Communication methods, communication device, storage medium and program product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to communication methods, a communication device, a storage medium and a program product, and belongs to the technical field of communications. A method comprises: a terminal device receiving receive beams corresponding to N×M×P transmit beams transmitted by a network device, wherein the network device comprises N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmit beams, the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, and N, M and P are positive integers; the terminal device measuring the receive beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmit beams, so as to obtain a measurement result; and transmitting the measurement result to the network device. The network device transmits transmit beams in different directions to the terminal device by using the N antenna ports, such that the terminal device can measure receive beams and report same, thereby achieving the procedure of measuring receive beams and reporting same on the basis of antenna ports of a massive antenna array.

Description

Communication methods, communication equipment, storage media and software products Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to communication methods, communication devices, storage media, and program products. Background Technology

[0002] High-frequency electromagnetic wave transmission suffers significant attenuation, severely limiting transmission distance and coverage. Base stations need to be equipped with more antennas to obtain greater beamforming gain to compensate for the attenuation of high-frequency transmission. Therefore, Extremely Large MIMO (XL-MIMO) technology has emerged. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This disclosure provides a communication method, communication device, storage medium, and program product that can be used in the field of communication technology.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, executed by a network device, comprising: sending N×M×P transmission beams to a terminal device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port having M transmission beams, and the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, N, M, where P is a positive integer; and receiving measurement results sent by the terminal device, wherein the measurement results are obtained by the terminal device measuring the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmission beams.

[0005] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, executed by a terminal device, comprising: receiving N×M×P received beams corresponding to N×M×P transmitted beams sent by a network device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmitted beams, and the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, N, M, where P is a positive integer; measuring the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitted beams to obtain measurement results.

[0006] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed for a communication system, the communication system including a terminal device and a network device, comprising: the network device sending N×M×P transmission beams to the terminal device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port having M transmission beams, the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, and N, M, P are positive integers; the terminal device measuring the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmission beams to obtain measurement results; and the terminal device sending the measurement results to the network device.

[0007] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, including a transceiver; a memory; and a processor, which are respectively connected to the transceiver and the memory, and configured to control the transmission and reception of wireless signals of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, and to implement the method described in any one of the first and second aspects.

[0008] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, comprising: a network device and a terminal device, wherein the network device is configured to implement the method described in any one of the first aspects of the present disclosure, and the terminal device is configured to implement the method described in any one of the second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0009] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer storage medium is provided that stores computer-executable instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the communication method described in any one of the first and second aspects.

[0010] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a program product is provided, comprising at least one of a program and instructions, characterized in that, when the program and instructions are executed by a communication device, they implement the communication method described in any one of the first and second aspects.

[0011] According to the communication method proposed in this disclosure, the antenna is divided into antenna ports with finer granularity, each antenna port having multiple transmission beams, and the method of how the terminal performs measurement reporting under the above conditions is defined. Attached Figure Description

[0012] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments are introduced below. The following drawings are only some embodiments of this disclosure and do not impose specific limitations on the protection scope of this disclosure.

[0013] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of the antenna subarray;

[0015] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram of the antenna subarray;

[0016] Figure 1D is a schematic diagram of the terminal's spray points;

[0017] Figure 2A is an interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 2B is a schematic diagram of the transmission method of the transmission beam;

[0019] Figure 2C is an interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 3 is an interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 4A is a schematic diagram of the terminal and the base station;

[0022] Figure 4B shows the beam direction transmitted at time T1;

[0023] Figure 4C shows the beam direction transmitted at time T2;

[0024] Figure 4D shows the beam direction transmitted from the antenna port;

[0025] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram of the chip structure proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0029] This disclosure provides a communication method, communication device, storage medium, and program product.

[0030] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method executed by a network device, comprising: sending N×M×P transmission beams to a terminal device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port having M transmission beams, the terminal device having P beam scanning directions, and N, M, and P being positive integers; and receiving measurement results sent by the terminal device, wherein the measurement results are obtained by the terminal device measuring the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmission beams.

[0031] In the above embodiments, by dividing the antenna into antenna ports with finer granularity, each antenna port having multiple transmit beams, and defining the measurement and reporting process, a large-scale antenna based on antenna ports is realized, enabling measurement and reporting when the receiving antenna is directional.

[0032] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, sending N×M×P transmission beams to a terminal device includes any of the following: sending N×M transmission beams P times through different time domain units; sending N×M transmission beams P times through the same resource element (RE) corresponding to a time domain unit, wherein the N antenna ports are code-divided on the RE; sending M transmission beams P times for each of the N antenna ports through different REs corresponding to a time domain unit.

[0033] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the directions of the N×M transmit beams satisfy any of the following: the transmit beams of different antenna ports have the same direction in the same time domain unit; the transmit beams transmitted by the same antenna port have different directions in different time domain units; the transmit beams of different antenna ports have different directions in the same time domain unit; the transmit beams transmitted by the same antenna port have different directions in different time domain units.

[0034] In the above embodiments, the transmit beams of different antenna ports of the network device can be in different directions or in the same direction. In different time domain units, the transmit beams of the same antenna port can also be in the same or different directions, thereby defining a large-scale antenna with directional transmit beams.

[0035] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the measurement result includes at least one of the following: the index of the transmit beam of L antenna ports out of N antenna ports, where L≤N; the measured value of the measurement quantity corresponding to the transmit beam of L antenna ports; and the index of the receive beam corresponding to the transmit beam of L antenna ports.

[0036] In the above embodiments, by configuring the network device, the terminal device can report the measurement results of the directional transmission beam under the massive MIMO antenna.

[0037] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending configuration information to a terminal device, the configuration information being used to configure at least one of the following: the number of transmit beams in the measurement results reported by the terminal device; whether to report the measured value of the measurement quantity corresponding to the transmit beam in the measurement results; and whether to report the index of the receive beam corresponding to the transmit beam in the measurement results.

[0038] In the above embodiments, by configuring the network device, the terminal device can report the measurement results of the directional transmission beam under the massive MIMO antenna.

[0039] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the number of transmitted beams in the measurement result is any one of the following: the number of transmitted beams X reported for each antenna port; the total number of transmitted beams Y reported for L antenna ports, where X and Y are positive integers.

[0040] In the above embodiments, by configuring the number of transmission beams in the measurement results through network devices, the terminal device can report the measurement results of directional transmission beams under massive MIMO antennas.

[0041] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method executed by a terminal device, comprising: receiving N×M×P transmitted beams corresponding to received beams sent by a network device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmitted beams, the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, and N, M, P are positive integers; measuring the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitted beams to obtain measurement results.

[0042] In the above embodiments, the terminal device can measure the received beam based on the transmitted beam sent by the network device and report the measurement results, so as to realize the measurement and reporting of the directional transmitted beam under the large-scale antenna based on the antenna port.

[0043] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, receiving the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitted beams sent by the network device includes any of the following: receiving the P received beams corresponding to each of the N×M transmitted beams through different time domain units; receiving the P received beams corresponding to each of the N×M transmitted beams through the same resource element (RE) corresponding to one time domain unit, wherein the N antenna ports are code-divided on the RE; receiving the P received beams corresponding to the M transmitted beams of each of the N antenna ports through different REs corresponding to one time domain unit.

[0044] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the directions of the N×M×P transmit beams satisfy any of the following: the transmit beams of different antenna ports have the same direction in the same time domain unit; the transmit beams transmitted by the same antenna port in different time domain units have different directions; the transmit beams of different antenna ports have different directions in the same time domain unit; the transmit beams transmitted by the same antenna port in different time domain units have different directions.

[0045] In the above embodiments, the transmitted beams from different antenna ports of the network device can be in different directions or in the same direction. In different time domain units, the transmitted beams from the same antenna port can also be in the same or different directions, so that the terminal can measure and report the directional transmitted beams.

[0046] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the measurement results include at least one of the following: the index of the transmit beam of L antenna ports out of N antenna ports, where L≤N; the measured value of the measurement quantity corresponding to the transmit beam of L antenna ports; and the index of the receive beam corresponding to the transmit beam of L antenna ports.

[0047] In the above embodiments, the terminal device can report the measurement results to the network device based on the relevant information of the transmission beam in the measurement results configured by the network device, thereby realizing the reporting of measurement results of a large-scale antenna based on the antenna port.

[0048] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving configuration information sent by a network device, the configuration information being used to configure at least one of the following: the number of transmit beams in the measurement results reported by the terminal device; whether to report the measured value of the measurement quantity corresponding to the transmit beam in the measurement results; and whether to report the index of the receive beam corresponding to the transmit beam in the measurement results.

[0049] In the above embodiments, by configuring the network device, the terminal device can report the measurement results of the directional transmission beam under the massive MIMO antenna.

[0050] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the number of transmitted beams in the measurement results is any one of the following: the number of transmitted beams X reported for each antenna port; the total number of transmitted beams Y reported for L antenna ports, where X and Y are positive integers.

[0051] In the above embodiments, the terminal can report the measurement results based on the number of transmit beams in the measurement results configured by the network device, thereby realizing the measurement and reporting of transmit beams under massive MIMO.

[0052] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the receiving beams corresponding to N×M×P transmitting beams are measured to obtain measurement results, including: for the nth antenna port among N antenna ports, measuring the P receiving beams corresponding to the mth transmitting beam among the M transmitting beams of the nth antenna port, obtaining M×P measurement values ​​for the nth antenna port, where n∈[1,N], m∈[1,M]; and determining the index of the transmitting beam reported by the nth antenna port based on the M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port.

[0053] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, determining the index of the target transmission beam corresponding to the nth antenna port based on the M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port includes: the number of transmission beams in the measurement results configured in the configuration information sent by the network device is X, the number of transmission beams reported for each antenna port is X, the M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port are sorted in descending order, and the index of the X transmission beams corresponding to the first X measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port is used as the index of the transmission beam reported by the nth antenna port.

[0054] In the above embodiments, the terminal device can determine the transmission beams that need to be reported based on the configuration of the network device, and report the index of the transmission beams to the network device, thereby realizing the measurement and reporting of large-scale antennas based on the antenna port.

[0055] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, determining the index of the transmitted beam reported by the nth antenna port based on the M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port includes: the number of transmitted beams in the measurement results configured by the configuration information sent by the network device is X, the number of transmitted beams reported for each antenna port; for each beam scanning direction, sorting the M measurement values ​​of the M transmitted beams of the nth antenna port in descending order, determining the index of the transmitted beam corresponding to the maximum measurement value in each beam scanning reverse direction, obtaining P maximum measurement values ​​and the index of the transmitted beam corresponding to the P maximum measurement values; sorting the P maximum measurement values ​​in descending order, and using the index of the X transmitted beams corresponding to the first X measurement values ​​as the index of the transmitted beam reported by the nth antenna port.

[0056] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, L = N, the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams are measured to obtain measurement results, including: for N antenna ports, measuring the P receiving beams corresponding to the N×M transmitting beams of each of the N antenna ports to obtain N×M×P measurement values ​​of the N antenna ports; and determining the index of the transmitting beams reported by the N antenna ports based on the N×M×P measurement values.

[0057] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, based on N×M×P measurement values, determining the index of the transmission beams reported by the N antenna ports includes: the number of transmission beams in the measurement results configured by the configuration information sent by the network device is the total number Y of transmission beams reported by the N antenna ports; sorting the N×M×P measurement values ​​of the N antenna ports in descending order; determining the index of the Y transmission beams corresponding to the first Y measurement values; and using this index as the index of the transmission beams reported by the N antenna ports.

[0058] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, determining the index of the transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports based on the N×M×P measurement values ​​includes: the number of transmit beams in the measurement results configured by the configuration information sent by the network device is the total number Y of transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports; for each beam scanning direction, the N×M measurement values ​​of the N×M transmit beams of the N antenna ports are sorted in descending order to determine the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the maximum measurement value in each beam scanning direction, resulting in P maximum measurement values ​​and the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the P maximum measurement values; the P maximum measurement values ​​are sorted in descending order, and the indexes of the Y transmit beams corresponding to the first Y measurement values ​​are used as the indexes of the transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports.

[0059] In the above embodiments, the terminal device can measure the N×M transmitted beams sent by the network device, obtain the measurement values, and determine the measurement results to be reported from the measurement values, thereby realizing the measurement of the received beams of a large-scale antenna based on the antenna port.

[0060] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the index of the received beam corresponding to the reported transmitted beam is different for different antenna ports.

[0061] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the receiving beams corresponding to N×M×P transmitting beams are measured to obtain measurement results, including: for each beam scanning direction, N×M transmitting beams are measured to obtain N×M measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; based on the N×M measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction, the indexes of the transmitting beams of L antenna ports are determined.

[0062] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, L = N. Based on N×M measurement values ​​in each beam scanning direction, determining the indices of the transmitted beams reported by the L antenna ports includes: for the N×M measurement values ​​in each beam scanning direction, sorting the M measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port in descending order to determine the index of the transmitted beam corresponding to the maximum measurement value, so as to obtain a set of N transmitted beam indices corresponding to the N maximum measurement values ​​in each beam scanning direction; adding the N maximum measurement values ​​to obtain the total measurement value in each beam scanning direction, so as to obtain P total measurement values ​​in P beam scanning directions; sorting the P total measurement values ​​in descending order to determine the set of N transmitted beam indices corresponding to the maximum total measurement value.

[0063] In the above embodiments, the terminal device can measure the N×M transmitted beams sent by the network device to obtain the measurement values, and determine the measurement results of all beams reported by the antenna ports from the measurement values, thereby realizing the measurement and reporting of large-scale antennas based on antenna ports.

[0064] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, L < N, determining the indices of the transmit beams of L antenna ports based on N×M measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction includes: for the N×M measurement values ​​of each beam scanning direction, sorting the M measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port in descending order to determine the maximum measurement value, so as to obtain N maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; removing measurement values ​​below a preset threshold from the N maximum measurement values ​​to obtain a set of transmit beam indices corresponding to the L maximum measurement values; adding the L maximum measurement values ​​to obtain the total measurement value for each beam scanning direction, so as to obtain P total measurement values ​​for P beam scanning directions; sorting the P total measurement values ​​in descending order to determine the set of transmit beam indices corresponding to the maximum total measurement value.

