Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application disclose a communication method and a related apparatus. The method comprises: receiving first information, the first information being used for configuring a resource set, the resource set comprising at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset being related to a first time, the second resource subset being related to a second time, and a resource being used for receiving a reference signal; on the basis of the first information, causing the first resource subset to take effect at the first time; and on the basis of the first information, causing the second resource subset to take effect at the second time. The resource set is divided into a plurality of resource subsets, and different effective times are configured for different resource subsets. A first communication apparatus can cause different resource subsets to take effect at different times, so as to implement dynamic resource switching without reconfiguring the resource set, thereby ensuring that the first communication apparatus can obtain a high-precision channel measurement result and improving the accuracy of channel measurement.

Description

A communication method and related apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. CN202510185409.3, filed on February 19, 2025, entitled "A Communication Method and Related Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

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

[0003] Wireless communication can be a transmission communication between two or more communication devices that does not propagate through conductors or cables. Generally, the two or more communication devices include network devices and terminal devices, or the two or more communication devices include different terminal devices.

[0004] Different communication devices can communicate using Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) technology. The specific communication process is as follows: First, the network device configures a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) resource set for the terminal device. This CSI-RS resource set includes multiple CSI-RS resources. The network device then transmits CSI-RS data on these multiple CSI-RS resources (or the network device transmits multiple CSI-RS resources). Correspondingly, the terminal device receives and measures CSI-RS data on these multiple CSI-RS resources (or the terminal device receives and measures CSI-RS data on the ports corresponding to the multiple CSI-RS resources).

[0005] When network devices periodically transmit CSI-RS, within a single cycle, the network device transmits all CSI-RS resources within the CSI-RS resource set. Correspondingly, the terminal device measures all CSI-RS resources within that resource set. Due to hardware limitations, terminal devices cannot support CSI-RS resource sets containing a large number of resources. Therefore, when a terminal device moves from location A to location B, it may not be able to receive CSI-RS in location B based on its configured CSI-RS resource set. In such cases, the network device often needs to reconfigure the CSI-RS resource set, with the newly configured set including the resources corresponding to location B. However, when network devices periodically transmit CSI-RS, the ability to reconfigure CSI-RS resource sets for terminal devices is limited. Therefore, after a terminal device moves to location B, it may be unable to perform accurate channel measurements. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application discloses a communication method that achieves dynamic switching of resources by dividing a resource set into multiple resource subsets and configuring an effective time for each resource subset, thereby improving the accuracy of channel measurement of terminal devices.

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application propose a communication method, which is applied to a first communication device.

[0008] The first communication device is applied to the terminal side, such as a terminal or a communication module within a terminal, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip) within a terminal responsible for communication functions. For example, the first communication device can be a terminal device, a device or apparatus with a chip, or a device or apparatus with integrated circuits, or a chip, chip system, functional module, control unit, circuit, processor, or integrated circuit that can be applied to the aforementioned device or apparatus; specific applications are not limited in this application.

[0009] The method includes: receiving first information, the first information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset being related to a first time, the second resource subset being related to a second time, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to receive reference signals; taking effect of the first resource subset at a first time according to the first information; and taking effect of the second resource subset at a second time according to the first information.

[0010] Furthermore, the first time and the second time are different.

[0011] For example, the reference signal is CSI-RS.

[0012] For example, the first information specifically includes one or more of the following: resource set identification information, frequency domain configuration information, time domain configuration information, antenna port related parameters, code division multiplexing (CDM) configuration information, power control parameters, measurement configuration information, quasi-co-location information, resource type information, or repetition information. Among them, frequency domain configuration information is used to indicate the starting position and number of resource blocks (RBs) occupied by the reference signal; time domain configuration information is used to indicate the symbol position occupied by the reference signal in the time domain; antenna port related information is used to indicate the number of antenna ports used by each resource; code division configuration information is used to indicate the CDM type of the resource set; power offset information is used to indicate the power offset of the reference signal corresponding to the resource set relative to other reference signals; measurement configuration information is used to indicate the frequency domain range that the first communication device needs to measure; quasi-co-location information is used to indicate the quasi-co-location relationship between the reference signal corresponding to the resource set and other reference signals; resource type information is used to indicate whether the transmission mode of the reference signal corresponding to the resource set is periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic; and repetition information is used to indicate whether the reference signal corresponding to the resource set is repeatedly transmitted.

