Communication method and apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium and program product

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure are a communication method and apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium and a computer program product. The method comprises: a terminal device determining a receiving beam used for receiving a first reference signal from a first network device; the terminal device receiving, from the first network device, resource configuration information of a second reference signal set used for beam management, wherein the resource configuration information comprises quasi-co-location configuration information between the second reference signal set and the first reference signal, and the quasi-co-location configuration information indicates that the receiving beam that receives the first reference signal is used to receive the second reference signal set; on the basis of the quasi-co-location configuration information, the terminal device using the receiving beam to measure the second reference signal set sent by a second network device; and the terminal device reporting to the first network device a measurement result for the second reference signal set.

Description

Communication methods, apparatus, computer-readable storage media and program products

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411738831.9, filed on November 28, 2024, entitled "Communication Method, Apparatus, Computer-Readable Storage Medium and Program Product", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure generally relates to the field of communications, and more specifically to a communication method, apparatus, computer-readable storage medium, and computer program product. Background Technology

[0003] In the rapidly developing field of wireless communication, multi-transmission reception point (TRP) collaborative scheduling technology is a key research direction. In the NR (New Radio) era, multi-TRP collaborative technology has further demonstrated its value. In the sub-6GHz band, the collaborative technology has relatively low protocol dependence; the terminal, with its full-width beam, can simultaneously receive signals from multiple TRPs, and each TRP at the base station can independently determine its transmission beam, leaving the UE (User Equipment) unaware. There are no special protocol requirements for beam selection by the base station and terminal equipment. However, for millimeter-wave bands, both the base station and the terminal need to perform beam scanning. To address the narrow beam scanning characteristics of millimeter waves, the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) protocol has evolved and optimized, supporting multi-TRP scheduling mechanisms only in Release 17. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method, apparatus, system, computer-readable storage medium, and computer program product that enable millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration without increasing terminal cost and power consumption, and also enable multi-TRP collaborative scheduling for millimeter-wave terminals that do not support the R17 standard.

[0005] Firstly, a communication method is provided. The execution entity of the method provided in the first aspect can be a terminal device. Unless otherwise specified, the terminal device in this disclosure can refer to the terminal device itself, a component within the terminal device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal device's functions. The following example uses the terminal device itself as the terminal device. In this method, the terminal device determines a receiving beam for receiving a first reference signal from a first network device; receives resource configuration information from the first network device for beam management of a second reference signal set, wherein the resource configuration information includes quasi-co-address configuration information between the second reference signal set and the first reference signal, the quasi-co-address configuration information indicating the use of the receiving beam for receiving the first reference signal to receive the second reference signal set; based on the quasi-co-address configuration information, uses the receiving beam to measure the second reference signal set transmitted by the second network device; and reports the measurement result of the second reference signal set to the first network device. In this way, millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration can be achieved without increasing terminal cost and power consumption, and multi-TRP collaborative scheduling can also be performed for millimeter-wave terminals that do not support the R17 standard.

[0006] In some implementations, the second set of reference signals includes a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS). This allows the CSI-RS transmitted by the second network device to be received using the same receive beam used to receive the first reference signal from the first network device, enabling millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration without increasing terminal cost or power consumption.

[0007] In some implementations, measuring the second reference signal set includes performing CSI-RS measurements to determine the CSI-RS-associated transmit beam of the second network device. In this way, the CSI-RS-associated transmit beam of the second network device can be measured without increasing terminal cost and power consumption, and the terminal device can remain unaware of the second network device's presence.

[0008] In some implementations, the quasi-co-location configuration information includes information indicating that the quasi-co-location type is TypeD. In this way, CSI-RS transmitted by the second network device can be received via a receive beam used to receive a first reference signal from the first network device without the terminal device's awareness, to measure the transmit beam associated with the CSI-RS of the second network device, thus enabling millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration without increasing terminal cost and power consumption.

[0009] In some implementations, the terminal device receives configuration information for measurement events from a first network device, wherein the measurement events indicate that the terminal device is located in the coverage overlap area of ​​the first and second network devices; and reports the measurement events to the first network device based on the detection of the measurement events. In this way, terminal devices located in the coverage overlap area of ​​the first and second network devices can use the same receiving beam to receive the first reference signal from the first network device and the second reference signal set from the second network device without increasing terminal cost and power consumption, thus also applicable to millimeter-wave terminals that do not support the R17 standard.

[0010] In some implementations, the terminal device performs downlink or uplink joint transmission with the first and second network devices. This approach enables millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration without increasing terminal cost or power consumption, thereby improving the terminal device's throughput.

[0011] In some implementations, the aforementioned communication method can be performed by a terminal device that does not have the capability to simultaneously receive multiple beams from network devices via multiple panels. In this way, multi-TRP collaborative scheduling can be achieved even for millimeter-wave terminal devices that do not support the R17 standard, without increasing terminal cost or power consumption.

[0012] Secondly, a communication method is provided. The execution entity of the method provided in this second aspect can be a first network device. Unless otherwise specified, the first network device in this embodiment can refer to the first network device itself, a component within the first network device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first network device. The following example uses the first network device itself. In this method, the first network device sends resource configuration information of a second reference signal set to the terminal device. The second reference signal set is used by the terminal device to measure the transmit beam of the second network device. The resource configuration information includes quasi-co-address configuration information between the second reference signal set and the first reference signal transmitted by the first network device. The quasi-co-address configuration information indicates that the receive beam used to receive the first reference signal is used to receive the second reference signal set. The method also sends instruction information to the second network device, instructing the second network device to send the second reference signal set to the terminal device. In this way, millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration can be achieved without increasing terminal cost and power consumption, and multi-TRP collaborative scheduling can also be performed for millimeter-wave terminals that do not support the R17 standard.

