Communication method and related device

Abstract

Disclosed in the embodiments of the present application is a communication method. In the method, a design and usage approach for bits that control the selection of pilot patterns is provided, such that when various types of pilot patterns, including original types (e.g., pilot patterns for communication and positioning) and newly added types (e.g., pilot patterns for sensing), are used to provide services, newly added types of pilot patterns, such as pilot patterns for sensing, can be conveniently extended, thereby facilitating the management and application of various types of pilot patterns, including existing types and newly added types.

Description

A communication method and related equipment

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411856087.2, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on December 16, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method and Related Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, specifically to a communication method and related equipment. Background Technology

[0003] Currently, communication protocols such as New Radio (NR) employ diverse pilot pattern designs for various types of pilots to achieve different pilot functions, such as providing communication or positioning functions as communication or positioning pilots. When new mobile communication systems, such as integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) networks, provide new services (e.g., sensing services), one approach is to enhance and extend the functionality of the pilots (e.g., communication or positioning pilots) corresponding to the pilot patterns defined in communication protocols like NR, adding new pilot patterns to achieve sensing measurement functions.

[0004] However, when extending pilot patterns based on those defined in the NR protocol for sensing measurements, there may be a shortage of bits to control the selection of pilot patterns, making it difficult to manage and apply different types of pilot patterns, such as those used for communication, positioning, and future sensing.

[0005] It is evident that there is an urgent need for a solution that facilitates the management and application of different types of pilot patterns. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method that can conveniently extend pilot patterns to facilitate the management and application of different types of pilot patterns. This application also provides corresponding apparatus, devices, computer-readable storage media, and computer program products.

[0007] The first aspect of this application provides a communication method, the method comprising: configuring first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a first pilot pattern, the first pilot pattern belonging to multiple pilot patterns, the first indication information including first values ​​of multiple bits, the multiple bits including first bits and second bits, the first bit including at least one bit, the second bit including at least one bit, the first bit being used to indicate that the pilot pattern belongs to a first type or a second type, and different values ​​of the multiple bits corresponding to different pilot patterns; and transmitting a pilot signal according to the first pilot pattern.

[0008] The communication method in the first aspect, as an enabling scheme for the bits for selecting control pilot patterns, provides a design and usage method for the bits for selecting control pilot patterns. When providing services using different types of pilot patterns, such as existing types (e.g., pilot patterns for communication and positioning) and new types (e.g., pilot patterns for sensing), it is convenient to extend the pilot patterns of new types, such as pilot patterns for sensing, so as to facilitate the management and application of different types of pilot patterns, such as existing types and new types.

[0009] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first type of indicator pilot pattern is used for sensing, and the second type of indicator pilot pattern is used for communication or positioning.

[0010] In this possible implementation, the second type can be considered an existing pilot pattern type, specifically a pilot pattern for communication or a pilot pattern for positioning defined in the NR protocol. The first type can be considered a new type relative to existing communication protocols such as the NR protocol. Specifically, the new communication protocol defines pilot patterns for sensing, and the first type can be a pilot pattern for sensing.

[0011] By using these multiple bits to select the pilot pattern, not only can the functions of the original communication pilot or positioning pilot of the NR protocol be used, but the functions of the pilot pattern can also be easily enhanced and expanded on this basis, and the pilot pattern used for sensing can be used to realize sensing measurement.

[0012] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first pilot pattern is the resource status of the pilot signal under one or more of the following characteristic dimensions: number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain resource blocks (RBs), frequency-domain density, frequency-domain comb form, code division multiplexing (CDM) pattern, and number of antenna ports.

[0013] In this possible implementation, multiple bits can be used to control the pilot signal in the time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, and other characteristic dimensions of the pilot resource. It can be seen that controlling the pilot signal with multiple bits is more flexible and can adapt to the needs of various scenarios.

[0014] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: configuring second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a second pilot pattern, the second pilot pattern being a resource configuration of a pilot signal under one or more of the following feature dimensions: number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain redundancies (RBs), frequency-domain density, frequency-domain comb form, CDM pattern, number of antenna ports, and the feature dimensions corresponding to the first pilot pattern being different from the feature dimensions corresponding to the second pilot pattern; transmitting a pilot signal according to the first pilot pattern, including: transmitting a pilot signal according to the first pilot pattern and the second pilot pattern.

[0015] In this possible implementation, multiple sets of indicator bits can be set, each set including multiple bits. Different indicator bits can be used to control the pilot at different feature dimensions. It can be seen that controlling the pilot with multiple bits is more flexible and can adapt to the needs of various scenarios.

[0016] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the number of bits of the first bit is determined based on the number of pilot patterns contained in the first type, and the number of bits of the second bit or the number of pilot patterns contained in the second type.

[0017] In this possible implementation, multiple bits can be obtained by extending the second bit. Without extension, the number of bits in the second bit can be defined by existing protocols such as the NR protocol, used to select pilot patterns for communication or positioning. Typically, the number of bits in the second bit is determined by the number of pilot patterns included in the second type. The additional bits added during extension, i.e., the number of bits in the first bit, can be determined based on the number of pilot patterns included in the first type and the number of bits in the second bit.