[0013] The first resource subset is related to the first time and takes effect at the first time. The meaning of the first resource subset is: the effective time of the first resource subset is the first time. The second resource subset is related to the second time and takes effect at the second time. The meaning of the second resource subset is: the effective time of the second resource subset is the second time.

[0014] It is understood that the effective time in this embodiment can also be replaced by: usage time, activation time, switching time, or switching interval. For example, the effective time of the first resource subset can be replaced by the usage time of the first resource subset, the activation time of the first resource subset, the switching time of the first resource subset, or the switching interval of the first resource subset. For example, the effective time of the second resource subset can be replaced by the usage time of the second resource subset, the activation time of the second resource subset, the switching time of the second resource subset, or the switching interval of the second resource subset.

[0015] Furthermore, activating the first resource subset at the first time includes: receiving a first reference signal through the first resource subset at the first time, wherein the first reference signal includes one or more reference signals.

[0016] Furthermore, activating the second resource subset at a second time includes: receiving a second reference signal through the second resource subset at a second time, the second reference signal including one or more reference signals.

[0017] In the above technical solution, the resource set is divided into multiple resource subsets, and different effective times are configured for different resource subsets. The first communication device can activate different resource subsets at different times to achieve dynamic switching of resources without reconfiguring the resource set. Furthermore, transmitting different reference signals based on different resources enables more flexible and comprehensive reference signal measurement. This ensures that the first communication device can obtain high-precision channel measurement results, improving the accuracy of channel measurement. In addition, for the first communication device with limited hardware capabilities, by activating different resource subsets at different times, it can flexibly and comprehensively receive reference signals without activating a large resource set, still obtaining high-precision channel measurement results and improving the accuracy of channel measurement.

[0018] Secondly, embodiments of this application propose a communication method applied to a second communication device.

[0019] The second communication device may be a network device, a device or apparatus with a chip, a device or apparatus with integrated circuits, or a chip, chip system, module, control unit, circuit, or processor applicable to the aforementioned device or apparatus, or at least one of a central unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU), the specific of which is not limited in this application.

[0020] The method includes: sending first information, the first information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset being related to a first time, the second resource subset being related to a second time, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to send a reference signal; sending a first reference signal through the first resource subset at the first time; and sending a second reference signal through the second resource subset at a second time, the second time being different from the first time.

[0021] The second aspect provides some possible implementation methods and beneficial effects that can be referred to in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect or the second aspect, in one possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first information includes first sub-information and second sub-information, wherein the first sub-information is used to indicate the association between the first resource subset and the first time, and the second sub-information is used to indicate the association between the second resource subset and the second time.

[0023] Further, the first sub-information includes: first time information and description information of a first resource subset, wherein the first time information indicates a first time and the description information of the first resource subset is used to indicate the first resource subset; the second sub-information includes: second time information and description information of a second resource subset, wherein the second time information indicates a second time and the description information of the second resource subset is used to indicate the second resource subset.

[0024] Furthermore, the descriptive information of the resource subset includes one or more of the following: the identification information of the resource subset, the identification information of the resources in the resource subset, or the descriptive information of the resource subset.

[0025] The identification information of resources in different resource subsets can be the same or different. For example, the identification information of resources in the first resource subset is "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6", and the identification information of resources in the second resource subset is "7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12". Another example is that the identification information of resources in the first resource subset is "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6", and the identification information of resources in the second resource subset is also "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6". To distinguish resources from different resource subsets, a resource is identified by combining the identification information of the resource subset and the identification information of the resource itself. For example, resource 1 in resource subset 2 is identified by the following information: "{2,1}", where "2" indicates that the resource belongs to resource subset 2, and "1" indicates that the resource is the first resource in resource subset 2.