[0013] In some implementations, the second set of reference signals includes a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS). This allows the CSI-RS transmitted by the second network device to be received using the same receive beam used to receive the first reference signal from the first network device, enabling millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration without increasing terminal cost or power consumption.

[0014] In some implementations, the quasi-co-location configuration information includes information indicating that the quasi-co-location type is TypeD. In this way, CSI-RS transmitted by the second network device can be received via a receive beam used to receive a first reference signal from the first network device without the terminal device's awareness, to measure the transmit beam associated with the CSI-RS of the second network device, thus enabling millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration without increasing terminal cost and power consumption.

[0015] In some implementations, the first network device sends configuration information for measurement events to the terminal device, wherein the measurement events indicate that the terminal device is in the coverage overlap area of ​​the first network device and the second network device; and based on the measurement events reported by the terminal device, it determines that the terminal device is in the coverage overlap area. This is so that the terminal device located in the coverage overlap area of ​​the first network device and the second network device can use the same receiving beam to receive the first reference signal from the first network device and the second set of reference signals from the second network device.

[0016] In some implementations, the first network device receives measurement results from the terminal device regarding the second reference signal set; and based on the measurement results of the second reference signal set, determines whether the first and second network devices should perform downlink or uplink joint transmission with the terminal device. In this way, it is possible to determine whether multi-TRP cooperative scheduling is feasible, enabling millimeter-wave multi-TRP coordination without increasing terminal cost or power consumption.

[0017] In some implementations, the first network device, upon determining whether to perform a combined downlink or uplink transmission, sends a notification to the second network device regarding the execution of the combined downlink or uplink transmission. This enables millimeter-wave multi-TRP coordination without increasing terminal cost or power consumption, and also allows for multi-TRP coordinated scheduling even for millimeter-wave terminals that do not support the R17 standard.

[0018] In some implementations, the terminal device is one that does not have the ability to simultaneously receive multiple beams from network devices via multiple panels. In this way, multi-TRP collaborative scheduling can be achieved even for millimeter-wave terminal devices that do not support the R17 standard, without increasing terminal cost and power consumption.

[0019] Thirdly, a communication method is provided. The execution entity of the method provided in this third aspect can be a second network device. Unless otherwise specified, the second network device in this embodiment can refer to the second network device itself, a component within the second network device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second network device. The following example uses the second network device itself. In this method, the second network device receives indication information from a first network device. The indication information instructs the second network device to send a second set of reference signals to a terminal device. The second set of reference signals is used by the terminal device to measure the transmission beam of the second network device. A quasi-co-addressable relationship exists between the second set of reference signals and the first reference signal sent by the first network device. This quasi-co-addressable relationship indicates that the receiving beam used to receive the first reference signal is used to receive the second set of reference signals. The method also involves sending the second set of reference signals to the terminal device. In this way, millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration can be achieved without increasing terminal cost and power consumption, and multi-TRP collaborative scheduling can be performed even for millimeter-wave terminals that do not support the R17 standard.

[0020] In some implementations, the second network device receives notification information from the first network device regarding the joint downlink or uplink transmission performed by the first and second network devices with the terminal device; and performs the joint downlink or uplink transmission based on the notification information. This enables millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration without increasing terminal cost and power consumption, thereby improving the throughput of the terminal device.

[0021] In some implementations, the terminal device is one that does not have the ability to simultaneously receive multiple beams from network devices via multiple panels. In this way, multi-TRP collaborative scheduling can be achieved even for millimeter-wave terminal devices that do not support the R17 standard, without increasing terminal cost and power consumption.

[0022] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, the beneficial effects of which can be found in the descriptions of the first, second, or third aspects, and will not be repeated here. This communication device has the functionality to implement the behaviors described in the method examples of the first, second, or third aspects. The functionality can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the aforementioned functionality. The descriptions of the terminal device of the first aspect, the first network device of the second aspect, or the second network device of the third aspect also apply to the communication device of the fourth aspect; that is, the communication device of the fourth aspect can refer to the communication device itself, or to components within the communication device (e.g., processors, chips, or chip systems), or to logic modules or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication device. In one possible design, the communication device includes a unit that executes the methods of the first, second, or third aspects, or their implementations.

[0023] Fifthly, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory storing a computer program or instructions, wherein when executed by the processor, the computer program or instructions cause an electronic device to perform any method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect and their implementations.

[0024] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the methods performed by the apparatus in the above aspects.

[0025] Seventhly, a computer program (product) comprising a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the methods performed by the apparatus in the foregoing aspects.

[0026] Eighthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a chip system including a processor for implementing the functions of the apparatus in the methods of the above aspects. In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing computer programs or instructions and / or data. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0027] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a communication system, including: a terminal device for performing the first aspect, a first network device for performing the second aspect, or a second network device for performing the third aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0028] Figure 1A shows a schematic diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figures 1B and 1C show schematic diagrams of the receiving capabilities of the terminal device.

[0030] Figure 2 illustrates a communication flow diagram of some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0031] Figure 3 illustrates exemplary communication flows of some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0032] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of a QCL (quasi-co-located) configuration according to some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0033] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of multi-TRP collaboration in some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0034] Figure 6 shows a schematic flowchart of some embodiments of the present disclosure implemented at a terminal device.

[0035] Figure 7 shows a schematic flowchart of some embodiments of the present disclosure implemented at a first network device.

[0036] Figure 8 shows a schematic flowchart of some embodiments of the present disclosure implemented at a second network device.

[0037] Figure 9 is a block diagram of a device that can be used to implement some embodiments of this application.