[0018] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: storing a preset correspondence, the preset correspondence including the correspondence between each pilot pattern and the values ​​of multiple bits; configuring first indication information, including: configuring the first indication information according to the preset correspondence.

[0019] In this possible implementation, in order to use multiple bits to select the pilot pattern during actual communication, a preset correspondence can be configured and stored in the communication device beforehand. Furthermore, the communication device can also store one or more of the following information: the number of bits in the multiple bits, the number of bits in the first bit, and the number of bits in the second bit.

[0020] A second aspect of this application provides a communication device that has the function of implementing the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. This function can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described function, such as a storage module, a configuration module, or a transmission module.

[0021] A third aspect of this application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices. The processor uses logic circuits or execution code instructions to implement the functions of the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0022] The fourth aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more computer-executable instructions, wherein when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor performs a method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0023] The fifth aspect of this application provides a computer program product that stores one or more computer-executable instructions, wherein when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor executes a method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0024] A sixth aspect of this application provides a chip system including a processor for supporting a communication device in implementing the functions described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. In one possible design, the chip system may further include a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data. This chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0025] The technical effects of the second to sixth aspects or any of their possible implementations can be found in the first aspect or the technical effects of its related possible implementations, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 2 is an exemplary schematic diagram of multiple bits provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the communication method provided in this application;

[0029] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the communication device provided in this application;

[0030] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terminology used in the implementation section of this application is for explaining specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0032] As will be known to those skilled in the art, with the development of technology and the emergence of new scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0033] 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 represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. The terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be used interchangeably where appropriate; this is merely a way of distinguishing objects with the same attributes in the embodiments of this application. Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of units is not necessarily limited to those units, but may include other units not expressly listed or inherent to those processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0034] 1. Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC)

[0035] With the continuous advancement of new wireless communication technologies, the application scenarios of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data, and automation technologies are constantly expanding, giving rise to intelligent applications such as smart cities and autonomous driving. As an important infrastructure supporting emerging applications of new wireless communication technologies, mobile communication systems are gradually evolving into an integrated communication and sensing infrastructure, that is, into an integrated communication and sensing network.

[0036] In an integrated communication and sensing network, some nodes (such as core network equipment, base stations, terminal equipment, vehicle-mounted equipment, etc.) have certain wireless sensing capabilities in addition to traditional communication functions, enabling them to provide sensing services to users.

[0037] 2. Pilot

[0038] A pilot signal can also be called a reference signal (RS) or a pilot signal. In communication protocols such as New Radio (NR), various different pilot signals can be defined to accomplish different measurement tasks.

[0039] Taking the NR protocol as an example, the pilots defined in the NR protocol are mainly divided into two categories: communication pilots and positioning pilots. Communication pilots mainly include channel state information-reference signals (CSI-RS), sounding reference signals (SRS), phase track reference signals (PT-RS), phase track reference signals (DMRS), and tracking reference signals (TRS), etc. Positioning pilots mainly include positioning reference signals (PRS) and dedicated positioning SRS (SP positioning SRS). For each type of pilot, its pilot pattern (RS pattern) is specified, which is the arrangement of the pilot sequence in the time domain, frequency domain, and spatial domain resources.

[0040] 3. Pilot pattern

[0041] In communication protocols such as NR, pilot patterns are designed for each type of pilot to achieve different pilot functions. A pilot pattern, also known as a pilot design, describes the arrangement of pilot sequences in the time, frequency, and spatial domains, depicting the position, quantity, and distribution of pilots within the entire transmission framework. In the NR protocol, the different pilot pattern designs and predefined specifications provide flexibility in the use of each pilot.

[0042] Specifically, pilot patterns come in various forms, mainly involving the setting of dimensions such as time-domain distribution, frequency-domain distribution, periodicity, and the number of antenna ports. Different pilots can specify one or more of these dimensions, and the protocol sets a fixed number of optional schemes for the selected dimensions. To indicate which pilot pattern is ultimately selected as the pilot pattern, corresponding indication information is needed to indicate the selected pilot pattern. This indication information can include multiple bits, and different values ​​of these bits can describe different pilot patterns.

[0043] Taking the SRS in the NR protocol as an example, the NR protocol specifies the pilot pattern of the SRS in three dimensions, and describes the pilot pattern in each dimension through their respective bits (also called indicator bits). Specifically, the pre-configured bits describing the pilot pattern in each dimension include: 2 bits for indicating the number of time-domain symbols, corresponding to the three optional schemes of {1, 2, 4} for the number of time-domain symbols; 1 bit for indicating the frequency-domain density, corresponding to the two optional schemes of {2, 4} for the number of frequency-domain densities; and 2 bits for indicating the number of antenna ports, corresponding to the three optional schemes of {1, 2, 4} for the number of antenna ports.

[0044] This application provides a communication method as an enabling scheme for the bit selection of control pilot patterns. It describes the design of the bit selection of control pilot patterns when using existing pilot patterns for communication, positioning, and future sensing and other different types of pilot patterns for service. It can easily expand the pilot patterns to facilitate the management and application of different types of pilot patterns.