[0026] It is understandable that resource identification information can be either absolute or relative. Absolute identification information means that each resource has a unique identifier, which can uniquely identify a resource. Relative identification information means that resources in different resource subsets have the same identification information, so in addition to the resource's own identification information, the identification information of the resource subset to which it belongs is also needed to jointly identify a resource.

[0027] In the above technical solution, the first information explicitly indicates the effective time of the first resource subset and the effective time of the second resource subset, thereby saving the processing burden of the first communication device.

[0028] In conjunction with the first or second aspect, in one possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first information further includes third sub-information, which is used to indicate a first time and a second time; or, the third sub-information is used to indicate a first time interval, and the first time and the second time are determined based on the first time interval and the initial transmission time of the reference signal transmitted by the second communication device; or, the third sub-information is used to indicate a first transmission count, and the first time and the second time are determined based on the first transmission count and the transmission period of the reference signal transmitted by the second communication device.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the third sub-information explicitly indicates the first time interval. The first communication device can determine the first time and the second time based on the first time interval and the initial transmission time of the reference signal transmitted by the second communication device.

[0030] In another possible implementation, the third sub-information implicitly indicates the first time interval. For example, the third sub-information may include the period during which the second communication device transmits the reference signal and / or the number of resource subsets included in the resource set. The first communication device determines the first time interval based on the period during which the second communication device transmits the reference signal and the number of resource subsets included in the resource set.

[0031] In the above technical solution, the first information implicitly indicates the effective time of the first resource subset and the effective time of the second resource subset, which improves the implementation flexibility of the solution.

[0032] In conjunction with the first or second aspect, in one possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first information includes descriptive information of a first resource subset and descriptive information of a second resource subset. The descriptive information of the first resource subset is used to indicate the first resource subset, and the descriptive information of the second resource subset is used to indicate the second resource subset.

[0033] For example, the description information of the first resource subset includes: the identification information of the first resource subset and the identification information of the resources in the first resource subset; the description information of the second resource subset includes: the identification information of the second resource subset and the identification information of the resources in the second resource subset.

[0034] For example, when the reference signal is CSI-RS, the resource identification information is: Channel State Information Resource Index (CSI-RS index, CRI).

[0035] In conjunction with the first or second aspect, in one possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first information includes information indicating the number of resources included in the resource set in the first dimension and information indicating the number of resources included in the resource set in the second dimension. The first information also includes information indicating the number of resource subsets included in the resource set in the first dimension and information indicating the number of resource subsets included in the resource set in the second dimension.

[0036] Optionally, the first dimension and the second dimension are orthogonal.

[0037] Optionally, the first dimension corresponds to the vertical direction, and the second dimension corresponds to the horizontal direction.

[0038] Optionally, the first dimension corresponds to the time domain, and the second dimension corresponds to the frequency domain.

[0039] Optionally, the first dimension corresponds to the frequency domain, and the second dimension corresponds to the time domain.

[0040] Optionally, the first dimension corresponds to the first direction in the time domain, and the second dimension corresponds to the second direction in the time domain, wherein the first direction and the second direction are different.

[0041] Optionally, the first dimension corresponds to the first aspect in the frequency domain, and the second dimension corresponds to the second direction in the frequency domain.

[0042] In the above technical solution, with low communication overhead, the first information can indicate the number of resource subsets and the number of resources specifically included in the resource set in the first and second dimensions.

[0043] In conjunction with the first or second aspect, in one possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the descriptive information of the first resource subset includes: information indicating the number of resources included in the first resource subset in the first dimension and information indicating the number of resources included in the first resource subset in the second dimension; the descriptive information of the second resource subset includes: information indicating the number of resources included in the second resource subset in the first dimension and information indicating the number of resources included in the second resource subset in the second dimension.