[0065] In the above embodiments, the terminal device can measure the N×M transmitted beams sent by the network device to obtain measurement values, and determine the measurement results of some beams reported by the antenna ports from the measurement values, thereby realizing the measurement and reporting of large-scale antennas based on antenna ports.

[0066] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the measurement results do not include the index of the transmitted beam whose measured value is lower than a preset threshold.

[0067] In the above embodiments, the terminal device can filter the measurement results and not report measurement values ​​below a preset threshold, so as to realize the measurement and reporting of large-scale antennas based on the antenna port.

[0068] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal device supports Q receiving panels, where Q≥1; wherein, the receiving beams corresponding to N×M×P transmitting beams are measured to obtain measurement results, including: for the i-th receiving panel, the receiving beams corresponding to N×M×Pi transmitting beams are measured to obtain N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel, where Pi is the number of beam scanning directions of the i-th receiving panel, i∈[1,Q]; based on the N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel, the indices of the transmitting beams of L antenna ports are determined.

[0069] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, L = N. Based on the N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel, the indexes of the transmit beams of the L antenna ports are determined, including: for each of the Pi beam scanning directions, determining the maximum measurement value among the N×M measurement values ​​of each antenna port to obtain N maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; adding the N maximum measurement values ​​to obtain the total measurement value for each beam scanning direction to obtain Pi total measurement values ​​for the Pi beam scanning directions; sorting the Pi total measurement values ​​in descending order to determine the set of N transmit beam indices corresponding to the maximum total measurement value of the i-th receiving panel; using the set of N transmit beam indices corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels as the set of transmit beam indices reported by the N antenna ports; or selecting the transmit beam with the largest measurement value for the same antenna port from the set of N transmit beam indices corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels to obtain the set of N transmit beam indices for the entire Q receiving panels.

[0070] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, L≤N, based on the N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel, the index of the transmit beam of the L antenna ports is determined, including: for each of the Pi beam scanning directions, determining the maximum measurement value among the N×M measurement values ​​of each antenna port to obtain N maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; removing measurement values ​​below a preset threshold from the N maximum measurement values ​​to obtain a set of transmit beam indices corresponding to the Sj maximum measurement values ​​of the j-th beam scanning direction, j∈[1,Pi]; adding the Sj maximum measurement values ​​to obtain... The total measurement value up to the j-th beam scanning direction is used to obtain Pi total measurement values ​​for Pi beam scanning directions; the Pi total measurement values ​​are sorted in descending order to determine the set of Li transmit beam indices corresponding to the maximum total measurement value of the i-th receiving panel, where Li < N; the set of Li transmit beam indices corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels is used as the set of transmit beam indices for the L antenna ports; or, the union of the sets of Li transmit beam indices corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels is taken, and the transmit beam with the largest measurement value is selected for the same antenna port to obtain the set of L transmit beam indices for the entire Q receiving panels.

[0071] In the above embodiments, the terminal device can determine the measurement results of the corresponding number of target transmission beams based on the configuration of the network device, so as to report the measurement results, thereby achieving the measurement and reporting of directional transmission antennas under a large-scale antenna based on the antenna port.

[0072] In the above embodiments, the terminal device can measure and report the transmitted beam sent by the network device according to the configuration of the network device, thereby realizing the measurement and reporting of the directional transmitted beam of a large-scale antenna based on the antenna port.

[0073] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method for a communication system, the communication system including a terminal device and a network device, comprising: the network device sending N×M×P transmission beams to the terminal device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port having M transmission beams, the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, and N, M, P are positive integers; the terminal device measuring the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmission beams to obtain measurement results; and the terminal device sending the measurement results to the network device.

[0074] In the above embodiments, by dividing the antenna into antenna ports with finer granularity, each antenna port having multiple transmit beams, and defining the measurement and reporting process, the communication system can achieve measurement and reporting in the case of large-scale antennas based on antenna ports and directional receiving antennas.

[0075] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a network device, including a transceiver module, for transmitting N×M transmit beams to a terminal device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port having M transmit beams, and N and M are positive integers; and for receiving measurement results transmitted by the terminal device, the measurement results being obtained by the terminal device measuring the receive beams corresponding to the N×M transmit beams.

[0076] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a terminal device, including a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module is used to receive received beams corresponding to N×M transmitted beams sent by a network device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port having M transmitted beams, and N and M are positive integers; the processing module is used to measure the received beams corresponding to the N×M transmitted beams to obtain measurement results; the transceiver module is used to send the measurement results to the network device.

[0077] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device, including: a transceiver; a memory; and a processor, respectively connected to the transceiver and the memory, configured to control the transmission and reception of wireless signals of the transceiver by executing computer-executable instructions on the memory, so that the communication device performs the method described in any one of the embodiments of the first and second aspects of this disclosure.

[0078] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication system, including: a terminal device and a network device, wherein the network device is configured to implement the method described in any embodiment of the first aspect of this disclosure; and the terminal device is configured to implement the method described in any embodiment of the second aspect of this disclosure.

[0079] Eighthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method described in any one of the embodiments of the first or second aspect of this disclosure.

[0080] Ninthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a program product that, when executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method as described in the optional implementations of the first and second aspects.

[0081] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods described in the optional implementations of the first and second aspects.

[0082] Eleventhly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a chip or chip system. The chip or chip system includes processing circuitry configured to perform the methods described according to optional implementations of the first and second aspects above.

[0083] It is understood that the aforementioned communication equipment, communication system, storage medium, program product, etc., are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here.

[0084] This disclosure provides a communication method, a communication device, a communication system, a storage medium, and a program product. In some embodiments, terms such as communication method and information processing method may be used interchangeably.

[0085] This disclosure is not exhaustive, but merely illustrative of some embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. Unless otherwise specified, each step in a particular embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a particular embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily interchanged. Furthermore, the optional implementation methods in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; moreover, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments. In all embodiments of this disclosure, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0086] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0087] In this embodiment of the disclosure, unless otherwise stated, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "this," etc., can mean "one and only one," or "one or more," "at least one," etc. For example, when using articles such as "a," "an," "the," etc. in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as either a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0088] In the embodiments disclosed herein, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0089] In some embodiments, the terms “at least one of A or B, at least one of A and B”, “one or more”, “a plurality of”, “multiple”, etc., may be used interchangeably.

[0090] In some embodiments, the notation "at least one of A and B", "A and / or B", "A in one case, B in another", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether there is a branch B); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether there is a branch A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, both A and B are executed. The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0091] In some embodiments, the notation "A or B" may include the following technical solutions, depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether a branch B exists); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether a branch A exists); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0092] The prefixes "first," "second," etc., used in the embodiments of this disclosure are merely for distinguishing different descriptive objects and do not impose restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity, or content of the descriptive objects. The description of the descriptive objects is found in the claims or the context of the embodiments, and the use of prefixes should not constitute unnecessary restrictions. For example, if the descriptive object is a "field," the ordinal numbers preceding "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not restrict the position or order of the "fields." "First" and "second" do not restrict whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they restrict the order of "first field" and "second field." Similarly, if the descriptive object is a "level," the ordinal numbers preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not restrict the priority between "levels." Furthermore, the number of descriptive objects is not limited by ordinal numbers and can be one or more. For example, in "first device," the number of "devices" can be one or more. Furthermore, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the object being described is "device", then "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. Similarly, if the object being described is "information", then "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their content can be the same or different.

[0093] In some embodiments, “including A,” “containing A,” “for indicating A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0094] In some embodiments, terms such as "time / frequency" and "time-frequency domain" refer to the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0095] In some embodiments, terms such as “in response to…”, “in response to determining…”, “in the case of…”, “when…”, “when…”, “if…”, etc. can be used interchangeably. These descriptions all refer to the device making a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances. They do not necessarily limit the time, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when implementing it, nor do they mean that there must be other limitations.

[0096] In some embodiments, the terms “greater than,” “greater than or equal to,” “not less than,” “more than,” “more than or equal to,” “not less than,” “higher than,” “higher than or equal to,” “not lower than,” and “above” can be used interchangeably, as can the terms “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not greater than,” “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not more than,” “lower than,” “lower than or equal to,” “not higher than,” and “below”.

[0097] In some embodiments, devices, etc., may be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to those described in the embodiments. Terms such as “device,” “equipment,” “circuit,” “network element,” “network function,” “network device,” “function,” “node,” “unit,” “section,” “system,” “network,” “chip,” “chip system,” “entity,” and “subject” are interchangeable.

[0098] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in a network (e.g., access network devices, core network devices, etc.).

[0099] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)," "radio access network device (RAN device)," "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "node," "access point," "transmission point (TP)," "reception point (RP)," "transmission / reception point (TRP)," "panel," "antenna panel," "antenna array," "cell," "macro cell," "small cell," "femto cell," "pico cell," "sector," "cell group," "serving cell," "carrier," "component carrier," and "bandwidth part (BWP)" can be used interchangeably.

[0100] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", "subscriber station", "mobile unit", "subscriber unit", "wireless unit", "remote unit", "mobile device", "wireless device", "wireless communication device", "remote device", "mobile subscriber station", "access terminal", "mobile terminal", "wireless terminal", "remote terminal", "handset", "user agent", "mobile client", and "client" can be used interchangeably.

[0101] In some embodiments, access network devices, core network devices, or network devices can be replaced by terminals. For example, embodiments of this disclosure can also be applied to structures where communication between access network devices, core network devices, or network devices and terminals is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (e.g., device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the structure can also be configured such that the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can be replaced with terms corresponding to communication between terminals (e.g., "sidelink"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc., can be replaced with sidelink channel, and uplink link, downlink, etc., can be replaced with sidelink link.

[0102] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, core network device, or network device may also be configured to have all or some of the functions of the terminal.

[0103] In some embodiments, the acquisition of data, information, etc., may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0104] In some embodiments, data, information, etc., may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0105] Furthermore, each element, each row, or each column in the table of this disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0106] The method proposed in this disclosure is applicable to various communication systems, including but not limited to 4G, 5G, 5G-advance and subsequent communication technologies (such as 6G).

[0107] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0108] As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system 100 includes a terminal device 101 and a network device 102.

[0109] In some embodiments, the terminal device 101 may measure the received beam.

[0110] In some embodiments, terminal device 101 may receive a transmission beam sent by network device.

[0111] In some embodiments, terminal device 101 may send measurement results to network device.

[0112] In some embodiments, terminal device 101 may receive configuration information sent by network device.

[0113] In some embodiments, terminal device 101 may be an intermediate node. The intermediate node includes a terminal and a UE.

[0114] In some embodiments, the name of the terminal device 101 is not limited, and may be, for example, "device for receiving transmitted beams", "device for measuring received beams", "device for transmitting measurement results", "device for determining target transmitted beams", etc., and this disclosure does not limit it.

[0115] In some embodiments, network device 102 may transmit a transmit beam.

[0116] In some embodiments, network device 102 may send configuration information.

[0117] In some embodiments, network device 102 may receive measurement results.

[0118] In some embodiments, network device 102 may be a base station or gNB.

[0119] In some embodiments, the name of the network device 102 is not limited, and may be, for example, "transmitting device for transmitting beams", "receiving device for measurement results", "device for transmitting configuration information", etc., and this disclosure does not limit it.

[0120] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: mobile phone, wearable device, Internet of Things device, car with communication function, smart car, 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 surgery, wireless terminal device in smart grid, wireless terminal device in transportation safety, wireless terminal device in smart city, and wireless terminal device in smart home.

[0121] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that connects a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include at least one of the following in a 5G communication system: evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), node B (NB), home node B (HNB), home evolved node B (HeNB), radio backhaul device, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), base band unit (BBU), mobile switching center, base station in a 6G communication system, open RAN, cloud RAN, base station in other communication systems, and access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0122] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of this disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within access network devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of Open RAN. The processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented by software or programs.

[0123] In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU may also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can separate the protocol layer of the access network device. Some of the protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU and centrally controlled by the CU. However, this is not the only possibility.

[0124] In some embodiments, the core network equipment may be a single device, including a first network element, a second network element, etc., or it may be multiple devices or a group of devices, each including all or part of the first network element, the second network element, etc. Network elements may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), 5G Core Network (5GCN), and Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0125] It is understood that the communication system described in this disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of this disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0126] The following embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1A, or to some of the main bodies, but are not limited thereto. The main bodies shown in FIG1A are illustrative. The communication system may include all or some of the main bodies in FIG1A, or it may include other main bodies outside of FIG1A. The number and form of each main body are arbitrary. Each main body may be physical or virtual. The connection relationship between the main bodies is illustrative. The main bodies may not be connected or may be connected. The connection can be in any way, it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection, it can be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

[0127] The embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), and IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth (a registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) systems, systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems built upon them, etc. Furthermore, multiple systems can be combined (e.g., a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0128] The radiation range of an antenna array can be divided into two parts: a near-field region and a far-field region. The boundary between the two is called the Rayleigh distance (2D). 2 / 2. In the far-field region, electromagnetic waves are plane waves. However, with a significant increase in the number of antenna array elements and the increase in carrier frequency, the Rayleigh distance increases, leading to an expansion of the near-field region. The UE (user-emitter) originally located in the far-field region of the base station antenna array becomes a UE in the near-field region. The difference is that the electromagnetic waves in the near-field region propagate as spherical waves, and the beam measurement results of the traditional single-antenna-port reference signal will not be applicable to the beam measurement results of all antenna ports. Here, an antenna port can also be represented as an antenna subarray.