[0045] The information processing method of this application embodiment can be applied to a communication system.

[0046] The specific type of this communication system can be varied. For example, it 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), 5G communication systems (also known as new radio (NR) systems), communication systems after 5G (e.g., 6G), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

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

[0048] As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may also include an Internet 300. The RAN 100 may include at least one RAN device (110a and 110b in Figure 1) and at least one terminal (120a-120j in Figure 1). The terminal connects wirelessly to the RAN device, and the RAN device connects wirelessly or via a wired connection to the core network. The core network device and the RAN device can be independent physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the RAN device can be integrated into the same physical device, or a single physical device can integrate some of the functions of the core network device and some of the functions of the RAN device. Terminals and RAN devices can be interconnected via wired or wireless connections. Figure 1 is only a schematic diagram; the communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1.

[0049] Wireless access network (WAN) equipment is an access device that enables terminals to access a communication system wirelessly. WAN equipment can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in 5G mobile communication systems, a next-generation base station in 6G mobile communication systems, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. WAN equipment can also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station; for example, it can be a central unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU here performs the functions of the radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also perform the functions of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP). The DU performs the functions of the radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also perform some or all of the physical layer functions. For specific descriptions of the above-mentioned protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The radio access network equipment can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 1, 110a), a micro base station or an indoor station (as shown in Figure 1, 110b), or a relay node or donor node, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific equipment form used in the radio access network equipment. For ease of description, the following description uses a base station as an example of radio access network equipment.

[0050] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, capable of sending signals to or receiving signals from a base station. Terminals can also be called terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the terminal.

[0051] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the base stations and terminals.

[0052] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j that access the wireless access network 100 through 120i, terminal 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that 110a and 120i communicate via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, both base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with base station functions, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with terminal functions.

[0053] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be conducted using licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously. Communication can be conducted using spectrum below 6 GHz, spectrum above 6 GHz, or both simultaneously. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0054] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the base station can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes base station functions. This control subsystem, including base station functions, can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. Similarly, the functions of the terminal can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal, or by a device that includes terminal functions.

[0055] In this embodiment, the base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to the terminal, with the downlink information carried on the downlink channel; the terminal sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, with the uplink information carried on the uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection with a cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal has established a wireless connection is called the terminal's serving cell.

[0056] The communication system in this application embodiment can be a communication-sensing integrated communication system. One or more nodes in this communication system possess communication-sensing integrated capabilities, meaning they have both communication functions and wireless sensing capabilities. These one or more nodes with communication-sensing integrated capabilities can be some devices in the communication system (e.g., the base station has communication-sensing integrated capabilities, while the terminal does not), or they can be all devices in the communication system (e.g., both the base station and the terminal have communication-sensing integrated capabilities). This application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0057] For example, in this communication system, the base station is responsible not only for communication functions but also for sensing functions, and is also partially responsible for the centralized storage, management, distribution, and computation of target object information. The terminal or roadside unit (RSU) is mainly responsible for assisting the base station in providing sensing services and undertaking some sensing computation and storage work. The sensing management function (SeMF) is a high-level network element, mainly responsible for high-level management functions related to sensing services, similar to the location management function (LMF) in 5G positioning services. The SeMF may take various forms; it can be a high-level network element on the core network side, a network element mounted on the RAN side, or even a dedicated sensing function management module with a physical entity.

[0058] The following describes the communication method of this application embodiment, taking any communication device in a communication system as an example.

[0059] The communication device can be any device in the communication system, such as a core network device, a wireless access network device, or a terminal in the communication system; or, the communication device can be a chip or module in any device such as a core network device, a wireless access network device, or a terminal in the communication system.

[0060] The communication device may or may not have integrated communication and sensing capabilities. When the communication system does not have integrated communication and sensing capabilities, the communication device can communicate with other devices in the communication system that do have integrated communication and sensing capabilities to transmit sensing measurement data.

[0061] Based on the above communication system, the communication method of the embodiments of this application will be described below from several aspects. Specifically, the communication method may include one or more of the following aspects: expanding the bits for controlling pilot pattern selection, and pilot transmission based on the expanded bits.

[0062] The various aspects involved in the embodiments of this application will be described by way of example below.

[0063] 1. Expanding the bits for selecting the pilot pattern.

[0064] In this embodiment of the application, the bits controlling the selection of pilot patterns can be expanded to indicate pilot patterns through multiple expanded bits. Specifically, it can indicate existing pilot patterns, including pilot patterns used for communication and / or positioning, as well as new pilot patterns relative to existing pilot patterns, including pilot patterns used for sensing.

[0065] Specifically, in some embodiments, the plurality of bits includes a first bit and a second bit. The first bit includes at least one bit, and the second bit includes at least one bit. The first bit is used to indicate whether the pilot pattern belongs to a first type or a second type, and different values ​​of the plurality of bits correspond to different pilot patterns.