[0044] Thirdly, embodiments of this application propose a communication method applied to a first communication device.

[0045] The first communication device is applied to the terminal side, such as a terminal or a communication module within a terminal, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip or system-in-package (SIP) chip containing a modem core) within the terminal. For example, the first communication device can be a terminal device, a device or apparatus with a chip, or a device or apparatus with integrated circuits, or a chip, chip system, functional module, control unit, circuit, processor, or integrated circuit that can be applied to the aforementioned device or apparatus; specific applications are not limited in this application.

[0046] The method includes: receiving second information, the second information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to receive reference signals; receiving a first reference signal through the first resource subset according to the second information, the first reference signal being a reference signal corresponding to the first resource subset; reporting measurement results based on the first reference signal; receiving third information, the third information indicating that the next effective resource subset is the second resource subset, the third information being determined based on the measurement results; and receiving a second reference signal through the second resource subset according to the second information and the third information, the second reference signal being a reference signal corresponding to the second resource subset.

[0047] In the above technical solution, the resource set is divided into multiple resource subsets. After measuring the first resource subset in the resource set, the first communication device reports the measurement results of the first resource subset. The resources included in the multiple resource subsets within the same resource set may overlap or not. Based on the measurement results of the first resource subset, the second communication device explicitly notifies the first communication device that the next effective resource subset is the second resource subset. This allows the first communication device to receive and measure the second reference signal based on the second resource subset. Dynamic switching of resources is achieved without reconfiguring the resource set, and different reference signals are received based on different resources. This ensures that the first communication device can obtain high-precision channel measurement results, improving the accuracy of channel measurement.

[0048] Fourthly, embodiments of this application propose a communication method applied to a second communication device.

[0049] The second communication device may be a network device, a device or apparatus with a chip, a device or apparatus with integrated circuits, or a chip, chip system, module, control unit, circuit, or processor applicable to the aforementioned device or apparatus, or at least one of a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU), the specific of which is not limited in this application.

[0050] The method includes: sending second information, the second information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to send reference signals; sending a first reference signal based on the first resource subset determined by the second information, the first reference signal being a reference signal corresponding to the first resource subset, the first reference signal including one or more reference signals; receiving a measurement result of the first reference signal; and sending third information based on the measurement result of the first reference signal, the third information indicating that the next effective resource subset is the second resource subset.

[0051] Optionally, after sending the third information, the method further includes: the second communication device sending a second reference signal through a second resource subset.

[0052] The fourth aspect provides some possible implementation methods and beneficial effects, which can be referred to in the third aspect and will not be elaborated further.

[0053] In conjunction with the third or fourth aspect, in one possible implementation of the third or fourth aspect, the measurement result of the first resource subset includes: fourth information, which indicates the first resource subset.

[0054] In the above technical solution, the first communication device can also report the identification information of the first resource subset it measures to the second communication device. By explicitly reporting the identification information of the resource subset, the second communication device can determine the next effective resource subset after the first resource subset, thus saving the processing overhead of the second communication device.

[0055] In conjunction with the third or fourth aspect, in one possible implementation of the third or fourth aspect, the fourth information includes the identification information of the resources in the first resource subset; or, the fourth information includes the identification information of the first resource subset.

[0056] Fifthly, embodiments of this application propose a communication system, which includes a first communication device and a second communication device. This communication system performs the methods described in the first or third aspect and / or the second or fourth aspect, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0057] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a communication device, which is a first communication device. The device includes a transceiver module and a processing module. The constituent modules of the communication device can also be used to perform the steps executed in various possible implementations of the first or third aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, please refer to the first or third aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0058] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a communication device, which is a second communication device. The communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module. The constituent modules of the communication device can also be used to perform the steps executed in various possible implementations of the second or fourth aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. For details, please refer to the second or fourth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0059] Eighthly, this application provides a communication device comprising one or more processors. The one or more processors are capable of executing the computer program or instructions, which, when executed, cause the communication device to implement the methods in any possible design or implementation of the first or third aspect described above.