[0038] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an apparatus according to some embodiments of this application.

[0039] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an apparatus according to some other embodiments of this application.

[0040] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an apparatus according to some other embodiments of the present application. Detailed Implementation

[0041] Embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While some embodiments of this disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of this disclosure. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings and embodiments of this disclosure are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0042] In the description of embodiments of this disclosure, the term "comprising" and similar terms should be understood as open-ended inclusion, i.e., "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "at least partially based on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc., may refer to different or the same objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions may also be included below.

[0043] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), fifth-generation (5G), and future communication protocols (e.g., future cellular communication protocols, wireless LAN communication protocols such as IEEE 802.11, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future). 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.

[0044] Figure 1A illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1A, in the communication system 100 of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a terminal device 110 and network devices 120 and 130 are shown. Sending information from network devices 120 and 130 to terminal device 110 is called downlink communication, and sending information from terminal device 110 to network devices 120 and 130 is called uplink communication. In some embodiments, the communication system 100 can be a cellular communication system and can coexist with other non-cellular communication systems. For example, in a scenario where cellular networks and WiFi operate in the same frequency band, the communication system 100 can be a cellular communication system, or a cellular communication network. A Wi-Fi communication system is an example of a non-cellular communication system. In some examples, one of network devices 120 and 130 can be a serving TRP, and the other can be a cooperative TRP. In some scenarios, such as millimeter-wave band scenarios, the beams of network devices 120 and 130 and terminal device 110 are all narrow beams. Fine-tuned beam scanning can determine the optimal beams for network devices 120 and 130 and the optimal beam for terminal device 110. It should be noted that Figure 1A uses terminal device 110 and network devices 120 and 130 as examples for illustration; the communication system 100 can include any number of terminal devices or network devices.

[0045] The communication system 100 in this disclosure includes, but is not limited to: narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), code division multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), time division-synchronization code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), long term evolution (LTE), long term evolution advanced (LTE-A), and the three major application scenarios of 5G mobile communication systems: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and enhanced machine type communication (eMTC).

[0046] In Long Term Evolution (LTE) / Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) communication systems and New Radio (NR) systems, duplex modes can be mainly divided into Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). For wireless communication systems operating in TDD mode, the downlink and uplink carriers share the same carrier frequency. Multiple access methods typically employ Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDMA). The main characteristic of OFDMA is that it divides transmission resources into mutually orthogonal time-frequency resource elements (REs). Signals transmitted by the transmitter are carried on REs and transmitted to the receiver. Because different REs are orthogonal, the receiver can individually receive the signals transmitted on each RE. The time-frequency resource unit is the smallest resource granularity in an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) system. In the time domain, it is an OFDM symbol (the smallest time unit in the OFDM system), and in the frequency domain, it is a subcarrier.

[0047] The solutions disclosed herein are applicable to Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) systems, 5th Generation (5G) systems, and future communication systems. Of course, the solutions of this disclosure can also be applied to other possible communication systems, such as Internet of Things (IoT) networks, wireless local area network systems supporting the 802.11 series protocols, wireless personal area network systems based on ultra-wideband (UWB), sensing systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X), machine-type communication (MTC), long-term evolution-machine (LTE-M), machine-to-machine (M2M), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), long-term evolution-vehicle (LTE-V), and satellite communication systems. The communication systems described above applicable to this disclosure are merely illustrative examples, and the communication systems applicable to this disclosure are not limited thereto. They are uniformly described here and will not be repeated below.

[0048] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities. It can communicate with one or more core network (CN) devices (or core equipment) via access network devices (or access equipment) in a radio access network (RAN). Terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water (such as on ships); and they can be deployed in the air (e.g., on airplanes, balloons, and satellites). In this disclosure, the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), which may be a mobile phone, mobile station (MS), tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal device in industrial control, wireless terminal device in self-driving, wireless terminal device in remote medical, wireless terminal device in smart grid, wireless terminal device in transportation safety, wireless terminal device in smart city, wireless terminal device in smart home, subscriber unit, cellular phone, wireless data card, personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, tablet computer, laptop computer, machine type communication (MTC) terminal device, drone, etc. Terminal devices may include various handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem with wireless communication capabilities. Optionally, terminal devices may be handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, terminal devices in the Internet of Things or the Internet of Vehicles, or any form of terminal device in 5G and subsequent communication systems; this disclosure does not limit this. In this disclosure, the means for implementing the functions of the terminal device may be the terminal device itself, or it may be a means that enables the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system or a chip, which may be installed in the terminal device. In this application, the chip system may consist of chips or may include chips and other discrete components.

[0049] Access network equipment can be any device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can communicate with terminal devices, such as a radio access network (RAN) node that connects terminal devices to a wireless network. Examples of RAN nodes currently include: macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small cells), relay stations, access points, gNBs, transmission reception points (TRPs), evolved Node Bs (eNBs), radio network controllers (RNCs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved Node Bs, or home Node Bs, HNBs), baseband units (BBUs), WiFi access points (APs), integrated access and backhaul (IABs), satellites, and drones.

[0050] Furthermore, network devices such as access network equipment can connect to core network (CN) equipment, which can be used to provide core network services to access network equipment and terminal equipment. Core network equipment can correspond to different devices in different systems. For example, in 3G, core network equipment can correspond to the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and / or the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) for General Packet Radio System (GPRS). In 4G, core network equipment can correspond to the Mobility Management Entity (MME) and / or the Serving Gateway (S-GW). In 5G, core network equipment can correspond to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), the Session Management Function (SMF), or the User Plane Function (UPF).