[0066] In this embodiment, the first type and the second type can be pre-configured. The division between the first type and the second type is determined based on one or more of the functions, resources, and feature dimensions involved in the pilot pattern in the communication protocol.

[0067] In this embodiment, the bit extension scheme can be applied to the extension of pilot pattern types in future communication protocols.

[0068] In one example, the first type of indicator pilot pattern is used for sensing, and the second type of indicator pilot pattern is used for communication or positioning.

[0069] The second type can be considered as an existing pilot pattern type. For example, it can be an existing type of pilot pattern defined in an existing communication protocol, which has been adopted in one or more existing communication protocols or existing versions of communication protocols. Specifically, in the embodiments of this application, the pilot pattern types in the NR protocol include pilot patterns for communication and pilot patterns for positioning. The second type indicates that the pilot pattern is used for communication or positioning.

[0070] The first type can be considered a new type relative to existing communication protocols such as the NR protocol. Specifically, in the embodiments of this application, the new communication protocol defines pilot patterns for sensing, and the first type can be a pilot pattern for sensing.

[0071] The number of first and second bits can be determined based on the number of different types of pilot patterns.

[0072] Multiple bits can be obtained by expanding upon the second bit.

[0073] When not extended, the number of bits in the second bit can be defined by existing protocols such as the NR protocol, and is used to select the pilot pattern for communication or positioning. Generally speaking, the number of bits in the second bit is determined according to the number of pilot patterns contained in the second type, and the maximum value of the second bit is not less than the number of pilot patterns contained in the second type.

[0074] In a series of bits, the number of bits extended from the second bit can be used as the first bit.

[0075] In some embodiments, the number of bits of the first bit is determined based on the number of pilot patterns contained in the first type of the second type, and the number of bits of the second bit or the number of pilot patterns contained in the second type of the first type.

[0076] By merging the first and second bits, multiple bits can be obtained.

[0077] Figure 2 shows an exemplary schematic diagram of obtaining multiple bits that can control the selection of pilot patterns through the first bit and the second bit.

[0078] In this configuration, the first bit has M bits, the second bit has N bits, and both M and N are integers not less than 1. For example, the multiple bits capable of controlling the selection of the pilot pattern can be called SensingRSPatternIndicator, and these multiple bits specifically have (M+N) bits.

[0079] If the number of bits in the first bit is M, the number of bits in the second bit is N, and the number of sensing patterns of the first type (e.g., pilot patterns used for sensing) is X, then an exemplary calculation formula for determining the first bit is as follows:

[0080] Taking PRS as an example, the NR protocol has four types of pilot patterns. The second type of pilot pattern has four patterns, and the second bit is 2 bits, meaning N=2. To provide sensing services, future communication protocols provide four new types of pilot patterns for PRS for sensing. These four new pilot patterns can be used as the first type of pilot pattern, so the number of bits in the first bit... At this point, the number of bits in the SensingRSPatternIndicator, which corresponds to the new PRS that can provide sensing services and is used to control the selection of pilot patterns, is M+N=3.

[0081] By using these multiple bits to select the pilot pattern, not only can the functions of the original communication pilot or positioning pilot of the NR protocol be used, but the functions of the pilot pattern can also be easily enhanced and expanded on this basis, and the pilot pattern used for sensing can be used to realize sensing measurement.

[0082] In some embodiments, in order to enable the selection of pilot patterns by using multiple bits in actual communication, a preset correspondence can be configured and stored in advance in each communication device of the communication system. The preset correspondence includes the correspondence between each pilot pattern and the values ​​of multiple bits.

[0083] This preset mapping relationship can be stored in a list or in other forms.

[0084] Below, an example will be used to illustrate this preset correspondence.

[0085] In one example, the pilot pattern of the PRS in the NR protocol is of four types. The number of pilot patterns of the second type is four, and the number of bits of the second bit is N=2. The future communication protocol provides four new pilot patterns for the PRS for sensing. These four new pilot patterns can be used as the first type of pilot patterns, and the number of bits of the first bit is M=1.

[0086] At this point, the number of bits in the SensingRSPatternIndicator obtained by expanding the original second bit N is N+M=3. The meanings of the different values ​​of the SensingRSPatternIndicator are shown in Table 1.

[0087] Table 1: Meaning of different values ​​of SensingRSPatternIndicator for multiple bits

[0088] In the SensingRSPatternIndicator, the first bit on the left (i.e., the most significant bit of the multiple bits) can be considered the first bit, and the two bits on the right (i.e., the last two bits of the multiple bits) can be considered the second bit.

[0089] As can be seen, when the communication device uses the original pilot pattern of the NR protocol (that is, the second type of pilot pattern), the value of the first bit is all 0 (that is, M zeros); while when the communication device uses the new pilot pattern for sensing added to the NR protocol (that is, the first type of pilot pattern), the value of the first bit is not all 0, indicating the selection of the new pilot pattern for sensing. Therefore, the first bit can indicate whether the pilot pattern belongs to the first type or the second type.

[0090] It should be noted that Table 1 is only an illustrative example of multiple bits, and not a limitation. The first bit and the second bit can be set in other ways. For example, the order of the first bit and the second bit can be different.