[0060] In one possible design, the communication device may further include an interface circuit, through which the processor communicates with other devices or components.

[0061] In one possible design, the communication device may further include a memory. The memory is used to store part or all of the computer programs or instructions necessary for implementing the functions described in the first or third aspect above.

[0062] The aforementioned communication device may be a terminal, or a communication module in a terminal, or a chip in a terminal that is responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a system-on-a-chip or chip containing a modem module, or a system-in-package chip.

[0063] In a ninth aspect, this application provides a communication device including at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface; the logic circuit is configured to perform the method described in any possible implementation of the first or third aspect described above.

[0064] In a tenth aspect, this application provides a communication device comprising one or more processors. The one or more processors are capable of executing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the communication device to implement the methods in any possible design or implementation of the second or fourth aspect described above.

[0065] In one possible design, the communication device may further include an interface circuit, through which the processor communicates with other devices or components.

[0066] In one possible design, the communication device may further include a memory. The memory is used to store part or all of the computer programs or instructions necessary for implementing the functions described in the second or fourth aspect above.

[0067] In one aspect, this application provides a communication device including at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface; the logic circuit is used to perform the method described in any possible implementation of any of the preceding second aspects.

[0068] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system comprising a first communication device and a second communication device. This communication system performs the methods described in the third and / or fourth aspects above, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0069] In a thirteenth aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform the method as described in any possible implementation of any of the first, second, third, and / or fourth aspects described above.

[0070] In a fourteenth aspect, this application provides a computer program product (or computer program) that, when executed by a processor, performs the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first, second, third, and / or fourth aspects described above.

[0071] In a fifteenth aspect, this application provides a chip or chip system including at least one processor for supporting a communication device in implementing the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first, second, third, and / or fourth aspects described above.

[0072] In one possible design, the chip or chip system may further include a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. Optionally, the chip system may also include interface circuitry that provides program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor.

[0073] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects five through fifteen can be found in the technical effects of the different design methods in aspects one, two, three and / or four above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0074] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 100 used in the embodiments of this application;

[0075] Figures 2a to 2c are schematic diagrams of beamforming;

[0076] Figures 2d to 2e are schematic diagrams of the connection architecture between the phase shifter and the antenna channel;

[0077] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of measuring the downlink channel;

[0078] Figure 4a is a schematic diagram of CSI-RS resource configuration information;

[0079] Figure 4b is a schematic diagram of CSI reporting configuration information;

[0080] Figures 5a to 5h are schematic diagrams of CSI-RS mapping in time and frequency resources;

[0081] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the measurement feedback of multi-beam channel state information;

[0082] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication scenario in an embodiment of this application;

[0083] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of the communication method in this application.

[0084] Figure 9a is a schematic diagram of a resource subset in an embodiment of this application;

[0085] Figure 9b is a schematic diagram of a resource set in an embodiment of this application;

[0086] Figure 9c is a schematic diagram of a resource set in an embodiment of this application;

[0087] Figure 9d is another schematic diagram of the resource set in an embodiment of this application;

[0088] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the first resource subset and the second resource subset;

[0089] Figure 11 is another schematic diagram of the first resource subset and the second resource subset;

[0090] Figure 12 is another schematic diagram of the first information in an embodiment of this application;

[0091] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the communication method in this application;

[0092] Figure 14 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0093] Figure 15 is another structural schematic diagram of the communication device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0094] Figure 16 is another structural schematic diagram of the communication device according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0095] First, the communication system involved in the embodiments of this application is introduced. This application can be applied to long term evolution (LTE) systems, new radio (NR) systems, or future communication systems. The communication system includes at least one of network equipment or terminal equipment.

[0096] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 100 used in the embodiments of this application.