[0129] Currently, there are two possible methods to realize large-scale antennas, as shown in the schematic diagram in Figure 1B. (1) One method is to divide the antenna into multiple subarrays, and (2) the second method is a sparse matrix. For (1), the antenna can be divided into multiple subarrays, as shown in Figure 1C. Each subarray is a uniform array.

[0130] Consider a single-polarized uniform planar array with N antenna elements and d antenna spacing, n(0,nd)n=0,1,...,N-1. The N antenna elements are divided into Ng antenna subarrays, and each subarray consists of Ne=N / Ng antenna elements.

[0131] Beamforming scheme: In the hybrid precoding architecture of partially connected architecture, the RF chain signal is fed into the antenna elements in the corresponding antenna subarray through a phase shifter to form a beam. The weighting value of each antenna element can be calculated based on the given azimuth angle and the spacing between antenna elements.

[0132] Treating each antenna subarray as a beam generator, under the simulation assumption of transmitting beam 1, each sub-antenna element will generate 11 horizontal beams and corresponding RSRPs. Therefore, for an antenna panel consisting of 10 sub-antenna elements, 110 beams and corresponding RSRPs can be obtained, as shown in the table below:

[0133] Based on the simulation assumptions of regions 1 and 2, the UE's data distribution is shown in Figure 1D. The evaluated parameters include the L1-RSRP value, which comprises the near-field L1-RSRP value, the far-field L1-RSRP value, and the difference between the near-field and far-field L1-RSRP values. Specifically, the near-field L1-RSRP represents the average L1-RSRP value when each of the 10 antenna subarrays selects its own best transmit beam; the far-field L1-RSRP represents the average L1-RSRP value when all 10 antenna subarrays select the same best transmit beam; and the difference is the sum of the near-field and far-field L1-RSRP values.

[0134] Simulation results for this scenario show that, by selecting the optimal transmit beam for different antenna subarrays, compared to the traditional method where all antenna arrays use the same transmit beam, the average L1-RSRP of each sub-antenna element at the terminal can be increased by up to 8dB, which greatly improves near-field coverage.

[0135] Therefore, for massive MIMO antennas, the UE needs to measure and report the signals from multiple subarrays. The current approach involves each subarray at the transmitting end sending a signal separately, and then the UE measuring each subarray to find the transmit beam index corresponding to the maximum L1-RSRP for each subarray. The UE then reports the beams for all subarrays, and based on the UE's reports, the network can apply different transmit beams to different subarrays. However, this measurement and reporting method has drawbacks. It assumes that the UE's receiving end is an omnidirectional antenna, capable of simultaneously receiving different beams from all subarrays. In reality, the UE's receiving end is not omnidirectional but directional, meaning that for a given receive beam, the UE may only receive the transmit beams from a portion of the transmitting subarrays. Therefore, the measurement and reporting method based on the omnidirectional antenna assumption cannot be applied in practice.

[0136] For large-scale antennas based on subarrays, it is necessary to design measurement and reporting methods that take into account the directional nature of the UE's received beam.

[0137] Therefore, this disclosure proposes a communication method, communication device, communication system, storage medium, and program product. For large-scale antennas based on subarrays, it proposes a method for UE to perform receiver measurements and report them; and proposes how the network side can configure measurement resources and configure reporting results.

[0138] The following are definitions of the technical terms used in this disclosure:

[0139] 1. L1: layer 1, physical layer.

[0140] 2. RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power.

[0141] 3. RF: Radio Frequency. This refers to electromagnetic frequencies that can be radiated into space, ranging from 300 kHz to 30 GHz.

[0142] 4. TDM: Time Division Multiplexing. TDM is a technology that uses interleaved bit pulses in different channels or time slots to transmit multiple digital data, voice, and video signals simultaneously on the same communication medium.

[0143] 5. SDM: Space Division Multiplexing. A multiplexing method that uses spatial division to create different channels.

[0144] 6. RE: Resource Element. In LTE, a subcarrier in the frequency domain and a symbol in the time domain are called an RE.

[0145] Figure 2A is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2A, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, which includes:

[0146] Step S2101: The network device sends a transmit beam to the terminal device.

[0147] In some embodiments, the network device sends N×M×P transmission beams to the terminal device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmission beams, and the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, where N, M, and P are positive integers.

[0148] In some embodiments, the antenna port can be a port, or the antenna port can be an antenna subarray. One port is one subarray, and each subarray can transmit beams in different directions.

[0149] In some embodiments, P represents the number of beam scans on the terminal side; in other words, the terminal has P receiving directions. That is, for N×M transmit beams, the terminal device receives (scans) in each receiving direction, and each of the N×M transmit beams is received P times. This means the network device repeatedly transmits the N×M beams P times, for a total of N×M×P transmit beams. The N×M beams are different from each other, and for each of the N×M beams, P beams are identical.

[0150] In some embodiments, the network device has N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmission directions, so that P transmission beams can be transmitted in each transmission direction. For the terminal device, it can receive P reception beams in each transmission direction, or the terminal device can only receive reception beams in some transmission directions.

[0151] In some embodiments, the transmit beam sent by the network device to the terminal may adopt different transmission methods, such as time-division or time-division plus space-division.

[0152] In some embodiments, sending N×M×P transmission beams to a terminal device includes any one of the following: sending N×M transmission beams P times through different time domain units; sending N×M transmission beams P times through the same resource element (RE) corresponding to a time domain unit, wherein the N antenna ports are code-divided on the RE; or sending M transmission beams P times for each of the N antenna ports through different REs corresponding to a time domain unit.

[0153] In some embodiments, the network device can transmit M transmit beams P times from N antenna ports to the terminal device through different time domain units. It is understood that the network device needs to transmit N×M transmit beams P times, therefore each of the P transmissions requires N×M time domain units to complete.

[0154] For example, the network device transmits the m-th transmit beam of the n-th antenna port through one time-domain symbol each time, where n∈[1,N] and m∈[1,M]; transmits one transmit beam of one antenna port at each time (each time-domain symbol); transmits N*M transmit beams through N*M symbols respectively; transmits N*M transmit beams in the form of time division multiplexing (TDM), etc.

[0155] In some embodiments, "same moment" can refer to the same time-domain symbol, and the time-domain unit can be a symbol, frame, antenna port, etc. "Same moment" and "same time" can be used interchangeably with the above description.

[0156] For example, the base station uses TDM transmission for multiple beams on multiple antenna ports, transmitting the m-th beam of the n-th antenna port at each time moment.

[0157] In some embodiments, network devices use SDM+TDM to transmit multiple antenna ports and multiple beams. At the same time, beams from different antenna ports are transmitted in parallel. To ensure that the terminal device can successfully determine the signal quality of each antenna port when simultaneously receiving reference signals from multiple beams, the transmission methods for beam reference signals between different antenna ports are as follows:

[0158] In some embodiments, a network device can transmit N×M transmit beams P times through the same resource element (RE) corresponding to a time-domain unit, where the N antenna ports are code-division multiplexed on the RE. It is understood that all beams from the N antenna ports are transmitted on one RE, but the N antenna ports are code-division multiplexed on the RE.

[0159] It is understandable that, assuming the horizontal axis of the time-frequency domain resource is the time domain and the vertical axis is the frequency domain, the same time domain unit may contain multiple frequency domain units (e.g., RE). Transmission is performed at the same position of the same frequency domain unit within the same time domain unit, that is, at the same position of the cell formed by the horizontal and vertical axes, but they are different in time, that is, time-division.

[0160] For example, beam reference signals from different antenna ports are on the same RE, but they are code-division multiplexed. That is, beams from N antenna ports are transmitted through one RE of the same symbol. P transmissions of the same beam reference signal from the same antenna port can be frequency-division or time-division multiplexed.

[0161] In some embodiments, the network device can transmit M transmit beams P times for each of the N antenna ports through different REs corresponding to a time domain unit.

[0162] In some embodiments, M transmit beams transmitted by a network device on the same RE belong to the same antenna port, while beams transmitted on different REs belong to different antenna ports. That is, beam reference signals from different antenna ports are on different REs corresponding to the same symbol.

[0163] The above-mentioned transmission methods are described below with reference to Figure 2B.

[0164] Example 1: Transmit N×M transmission beams P times through different time domain units.

[0165] In this example, the network device can transmit N×M transmit beams P times using different time-domain units. Optionally, the network device can transmit P times in different time slots. In each transmission, the network device can transmit N×M beams on different OFDM symbols. One possible approach is for the network device to transmit all beams of different ports on different OFDM symbols, for example, transmitting M beams of one port on one OFDM symbol and M beams of another port on another OFDM symbol. Another possible approach is to transmit different beams of the same port on different OFDM symbols, for example, transmitting one beam of one port on one OFDM symbol and another beam of the same port on another OFDM symbol. Yet another possible approach is to transmit different beams of different ports on different OFDM symbols, for example, transmitting one beam of one port on one OFDM symbol and another beam of another port on another OFDM symbol.

[0166] It should be understood that in this example, "different time-domain units" can refer to different OFDM symbols in different time slots. One OFDM symbol can correspond to different REs. "Different REs" can refer to REs with the same OFDM symbol number but different subcarrier numbers, such as RE0 and RE1 corresponding to OFDM symbol 1; "different REs" can also refer to REs with different OFDM symbol numbers and different subcarrier numbers, such as RE0 corresponding to OFDM symbol 1 and RE1 corresponding to OFDM symbol 2; "different REs" can also refer to REs with different OFDM symbol numbers but the same subcarrier number, such as RE0 corresponding to OFDM symbol 1 and RE0 corresponding to OFDM symbol 2.

[0167] The following sections describe several typical cases from Example 1:

[0168] As shown in Example 1(a) of Figure 2B, in P transmissions, the network device transmits on different time slots each time. The time slots for each transmission can be adjacent, as illustrated in Figure 2B where the time slots are adjacent. Alternatively, the time slots for each transmission can be non-adjacent, but the interval period can be the same. For example, transmission can occur every other time slot: the first transmission is on time slot 1, the second on time slot 3, the third on time slot 5, and so on. During the first transmission, M transmission beams of port #1 are transmitted on symbol #0 of the first time slot. During the second transmission, M transmission beams of port #2 are transmitted on symbol #1 of the second time slot. The M beams of the same port can be frequency-division multiplexed; for example, M beams can be transmitted through different REs within the same symbol.

[0169] As shown in Example 1(b) of Figure 2B, in P transmissions, the network device transmits in different time slots each time. The time slots for each transmission can be adjacent, as illustrated in Figure 2B where the time slots are adjacent. Alternatively, the time slots for each transmission can be non-adjacent, but the interval period can be the same. For example, transmission can occur every other time slot: the first transmission is in time slot 1, the second in time slot 3, the third in time slot 5, and so on. During the first transmission, M transmission beams of port #1 are transmitted in the first time slot, and during the second transmission, M transmission beams of port #2 are transmitted in the second time slot. The M beams of the same port can be time-division multiplexed; for example, M beams can be transmitted using different symbols. Alternatively, during the first transmission, one transmit beam from each of the N ports is transmitted in the first time slot, with each transmit beam from the N ports transmitted on different OFDM symbols. During the second transmission, one transmit beam from each of the N ports is transmitted in the second time slot, with each transmit beam from the N ports transmitted on different OFDM symbols, and the beams for the same port are different during the first and second transmissions.

[0170] As shown in Example 1(c) of Figure 2B, in P transmissions, the network device transmits on different time slots each time. The time slots for each transmission can be adjacent, as illustrated in Figure 2B where the time slots are adjacent. Alternatively, the time slots for each transmission can be non-adjacent, but the interval period can be the same. For example, transmission can occur every other time slot: the first transmission is on time slot 1, the second on time slot 3, the third on time slot 5, and so on. During the first transmission, M transmission beams of port #1 are transmitted on RE0 of the first time slot. During the second transmission, M transmission beams of port #2 are transmitted on RE0 of the second time slot. The M beams of the same port can be code-division multiplexed; for example, the M beams are code-division multiplexed on RE0.

[0171] Example 2: N×M transmit beams P times through the same resource element (RE) corresponding to a time domain unit, where N antenna ports are code-divided on the RE.

[0172] In this example, the network device can transmit N×M transmit beams P times through the same RE corresponding to a time domain unit. Optionally, the network device can transmit P times in different time slots. In each transmission, the network device can transmit N×M beams on the same RE of the same OFDM symbol. In other words, the time-frequency domain resources for transmitting M beams on N ports can be the same, for example, the REs can be numbered the same.

[0173] It should be understood that in this example, "one time-domain unit" can mean that the OFDM symbols corresponding to beams transmitting from different ports have the same number, that is, each transmission is carried out on the OFDM symbol with that number. "The same RE" can mean that the REs have the same number, that is, each transmission is carried out on the RE with that number.

[0174] As shown in Example 2 of Figure 2B, in P transmissions, the network device transmits on different time slots each time. The time slots for each transmission can be adjacent, as illustrated in Figure 2B where the time slots are adjacent. Alternatively, the time slots for each transmission can be non-adjacent, but the interval period can be the same. For example, transmissions can occur every other time slot: the first transmission is on time slot 1, the second on time slot 3, the third on time slot 5, and so on. During the first transmission, all N port beams are transmitted on RE0 of the first time slot. During the second transmission, all N port beams are transmitted on RE0 of the second time slot. The N ports are code-division multiplexed on RE0. The M beams of the same port can be time-division multiplexed. For example, during the first transmission, one of the M beams is transmitted via RE0, and during the second transmission, another of the M beams is transmitted via RE, and so on.

[0175] Example 3: Through different REs corresponding to a time domain unit, M transmit beams of each of the N antenna ports are transmitted P times.

[0176] In this example, the network device can transmit N×M transmit beams P times through different REs corresponding to a single time-domain unit. Optionally, the network device can transmit P times on different time slots. In each transmission, the network device can transmit N×M beams on different REs of the same OFDM symbol. In other words, the time-domain resource numbers (same OFDM symbol) of the M beams transmitted on N ports are the same, but the frequency-domain resource numbers (different subcarriers) are different, i.e., the RE numbers are different.