[0051] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the means for implementing the functions of the network device can be the network device itself, or it can be a means that enables the network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system or a chip, which can be installed in the network device. In this embodiment of the application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0052] Since the LTE era, multi-TRP cooperative scheduling technology has been a key research direction in the field of communications. In the NR era, multi-TRP cooperative technology has further demonstrated its value. Among them, the cooperative technology in the sub-6GHz band has less dependence on 3GPP protocols. The terminal equipment has a full-width beam, so it can receive signals from multiple TRPs simultaneously. Each TRP of the base station can independently determine its transmission beam without the UE being aware of it, so there are no special requirements for the 3GPP protocol. However, for the millimeter-wave band, both the base station and the terminal equipment need to perform beam scanning. In response to the narrow beam scanning characteristics of millimeter waves, the 3GPP protocol has evolved and optimized, and multi-TRP scheduling mechanism is only supported in Release 17.

[0053] Since both the base station (an example of network equipment) and the terminal equipment use narrow beams, joint fine-tuning scanning is required, and the R17 protocol supports this joint fine-tuning scanning function. To support millimeter-wave multi-TRP coordinated scheduling, the terminal equipment needs to support the ability to receive multiple beams simultaneously (i.e., the ability to simultaneously receive multiple beams from the network equipment via multiple panels). However, typical millimeter-wave terminal equipment is basically a 2-receiver terminal (or a terminal equipment with 2-receiver capability). Therefore, supporting multi-TRP simultaneous reception requires the terminal equipment to support 4-receiver capability. A terminal equipment with 2-receiver capability is shown in Figure 1B, where the terminal equipment has two antennas for receiving signals. A terminal equipment with 4-receiver capability is shown in Figure 1C, where the terminal equipment has four antennas for receiving signals.

[0054] During a single TRP beam scan, the terminal reports a maximum of four beams, and the base station selects the optimal beam to transmit based on the reported results. The current protocol definition process for multi-TRP collaboration is as follows: The base station configures two resource sets (as shown in Table 1). The terminal device, according to the resource instructions configured by the base station, reports the base station beams that can be simultaneously received by two TRPs (e.g., TRP1 and TRP2) according to the group. The base station considers these two beams to be scheduled simultaneously based on the beams reported by the terminal device. For example, resource set 1 can be the resource set of TRP1, and resource set 2 can be the resource set of TRP2.

[0055] Table 1

[0056] Millimeter-wave terminals use an AIP (Antennas in Package) architecture. In some solutions (such as those based on the above-mentioned protocol definition process), it is necessary to add an ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) and a baseband digital channel processing module on the chip, which drastically increases the hardware cost of the terminal device (as shown in the terminal device in Figure 1C). At the same time, the power consumption of the terminal device also increases significantly, making it difficult for current terminal devices to support this capability and resulting in low willingness to support it. Currently, there are no terminal devices that support this capability.

[0057] To address the aforementioned issues in supporting millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration in the R17 protocol for terminal devices, this disclosure proposes a method that does not increase terminal cost or power consumption. In some embodiments, by adding a new set of CSI-RS resources and configuring based on QCL relationships and coordinating multi-station resource scheduling, millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration can be achieved without relying on the R17 protocol.

[0058] Figure 2 illustrates a communication flow diagram of some embodiments of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 2, flow 200 involves a terminal device 210, a first network device 220, and a second network device 230. Terminal device 210 may be an example of terminal device 110. An example of the first network device 220 may be a network device in network devices 120 and 130 acting as a serving TRP, and an example of the second network device 230 may be a network device in network devices 120 and 130 acting as a cooperative TRP. In some examples, the terminal device 210 executing flow 200 may be a chip or module of terminal device 210. The first network device 220 and the second network device 230 executing flow 200 may be chips or modules of the first network device 220 and the second network device 230, respectively. In some examples, flow 200 may be executed by a terminal device that does not have the ability to simultaneously receive multiple beams from network devices via a multi-panel. In some examples, the first network device 220 and the second network device 230 may be TRPs, for example, the first network device 220 may be a serving TRP, and the second network device 230 may be a cooperative TRP. In some examples, terminal device 210 may be a UE.

[0059] In process 200, terminal device 210 determines (201) a receive beam for receiving the first reference signal from first network device 220. In some examples, this receive beam is determined based on an SSB (Synchronization Signal Block) sent by the first network device 220. For example, the UE receives an SSB from the serving TRP, which can be used to determine the UE's receive beam.

[0060] In some examples, the first network device 220 may send configuration information for a measurement event to the terminal device 210. This measurement event may indicate that the terminal device 210 is located in the coverage overlap area of ​​the first network device 220 and the second network device 230. The terminal device 210 receives the configuration information for the measurement event from the first network device 220, and then, based on the detection of the measurement event, reports the measurement event to the first network device. In some examples, the measurement event may be, for example, an A3 measurement event. The first network device 220 may determine that the terminal device 210 is located in the coverage overlap area based on receiving the measurement event reported by the terminal device 210.

[0061] First network device 220 sends (203) resource configuration information 202 of second reference signal set 206 to terminal device 210. At terminal device 210, terminal device 210 receives (205) resource configuration information 202 of second reference signal set 206 for beam management from first network device 220. In some examples, resource configuration information 202 may include a set of CSI-RS For BM (CSI-RS for beam management) resources configured by first network device 220 (e.g., serving TRP) for terminal device 210 (e.g., user equipment, or UE). In some examples, resource configuration information 202 includes quasi-co-location configuration information between second reference signal set 206 and first reference signal, which may indicate the use of the receiving beam that receives the first reference signal to receive second reference signal set 206. In some examples, quasi-co-location configuration information includes information indicating that the quasi-co-location type is Type D.