[0097] As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a wireless access network and a core network. Optionally, the communication system 100 may also include the Internet. The wireless access network may include at least one network device (also understood as an access network device, as shown in Figure 1, 110a and 110b), and at least one terminal (also understood as the terminal device described above, as shown in Figure 1, 120a-120j). Furthermore, the network device (or wireless network device) may be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 1, 110a), a micro base station or an indoor station (as shown in Figure 1, 110b), a relay node or a donor node, etc. It is understood that all or part of the functions of the network device in this application may also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or specific device form adopted by the wireless network device.

[0098] For ease of description, the communication system illustrated in Figure 1 is described using the network device as a base station and the terminal device as a terminal. It is understood that when the communication system includes an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network, the base station can be an IAB node. Optionally, in the embodiments of this application, the base station and the network device can be interchanged.

[0099] In this application, the base station and the terminal can be fixed or mobile. The base station and the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted, on water, or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal.

[0100] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j that access the wireless access network through 120i, terminal 120i is a base station. However, for base station 110a, 120i is a terminal; that is, 110a and 120i communicate via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, both base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with base station functions, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be called communication devices with terminal functions.

[0101] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be conducted using licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously. Communication can be achieved using spectrum below 6 GHz, spectrum above 6 GHz, or both simultaneously. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0102] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the base station can be executed by modules (such as chips) within the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes base station functions. This control subsystem, including base station functions, can be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. Similarly, the functions of the terminal can be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) within the terminal, or by a device that includes terminal functions.

[0103] In this application, the base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to the terminal, with the downlink information carried on the downlink channel; the terminal sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, with the uplink information carried on the uplink channel. To communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a radio connection on a cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal has established a radio connection is called the terminal's serving cell. When the terminal communicates with this serving cell, it is also susceptible to interference from signals from neighboring cells.

[0104] The technical solution of this application can be applied to cellular communication systems related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). For example, 4th generation (4G) communication systems, 5G communication systems, and communication systems beyond the 5th generation. For example, future communication systems. For example, 4th generation communication systems may include Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication systems. 5th generation communication systems may include New Radio (NR) communication systems. The technical solution of this application can also be applied to Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) systems, communication systems supporting the convergence of multiple wireless technologies, device-to-device (D2D) systems, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems.

[0105] The terminal equipment and network equipment involved in this application are described below.

[0106] Terminal equipment, often simply called a terminal, refers to devices or modules that connect to the aforementioned communication systems and possess corresponding communication functions. Terminals typically contain communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform these functions. They are also configured with program instructions for executing these functions. Terminal equipment is also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), fixed wireless access (FWA), customer premises equipment (CPE), etc. Terminal equipment includes wireless communication capabilities (providing voice / data connectivity to users). Examples include handheld devices with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle devices, and machine-type communication (MTC) terminals. Currently, terminal devices can include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving (e.g., drones, vehicles), wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes. For example, wireless terminals in self-driving can be drones, helicopters, or airplanes. For example, wireless terminals in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) can be in-vehicle equipment, vehicle-mounted equipment, in-vehicle modules, vehicles, or ships. Wireless terminals in industrial control can be cameras, robots, or robotic arms. Wireless terminals in smart homes can be televisions, air conditioners, robot vacuums, speakers, or set-top boxes. The terminal device can also be a device or module that is connected to the communication system shown above and has corresponding communication functions. The terminal device usually contains a communication module, circuit or chip that performs the corresponding communication function, and the terminal device is also configured with program instructions for performing the corresponding communication function.

[0107] Terminal equipment can be a device or apparatus with a chip, or a device or apparatus with integrated circuitry, or a chip, chip system, module, or control unit in the aforementioned devices or apparatuses; specific details are not limited in this application. In this application, the term "terminal equipment" can refer to the terminal equipment itself, or to the chip, functional module, or integrated circuit within the terminal equipment that performs the methods provided in this application; specific details are not limited in this application. Network equipment is a device deployed in a wireless access network to provide wireless communication functions for terminal equipment. Network equipment can connect terminal equipment to a radio access network (RAN) node of a wireless network, and can also be called access network equipment, RAN entity, access node, or network node, etc.