[0177] It should be understood that in this example, "one time-domain unit" can refer to the fact that the OFDM symbol number corresponding to the beams transmitted from different ports is the same, that is, each transmission is carried out on the OFDM symbol with that number. "Different REs" can refer to the fact that the RE numbers are different, that is, each transmission uses a different RE number.

[0178] As shown in Example 3 of Figure 2B, in P transmissions, the network device transmits on different time slots each time. The time slots for each transmission can be adjacent, as illustrated in Figure 2B where the time slots are adjacent. Alternatively, the time slots for each transmission can be non-adjacent, but the interval period can be the same. For example, transmission can occur every other time slot: the first transmission is on time slot 1, the second on time slot 3, the third on time slot 5, and so on. During the first transmission, M transmission beams of port #1 are transmitted on RE0 of the first time slot. During the second transmission, M transmission beams of port #2 are transmitted on RE1 of the first time slot. The M beams of the same port can be code-division multiplexed on a single RE.

[0179] In the above embodiments, when the network device transmits P times N×M transmission beams through the same RE or different REs corresponding to a time domain unit, the directions of the beams at different antenna ports at the same time are as follows:

[0180] In some embodiments, the directions of the N×M×P transmit beams satisfy any of the following: the transmit beams of different antenna ports have the same direction in the same time domain unit; the transmit beams transmitted by the same antenna port have different directions in different time domain units; the transmit beams of different antenna ports have different directions in the same time domain unit; the transmit beams transmitted by the same antenna port have different directions in different time domain units.

[0181] In some embodiments, for each N×M transmit beams sent by the network device, the transmit beams from different antenna ports have the same direction in the same time domain unit, while the transmit beams from the same antenna port have different directions in different time domain units. In other words, at the same time, the beams from different antenna ports have the same direction, but at different times, different beams are transmitted.

[0182] For example, as shown in Figures 4B and 4C, at time T1, the beam 1 of each of the N antenna ports has the same direction, and at time T2, the beam 2 of each of the N antenna ports has the same direction, but the beam 1 transmitted in T1 and the beam 2 transmitted in T2 have different directions. Optionally, the beam numbers transmitted by the N antenna ports at the same time can be different. For example, at the same time, antenna port 1 transmits beam 1, and antenna port 2 transmits beam 5.

[0183] In some embodiments, for each N×M transmit beams sent by the network device, the directions of the transmit beams from different antenna ports are different within the same time domain unit, and the directions of the transmit beams from the same antenna port are different in different time domain units. In other words, at the same time, the directions of the beams from different antenna ports are different, and at different times, different beams are transmitted.

[0184] For example, as shown in the schematic diagram in Figure 4D, at time T1, antenna port 1 transmits beam 1, antenna port 2 transmits beam 2, and so on. At time T2, antenna port 1 transmits beam 2, antenna port 2 transmits beam 3, and so on.

[0185] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitted beams sent by the network device, which can be achieved by receiving the P received beams corresponding to each of the N×M transmitted beams through different time domain units.

[0186] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitted beams sent by the network device, which can be achieved by receiving the P received beams corresponding to each of the N×M transmitted beams through the same resource element (RE) corresponding to a time domain unit, wherein the N antenna ports are code-divided on the RE.

[0187] In some embodiments, the terminal device receives the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitted beams sent by the network device, which can be achieved by receiving the P received beams corresponding to the M transmitted beams of each of the N antenna ports through different REs corresponding to a time domain unit.

[0188] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc., are not limited to the names described in the embodiments. Terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0189] In some embodiments, "acquire," "get," "obtain," "receive," "transmit," "bidirectional transmission," and "send and / or receive" can be used interchangeably and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, acquiring from protocols, acquiring from higher layers, obtaining through self-processing, or autonomous implementation. Protocols include, for example, at least one of the 3GPP protocol, Wi-Fi protocol, and audio and / or video protocols.

[0190] In some embodiments, terms such as “send,” “transmit,” “report,” “distribute,” “transfer,” “bidirectional transmission,” “send and / or receive” can be used interchangeably.

[0191] In some embodiments, terms such as "certain," "preset," "default," "set," "indicated," "a certain," "any," and "first" can be used interchangeably. "Certain A," "preset A," "default A," "set A," "indicated A," "a certain A," "any A," and "first A" can be interpreted as A pre-defined in a protocol or the like, or as A obtained through setting, configuration, or instruction, or as specific A, a certain A, any A, or first A, but are not limited thereto.

[0192] In step S2102, the network device sends configuration information to the terminal device.

[0193] In some embodiments, the configuration information is used to configure at least one of the following: the number of transmit beams in the measurement results reported by the terminal device; whether to report the measured value of the measurement quantity corresponding to the transmit beam in the measurement results; and whether to report the index of the receive beam corresponding to the transmit beam in the measurement results.

[0194] In some embodiments, the transmit beam in the measurement result may be the optimal transmit beam determined by the terminal through measurement. The optimal transmit beam may be for all antenna ports, for example, each antenna port selects its own optimal transmit beam for reporting, or it may be for some antenna ports, for example, the terminal selects the optimal transmit beam for some antenna ports for reporting, and so on. The transmit beam in the measurement result may be one or more, or it may be a combination of beams.

[0195] In some embodiments, the network device may configure the terminal device to report the number of transmit beams and whether to report the measurement values ​​of the measurement quantities corresponding to the transmit beams.

[0196] In some embodiments, the network device may configure the terminal device to report the measurement value of the measurement quantity corresponding to the transmit beam, and / or to report the index of the receive beam corresponding to the transmit beam.

[0197] For example, the network device can be configured to allow the UE to report the optimal transmit beam index and / or L1-RSRP value for each antenna port separately, wherein the number of optimal beams for each antenna port can be configured by the network device.

[0198] In some embodiments, the number of transmit beams in the measurement results is any one of the following: the number of transmit beams X reported for each antenna port; the total number of transmit beams Y reported for L antenna ports, where X and Y are positive integers.

[0199] In some embodiments, the number of transmit beams in the measurement results configured by the network device is for each antenna port, that is, the number of transmit beams reported by each antenna port is X.

[0200] For example, for the nth antenna port (n = 1, ..., N), the UE sorts the L1-RSRP of the M transmit beams and selects the best i transmit beams. If there are N antenna ports in total, the UE will report the best transmit beam for each antenna port. Assuming that each antenna port is configured to report only one best beam, the reporting result is {best beam index for antenna port 1, best beam index for antenna port 2, ..., best beam index for antenna port N}. The receive beams corresponding to the selected best transmit beams may be different for different antenna ports.

[0201] In some embodiments, the number of target transmit beams configured for the network device is for N antenna ports, that is, the total number of transmit beams reported by all antenna ports is Y.

[0202] For example, the network device configures the UE to report the best transmit beam and / or L1-RSRP value for all antenna ports. The number of best beams can be configured by the network device. Assuming each antenna port has M directions, and there are N antenna ports in total, the UE selects the best i transmit beams from the obtained measurement results. Assuming a total of 2 beams are configured to be reported, the reported result would be {best beam index 1, best beam index 2}. Here, if multiple report beams are configured, the corresponding receive beams for the selected best transmit beams may be different.

[0203] Step S2103: The terminal device measures the received beam.

[0204] In some embodiments, the terminal device measures the received beams corresponding to N×M×P transmitted beams to obtain measurement results. The measurement results include at least the indices of the target transmitted beams of L antenna ports out of the N antenna ports, where L≤N.

[0205] In some embodiments, the terminal device can obtain the received beam by scanning in multiple directions and measuring the received beam in each direction to obtain the measured value of the received beam.

[0206] In some embodiments, the measurement results are obtained by the terminal device measuring the received beams corresponding to N×M×P transmitted beams, and the measurement results include at least the indexes of the transmitted beams of all or part of the antenna ports.

[0207] In some embodiments, for N×M transmit beams, the terminal device can receive N×M×P receive beams. That is, the terminal device needs to perform beam scanning during reception. For any transmit beam, the terminal device can scan and obtain P receive beams, where P is the number of receive beams scanned for a single transmit beam, and P can be equal to 1. In other words, if an omnidirectional antenna is used for reception, the terminal device will obtain N×M×P receive beams.

[0208] In some embodiments, the measurement results include at least one of the following: the indices of the transmit beams of L antenna ports out of N antenna ports, where L≤N; the measured values ​​of the measured quantities corresponding to the transmit beams of the L antenna ports; and the indices of the receive beams corresponding to the transmit beams of the L antenna ports.

[0209] In some embodiments, the transmit beams of the L antenna ports are determined by the terminal device based on configuration information sent by the network device. The terminal device can send the measured values ​​of the measurements corresponding to the transmit beams of the L antenna ports and / or the indexes of the corresponding receive beams to the network device, thereby realizing the measurement and reporting of the receive beams of the large-scale antenna based on the antenna ports. In other words, the terminal device can report only the indexes of the transmit beams of the L antenna ports, or report the measured values ​​and / or the indexes of the corresponding receive beams to the network device.

[0210] In some embodiments, the terminal device measures the received beam, and the determination of the measurement result includes the following methods:

[0211] Option 1:

[0212] In some embodiments, the measurement of the receiving beams corresponding to N×M×P transmit beams to obtain measurement results includes: for the nth antenna port among N antenna ports, measuring the P receiving beams corresponding to the mth transmit beam among the M transmit beams of the nth antenna port to obtain M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port, where n∈[1,N], m∈[1,M]; and determining the index of the transmit beam reported by the nth antenna port based on the M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port.

[0213] In some embodiments, the terminal device measures the corresponding received beam for each of the M transmitted beams transmitted at each antenna port to obtain M×P measurement values, and determines the index of the transmitted beam in the measurement results configured by the network device based on the M×P measurement values.

[0214] For example, if the network device is configured to report the best transmit beam for each subarray, then the terminal device will select one or more of the best transmit beams from the measured values ​​for each of the P transmit beams transmitted by each subarray. For N subarrays, the terminal will report the index of the best transmit beam for each subarray.

[0215] In some embodiments, determining the index of the transmit beam reported by the nth antenna port based on the M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port includes: the number of transmit beams in the measurement results configured in the configuration information sent by the network device is X, the number of transmit beams reported for each antenna port is X, the M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port are sorted in descending order, and the indices of the X transmit beams corresponding to the first X measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port are used as the index of the transmit beam reported by the nth antenna port.

[0216] In some embodiments, the receiving beams corresponding to the reported transmit beams determined for different antenna ports may be the same or different.

[0217] In some embodiments, the terminal device transmits M transmit beams for each antenna port, and each transmit beam may correspond to P receive beams, where P can be an integer of 1 or greater than 1. Thus, the terminal device obtains M×P measurement values. These M×P measurement values ​​for each antenna port are sorted in the same order, and the top X largest measurement values ​​are selected. The indices of the X transmit beams corresponding to these X measurement values ​​are used as the index of the target transmit beam for the current antenna port. It is understood that since each of the M transmit beams transmitted from each antenna port is transmitted P times, the selected top X measurement values ​​may include measurements from the same transmit beam. Therefore, the transmit beam indices in the obtained measurement results may contain duplicate indices.

[0218] In some embodiments, determining the index of the transmit beam reported by the nth antenna port based on the M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port includes: the number of transmit beams in the measurement results configured in the configuration information sent by the network device is X, the number of transmit beams reported for each antenna port; for each beam scanning direction, sorting the M measurement values ​​of the M transmit beams of the nth antenna port in descending order, determining the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the maximum measurement value in each beam scanning direction, obtaining P maximum measurement values ​​and the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the P maximum measurement values; sorting the P maximum measurement values ​​in descending order, and using the index of the X transmit beams corresponding to the first X measurement values ​​as the index of the transmit beam reported by the nth antenna port.

[0219] In some embodiments, the terminal device may receive P transmitted beams from M directions from the nth antenna port. The measurement values ​​corresponding to the received beams (M) received in each beam scanning direction are sorted to ensure that a best transmitted beam (P in total) can be selected for each receiving direction. Then, X best beams are selected from the P best transmitted beams as the index of the transmitted beam in the measurement result.

[0220] For example, the terminal finds the transmitting beam with the maximum measurement value and the L1-RSRP value for each of the M transmitting beams in subarray 1 in each beam scanning direction; it finds the transmitting beam with the maximum measurement value and the L1-RSRP value for each of the M transmitting beams in subarray 2 in each beam scanning direction, and so on. For each of the M transmitting beams in each subarray, the transmitting beam with the maximum measurement value and the L1-RSRP value can be found in each beam scanning direction. The maximum measurement value set for subarray 1 in P beam scanning directions is sorted in descending order, and the index of the transmitting beam corresponding to the first X measurement values ​​is used as the index of the transmitting beam to be reported. Similarly, the maximum measurement value set for subarray 2 in P beam scanning directions is sorted in descending order, and the index of the transmitting beam corresponding to the first X measurement values ​​is used as the index of the transmitting beam to be reported. This process is repeated for each subarray, where the maximum measurement value set for P beam scanning directions is sorted in descending order, and the index of the transmitting beam corresponding to the first X measurement values ​​of each subarray is used as the index of the transmitting beam to be reported.

[0221] Option 2:

[0222] In some embodiments, L = N, and the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams are measured to obtain measurement results, including: for N antenna ports, measuring the P receiving beams corresponding to the N×M transmitting beams of each of the N antenna ports to obtain N×M×P measurement values ​​of the N antenna ports; and determining the index of the transmitting beams reported by the N antenna ports based on the N×M×P measurement values.

[0223] In some embodiments, determining the index of the transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports based on N×M×P measurement values ​​includes: the number of transmit beams in the measurement results configured by the configuration information sent by the network device is the total number Y of transmit beams reported for the N antenna ports; sorting the N×M×P measurement values ​​of the N antenna ports in descending order; determining the index of the Y transmit beams corresponding to the first Y measurement values; and using this index as the index of the transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports.

[0224] In some embodiments, the receiving beams corresponding to the reported transmit beams determined for different antenna ports may be the same or different.