[0062] In some examples, the second reference signal set 206 is used by the terminal device 210 to measure the transmit beam of the second network device 220. As an example, the second reference signal set 206 may include a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS). In such an example, the terminal device 210 measures the second reference signal set 206, specifically by performing a CSI-RS measurement to determine the CSI-RS-associated transmit beam of the second network device 230.

[0063] In some examples, the first network device 220 may send (207) indication information 204 to the second network device 230, instructing the second network device to send a second reference signal set 206 to the terminal device. Accordingly, the second network device 230 may receive (209) the indication information from the first network device 220. For example, the serving TRP may interact with the cooperating TRP, instructing the cooperating TRP to send CSI-RS to the UE, to ensure that the transmission time of the CSI-RS resource is transmitted by the cooperating TRP 330 through beamforming.

[0064] The second network device 230 may send (211) a second reference signal set 206 to the terminal device 210. For example, according to the aforementioned instruction information 204, the second reference signal set 206 is sent to the terminal device 210. Accordingly, the terminal device 210 receives (213) the second reference signal set 206. There is a quasi-co-address relationship between the second reference signal set 206 and the first reference signal sent by the first network device 220, which indicates that the receiving beam that receives the first reference signal is used to receive the second reference signal set 206.

[0065] Based on quasi-co-location configuration information, terminal device 210 can use a receiving beam to measure (215) the second reference signal set 206 transmitted by the second network device 230. Then, terminal device 210 can report (217) the measurement result 208 of the second reference signal set 206 to the first network device 220. Accordingly, the first network device 220 receives (219) the measurement result 208 of the second reference signal set 206 from terminal device 210.

[0066] Based on the measurement results 208 of the second reference signal set 206, the first network device 220 can determine whether the first network device 220 and the second network device 230 should perform a downlink or uplink joint transmission with the terminal device 210. If it is determined that a downlink or uplink joint transmission should be performed, the first network device 220 can send a notification message to the second network device 230 regarding the performance of the downlink or uplink joint transmission. For example, the serving TRP notifies the coordinating TRP to perform joint scheduling at a predetermined time. At the second network device 230, the second network device 230 receives the notification message from the first network device 220 regarding the performance of the downlink or uplink joint transmission with the terminal device 210 by the first network device 220. Based on this notification message, the second network device 230 can perform the aforementioned downlink or uplink joint transmission with the first network device 220. For the terminal device 210, the terminal device 210 performs the downlink or uplink joint transmission with the first network device 220 and the second network device 230.

[0067] Figure 3 illustrates exemplary communication flows of some embodiments of this disclosure. Flow 300 involves a UE 310, a serving TRP 320, and a cooperating TRP 330. UE 310 may be an example of terminal device 110 or 210. Serving TRP 320 may be an example of a first network device 220, or an example of a network device 120 or 130 serving as a serving TRP. Cooperating TRP 330 may be an example of a second network device 230, or an example of a network device 120 or 130 serving as a cooperating TRP. In some examples, the UE 310 executing flow 300 may be a chip or module of UE 310. The serving TRP 320 and cooperating TRP 330 executing flow 300 may be chips or modules of serving TRP 320 and cooperating TRP 330, respectively. In some embodiments, serving TRP 320 and cooperating TRP 330 may be referred to as base stations. The cell of the serving TRP may be referred to as a serving cell. The cell of the cooperating TRP may be referred to as a cooperating cell.

[0068] In procedure 300, at point 301, the base station (e.g., serving TRP 320) sends configuration information for the A3 measurement event to the UE 310. At point 303, the UE 310 reports the A3 measurement event to the serving TRP 320. Thus, the base station can use the A3 measurement event to confirm whether the location of the user equipment (i.e., UE 310) is within the overlapping area (or overlap zone) covered by the serving TRP 320 and the cooperating TRP 330.

[0069] After confirming that the location of the user equipment is in the overlapping area, at 305, the serving TRP 320 configures a set of CSI-RS For BM (CSI-RS for beam management) resources for the user equipment 310 and notifies the UE 310 of these beam-managed CSI-RS resources. The purpose of these resources is for optimal SSB / CSI beam measurement of the cooperating cell. The beam-managed CSI-RS resources carry QCL (quasi-co-location) configuration information. In this embodiment, the terms QCL configuration information and QCL relationship configuration-TypeD can be used interchangeably.

[0070] In step 307, the serving TRP 320 and cooperating TRP 330 exchange information to ensure that the CSI-RS resource is transmitted by the cooperating TRP 330 via beamforming. For example, in this information exchange, the QCL relationship configuration -TypeD ensures that UE 310 can use the same receive beam to measure the CSI-RS of the serving cell and cooperating cell, thereby ensuring subsequent coordinated scheduling. It should be noted that in procedure 300, UE 310 is unaware of the existence of the cooperating cell or cooperating TRP 330.

[0071] At 309, the cooperating TRP 330 performs beamforming at the time corresponding to the CSI-RS. For UE 310, UE 310 is unaware of the cooperating TRP 330. For example, UE 310 uses the receive beam used to receive the serving TRP 320 to receive the reference signal from the cooperating TRP 330; UE 310 is unaware that this reference signal is transmitted by the cooperating TRP 330 and not by the serving TRP 320.

[0072] At 311, UE 310 reports CSI-RS measurement results to the serving TRP 320. The reported CSI-RS measurement results include channel quality measurement results from the cooperating TRP. At 313, the serving TRP 320 performs calculations based on the CSI-RS measurement results reported by UE 310 to determine whether to jointly schedule with the cooperating TRP. At 315, if joint scheduling is determined, interaction occurs with the cooperating TRP 330 to ensure consistent information understanding between the serving TRP 320 and the cooperating TRP 330. This interaction may include the serving TRP 320 sending notification information to the cooperating TRP 330 regarding performing downlink or uplink joint transmission (joint scheduling).