[0091] In addition, the communication device may also store one or more of the following information: the number of bits in multiple bits, the number of bits in the first bit, and the number of bits in the second bit.

[0092] II. Pilot transmission based on extended bits.

[0093] In this embodiment of the application, multiple bits can be used to implement pilot transmission.

[0094] Specifically, as shown in Figure 3, in some embodiments, a communication method includes steps 301-302.

[0095] Step 301: Configure the first instruction information.

[0096] The first indication information is used to indicate the first pilot pattern. The first pilot pattern belongs to multiple pilot patterns. The first indication information includes the first value of multiple bits.

[0097] In this embodiment of the application, the communication device can configure first indication information according to the specific meaning of each value of multiple bits and actual needs, so as to indicate the first pilot pattern required for the current communication.

[0098] For example, the communication device may pre-store a preset correspondence, which includes the correspondence between each pilot pattern and the values ​​of multiple bits. It may also store information such as the number of bits in the multiple bits, the number of bits in the first bit, and the number of bits in the second bit. In practical applications, the specific meaning of each value of the multiple bits can be determined based on this preset correspondence. Therefore, according to actual needs, the values ​​of the multiple bits included in the first indication information can be set to reflect the first pilot pattern currently selected by the communication device.

[0099] There are multiple ways to configure the first value of these multiple bits, and no restrictions are imposed here.

[0100] For example, in one embodiment, the communication device executing the embodiments of this application can independently determine the first values ​​of multiple bits based on current scenario information and requirements. For example, the communication device is a base station, which can determine a first pilot pattern based on measurement requirements and determine the first values ​​of multiple bits based on a preset correspondence. Alternatively, other devices can instruct the communication device executing the embodiments of this application to configure the first values ​​of the multiple bits. For example, the communication device is a base station, which can receive relevant indication information from higher-level network elements (e.g., core network elements) to determine the first values ​​of the multiple bits; or, the communication device is a terminal, which can receive relevant indication information from the base station to determine the first values ​​of the multiple bits.

[0101] As can be seen, for communication systems and measurement requirements, one or more network elements in the communication system can be configured with first indication information to perform corresponding sensing measurement tasks, communication tasks, or positioning tasks according to the first indication information.

[0102] For example, in some examples, the base station needs to perform mono-static sensing, that is, self-generated and self-received sensing. In the communication system, the base station, as a communication device for implementing the embodiments of this application, can be configured with the first indication information only in the base station.

[0103] In other examples, the base station needs to interact with other network elements in the communication system to perform bi-static sensing (also known as self-generated and other-received sensing) or cooperative sensing. In this case, other network elements in the communication system that interact with the base station to perform bi-static sensing or cooperative sensing are all configured with first indication information.

[0104] Step 302: Transmit pilot signals according to the first pilot pattern.

[0105] Transmitting a pilot signal may include sending a pilot signal and / or receiving a pilot signal. For example, in some examples, the pilot signal may be generated and output by a communication device performing an embodiment of this application, in which case the communication device may be considered as the transmitting device of the pilot signal. In other examples, the pilot signal may be sent to the communication device by a device other than the communication device, in which case the communication device may be considered as the receiving device of the pilot signal.

[0106] The pilot signal may or may not carry this indication information.

[0107] For example, in some examples, the communication device can transmit pilot signals to other devices after configuring the first indication information, in which case the pilot signal does not need to carry the first indication information. Alternatively, in another example, the pilot signal can carry the first indication information to indicate to the communication device and / or other devices the pilot pattern used by the pilot signal.

[0108] Since the communication device has pre-stored pilot patterns corresponding to different values ​​of multiple bits, the communication device can use the first pilot pattern indicated by the first indication information to transmit pilot signals in order to perform tasks such as sensing and measurement tasks, communication tasks, or positioning tasks.

[0109] Furthermore, in some examples, the communication device can identify whether the pilot pattern belongs to the first type or the second type based on the first bit.

[0110] Specifically, in some embodiments, when the first bit in the first indication information indicates that the type of the pilot pattern is a first type, the first value is the value of the second bit in the first indication information, and the first value is used to represent the first pilot pattern belonging to the first type.

[0111] When the first bit in the first indication information indicates that the pilot pattern is of the second type, the first value is used to represent the first pilot pattern belonging to the second type.

[0112] Taking the example shown in Table 1, if the communication device is a terminal, when the terminal receives the first indication information from the base station, it can detect the first bit (that is, the first bit on the left) of the multiple bits in the first indication information SensingRSPatternIndicator. If all the first bits are 0, the terminal can know that the currently selected pilot pattern is not a pilot pattern used for sensing; and if not all the first bits are 0, the terminal can know that the currently selected pilot pattern is a pilot pattern used for sensing.

[0113] As can be seen, the embodiments of this application provide a design and usage method for the bits used to control pilot pattern selection. When using different types of pilot patterns, such as existing types (e.g., pilot patterns for communication and positioning) and new types (e.g., pilot patterns for sensing), to provide services, it is convenient to extend the newly added pilot patterns for sensing, so as to facilitate the management and application of different types of pilot patterns, such as existing types and new types.