[0225] In some embodiments, the network device is configured to report the number of transmit beams that need to be reported as the total number of transmit beams reported by N antenna ports. Then, the terminal device sorts the measurement values ​​obtained corresponding to the N×M×P transmit beams and selects the best transmit beam to report the measurement results.

[0226] For example, the network device is configured to have the terminal report the best transmit beam index and / or L1-RSRP value for all subarrays, and the final number of best beams to be reported is two beams from the measurements of all subarrays. The terminal then sorts the L1-RSRP values ​​obtained from N×M×P beams, selects the two best transmit beams, and reports the result as {best beam index 1, best beam index 2}. Here, multiple report beams are configured, and the corresponding receive beams for the selected best transmit beams may be different or the same.

[0227] For example, the terminal can obtain an L1-RSRP value for each received beam. Assuming that the terminal has a total of N×M×P received beams, the terminal obtains a total of N×M×P L1-RSRP values. The N×M×P L1-RSRP values ​​are sorted, and the multi-antenna port transmission beam index and the corresponding L1-RSRP value corresponding to the largest received beam are selected and reported.

[0228] In some embodiments, determining the index of the transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports based on N×M×P measurement values ​​includes: the number of transmit beams in the measurement results configured by the configuration information sent by the network device is the total number Y of transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports; for each beam scanning direction, sorting the N×M measurement values ​​of the N×M transmit beams of the N antenna ports in descending order, determining the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the maximum measurement value in each beam scanning direction, obtaining P maximum measurement values ​​and the index of the transmit beams corresponding to the P maximum measurement values; sorting the P maximum measurement values ​​in descending order, and using the indexes of the Y transmit beams corresponding to the first Y measurement values ​​as the index of the transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports.

[0229] In some embodiments, the terminal can sort the measured values ​​of the received beams in descending order for each beam scanning direction, thereby determining a maximum measured value in each beam scanning direction, obtaining P maximum measured values ​​and the corresponding indexes of the transmitted beams, and then selecting Y transmitted beams corresponding to the top Y measured values ​​with the largest measured values ​​from the P maximum measured values, and using the indices of these Y transmitted beams as the indices of the transmitted beams in the measurement results.

[0230] For example, the terminal sorts the measurements of the N×M received beams in direction 1 in descending order, and uses the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the maximum value as the transmit beam to be reported in direction 1. Similarly, the terminal sorts the measurements of the N×M received beams in direction 2 in descending order, and uses the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the maximum value as the transmit beam to be reported in direction 2. This process is repeated to obtain the transmit beams to be reported in each direction. The measurements of the transmit beams reported in all directions are then sorted in descending order, and the transmit beams corresponding to the top Y measurements are selected as the transmit beams that the terminal needs to report.

[0231] Option 3:

[0232] In some embodiments, the transmit beam selected by the terminal device may be from all antenna ports or from some antenna ports, but it is selected after measurement based on the same receive beam.

[0233] In some embodiments, the antenna ports measure the received beams corresponding to N×M×P transmitted beams to obtain measurement results, including: measuring N×M transmitted beams for each beam scanning direction to obtain N×M measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; and determining the indexes of the transmitted beams of L antenna ports based on the N×M measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction.

[0234] In the above embodiment, the terminal device measures the same receiving beam of N×M transmitting beams, and measures the receiving beam of N×M transmitting beams in P receiving directions. The N×M receiving beams have the same index, and the receiving beam indices corresponding to the N×M measured values ​​are the same.

[0235] In some embodiments, L = N. Determining the indices of the transmit beams for the L antenna ports based on the N×M measurements for each beam scanning direction includes: sorting the M measurements of the nth antenna port in descending order for the N×M measurements for each beam scanning direction, determining the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the maximum measurement value, to obtain a set of indices of the N transmit beams corresponding to the N maximum measurements for each beam scanning direction; adding the N maximum measurements to obtain the total measurement value for each beam scanning direction, to obtain P total measurement values ​​for P beam scanning directions; and sorting the P total measurement values ​​in descending order to determine a set of indices of the N transmit beams corresponding to the maximum total measurement value.

[0236] In some embodiments, the terminal can receive M received beams from each of the N antenna ports in each beam scanning direction. The maximum value among the measured values ​​of the M received beams of each antenna port is taken as the maximum measured value of each antenna port. The measured values ​​of the N antenna ports in each beam scanning direction are added together to obtain the total measured value in each beam scanning direction. Each total measured value corresponds to the N maximum measured values ​​and the indices of the N transmitted beams, resulting in P total measured values ​​in P beam scanning directions. The largest value among the P total measured values ​​is selected as the target value, and the index of the N transmitted beams corresponding to the target value is taken as the index of the transmitted beam in the measurement result.

[0237] For example, the UE uses receive beam 1 to find the largest transmit beam and its L1-RSRP value among the M transmit beams of subarray 1, and the same for subarray 2. For receive beam 1, the UE adds up the L1-RSRP values ​​corresponding to the largest transmit beams of the N subarrays. For example, if the largest transmit beam in subarray 1 is beam 2, in subarray 2 it's beam 3, and in subarray 3 it's beam 4. Finally, the UE adds up the L1-RSRP values ​​of beam 2 in subarray 1, beam 3 in subarray 2, and beam 4 in subarray 3 to calculate a total L1-RSRP value for receive beam 1. Similarly, using receive beam 2, the UE finds the largest transmit beam and its L1-RSRP value among the M transmit beams of each subarray, and adds up the L1-RSRP values ​​corresponding to the largest transmit beams of all subarrays to obtain a total L1-RSRP value for receive beam 2. The UE polls all the received beams in a round-robin fashion, and so on. For each received beam, the UE can obtain a total L1-RSRP value. Assuming the UE has a total of P received beams, the UE obtains a total of P L1-RSRP values. The UE sorts the P L1-RSRP values, selects the multi-antenna port transmission beam index and the corresponding L1-RSRP value corresponding to the largest received beam, and reports it.

[0238] In some embodiments, where L < N, determining the indices of the transmit beams for L antenna ports based on N×M measurements for each beam scanning direction includes: sorting the M measurements of the nth antenna port in descending order for the N×M measurements for each beam scanning direction to determine the maximum measurement value, thereby obtaining N maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; removing measurements below a preset threshold from the N maximum measurement values ​​to obtain a set of transmit beam indices corresponding to the L maximum measurement values; summing the L maximum measurement values ​​to obtain the total measurement value for each beam scanning direction, thereby obtaining P total measurement values ​​for P beam scanning directions; and sorting the P total measurement values ​​in descending order to determine a set of transmit beam indices corresponding to the maximum total measurement value.

[0239] In some embodiments, the terminal takes the maximum value among the M measurements received from each antenna port in each beam scanning direction as the maximum measurement value of that antenna port, obtaining N maximum measurement values ​​in each beam scanning direction. The N maximum measurement values ​​are then filtered to obtain L maximum measurement values ​​that meet the conditions, i.e., there are L maximum measurement values ​​in each beam scanning direction, but the value of L in each beam scanning direction may be the same or different. The L maximum measurement values ​​in each beam scanning direction are added together to obtain the total measurement value in each beam scanning direction, i.e., P total measurement values. The largest total measurement value is taken as the target measurement value, which corresponds to the L maximum measurement values. The L maximum measurement values ​​correspond to L transmit beams, and the index of these L transmit beams is used as the index of the transmit beam in the measurement result.

[0240] For example, the terminal determines L maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction. The value of L for each beam scanning direction can be the same or different. For example, beam scanning direction 1 is transmit beam 1, transmit beam 2, and transmit beam 3; beam scanning direction 2 is transmit beam 2, transmit beam 4, and transmit beam 5; and beam scanning direction 3 is transmit beam 3 and transmit beam 4. The measurement values ​​of the transmit beams in each scanning direction are added together to obtain the total measurement value for each scanning direction, i.e., the total measurement value 1 for beam scanning direction 1, the total measurement value 2 for beam scanning direction 2, and the total measurement value 3 for beam scanning direction 3. Since the total measurement value 2 > the total measurement value 3 > the total measurement value 1, the set of transmit beams corresponding to the total measurement value 2 is used as the set of indices of the best transmit beams, i.e., {transmit beam 2, transmit beam 4, and transmit beam 5} is used as the index of the best transmit beams.

[0241] Option 4:

[0242] In some embodiments, the terminal device supports Q receiving panels, where Q≥1; wherein, the measurement of the receiving beams corresponding to N×M×P transmitting beams to obtain measurement results includes: for the i-th receiving panel, measuring the receiving beams corresponding to N×M×Pi transmitting beams to obtain N×M×Pi measurement results corresponding to the i-th receiving panel, where Pi is the number of beam scanning directions of the i-th receiving panel, i∈[1,Q]; and determining the index of the transmitting beams of L antenna ports based on the N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel.

[0243] In some embodiments, the terminal can measure the received beams received by each receiving panel. For each receiving panel, the number of times it receives each received beam can be different or the same. That is, the value of Pi can be the same or different for different i.

[0244] In some embodiments, for each of the Q receiving panels and the N×M×Pi measured values ​​determined, the indices of the transmit beams reported by the L antenna ports can be determined. Here, L can be equal to N, that is, the determined indices of the transmit beams including all antenna ports are used as the indices of the transmit beams in the measurement results; or, L can be less than N, that is, the measured values ​​corresponding to the transmit beams of all antenna ports are filtered according to a threshold value, and the set of transmit beam indices corresponding to the L measured values ​​is used as the set of transmit beam indices in the measurement results.

[0245] In some embodiments, the terminal can perform the above-described measurements and filtering on each receiving panel to obtain a set of indices of N or L transmit beams for each panel. The set of indices of N or L transmit beams can be obtained by taking the union of the sets to obtain the set of transmit beam indices in the measurement results. Alternatively, for repeated antenna port measurements, the maximum value can be taken as the measurement value of that antenna port, and the transmit beam index corresponding to the maximum value can be taken as the transmit beam reported by that port to obtain the set of transmit beam indices in the measurement results.

[0246] In some embodiments, the terminal device may perform measurements for each panel, and the sum of the number of transmit beams reported by each selected panel is less than or equal to N.

[0247] Specifically, the terminal can determine the index of the transmit beam of the L antenna ports in the following ways.

[0248] In some embodiments, the terminal device supports multiple receiving panels. Assuming the terminal supports Q receiving panels, the terminal reports the optimal transmission beam combination based on all or part of the subarrays of the Q receiving beams.

[0249] In some embodiments, L = N. Determining the transmit beam indices of the L antenna ports based on the N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel includes: for each of the Pi beam scanning directions, determining the maximum measurement value among the N×M measurement values ​​of each antenna port to obtain N maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; summing the N maximum measurement values ​​to obtain the total measurement value for each beam scanning direction to obtain Pi total measurement values ​​for the Pi beam scanning directions; sorting the Pi total measurement values ​​in descending order to determine the set of N transmit beam indices corresponding to the maximum total measurement value of the i-th receiving panel; using the set of N transmit beam indices corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels as the set of transmit beam indices reported by the N antenna ports; or selecting the transmit beam with the largest measurement value for the same antenna port from the set of N transmit beam indices corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels to obtain the set of N transmit beam indices for the entire Q receiving panels.

[0250] In some embodiments, for each of the Pi beam scanning directions, the terminal determines the maximum measurement value among the N×M measurements of each antenna port to obtain N maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; the N maximum measurement values ​​are added together to obtain the total measurement value for each beam scanning direction, thus obtaining Pi total measurement values ​​for the Pi beam scanning directions; the Pi total measurement values ​​are sorted in descending order to determine the set of indices of the N transmit beams corresponding to the maximum total measurement value of the i-th receiving panel; the set of indices of the N transmit beams corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels is used as the set of indices of the transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports.

[0251] In the above embodiment, for each receiving panel, the terminal obtains a total measurement value for each beam scanning direction, selects the largest total measurement value as the set of indices of the N transmitting beams of that receiving panel, and the terminal can use the set of indices of the N transmitting beams corresponding to the largest total measurement value of each receiving panel as the set of indices of the transmitting beams reported by the N antenna ports.

[0252] For example, assuming Q = 2, panel1 obtains a set {transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the first receive beam}, and panel2 obtains a set {transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the second receive beam}. The terminal then combines the two sets into a large set for reporting, with the reporting format being {transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the first receive beam, and transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the second receive beam}. This set contains indices of 2N beams.

[0253] In some embodiments, for each of the Pi beam scanning directions, the terminal determines the maximum measurement value among the N×M measurements for each antenna port to obtain N maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; the N maximum measurement values ​​are added together to obtain the total measurement value for each beam scanning direction, resulting in Pi total measurement values ​​for the Pi beam scanning directions; the Pi total measurement values ​​are sorted in descending order to determine the set of indices of the N transmit beams corresponding to the maximum total measurement value of the i-th receiving panel; from the set of indices of the N transmit beams corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels, the transmit beam with the largest measurement value is selected for the same antenna port to obtain the set of indices of the N transmit beams for the entire Q receiving panels.

[0254] In the above embodiments, for each receiving panel, the terminal obtains a total measurement value for each beam scanning direction. The largest total measurement value is selected as the set of indices of the N transmission beams of that receiving panel, thereby obtaining the indices of the N transmission beams corresponding to each of the Q panels. Each antenna port has a corresponding Q measurement value. The transmission beam corresponding to the largest value among the Q measurement values ​​is used as the transmission beam reported by each port, so as to obtain the set of indices of the N transmission beams of the Q receiving panels as a whole.

[0255] For example, assuming Q = 2, panel 1 receives a set {the transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the first receive beam}, and panel 2 receives a set {the transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the second receive beam}. The terminal compares the RSRP values ​​of the transmit beams of the same subarray in the two sets, retaining the larger value, and finally forming a set of N subarrays, reported in the form of {the transmit beams of the N subarrays}, which contains the indices of the N beams. One possible scenario is that subarray 1 of panel 1 selects beam 2 with an RSRP value of RSRP1, while subarray 1 of panel 2 selects beam 3 with an RSRP value of RSRP3. Since RSRP1 is greater than RSRP3, beam 2 is retained for subarray 1.