[0073] In 317a and 317b, service TRP 320 and cooperative TRP 330 perform joint scheduling.

[0074] This disclosure addresses the problem that millimeter-wave terminals that do not support the R17 standard cannot perform multi-TRP collaborative scheduling. It enables multi-TRP collaborative scheduling without requiring the terminal device to simultaneously receive multiple beams from network devices via multiple panels. For example, the terminal device in this disclosure does not need to support four reception capabilities; it only needs to support two. The base station configures and instructs the terminal device to measure the resources of serving TRPs and cooperative TRPs through QCL relationships, thereby enabling millimeter-wave multi-TRP collaboration without relying on the 3GPP R17 protocol. This reduces the requirements for the terminal device, lowers its hardware cost and power consumption, and improves its throughput.

[0075] Figure 4 illustrates a QCL (quasi-co-location) configuration diagram of some embodiments of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 4, the SSB of the serving TRP can be used to determine the UE's receive beam. Embodiments of this disclosure, through QCL configuration (i.e., quasi-co-location configuration information), enable this receive beam to also be used to receive reference signals for the cooperative TPR. In other words, the UE can use the same receive beam to receive reference signals for both the serving TRP and the cooperative TPR. Therefore, for a UE with only 2 receive capabilities, it is not necessary to extend it to a UE with 4 receive capabilities, but multi-TPR cooperative scheduling can be supported. The aforementioned 2-receive capability UE is an example of a terminal device that does not have the ability to simultaneously receive multiple beams from network devices through multiple panels. The 4-receive capability UE is an example of a terminal device that has the ability to simultaneously receive multiple beams from network devices through multiple panels.

[0076] Figure 5 illustrates a multi-TRP cooperation schematic diagram of some embodiments of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, the serving TRP can send an SSB to the terminal device (hereinafter referred to as the terminal, such as the UE) to determine the receiving beam of the terminal device. The terminal device can use the receiving beam determined by the serving TRP to receive the cooperative TPR beam.

[0077] Figure 6 shows a schematic flowchart of some embodiments of the present disclosure implemented at a terminal device. As shown in Figure 6, process 600 can be executed by a terminal device, such as terminal device 110 or 210, or a chip, module, or assembly in terminal device 110 or 210. The following description uses the execution of process 600 by a terminal device as an example. In block 610, the terminal device determines a receiving beam for receiving a first reference signal from a first network device. In block 620, the terminal device receives resource configuration information for beam management of a second set of reference signals from the first network device, wherein the resource configuration information includes quasi-co-address configuration information between the second set of reference signals and the first reference signal, the quasi-co-address configuration information indicating the use of the receiving beam for receiving the first reference signal to receive the second set of reference signals. In block 630, based on the quasi-co-address configuration information, the terminal device uses the receiving beam to measure the second set of reference signals transmitted by the second network device. In block 640, the terminal device reports the measurement result of the second set of reference signals to the first network device. In some embodiments, process 600 may also include other operations performed at the terminal device or UE as described in conjunction with Figures 2 to 5 in this disclosure.

[0078] Figure 7 shows a schematic flowchart of some embodiments of the present disclosure implemented at a first network device. As shown in Figure 7, process 700 can be executed by a first network device, such as first network device 220, or a chip, module, or assembly within first network device 220. The following description uses the execution of process 700 by a first network device as an example. In block 710, the first network device sends resource configuration information of a second reference signal set to a terminal device. The second reference signal set is used by the terminal device to measure the transmit beam of the second network device. The resource configuration information includes quasi-co-address configuration information between the second reference signal set and a first reference signal transmitted by the first network device. The quasi-co-address configuration information indicates that the receive beam used to receive the first reference signal is used to receive the second reference signal set. In block 720, the first network device sends instruction information to the second network device, instructing the second network device to transmit the second reference signal set to the terminal device. In some embodiments, process 700 may also include other operations performed at the first network device as described in conjunction with Figures 2 to 5 in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0079] Figure 8 shows a schematic flowchart of some embodiments of the present disclosure implemented at a second network device. As shown in Figure 8, process 800 can be executed by a second network device, such as second network device 230, or a chip, module, or assembly within second network device 230. The following description uses the execution of process 800 by a second network device as an example. In block 810, the second network device receives instruction information from a first network device. The instruction information instructs the second network device to send a second set of reference signals to a terminal device. The second set of reference signals is used by the terminal device to measure the transmit beam of the second network device. A quasi-co-address relationship exists between the second set of reference signals and the first reference signal sent by the first network device. This quasi-co-address relationship indicates that the receive beam used to receive the first reference signal is used to receive the second set of reference signals. In block 820, the second network device sends the second set of reference signals to the terminal device. In some embodiments, process 800 may also include other operations performed at the second network device as described in conjunction with Figures 2 to 5 in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0080] Figure 9 is a block diagram of a device 900 that can be used to implement some embodiments of the present application. In some embodiments, device 900 may be an element of a communication network infrastructure, such as a base station (e.g., NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), next-generation NodeB (sometimes referred to as gNodeB or gNB), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), gateway (GW), such as a packet gateway (PGW) or serving gateway (SGW), or various other nodes or functions within a core network (CN) or public land mobile network (PLMN). In other embodiments, device 900 may be a device connected to network infrastructure via a wireless interface, such as a mobile phone, smartphone, or other such device that can be classified as user equipment (UE). In some embodiments, device 900 may be a machine-type communication (MT) device. C) Device (also known as machine-to-machine (M2M) device), or another such device that, although not providing direct service to a user, can be classified as a UE. In some embodiments, device 900 may be a roadside unit (RSU), vehicle UE (V-UE), pedestrian UE (P-UE), or infrastructure UE (I-UE). In some scenarios, device 900 may also be referred to as a mobile device, a term intended to reflect a device connected to a mobile network, regardless of whether the device itself is designed for or capable of being mobile. A particular device may utilize all or only a subset of the components shown, and the level of integration may vary depending on the device. Furthermore, device 900 may contain multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memory, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0081] Device 900 typically includes a processor 902, such as a central processing unit (CPU), and may further include a dedicated processor, such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) or other such processor, memory 904, a network interface 906, and a bus 908 for connecting the components of device 900. Optionally, device 900 may also include components such as a mass storage device 910, a video adapter 912, and an I / O interface 916 (shown in dashed lines).