[0108] Specifically, network equipment can be network equipment for cellular systems related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). For example, 4G communication systems, 5G communication systems, or future communication systems. Network equipment can also be network equipment in open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN) or cloud radio access network (CRAN). Alternatively, network equipment can also be network equipment in a communication system resulting from the integration of two or more of the above communication systems.

[0109] Network equipment includes, but is not limited to: evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), base band unit (BBU), access point (AP) in wireless fidelity (WIFI) systems, macro base station, micro base station, wireless relay node, donor node, radio controller in CRAN scenarios, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (TP), or transmission and reception point (TRP), etc., and can also be network equipment in 5G mobile communication systems. For example, next-generation base station (gNB) in NR systems, TRP, TP; or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G mobile communication system; or, network equipment can also be network nodes constituting a gNB or transmission point. Examples include centralized unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), centralized unit control plane (CU-CP), centralized unit user plane (CU-UP), or radio unit (RU). CUs and DUs can be separate entities or included in the same network element, such as a BBU. RUs can be included in radio equipment or radio units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs). Alternatively, network equipment can be servers, wearable devices, vehicles, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, network equipment in V2X technology can be roadside units (RSUs). It should be understood that the aforementioned TRP can be a device or module located on the network side of the communication system and possessing corresponding communication functions. The TRP typically contains communication modules, circuits, or chips that perform the corresponding communication functions. The TRP can also be configured with program instructions for the corresponding communication functions.

[0110] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) system, CU can also be called an Open Centralized Unit (O-CU) or an Open CU, DU can also be called an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), and CU-CP can also be called an Open-Centralized Unit-Control Plane (OCP).

[0111] Centralized unit control plane (O-CU-CP), CU-UP can also be called open-centralized unit-user plane (open-centralized unit-user plane).

[0112] The centralized unit user plane (O-CU-UP) and RU can also be called an open radio unit (O-RU), but this application does not specify the specific type. Any of the units CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0113] Optionally, for network elements in the ORAN system, each network element can implement the protocol layer functions shown in Table 1 below.

[0114] Table 1

[0115] The architecture of the CU and DU of a network device is described below. A network device includes at least one CU and at least one DU. Optionally, the network device may also include at least one RU.

[0116] The following example uses a network device consisting of a CU and a DU. The CU has some core network functions and can include CU-CP and CU-UP. The CU and DU can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement. For example, the CU may be configured to implement the functions of at least one layer of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer and above (e.g., at least one of the RRC or SDAP layers). The DU may be configured to implement the functions of at least one layer of the protocol layer below the PDCP layer (e.g., at least one of the RLC, MAC, or physical (PHY) layers). Alternatively, the CU may be configured to implement the functions of at least one layer of the protocol layer above the PDCP layer (e.g., at least one of the RRC or SDAP layers), and the DU may be configured to implement the functions of at least one layer of the protocol layer below the PDCP layer (e.g., at least one of the RLC, MAC, or PHY layers).

[0117] When a CU includes CU-CP and CU-UP, CU-CP is used to implement the control plane functions of the CU, and CU-UP is used to implement the user plane functions of the CU. For example, when a CU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer, RRC layer, and SDAP layer, CU-CP is used to implement the RRC layer functions and the control plane functions of the PDCP layer, and CU-UP is used to implement the SDAP layer functions and the user plane functions of the PDCP layer.

[0118] The CU-CP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement control plane functions. These network elements can be access and mobility function (AMF) network elements, such as the access and mobility management function (AMF) in a 5G system. The AMF is responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as terminal device location updates, terminal device registration with the network, and terminal device handover.

[0119] CU-UP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement user plane functions. These network elements, such as the user plane function (UPF) in a 5G system, are responsible for forwarding and receiving data in terminal devices.