[0256] In some embodiments, the terminal can determine N×M×Pi measurement values ​​for each receiving panel. These N×M×Pi measurement values ​​may be obtained for the same receiving beam, or they may be obtained first and then selected. The former results in the same receiving beam, while the latter may result in different receiving beams.

[0257] In some embodiments, when the number of transmit beams in the measurement results configured by the network device is for each antenna port, the terminal determines the index of the corresponding X transmit beams for each antenna port, so that the sum of the measurement values ​​corresponding to the transmit beams reported by all antenna ports in all receiving panels is maximized.

[0258] In some embodiments, when the network device is configured to transmit beams in the measurement results for all antenna ports, the terminal determines the indices of the corresponding Y transmit beams for all antenna ports, so that the sum of the measurement values ​​corresponding to the transmit beams reported in all receiving panels is maximized.

[0259] For example, if Q = 2, the reporting format is {the transmitting beams of the L1 subarrays corresponding to the first receiving beam, and the transmitting beams of the L2 subarrays corresponding to the second receiving beam}, where L1 + L2 = N, or L1 + L2 < N, and N is the total number of subarrays.

[0260] Step S2104: The terminal device sends the measurement results to the network device.

[0261] In some embodiments, the measurement results are obtained by the terminal device measuring the received beams corresponding to N×M×P transmitted beams.

[0262] In some embodiments, the measurement results include at least one of the following: the indices of the transmit beams of L antenna ports out of N antenna ports, where L≤N; the measured values ​​of the measured quantities corresponding to the transmit beams of the L antenna ports; and the indices of the receive beams corresponding to the transmit beams of the L antenna ports.

[0263] In some embodiments, for the above scheme one, the measurement results sent by the terminal device may be, for each antenna port, selecting the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the X maximum values ​​from M×P measurement values ​​as the index of the transmit beam reported by that antenna port, reporting the X measurement values, and / or reporting the index of the corresponding receive beam.

[0264] For example, if the network device is configured to report an optimal beam for each subarray, then the result reported by the terminal is {the optimal beam index for subarray 1, the optimal beam index for subarray 2, ..., the optimal beam index for subarray N}. For different subarrays, the optimal transmit beam selected by the terminal may correspond to a different receive beam.

[0265] In some embodiments, for the second scheme described above, the measurement results sent by the terminal device can be for all antenna ports, that is, from N×M×P measurement values, the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the Y maximum values ​​is selected as the index of the transmit beam to be reported, and these Y measurement values ​​are reported, and / or the index of the corresponding receive beam is reported.

[0266] For example, if the network device is configured to report a total of 2 beams, then the terminal's reporting result will be: {best beam index 1, best beam index 2}. If multiple reporting beams are configured, the receiving beam corresponding to the best transmitting beam selected by the terminal may be different.

[0267] In some embodiments, for Scheme 3 above, the terminal device may report the best beam set of all antenna ports, or report the best beam set of some antenna ports.

[0268] In some embodiments, the terminal device may use the index of the N transmitting beams corresponding to the maximum value among the total measurements obtained in each beam scanning direction as the reporting index, and send the maximum value as the corresponding measurement to the network device.

[0269] For example, the terminal reports the best set of beams with the largest sum of measurements in each beam scanning direction, such as the set of beams of N subarrays {beam 1 of subarray 1, beam 2 of subarray 2, ..., beam n of subarray N}.

[0270] In some embodiments, the measurement results do not include the index of transmitted beams whose measured values ​​are below a preset threshold.

[0271] In some embodiments, for N maximum measurement values ​​in each beam scanning direction, the terminal device takes the L maximum measurement values ​​that meet the conditions as the measurement values ​​in that direction, adds the measurement values ​​to obtain the total measurement value in each beam scanning direction, reports the indexes of the L transmission beams corresponding to the total measurement value, and reports the corresponding measurement values.

[0272] For example, the terminal determines the measurement quantity that is greater than or equal to the threshold in each beam scanning direction as the measurement value in that direction, adds the above measurement values ​​to obtain the index of the L transmission beams corresponding to the maximum value in the total measurement value in each direction, and reports the corresponding measurement value.

[0273] In the above embodiments, after the terminal device measures the receiving beams corresponding to N×M transmitting beams, it can further exclude measurement values ​​that do not meet a preset threshold from the measurement results that need to be reported. In other words, the terminal can perform screening before reporting, and will not report measurement values ​​that are below the threshold.

[0274] In some embodiments, for Scheme 4 above, when the terminal supports multiple receiving panels (i.e., Q receiving panels), the terminal reports L optimal transmission beam combinations based on the Q receiving panels. For each receiving panel, N×M×Pi measurement values ​​can be determined. These N×M×Pi measurement values ​​may be obtained for the same receiving beam, or they may be obtained first and then selected. The former results in the same receiving beam, while the latter may result in different receiving beams.

[0275] In some embodiments, for each receiving panel, the terminal obtains a total measurement value for each beam scanning direction, selects the largest total measurement value as the set of indices of the N transmitting beams of that receiving panel, and the terminal can use the set of indices of the N transmitting beams corresponding to the largest total measurement value of each receiving panel as the set of indices of the transmitting beams reported by the N antenna ports.

[0276] For example, assuming Q = 2, panel1 obtains a set {transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the first receive beam}, and panel2 obtains a set {transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the second receive beam}. The terminal then combines the two sets into a larger set for reporting, in the form of {transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the first receive beam, and transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the second receive beam}. This set contains 2N beam indices. In some embodiments, for each receiving panel, the terminal obtains a total measurement value for each beam scanning direction. The largest total measurement value is selected as the set of indices of the N transmit beams for that receiving panel, thus obtaining the indices of the N transmit beams corresponding to each of the Q panels. Each antenna port has corresponding Q measurement values, and the transmit beam corresponding to the largest value among the Q measurement values ​​is selected as the target transmit beam for each port, thus obtaining the set of indices of the N transmit beams for the entire Q receiving panels.

[0277] For example, assuming Q = 2, Panel1 receives a set {the transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the first receive beam}, and Panel2 receives a set {the transmit beams of the N subarrays corresponding to the second receive beam}. The terminal compares the RSRP values ​​of the transmit beams of the same subarray in the two sets, retaining the larger value, ultimately forming a set of N subarrays, reported in the form of {the transmit beams of the N subarrays}, which contains the indices of the N beams. One possible scenario is that subarray 1 of Panel1 selects beam 2 with an RSRP value of RSRP1, while subarray 1 of Panel2 selects beam 3 with an RSRP value of RSRP3. Since RSRP1 is greater than RSRP3, beam 2 is retained for subarray 1.

[0278] In some embodiments, the set of indices of the Li transmit beams corresponding to the Q receive panels can be used as the set of indices of the transmit beams of the L antenna ports.

[0279] For example, with Q=2, in each beam scanning direction, the measured values ​​are summed, and the set of indices of the transmitting beam corresponding to the largest sum is taken as the set of transmitting beam indices for the receiving panel with Q=1. For the receiving panel with Q=2, in each beam scanning direction, the measured values ​​are summed, and the set of transmitting beam indices corresponding to the largest sum is taken as the set of transmitting beam indices for the receiving panel with Q=2. The sets of transmitting beam indices obtained by each of the two receiving panels are used as the set of transmitting beam indices for the L antenna ports.

[0280] In some embodiments, based on the set of indices of the Li transmit beams corresponding to the Q receive panels obtained above, the union of these indices is taken, and the transmit beam with the largest measured value is selected for the same antenna port to obtain the set of L transmit beam indices for the entire Q receive panels.

[0281] For example, the receiving panel with Q=2 and Q=1 obtains {transmit beam 1 of subarray 1, transmit beam 3 of subarray 2, and transmit beam 5 of subarray 3}, and the receiving panel with Q=2 obtains {transmit beam 2 of subarray 1, transmit beam 3 of subarray 2, and transmit beam 6 of subarray 4}. The RSRP value of transmit beam 1 of subarray 1 is greater than the RSRP value of transmit beam 2. By retaining the maximum value from the same port and taking the union, we obtain {transmit beam 1 of subarray 1, transmit beam 3 of subarray 2, transmit beam 5 of subarray 3, and transmit beam 6 of subarray 4}. This set is then sent to the network device, along with the corresponding measured values.

[0282] For example, if Q = 2, the reporting format is {the transmitting beams of the L1 subarrays corresponding to the first receiving beam, and the transmitting beams of the L2 subarrays corresponding to the second receiving beam}, where L1 + L2 = N, or L1 + L2 < N, and N is the total number of subarrays.

[0283] In the above embodiments, the terminal can measure the received beam and report the measurement results for a large-scale antenna with multiple antenna ports, or filter the measured values ​​of the received beam and report the filtered measurement results based on the configuration of the network device.

[0284] In the above embodiments, the execution order of steps S2101 and S2102 is not limited. That is, the network device can first send configuration information to the terminal device, and the terminal device can filter the received beam according to the configuration information after measuring it to obtain the measurement result and report it to the network device; or it can send the transmitted beam first and then send the configuration information. For the terminal device, it can filter the measurement result itself and report it, or report it directly without filtering. Alternatively, after receiving the configuration information, the terminal device can filter the measurement value according to the configuration information to obtain the measurement result and report it to the network device.

[0285] The communication method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2104. For example, step S2101 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S2102 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S2101+S2102 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, and steps S2102+S2102+S2103, S2101+S2103+S2104, and S2101+S2102+S2103+S2104 may be implemented as standalone embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0286] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0287] Figure 2C is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2C, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, which includes:

[0288] Step S2201: The network device sends a transmit beam to the terminal device.

[0289] In some embodiments, optional implementations of step S2201 can be found in optional implementations of step S2101 in Figure 2A, and will not be repeated here.

[0290] In step S2202, the terminal device measures the received beam.

[0291] In some embodiments, the terminal device may measure the receiving beam corresponding to the transmitting beam, obtain measurement values, and determine the measurement result based on the measurement values. The measurement result may be an index of the transmitting beam whose measurement values ​​meet the requirements.

[0292] In some embodiments, the measurement results include at least one of the following: the indices of the transmit beams of L antenna ports out of N antenna ports, where L≤N; the measured values ​​of the measured quantities corresponding to the transmit beams of the L antenna ports; and the indices of the receive beams corresponding to the transmit beams of the L antenna ports.

[0293] In some embodiments, for the nth antenna port out of N antenna ports, the terminal device measures the P received beams corresponding to the mth transmitted beam among the M transmitted beams of the nth antenna port to obtain M×P measurement values ​​for the nth antenna port, where n∈[1,N] and m∈[1,M]; based on the M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port, the index of the transmitted beam reported by the nth antenna port is determined.

[0294] Specifically, for the nth antenna port out of N antenna ports, P receive beams corresponding to the mth transmit beam out of the M transmit beams of the nth antenna port are measured to obtain P candidate measurement values ​​for each transmit beam, where m∈[1,M]. Based on the P candidate measurement values ​​for each transmit beam, the largest candidate measurement value is determined as the measurement value for each transmit beam to obtain the M measurement values ​​for the nth antenna port.

[0295] In some embodiments, the terminal device measures the P receive beams corresponding to the N×M transmit beams of the N antenna ports to obtain N×M×P measurement values ​​for the N antenna ports; based on the N×M×P measurement values, it determines the index of the transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports.

[0296] Specifically, for N antenna ports, P receive beams corresponding to each transmit beam are measured to obtain N×M×P candidate measurement values ​​for the N antenna ports. Based on the N×M×P candidate measurement values ​​of the N antenna ports, the maximum value among the P candidate measurement values ​​of each transmit beam is determined as the N×M measurement values ​​of the N antenna ports. Measurement values ​​below a preset threshold among the M measurement values ​​corresponding to each antenna port can be removed to obtain H measurement values. The index of the transmit beam corresponding to the H measurement values ​​is used as the index of the transmit beam reported by each antenna port. The final determined value of H for each antenna port can be the same or different.

[0297] In some embodiments, for each beam scanning direction, N×M transmit beams are measured to obtain N×M measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction, and the indices of the transmit beams for L antenna ports are determined. Specifically, the maximum value among the M measurement values ​​for each antenna port in each beam scanning direction can be used as the measurement value for each antenna port in that direction, thus obtaining a set of N transmit beam indices corresponding to the N maximum values ​​for each beam scanning direction. The maximum total measurement value obtained by summing the N maximum values ​​for each beam scanning direction is then used as the reported measurement value, and the set of N transmit beam indices corresponding to this total measurement value is used as the transmit beam index in the measurement result.

[0298] In some embodiments, the terminal removes the maximum measurement value less than a preset threshold from the N maximum measurement values ​​obtained in each beam scanning direction, and obtains L maximum measurement values ​​greater than or equal to the preset threshold in each beam scanning direction. After adding the L maximum measurement values ​​to obtain the total measurement value, the largest total measurement value is used as the reported measurement value, and the index of the L transmission beams corresponding to the measurement value is used as the index of the transmission beam in the measurement result.

[0299] In the above embodiments, the method by which the terminal measures the received beam and determines the target transmitted beam of L antenna ports for each beam scanning direction can be found in the optional implementation of Scheme 3 in step S2103 of Figure 2A, and will not be repeated here.

[0300] In some embodiments, when the terminal supports multiple receiving panels, i.e., Q receiving panels, the terminal reports the optimal transmit beam combination based on all or part of the subarrays of the Q receiving beams. For each receiving panel, N×M×Pi measurements can be determined.

[0301] In some embodiments, the terminal measures the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×Pi transmitting beams for the i-th receiving panel to obtain N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel, where Pi is the number of beam scanning directions of the i-th receiving panel, i∈[1,Q]; based on the N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel, the index of the transmitting beam of the L antenna ports is determined.