[0114] The following is an exemplary description of the resources and feature dimensions involved in the first pilot pattern indicated by multiple bits in the first indication information.

[0115] In this embodiment of the application, different values ​​of multiple bits in the first indication information can correspond to different overall pilot patterns, or to different schemes of pilot patterns in one or more feature dimensions.

[0116] Specifically, in some embodiments, the resource status of the first pilot pattern, indicated by multiple bits in the first indication information, is defined in one or more feature dimensions.

[0117] The resources involved may include one or more of the following: time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, and spatial-domain resources.

[0118] Spatial resources can refer to control resources in space or at the physical layer, such as the number of ports and beam direction.

[0119] The one or more feature dimensions may specifically include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain resource blocks (RBs), frequency-domain density, frequency-domain comb form, code division multiplexing (CDM) pattern, and number of antenna ports.

[0120] For example, in one instance, the first pilot pattern represents the resource status of the pilot signal in one feature dimension.

[0121] To distinguish different feature dimensions, multiple bits in the first indication information can be assigned names to indicate the feature dimension indicated by those multiple bits.

[0122] For example, multiple bits in the first indication information can be named in the form of "SensingRSxxxIndicator". Here, XXX is used to distinguish different feature dimensions. For instance, XXX can specifically include the following cases: {'nrofSymbols', 'Periodicity', 'nrofRBs', 'Density', 'Comb', 'CDMtype', 'nrofPorts'}, which correspond one-to-one with the aforementioned feature dimensions: {number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain RBs, frequency-domain density, frequency-domain combo form, CDM pattern, number of antenna ports}.

[0123] In another example, the first pilot pattern represents the resource status of the pilot signal in at least two feature dimensions.

[0124] For example, if the at least two feature dimensions are the number of time-domain symbols and the frequency-domain density, then the different values ​​of the multiple bits contained in the first indication information are used to describe different pilot patterns after the at least two feature dimensions work together. For example, value 1 of the multiple bits contained in the first indication information indicates the pilot pattern when the number of time-domain symbols adopts scheme A1 and the frequency-domain density adopts scheme B1; value 2 of the multiple bits contained in the first indication information indicates the pilot pattern when the number of time-domain symbols adopts scheme A1 and the frequency-domain density adopts scheme B2; and value 3 of the multiple bits contained in the first indication information indicates the pilot pattern when the number of time-domain symbols adopts scheme A2 and the frequency-domain density adopts scheme B2.

[0125] Of course, at this time, the multiple bits in the first indication information can also be named, for example, SensingRSPatternInditacor.

[0126] It is understood that in practical applications, the resource availability of the pilot pattern of the pilot signal in at least one characteristic dimension is selectable. Therefore, the pilot pattern of the pilot signal can be determined based on one or more sets of indicator bits. This set of indicator bits can be multiple bits as described in any of the above embodiments. In other words, the value of each set of indicator bits can be determined using the multiple-bit scheme in any of the above embodiments, thereby determining the pilot pattern of the pilot signal based on the values ​​of each set of indicator bits, and thus transmitting the pilot signal.

[0127] For example, in one instance, a pilot signal can be transmitted based on a pilot pattern indicated by the values ​​of a set of indicator bits.

[0128] In this example, the bits used to select the pilot pattern of the pilot signal can be only the multiple bits included in the first indication information. In other words, these multiple bits form a set of indication bits. In this case, the pilot pattern of the pilot signal can be determined based on this set of indication bits, without the need for other sets of indication bits.

[0129] In another example, pilot signals can be transmitted based on pilot patterns indicated by the values ​​of at least two sets of indicator bits.

[0130] The following example illustrates a scheme for transmitting pilot signals based on pilot patterns indicated by the values ​​of two sets of indicator bits. It is understood that in practical applications, pilot signals can be transmitted based on pilot patterns indicated by the values ​​of the two sets of indicator bits described in this example (specifically, the resource status of the pilot pattern under two characteristic dimensions, etc.). For example, pilot patterns indicated by third or fourth indicator information may also be included, without limitation.

[0131] Specifically, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0132] Configure second indication information, which is used to indicate a second pilot pattern. The second pilot pattern is the resource status of the pilot signal under one or more of the following feature dimensions: number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain RBs, frequency-domain density, frequency-domain comb form, CDM pattern, and number of antenna ports. Furthermore, the feature dimensions corresponding to the first pilot pattern are different from the feature dimensions corresponding to the second pilot pattern.

[0133] According to the first pilot pattern, the pilot signal is transmitted, including:

[0134] Pilot signals are transmitted according to the first pilot pattern and the second pilot pattern.

[0135] In this embodiment of the application, the second indication information and the first indication information can be configured by the communication device respectively. For example, they can be received by the communication device from other devices through different information interactions; or, the first indication information and the second indication information can be included in the same indication information.

