined, and one or more of the J features correspond to the first-level regions in the (LM)-level regions; where J is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and L is a positive integer greater than M. Determining the first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location includes: The first region is determined from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and the J features and the measurement results of the channel and / or the location.

12. The method as described in claim 11, characterized in that, Before determining the first region from the serving cell based on the correlation between the N features and the J features and the measurement results of the channel and / or the location, the method further includes: Receive a set of feature information, which is used to indicate the N types of features and the J types of features.

13. The method as described in claim 9 or 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive third information, which is used to indicate the format of the feature information in the feature information set used to indicate each feature.

14. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: The feature types of N features to be matched are determined. The N features correspond to M-level regions in the serving cell of the terminal device. One or more of the N features correspond to a first-level region in the M-level regions. Each feature is a reference feature of the corresponding first-level region. Wherein, N is greater than or equal to M, and N and M are integers greater than or equal to 1. Send first information to the terminal device, wherein the first information is used to indicate the feature type of the N features.

15. The method as described in claim 14, characterized in that, The N features are derived from M feature type sets, which correspond to the M-level regions. Each feature type set includes one or more reference feature types of the corresponding first-level region.

16. The method as described in claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second message to the terminal device, the second message being used to indicate the M feature type sets.

17. The method as described in claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The M feature type sets include at least one of the following candidate feature type sets: virtual location feature set, physical location feature set, large-scale channel feature set, and small-scale channel feature set.

18. The method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, The set of multiple candidate feature types is predefined.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that, The serving cell is divided into the M-level region, and the next level region in the M-level region is obtained based on the division of the previous level region.

20. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that, The serving cell is divided into the M-level area, and the method further includes: The terminal device receives indication information for a first region, which is determined from the serving cell by the terminal device based on the correlation between the N features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location.

21. The method as described in claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, Before receiving indication information from the first region of the terminal device, the method further includes: A set of feature information is sent to the terminal device, the set of feature information being used to indicate the N features.

22. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that, The serving cell is divided into L-level regions, and the M-level regions belong to the L-level regions. In the L-level regions, the next level region is obtained by dividing the previous level region, where L is a positive integer greater than M.

23. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, 22, characterized in that, The serving cell is divided into L-level areas, and the M-level areas belong to the L-level areas; The method further includes: The terminal device receives indication information for a first region, which is determined from the serving cell by the terminal device based on the correlation between the N features and the J features and the measurement results of the channel and / or location. The feature types of the J features are predefined. The (LM) level regions in the L level regions, excluding the M level regions, correspond to the J features. One or more of the J features correspond to the first level regions in the (LM) level regions. Wherein, J is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and L is a positive integer greater than M.

24. The method as described in claim 22 or 23, characterized in that, Before receiving indication information from the first region of the terminal device, the method further includes: A set of feature information is sent to the terminal device, the set of feature information being used to indicate the N types of features and the J types of features.

25. The method as described in claim 21 or 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a third message to the terminal device, the third message being used to indicate the format of the feature information in the feature information set used to indicate each feature.

26. The method of claim 20 or 23, wherein, The method further includes: The channel characteristic information of the first region is sent to the terminal device, and the channel characteristic information of the first region is used to indicate the channel characteristics of the first region.

27. A communications device, characterized by It includes modules or units for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or modules or units for performing the method of any one of claims 14 to 26.

28. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a processor configured to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 14 to 26.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, or cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 14 to 26.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, or cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 14 to 26.

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