[0302] In the above embodiments, the terminal obtains the measurement results based on the multiple receiving panels and determines the index of the transmit beam of the L antenna ports. This can be referred to as the optional implementation of Scheme 4 in step S2103 of Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0303] Step S2203: The terminal device sends the measurement results to the network device.

[0304] In some embodiments, the measurement results include at least one of the following: the index of the transmit beams of the L antenna ports, where L≤N; the measured value of the measurement quantity corresponding to the transmit beams of the L antenna ports; and the index of the receive beams corresponding to the transmit beams of the L antenna ports.

[0305] In some embodiments, the terminal device may report the measurement results of all antenna ports to the network device, or it may report the measurement results of some antenna ports to the network device.

[0306] In some embodiments, the terminal device may send the index of the transmit beam of the L antenna ports selected in different schemes in step S2202 to the network device.

[0307] In some embodiments, the terminal device may also send the measured values ​​corresponding to the transmit beams of the L antenna ports and / or the indexes of the corresponding receive beams to the network device.

[0308] For example, the UE reports the best beam set of all subarrays, such as the beam set of N subarrays {beam 1 of subarray 1, beam 2 of subarray 2, ..., beam n of subarray N}.

[0309] In some embodiments, the measurement results do not include the index of transmitted beams whose measured values ​​are below a preset threshold.

[0310] For example, the UE reports the best beam set of some subarrays. If the quality of the best beam of some subarrays is lower than a certain threshold, the beam corresponding to that subarray will not be reported. For example, if there are 3 subarrays in total, and the L1-RSRP value of the best beam corresponding to the 3rd subarray is lower than the threshold, then the beam of subarray 3 will not be reported. Only the best beams corresponding to subarray 1 and subarray 2 will be reported. For example, only the beam set of two subarrays {beam 1 of subarray 1 and beam 2 of subarray 2} will be reported.

[0311] In the above embodiments, the terminal can measure the received beam corresponding to the transmitted beam sent by the network device through N antenna ports, and report the measurement results corresponding to all antenna ports to the network device, or filter the measurement values ​​and report the measurement results corresponding to some ports to the network device, thereby realizing the measurement of the received beam of a large-scale antenna based on antenna ports and the reporting of the measurement results.

[0312] The communication method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps S2201 to S2203. For example, step S2201 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S2201+S2202 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, and step S2201+S2202+S2203 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0313] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0314] Figure 3 is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, which includes:

[0315] Step S3101: The network device sends N×M×P transmission beams to the terminal device.

[0316] The network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmit beams, and the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, N, M, where P is a positive integer.

[0317] Optionally, alternative implementations of step S3101 can be found in the alternative implementations of step S2101 in Figure 2A and step S2201 in Figure 2C, as well as other alternative implementations involved in Figures 2A and 2C, which will not be elaborated here.

[0318] In step S3102, the terminal device sends the measurement results to the network device.

[0319] The measurement results are obtained by the terminal equipment measuring the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams.

[0320] Optionally, the alternative implementations of step S3102 can be found in the alternative implementations of step S2104 in Figure 2A and step S2203 in Figure 2C, as well as other alternative implementations involved in Figures 2A and 2C, which will not be elaborated here.

[0321] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0322] In the above embodiments, the terminal can measure the received beam corresponding to the transmitted beam sent by the network device through N antenna ports, and report the measurement results to the network device, thereby realizing the measurement of the received beam of the large-scale antenna based on the antenna ports and the reporting of the measurement results.

[0323] The communication method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps S3101 to S3102. For example, step S3101 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S3102 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, and step S3101+S3102 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0324] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0325] The following are specific solutions proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure:

[0326] Assuming each transmit beam has P receive beams, then for each TX (Transmitter) beam, the UE will obtain P L1-RSRP values ​​and the corresponding receive beam through measurement. See the schematic diagram in Figure 4A.

[0327] Assuming each antenna port / antenna subarray has M transmission directions, and there are a total of N antenna ports, the UE needs to obtain M*N*P measurement results. These measurement results can be obtained in a time-division or time-division plus space-division manner, depending on the beam transmission method.

[0328] TX beam transmission method in beam measurement:

[0329] Option 1: Multi-beam transmission using TDM method for multiple antenna ports.

[0330] At each moment, the m-th beam is transmitted from the n-th antenna port.

[0331] Option 2: Multi-antenna port multi-beam transmission uses SDM+TDM method.

[0332] At the same time, beams are transmitted in parallel between different antenna ports.

[0333] In order for the UE to successfully determine the signal quality of each antenna port when receiving reference signals from multiple beams simultaneously, there are two possible methods for transmitting beam reference signals between different antenna ports:

[0334] Option A: Beam reference signals from different antenna ports are on the same RE, but they are code-divided.

[0335] Option B: Beam reference signals for different antenna ports are on different REs within the same symbol.

[0336] Option 2-1: At the same time, the beams of different antenna ports have the same direction, but at different times, different beams are transmitted. As shown in Figure 4B, the beam direction transmitted at time T1 is shown, and as shown in Figure 4C, the beam direction transmitted at time T2 is shown.

[0337] Option 2-2: At the same time, the beam directions of different antenna ports are different. Different beams are transmitted at different times. See the schematic diagram in Figure 4D.

[0338] Optionally, the optional implementation methods for transmitting the transmission beam on the network side can be found in the optional implementation methods of step S2101 in Figure 2A, step S2201 in Figure 2C, and step S3101 in Figure 3.

[0339] Network-side configuration reporting method:

[0340] Option 1: The UE reports the optimal transmit beam index and / or L1-RSRP value for each antenna port. The number of optimal beams for each antenna port can be configured by the network side.

[0341] For example, for the nth antenna port (n = 1, ..., N), the UE sorts the L1-RSRP of the M transmit beams and selects the best i-th transmit beam. If there are N antenna ports in total, the UE will report the best transmit beam for each antenna port. Assuming that each antenna port is configured to report only one best beam, the reporting result is: {best beam index for antenna port 1, best beam index for antenna port 2, ..., best beam index for antenna port N}. Here, the corresponding receive beam may be different for different antenna ports when selecting the best transmit beam; optionally, the receive beam index is reported.

[0342] Option 1-1: If the L1-RSRP of some antenna ports is lower than a certain threshold, the UE reports the beam index or L1-RSRP of some antenna ports.

[0343] Option 2: The network side configures the UE to report the optimal transmit beam index and / or L1-RSRP value for all antenna ports. The number of optimal beams can be configured by the network side.

[0344] For example, assuming each antenna port has M directions, and there are N antenna ports in total, the UE obtains measurement results from M*N beams. The UE sorts these M*N beams using L1-RSRP and selects the best transmit beam. Assuming a configuration of reporting two beams, the reported results would be: {best beam index 1, best beam index 2}. However, if multiple report beams are configured, the corresponding receive beams for the selected best transmit beam may differ.

[0345] Option 3: The UE reports the optimal transmit beam combination corresponding to all or part of the antenna ports of the same receive beam.

[0346] Optionally, the optional implementation of the network-side configuration reporting method can be found in the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2A.

[0347] The calculation process is as follows:

[0348] The UE uses receive beam 1 to find the largest transmit beam and its L1-RSRP value among the M transmit beams at antenna port 1. Then, it finds the largest transmit beam and its L1-RSRP value among the M transmit beams at antenna port 2. For receive beam 1, the UE adds up the L1-RSRP values ​​corresponding to the largest transmit beams at the N antenna ports. For example, if the largest transmit beam at antenna port 1 is beam 2, the largest transmit beam at antenna port 2 is beam 3, and the largest transmit beam at antenna port 3 is beam 4, then the UE adds up the L1-RSRP values ​​of beam 2 at antenna port 1, beam 3 at antenna port 2, and beam 4 at antenna port 3 to calculate a total L1-RSRP value corresponding to receive beam 1.

[0349] Similarly, using receive beam 2, the largest transmit beam and its L1-RSRP value are found for each antenna port's M transmit beams. The UE then sums up the L1-RSRP values ​​corresponding to the best transmit beams for all antenna ports.

[0350] The UE polls all receive beams in a round-robin fashion. This process continues, and for each receive beam, the UE obtains a total L1-RSRP value. Assuming the UE has P receive beams and obtains P L1-RSRP values, the UE sorts these values, selects the multi-antenna port transmit beam index and corresponding L1-RSRP for the beam with the largest receive beam, and reports this information.

[0351] Option 2-1: The UE reports the best beam set for all antenna ports, such as the beam set for M antenna ports {beam 1 of antenna port 1, beam 2 of antenna port 2, ..., beam M of antenna port M}.

[0352] Option 2-2: The UE reports the best beam set for some antenna ports. For example, if the best beam quality of some antenna ports is below a certain threshold, the beam corresponding to that antenna port will not be reported. For instance, if there are 3 antenna ports, and the L1-RSRP of the best beam corresponding to the 3rd antenna port is below the threshold, then the beam of antenna port 3 will not be reported. Only the best beams corresponding to antenna ports 1 and 2 will be reported. For example, only the beam set of two antenna ports {beam 1 of antenna port 1 and beam 2 of antenna port 2} will be reported.

[0353] Option 4: If the UE supports multiple receiver panels, assuming the UE supports Q receiver panels, then the UE reports the optimal transmit beam combination based on all or part of the antenna ports of the Q receive beams.

[0354] Assuming Q = 2, the reporting format is {the transmit beams of the X antenna ports corresponding to the first receive beam, and the transmit beams of the Y antenna ports corresponding to the second receive beam}, where X + Y = N or X + Y < N, and N is the total number of antenna ports.

[0355] One criterion for selecting a beam is to maximize the sum of L1-RSRP for the different antenna ports corresponding to multiple receive beams.

[0356] Optionally, the terminal can report the best beam set of all or part of the antenna ports. See steps S2103 and S2104 in Figure 2A, steps S2202 and S2203 in Figure 2C, and step S3102 in Figure 3 for optional implementation methods.

[0357] In summary, this disclosure enables the UE to perform receiver measurements and report data for subarray-based massive MIMO antennas; and enables the network side to configure measurement resources and report results for subarray-based massive MIMO antennas.

[0358] This disclosure also proposes an apparatus (also referred to as a communication device, etc.) for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is proposed that includes units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. Furthermore, another apparatus is proposed that includes units or modules for implementing the steps performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network functional node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0359] It should be understood that the division of units or modules in the above device is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, the units or modules in the device can be implemented by a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor connected to a memory containing instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of the units or modules in the above device. The processor can be, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory can be internal or external to the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits. The functionality of some or all of the units or modules can be achieved through the design of these hardware circuits, which can be understood as one or more processors. For example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The functionality of some or all of the units or modules is achieved through the design of the logical relationships between the components within the circuit. In another implementation, the hardware circuit can be implemented using a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gates. The connection relationships between the logic gates are configured through configuration files, thereby achieving the functionality of some or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above device can be implemented entirely through processor-called software, entirely through hardware circuits, or partially through processor-called software with the remaining parts implemented through hardware circuits.

[0360] In this embodiment, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction read and execute capabilities, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationships of hardware circuits. The logical relationships of the aforementioned hardware circuits are fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented using an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and configuring the hardware circuit can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. Furthermore, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU), a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), or a Deep Learning Processing Unit (DPU).

[0361] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of the structure of the terminal device proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. The terminal device 5100 is used to execute any of the above methods. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5A, the terminal device 5100 may include at least one of a transceiver module 5101, a processing module 5102, etc. In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to receive the received beams corresponding to N×M×P transmitted beams sent by the network device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmitted beams, the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, and N, M, P are positive integers; and to send the measurement results to the network device. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to execute at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the terminal device 101 in any of the above methods (e.g., steps S2101, S2102, S2103, S2201, S2202, S3101, S3102, but not limited thereto), which will not be described in detail here. The processing module is used to measure the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams and obtain the measurement results. Optionally, the processing module is used to perform at least one of the other steps (such as step S2103, step S2202, but not limited thereto) performed by the terminal device 101 in any of the above methods, which will not be described in detail here.

[0362] Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of the network device proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. The network device 5200 is used to perform any of the above methods. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5B, the network device 5200 may include at least one of a transceiver module 5201, a processing module 5202, etc. In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to send N×M×P transmission beams to a terminal device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmission beams, the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, and N, M, and P are positive integers; and to receive measurement results sent by the terminal device, the measurement results being obtained by the terminal device measuring the received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmission beams. Optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps (e.g., steps S2101, S2102, S2104, S2201, S2203, S3101, S3102, but not limited thereto) performed by the network device 102 in any of the above methods, which will not be elaborated further here. Optionally, the above processing module is used to perform at least one of the other steps performed by the network device 102 in any of the above methods, which will not be described in detail here.

[0363] In some embodiments, the transceiver module may include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the transceiver module may be interchangeable with a transceiver.

[0364] In some embodiments, the processing module may be a single module or may include multiple sub-modules. Optionally, the multiple sub-modules may each perform all or part of the steps required by the processing module.

[0365] In some embodiments, the processing module can be replaced by the processor, and the transceiver module can be replaced by the transceiver.

[0366] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device 6100 proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. The communication device 6100 can be a network device (e.g., access network device, core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., user equipment, etc.), a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the network device in implementing any of the above methods, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal in implementing any of the above methods. The communication device 6100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0367] As shown in Figure 6A, the communication device 6100 is used to execute any of the above methods. In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 includes one or more processors 6101. The processor 6101 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control communication devices (e.g., base stations, baseband chips, terminal devices, terminal device chips, DUs or CUs, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. Optionally, the communication device 6100 is used to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, one or more processors 6101 are used to invoke instructions to cause the communication device 6100 to execute any of the above methods.