[0136] The second indication information may also include a second value for multiple bits. These multiple bits in the second indication information can form a group of indication bits, while the multiple bits in the first indication information can form another group of bits. In this case, the feature dimension indicated by the multiple bits in the second indication information is different from the feature dimension indicated by the multiple bits in the first indication information. To distinguish them, the names of the multiple bits in the second indication information can be different from those in the first indication information. For example, the name of the multiple bits in the first indication information might be SensingRSDensityInditacor, indicating frequency domain density, while the name of the multiple bits in the second indication information might be SensingRSnrofSymbolsInditacor, indicating the number of time domain symbols.

[0137] The second indication information, the multiple bits contained in the second indication information, and the second pilot pattern are similar to the first indication information, the multiple bits contained in the first indication information, and the first pilot pattern, but their specific contents may differ (for example, the number of bits contained in the multiple bits of the second indication information may be the same as or different from the number of bits contained in the multiple bits of the first indication information). For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the first indication information, the multiple bits contained in the first indication information, and the first pilot pattern, which are not limited here.

[0138] For example, the name of the multiple bits included in the first indication information is SensingRSDensityInditacor, which indicates the frequency domain density. The first bit in SensingRSDensityInditacor has 1 bit and the second bit has 2 bits.

[0139] Based on the values ​​of multiple bits SensingRSDensityInditacor in the first indication information, the resource status of the pilot signal in the frequency domain density characteristic dimension can be determined, that is, the first pilot pattern can be determined.

[0140] The name of the multiple bits included in the second indication information is SensingRSnrofSymbolsInditacor, which indicates the number of time-domain symbols. The first bit in SensingRSnrofSymbolsInditacor has 2 bits, and the second bit has 2 bits.

[0141] Based on the values ​​of multiple bits SensingRSnrofSymbolsInditacor in the second indication information, the resource status of the pilot signal in the time-domain symbol count characteristic dimension can be determined, that is, the second pilot pattern can be determined. Then, based on the first and second pilot patterns, the resource status of the pilot signal in the frequency domain density and time-domain symbol count characteristic dimensions can be determined.

[0142] For other non-configurable feature dimensions of the pilot signal, a predetermined default scheme can be adopted. For example, if the number of antenna ports is not configurable and is fixed at 2, then in this application scenario, it is not necessary to select the resource status of the pilot pattern under the feature dimension of the number of antenna ports through multiple bits, but the scheme of having 2 antenna ports can be directly determined.

[0143] In this embodiment of the application, multiple bits can be used to control the pilot in the time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain and other characteristic dimensions of the pilot resource. In some examples, multiple sets of indicator bits can be set, each set of indicator bits includes multiple bits, and different indicator bits are used to control the pilot in different characteristic dimensions. It can be seen that the method of controlling the pilot with multiple bits is more flexible and can adapt to the needs of various scenarios.

[0144] The communication method provided by the embodiments of this application has been described above from multiple aspects. The communication device provided by the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0145] As shown in Figure 4, this application embodiment provides a communication device 40, which can be used to implement the functions of the communication device in the above method embodiment, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiment.

[0146] The communication device 40 includes:

[0147] Configuration module 401 is used to configure first indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate a first pilot pattern. The first pilot pattern belongs to multiple pilot patterns. The first indication information includes first values ​​of multiple bits. The multiple bits include first bits and second bits. The first bit includes at least one bit. The second bit includes at least one bit. The first bit is used to indicate whether the pilot pattern belongs to a first type or a second type. Different values ​​of the multiple bits correspond to different pilot patterns.

[0148] The transmission module 402 is used to transmit pilot signals according to the first pilot pattern.

[0149] Optionally, the first type of indicator pilot pattern is used for sensing, and the second type of indicator pilot pattern is used for communication or positioning.

[0150] Optionally, the first pilot pattern represents the resource status of the pilot signal under one or more of the following characteristic dimensions: number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain resource blocks (RBs), frequency-domain density, frequency-domain comb form, code division multiplexing (CDM) pattern, and number of antenna ports.

[0151] Optionally, the configuration module 401 is used to: configure second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a second pilot pattern, the second pilot pattern being the resource status of the pilot signal under one or more of the following feature dimensions: number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain RBs, frequency-domain density, frequency-domain comb format, code division multiplexing (CDM) pattern, number of antenna ports, and the feature dimensions corresponding to the first pilot pattern are different from the feature dimensions corresponding to the second pilot pattern;

[0152] The transmission module 402 is used to transmit pilot signals according to the first pilot pattern and the second pilot pattern.

[0153] Optionally, the number of bits in the first bit is determined based on the number of pilot patterns contained in the first type, and the number of bits in the second bit or the number of pilot patterns contained in the second type.

[0154] Optionally, the communication device 40 also includes a storage module 403;

[0155] The storage module 403 is used to: store a preset correspondence relationship, which includes the correspondence between each pilot pattern and the values ​​of multiple bits;

[0156] The configuration module 401 is used to: configure the first indication information according to the preset correspondence.

[0157] As shown in Figure 5, the communication device 50 includes a processor 501 and an interface circuit 502. The processor 501 and the interface circuit 502 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 502 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 50 may also include a memory 503 for storing instructions executed by the processor 501, or storing input data required by the processor 501 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 501 executes instructions.