[0082] Memory 904 may include any type of non-transitory system memory readable by processor 902, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or combinations thereof. In one embodiment, memory 904 may include more than one type of memory, such as ROM used at boot time and DRAM used for program and data storage during program execution. Bus 908 may be one or more of a plurality of bus architectures of any type, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, or a video bus. In some examples, memory 904 and processor 902 may be separate devices. In other examples, memory 904 may be integrated with processor 902 as a single device.

[0083] Device 900 may also include one or more network interfaces 906, which may include at least one of wired network interfaces and wireless network interfaces. As shown in FIG9, network interface 906 may include a wired network interface for connecting to network 922, and may also include a wireless access network interface 920 for connecting to other devices via a wireless link. When device 900 is a network infrastructure element, the wireless access network interface 920 may be omitted for nodes or functions that are elements of a PLMN rather than elements at the wireless edge (e.g., eNB). When device 900 is infrastructure at the wireless edge of the network, it may include both wired and wireless network interfaces. When device 900 is a wirelessly connected device, such as a user equipment, the wireless access network interface 920 may be present and may be supplemented by other wireless interfaces such as a WiFi network interface. Network interface 906 allows device 900 to communicate with remote entities such as those connected to network 922.

[0084] Mass storage 910 may include any type of non-transitory storage device configured to store data, programs, and other information and make the data, programs, and other information accessible via bus 908. Mass storage 910 may include, for example, one or more of a solid-state drive, hard disk drive, disk drive, or optical disk drive. In some embodiments, mass storage 910 may be located remotely from device 900 and may be accessed using a network interface such as interface 906. In the illustrated embodiment, mass storage 910 is distinct from the memory 904 that includes it, and mass storage 910 typically performs storage tasks compatible with higher latency but typically provides low or no fluctuation. In some embodiments, mass storage 910 may be integrated with heterogeneous memory 904.

[0085] Optional video adapter 912 and I / O interface 916 (shown in dashed lines) provide interfaces for coupling device 900 to external input and output devices. Examples of input and output devices include a display 914 coupled to video adapter 912 and an I / O device 918, such as a touchscreen, coupled to I / O interface 916. Other devices may be coupled to device 900 and may utilize additional or fewer interfaces. For example, a serial interface such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) (not shown) may be used to provide interfaces for external devices. Those skilled in the art will understand that in embodiments where device 900 is part of a data center, I / O interface 916 and video adapter 912 may be virtualized and provided via network interface 906.

[0086] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device 1000 according to some embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 10, the device 1000 includes a determining unit 1002, a receiving unit 1004, a measuring unit 1006, and a transmitting unit 1008. The device 1000 can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1A and can implement the methods provided in the preceding embodiments, such as method 600. Optionally, the physical manifestation of the device 1000 can be a communication device, such as a UE. Alternatively, the device 1000 can be other devices capable of implementing the functions of a communication device, such as a processor or chip inside a communication device. Specifically, the device 1000 can be a programmable chip, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a system on a chip (SOC).

[0087] In some embodiments, the determining unit 1002 may be configured to determine a receiving beam for receiving a first reference signal from a first network device. The receiving unit 1004 may be configured to receive resource configuration information for a second set of reference signals for beam management from the first network device, wherein the resource configuration information includes quasi-co-location configuration information between the second set of reference signals and the first reference signal, the quasi-co-location configuration information indicating that the receiving beam used to receive the first reference signal is used to receive the second set of reference signals. The measuring unit 1006 may be configured to measure the second set of reference signals transmitted by the second network device using the receiving beam based on the quasi-co-location configuration information. The transmitting unit 1008 may be configured to report the measurement results of the second set of reference signals to the first network device.

[0088] In some other embodiments, the apparatus 1000 may include various other units or modules that can be configured to perform the various operations or functions described with respect to the foregoing method embodiments. Specific details can be obtained by referring to the detailed description of the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0089] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device 1100 according to some other embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 11, the device 1100 includes a transmitting unit 1102. The device 1100 can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1A and can implement the methods provided in the foregoing embodiments, such as method 700. Optionally, the physical manifestation of the device 1100 can be a communication device, such as a network device. Alternatively, the device 1100 can be other devices capable of implementing the functions of a communication device, such as a processor or chip inside a communication device. Specifically, the device 1100 can be a programmable chip, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a system on a chip (SOC).

[0090] In some embodiments, the transmitting unit 1102 may be configured to: transmit resource configuration information of a second reference signal set to a terminal device, wherein the second reference signal set is used by the terminal device to measure the transmitting beam of a second network device, and the resource configuration information includes quasi-co-location configuration information between the second reference signal set and a first reference signal transmitted by a first network device, the quasi-co-location configuration information indicating that the receiving beam that receives the first reference signal is used to receive the second reference signal set; and transmit instruction information to the second network device to instruct the second network device to transmit the second reference signal set to the terminal device.