[0368] In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more transceivers 6102. When the communication device 6100 includes one or more transceivers 6102, the transceiver 6102 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (e.g., steps S2101, S2102, S2104, S2201, S2203, S3101, S3102, but not limited thereto), and the processor 6101 performs at least one of other steps (e.g., steps S2103, S2202, but not limited thereto). In optional embodiments, the transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, interface circuit, interface, etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0369] In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more memories 6103 for storing data and / or instructions. Optionally, one or more processors 6101 are used to invoke instructions stored in the memory 6103 to cause the communication device 6100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, all or part of the memory 6103 may also be located outside the communication device 6100. In an optional embodiment, the communication device 6100 may include one or more interface circuits 6104. Optionally, the interface circuit 6104 is connected to the memory 6102 and can be used to receive data and / or instructions from the memory 6102 or other devices, and can be used to send data and / or instructions to the memory 6102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 6104 can read data and / or instructions stored in the memory 6102 and send the data and / or instructions to the processor 6101.

[0370] The communication device 6100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 6100 described in this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 6100 may not be limited by FIG. 6A. The communication device may be a standalone device or a part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) a standalone integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the IC collection may also include storage components for storing data, programs and / or instructions; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, terminal device, smart terminal device, cellular phone, wireless device, handheld device, mobile unit, vehicle device, network device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0371] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of chip 6200 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. For cases where the communication device 6100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of chip 6200 shown in Figure 6B, but it is not limited thereto.

[0372] Chip 6200 includes one or more processors 6201. Chip 6200 is used to perform any of the methods described above.

[0373] In some embodiments, chip 6200 further includes one or more interface circuits 6202. Optionally, terms such as interface circuit, interface, and transceiver pin can be used interchangeably. In some embodiments, chip 6200 further includes one or more memories 6203 for storing data and / or instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 6203 may be located outside of chip 6200. Optionally, interface circuit 6202 is connected to memory 6203, and interface circuit 6202 can be used to receive data and / or instructions from memory 6203 or other devices, and interface circuit 6202 can be used to send data and / or instructions to memory 6203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 6202 can read data and / or instructions stored in memory 6203 and send the data and / or instructions to processor 6201.

[0374] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 6202 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above-described method (e.g., steps S2101, S2102, S2104, S2201, S2203, S3101, S3102, but not limited thereto). The interface circuit 6202 performing the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above-described method refers, for example, to the interface circuit 6202 performing data and / or instruction interaction between the processor 6201, the chip 6200, the memory 6203, or the transceiver device. In some embodiments, the processor 6201 performs at least one of other steps (e.g., steps S2103, S2202, but not limited thereto).

[0375] The modules and / or devices described in the various embodiments, such as virtual devices, physical devices, and chips, can be combined or separated arbitrarily as needed. Optionally, some or all steps can also be performed collaboratively by multiple modules and / or devices, which is not limited here.

[0376] This disclosure also proposes a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0377] This disclosure also proposes a program product, including a program and / or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product. Optionally, the program product is stored on the storage medium.

[0378] This disclosure also proposes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a terminal device, and the method includes: The receiving device receives N×M×P transmitted beams corresponding to the network device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmitted beams, and the terminal device has P beam scanning directions, where N, M, and P are positive integers. The receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams are measured to obtain the measurement results; The measurement results are sent to the network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The received beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitted beams sent by the receiving network device include any one of the following: Through different time domain units, the P receive beams corresponding to each of the N×M transmit beams are received respectively; Through the same resource element (RE) corresponding to a time domain unit, P receive beams corresponding to each of N×M transmit beams are received, wherein the N antenna ports are code-divided on the RE; Through different REs corresponding to a time domain unit, the P receive beams corresponding to the M transmit beams of each of the N antenna ports are received respectively.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The directions of the N×M×P transmission beams satisfy any one of the following: Within the same time domain unit, the direction of the transmitted beams from different antenna ports is the same; the direction of the transmitted beams from the same antenna port is different in different time domain units. Within the same time domain unit, the direction of the transmitted beams at different antenna ports is different; the direction of the transmitted beams at the same antenna port is different in different time domain units.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The measurement results include at least one of the following: The index of the transmit beam of L antenna ports out of N antenna ports, where L≤N; The measured values ​​of the measurement quantities corresponding to the transmitted beams of the L antenna ports; The index of the receiving beam corresponding to the transmitting beam of the L antenna ports.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive configuration information sent by the network device, the configuration information being used to configure at least one of the following: The number of transmit beams in the measurement results reported by the terminal device; Whether to report the measured value of the measurement quantity corresponding to the transmitted beam in the measurement results; Whether to report the index of the receiving beam corresponding to the transmitting beam in the measurement results.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The number of transmitted beams in the measurement results is any one of the following: For each antenna port, the number X of transmitted beams reported. The total number Y of the transmitted beams reported by the L antenna ports, where X and Y are positive integers.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The measurement of the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams to obtain the measurement results includes: For the nth antenna port among the N antenna ports, measure the P receiving beams corresponding to the mth transmitting beam among the M transmitting beams of the nth antenna port to obtain M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port, where n∈[1,N], m∈[1,M]; Based on the M×P measurements of the nth antenna port, determine the index of the transmitted beam reported by the nth antenna port.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The determination of the index of the transmitted beam reported by the nth antenna port based on the M×P measurements of the nth antenna port includes any one of the following: The number of transmit beams in the measurement results configured in the configuration information sent by the network device is X, which is the number of transmit beams reported for each antenna port. The M×P measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port are sorted in descending order, and the index of the X transmit beams corresponding to the first X measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port is used as the index of the transmit beams reported by the nth antenna port. The number of transmit beams configured in the measurement results sent by the network device is X, which is the number of transmit beams reported for each antenna port. For each beam scanning direction, the M measurement values ​​of the M transmit beams of the nth antenna port are sorted in descending order to determine the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the maximum measurement value in each beam scanning direction, resulting in P maximum measurement values ​​and the indices of the transmit beams corresponding to the P maximum measurement values. The P maximum measurement values ​​are then sorted in descending order, and the indices of the X transmit beams corresponding to the first X measurement values ​​are used as the indices of the transmit beams reported by the nth antenna port.

9. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that, L = N, the measurement of the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams to obtain the measurement results includes: For the N antenna ports, measure the P receive beams corresponding to the N×M transmit beams of each of the N antenna ports to obtain N×M×P measurement values ​​for the N antenna ports; Based on the N×M×P measurement values, determine the index of the transmitted beam reported by the N antenna ports.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The determination of the index of the transmitted beam reported by the N antenna ports based on the N×M×P measurement values ​​includes any one of the following: The number of transmit beams configured in the measurement results by the configuration information sent by the network device is the total number Y of transmit beams reported for the N antenna ports. The N×M×P measurement values ​​of the N antenna ports are sorted in descending order, and the indices of the Y transmit beams corresponding to the first Y measurement values ​​are determined as the indices of the transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports. The number of transmit beams in the measurement results configured in the configuration information sent by the network device is the total number Y of transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports. For each beam scanning direction, the N×M measurement values ​​of the N×M transmit beams of the N antenna ports are sorted in descending order to determine the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the maximum measurement value in each beam scanning direction, resulting in P maximum measurement values ​​and the indices of the transmit beams corresponding to the P maximum measurement values. The P maximum measurement values ​​are then sorted in descending order, and the indices of the Y transmit beams corresponding to the first Y measurement values ​​are used as the indices of the transmit beams reported by the N antenna ports.

11. The method according to claim 8 or 10, characterized in that, For different antenna ports, the index of the received beam corresponding to the reported transmitted beam is different.

12. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that, The measurement of the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams to obtain the measurement results includes: For each beam scanning direction, N×M transmitted beams are measured to obtain N×M measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; Based on the N×M measurements for each beam scanning direction, the index of the transmit beam for the L antenna ports is determined.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, L = N, where determining the index of the transmit beam at the L antenna ports based on N×M measurements in each beam scanning direction includes: For each beam scanning direction, the N×M measurement values ​​are sorted in descending order of the M measurement values ​​of the nth antenna port to determine the index of the transmit beam corresponding to the maximum measurement value, so as to obtain the set of N transmit beam indices corresponding to the N maximum measurement values ​​in each beam scanning direction. The N maximum measurement values ​​are added together to obtain the total measurement value for each beam scanning direction, so as to obtain P total measurement values ​​for P beam scanning directions; Sort the P total measurement values ​​in descending order to determine the set of indices of the N transmission beams corresponding to the maximum total measurement value.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, When L < N, determining the index of the transmit beam at the L antenna ports based on N×M measurements in each beam scanning direction includes: For each beam scanning direction, the N×M measurement values ​​are sorted in descending order of the M measurement values ​​at the nth antenna port to determine the maximum measurement value, so as to obtain the N maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction. From the N maximum measurement values, remove the measurement values ​​that are lower than a preset threshold to obtain a set of indices of the transmission beams corresponding to the L maximum measurement values; The L maximum measurement values ​​are added together to obtain the total measurement value for each beam scanning direction, so as to obtain P total measurement values ​​for P beam scanning directions; Sort the P total measurement values ​​in descending order to determine the set of indices of the L transmission beams corresponding to the maximum total measurement value.

15. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 14, characterized in that, The measurement results do not include the index of the transmitting beam whose measured value is lower than a preset threshold.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that, The terminal device supports Q receiving panels, where Q ≥ 1; wherein, the measurement of the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams to obtain the measurement results includes: For the i-th receiving panel, the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×Pi transmitting beams are measured to obtain N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel, where Pi is the number of beam scanning directions of the i-th receiving panel, i∈[1,Q]. Based on the N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel, determine the index of the transmit beam of the L antenna ports.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, L = N, and determining the index of the transmit beam of the L antenna ports based on the N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel includes: For each of the Pi beam scanning directions, determine the maximum measurement value among the N×M measurements for each antenna port to obtain N maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; add the N maximum measurement values ​​to obtain the total measurement value for each beam scanning direction to obtain Pi total measurement values ​​for the Pi beam scanning directions. Sort the Pi total measurement values ​​in descending order to determine the set of indices of the N transmission beams corresponding to the maximum total measurement value of the i-th receiving panel; The set of indices of the N transmit beams corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels is used as the set of transmit beam indices reported by the N antenna ports; or, from the set of indices of the N transmit beams corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels, the transmit beam with the largest measurement value is selected for the same antenna port to obtain the set of N transmit beam indices for the entire Q receiving panels.

18. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, L≤N, the step of determining the index of the transmit beam of the L antenna ports based on the N×M×Pi measurement values ​​corresponding to the i-th receiving panel includes: For each of the Pi beam scanning directions, determine the maximum measurement value among the N×M measurements for each antenna port to obtain the N maximum measurement values ​​for each beam scanning direction; From the N maximum measurement values, remove the measurement values ​​that are lower than the preset threshold to obtain the set of indices of the transmission beams corresponding to the Sj maximum measurement values ​​in the j-th beam scanning direction, j∈[1,Pi]; The Sj maximum measurement values ​​are added together to obtain the total measurement value of the j-th beam scanning direction, so as to obtain the Pi total measurement values ​​of the Pi beam scanning directions; Sort the Pi total measurement values ​​in descending order to determine the set of indices of Li transmission beams corresponding to the maximum total measurement value of the i-th receiving panel, where Li < N; The set of indices of the Li transmit beams corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels is used as the set of indices of the transmit beams of the L antenna ports; or, the union of the sets of indices of the Li transmit beams corresponding to each of the Q receiving panels is taken, and the transmit beam with the largest measured value is selected for the same antenna port to obtain the set of indices of the L transmit beams of the entire Q receiving panels.

19. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is performed by a network device, and the method includes: The network device sends N×M×P transmission beams to the terminal device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmission beams, and the number of beam scanning directions of the terminal device is P, where N, M, and P are positive integers. The terminal device receives measurement results sent by the terminal device, the measurement results being obtained by the terminal device measuring the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The transmission of N×M×P beams to the terminal device includes any one of the following: N×M transmission beams are transmitted P times using different time domain units; N×M transmit beams P times through the same resource element (RE) corresponding to a time domain unit, wherein the N antenna ports are code-divided on the RE; Each of the N antenna ports transmits M transmit beams P times through different REs corresponding to a time domain unit.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, The directions of the N×M×P transmission beams satisfy any one of the following: Within the same time domain unit, the direction of the transmitted beams from different antenna ports is the same; the direction of the transmitted beams from the same antenna port is different in different time domain units. Within the same time domain unit, the direction of the transmitted beams at different antenna ports is different; the direction of the transmitted beams at the same antenna port is different in different time domain units.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that, The measurement results include at least one of the following: The index of the transmit beam of L antenna ports out of N antenna ports, where L≤N; The measured values ​​of the measurement quantities corresponding to the transmitted beams of the L antenna ports; The index of the receiving beam corresponding to the transmitting beam of the L antenna ports.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information being used to configure at least one of the following: The number of transmit beams in the measurement results reported by the terminal device; Whether to report the measured value of the measurement quantity corresponding to the transmitted beam in the measurement results; Whether to report the index of the receiving beam corresponding to the transmitting beam in the measurement results.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The number of transmitted beams in the measurement results is any one of the following: For each antenna port, the number X of transmitted beams reported. For the total number Y of transmission beams reported by the L antenna ports, X and Y are positive integers.

25. A communication method for a communication system, the communication system comprising a terminal device and a network device, characterized in that, The method includes: The network device sends N×M×P transmission beams to the terminal device, wherein the network device includes N antenna ports, each antenna port has M transmission beams, and the terminal device has P beam scanning directions, where N, M, and P are positive integers. The terminal device measures the receiving beams corresponding to the N×M×P transmitting beams and obtains the measurement results; The terminal device sends the measurement results to the network device.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-18 or 19-24.

27. A communication system, characterized in that, include: A network device and a terminal device, wherein the terminal device is configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 18, and the network device is configured to implement the method of any one of claims 19 to 24.

28. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that, When the instructions are executed on the communication device, the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1-18 or 19-24.

29. A program product comprising at least one of a program and instructions, characterized in that, When at least one of the programs or instructions is executed by the communication device, it implements the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-18 or 19-24.

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