[0158] When the communication device 50 is used to implement any of the above method embodiments, the processor 501 is used to implement the functions of one or more modules of the configuration module 401, transmission module 402 or storage module 403 of the communication device 40, and the interface circuit 502 is used to implement the functions of one or more modules of the configuration module 401, transmission module 402 or storage module 403 of the communication device 40.

[0159] This communication device is used to implement the functions of the communication device in the above method embodiments. The communication device can be a terminal or a terminal chip or module; or it can be a base station or a base station module; or it can be core network equipment or a core network equipment module.

[0160] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the communication device in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal, which is information sent to the terminal by the base station; or, the terminal chip sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal, which is information sent to the base station by the terminal.

[0161] When the aforementioned communication device is a module applied to a base station, the base station module implements the functions of the communication device in the above method embodiments. The base station module receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station. This information is sent to the base station by the terminal or core network equipment, or it can be sent by the base station itself (e.g., the base station performs self-transmission and self-reception sensing); alternatively, the base station module sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station. This information is sent by the base station to the terminal or core network equipment, or it can be sent to the base station itself. The base station module here can be the baseband chip of the base station, or it can be a DU or other modules. The DU here can be a DU under an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0162] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application may 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, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0163] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a base station or terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a base station or terminal.

[0164] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When a computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions of the embodiments of this application are performed. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, a computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0165] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Configure first indication information, which is used to indicate a first pilot pattern. The first pilot pattern belongs to multiple pilot patterns. The first indication information includes a first value of multiple bits. The multiple bits include a first bit and a second bit. The first bit includes at least one bit. The second bit includes at least one bit. The first bit is used to indicate whether the pilot pattern belongs to a first type or a second type. Different values ​​of the multiple bits correspond to different pilot patterns. Pilot signals are transmitted according to the first pilot pattern.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first type indicates that the pilot pattern is used for sensing, and the second type indicates that the pilot pattern is used for communication or positioning.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first pilot pattern represents the resource status of the pilot signal under one or more of the following characteristic dimensions: number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain resource blocks (RBs), frequency-domain density, frequency-domain comb form, code division multiplexing (CDM) pattern, and number of antenna ports.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Also includes: Configure second indication information, which is used to indicate a second pilot pattern. The second pilot pattern is the resource status of the pilot signal under one or more of the following feature dimensions: number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain RBs, frequency-domain density, frequency-domain comb form, CDM pattern, and number of antenna ports. Furthermore, the feature dimension corresponding to the first pilot pattern is different from the feature dimension corresponding to the second pilot pattern. The step of transmitting pilot signals according to the first pilot pattern includes: The pilot signal is transmitted according to the first pilot pattern and the second pilot pattern.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The number of bits in the first bit is determined based on the number of pilot patterns contained in the first type, and the number of bits in the second bit or the number of pilot patterns contained in the second type.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Also includes: A preset correspondence relationship is stored, which includes the correspondence between each pilot pattern and the values ​​of the plurality of bits; The configuration of the first indication information includes: Configure the first indication information according to the preset correspondence.

7. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A configuration module is used to configure first indication information, which indicates a first pilot pattern. The first pilot pattern belongs to multiple pilot patterns. The first indication information includes first values ​​of multiple bits, which include first bits and second bits. The first bit includes at least one bit, and the second bit includes at least one bit. The first bit indicates whether the pilot pattern belongs to a first type or a second type. Different values ​​of the multiple bits correspond to different pilot patterns. The transmission module is used to transmit pilot signals according to the first pilot pattern.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first type indicates that the pilot pattern is used for sensing, and the second type indicates that the pilot pattern is used for communication or positioning.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The first pilot pattern represents the resource status of the pilot signal under one or more of the following characteristic dimensions: number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain resource blocks (RBs), frequency-domain density, frequency-domain comb form, code division multiplexing (CDM) pattern, and number of antenna ports.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that, The configuration module is used to: configure second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a second pilot pattern, the second pilot pattern being the resource status of the pilot signal under one or more of the following feature dimensions: number of time-domain symbols, time-domain period, number of frequency-domain RBs, frequency-domain density, frequency-domain comb form, CDM pattern, number of antenna ports, and the feature dimension corresponding to the first pilot pattern is different from the feature dimension corresponding to the second pilot pattern; The transmission module is used to transmit the pilot signal according to the first pilot pattern and the second pilot pattern.

11. The apparatus according to any one of claims 7-10, characterized in that, The number of bits in the first bit is determined based on the number of pilot patterns contained in the first type, and the number of bits in the second bit or the number of pilot patterns contained in the second type.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 7-11, characterized in that, The communication device also includes a storage module; The storage module is used to: store a preset correspondence relationship, which includes the correspondence between each pilot pattern and the values ​​of the plurality of bits; The configuration module is used to configure the first indication information according to the preset correspondence.

13. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6 through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

14. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.

15. A computer program product containing instructions, characterized in that, When the instructions are executed by the processor, the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 is implemented.

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