[0091] In some embodiments, the apparatus 1100 may include various other units or modules that can be configured to perform the various operations or functions described with respect to the foregoing method embodiments. Specific details can be obtained by referring to the detailed description of the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0092] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device 1200 according to some embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 12, the device 1200 includes a receiving unit 1202 and a transmitting unit 1204. The device 1200 can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1A and can implement the methods provided in the foregoing embodiments, such as method 1200. Optionally, the physical manifestation of the device 1200 can be a communication device, such as a UE. Alternatively, the device 1200 can be other devices capable of implementing the functions of a communication device, such as a processor or chip inside a communication device. Specifically, the device 1200 can be a programmable chip, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a system on a chip (SOC).

[0093] In some embodiments, the receiving unit 1202 may be configured to receive indication information from a first network device, the indication information being used to instruct a second network device to transmit a second set of reference signals to a terminal device. The second set of reference signals is used by the terminal device to measure the transmission beam of the second network device, wherein a quasi-co-location relationship exists between the second set of reference signals and a first reference signal transmitted by the first network device, the quasi-co-location relationship indicating that the receiving beam used to receive the first reference signal is used to receive the second set of reference signals. The transmitting unit 1204 may be configured to transmit the second set of reference signals to the terminal device.

[0094] In some other embodiments, the apparatus 1200 may include various other units or modules that can be configured to perform the various operations or functions described with respect to the foregoing method embodiments. Specific details can be obtained by referring to the detailed description of the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0095] It should be noted that the module division in the above embodiments of this application is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, exist as separate physical units, or be integrated into one unit by two or more units. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units.

[0096] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, or all or part of it, 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.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of 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.

[0097] Based on the above embodiments, this application also provides a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute any of the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0098] Based on the above embodiments, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When executed by a computer, the computer program causes the computer to perform any of the methods provided in the above embodiments. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, but not limited to, a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code having the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

[0099] Based on the above embodiments, this application also provides a chip for reading a computer program stored in a memory and implementing any of the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0100] Based on the above embodiments, this application provides a chip system including a processor for supporting a computer device in implementing the functions involved in the communication devices in the above embodiments. In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing necessary programs and data of the computer device. This chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete components.

[0101] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0102] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0103] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0104] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising: Determine the receiving beam for receiving the first reference signal from the first network device; The first network device receives resource configuration information for a second set of reference signals for beam management, wherein the resource configuration information includes quasi-co-location configuration information between the second set of reference signals and the first reference signal, and the quasi-co-location configuration information indicates that the receiving beam that receives the first reference signal is used to receive the second set of reference signals. Based on the quasi-co-location configuration information, the received beam is used to measure the second set of reference signals transmitted by the second network device; as well as The measurement results of the second reference signal set are reported to the first network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second reference signal set comprises: Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein measuring the second set of reference signals comprises: Perform CSI-RS measurements to determine the transmit beam of the second network device associated with the CSI-RS.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the quasi-co-location configuration information includes information indicating that the quasi-co-location type is TypeD.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: Receive configuration information for a measurement event from the first network device, wherein the measurement event indicates that the terminal device is in the coverage overlap area of ​​the first network device and the second network device; and Based on the detection of the measurement event, the measurement event is reported to the first network device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: Perform downlink or uplink joint transmission with the first network device and the second network device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the method is performed by a terminal device that does not have the ability to simultaneously receive multiple beams of a network device through multiple panels.

8. A communication method, comprising: Resource configuration information for sending a second set of reference signals to a terminal device, wherein the second set of reference signals is used by the terminal device to measure the transmit beam of a second network device, and the resource configuration information includes quasi-co-location configuration information between the second set of reference signals and a first reference signal transmitted by a first network device, wherein the quasi-co-location configuration information indicates that the second set of reference signals is received using the receive beam that receives the first reference signal; as well as Send indication information to the second network device to instruct the second network device to send the second set of reference signals to the terminal device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second reference signal set comprises: Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) 10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the quasi-co-location configuration information includes information indicating that the quasi-co-location type is TypeD.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising: Sending configuration information for a measurement event to the terminal device, wherein the measurement event indicates that the terminal device is in the coverage overlap area of ​​the first network device and the second network device; and Based on the measurement events reported by the terminal device, it is determined that the terminal device is in the coverage overlap area.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, further comprising: Receive the measurement results of the terminal device on the second reference signal set from the terminal device; as well as Based on the measurement results of the second reference signal set, it is determined whether the first network device and the second network device perform downlink or uplink joint transmission with the terminal device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: If it is determined that the downlink or uplink combined transmission will be performed, a notification message regarding the performance of the downlink or uplink combined transmission is sent to the second network device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the terminal device is a terminal device that does not have the ability to simultaneously receive multiple beams from a network device via multiple panels.

15. A communication method, comprising: The terminal device receives instruction information from a first network device, the instruction information being used to instruct a second network device to send a second set of reference signals to a terminal device, the second set of reference signals being used by the terminal device to measure the transmit beam of the second network device, wherein there is a quasi-co-address relationship between the second set of reference signals and a first reference signal sent by the first network device, the quasi-co-address relationship indicating that the receive beam that receives the first reference signal is used to receive the second set of reference signals; as well as The second set of reference signals is sent to the terminal device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: Receive notification information from the first network device regarding the first network device and the second network device performing downlink or uplink joint transmission with the terminal device; as well as Based on the notification information, the downlink or uplink combined transmission is performed.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the terminal device is a terminal device that does not have the ability to simultaneously receive multiple beams from a network device via multiple panels.

18. A communication device, comprising: A processor for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or claims 8 to 14, or claims 15 to 17.

19. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or claims 8 to 14, or claims 15 to 17 to be performed.

20. A computer program product comprising instructions for causing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, or claims 8 to 14, or claims 15 to 17 to be implemented.

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