[0120] Optionally, the ORAN architecture also includes a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) module.

[0121] Secondly, some terms used in the embodiments of this application will be explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0122] (1) Configuration and Pre-configuration: In this application, both configuration and pre-configuration are used. Configuration refers to the access network device sending configuration information or parameter values ​​of some parameters to the terminal device through messages or signaling, so that the terminal device can determine the communication parameters or resources during transmission based on these values ​​or information. Pre-configuration corresponds to configuration and refers to the alignment of information or parameter values ​​between the terminal and the access network device without using messages or signaling. Instead, it uses parameter information or parameter values ​​that the access network device and the terminal device have negotiated in advance. These parameters can also be parameter information or parameter values ​​used by the access network device or the terminal device as specified by standard protocols, or parameter information or parameter values ​​that are pre-stored in the access network device or the terminal device. This application does not limit this. Furthermore, these values ​​and parameters can be changed or updated.

[0123] (2) The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, sequence, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0124] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" as described in this application mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0125] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " means "or". For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this document is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. Furthermore, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c. Where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0126] (3) In the embodiments of this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to the terminal" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal device, which may include sending directly through the air interface or sending indirectly through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receive information from the network device" can be understood as the source of the information being the network device, which may include receiving directly from the network device through the air interface or receiving indirectly from the network device through the air interface by other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0127] In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via buses, wiring, or interfaces.

[0128] It is understandable that information may undergo processing, such as encoding and modulation, between the source and destination, but the destination can still understand the valid information from the source. Similar statements in this application can be interpreted in a similar way and will not be elaborated further.

[0129] (4) In the embodiments of this application, "instruction" may include direct instruction and indirect instruction, as well as explicit instruction and implicit instruction. The information indicated by a certain piece of information is called the information to be instructed. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to instruct the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly instructing the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also indirectly instruct the information to be instructed by instructing other information, where there is an association between the other information and the information to be instructed; or it can only instruct a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts of the information to be instructed are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol predefined) arrangement order of various information, thereby reducing instruction overhead. This application does not limit the specific method of instruction. It is understood that for the sender of the instruction information, the instruction information can be used to instruct the information to be instructed, and for the receiver of the instruction information, the instruction information can be used to determine the information to be instructed.

[0130] The instruction information can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information messages, and the sending period and / or timing of these sub-information messages can be the same or different. This application does not limit the specific sending method. The sending period and / or timing of these sub-information messages can be predefined, for example, according to a protocol, or configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device. This configuration information can include, for example, but not limited to, one or a combination of at least two of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control (MAC) layer (or medium access control (MAC) layer) signaling, and physical layer signaling. MAC layer signaling includes, for example, a MAC control element (CE); physical layer signaling includes, for example, downlink control information (DCI).

[0131] (5) Reference signal (RS).

[0132] Reference signals, also known as pilot signals, are essential in communication systems for transmitting and receiving data, obtaining system synchronization and feedback channel information, and estimating the uplink or downlink channel. Channel estimation refers to the process of reconstructing or recovering the received signal to compensate for signal distortion caused by channel fading and noise fading. It utilizes reference signals known to the transmitter and receiver to detect changes in the channel's time and frequency domains. These reference signals, distributed across different resource elements (REs) in the time-frequency two-dimensional space within orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, have known amplitudes and phases.

[0133] At the physical layer, uplink communication can include the transmission of uplink physical channels and uplink signals. Uplink physical channels include the random access channel (PRACH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), etc. Uplink signals include the channel sounding reference signal (SRS), the physical uplink control channel demodulation reference signal (PUCCH-DMRS), the physical uplink shared channel demodulation reference signal (PUSCH-DMRS), the demodulation reference signal (DMRS), the phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), and the positioning reference signal (SRS or SRS for positioning), etc.

[0134] At the physical layer, downlink communication can include the transmission of downlink physical channels and downlink signals. Downlink physical channels include the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. Downlink signals include the primary synchronization signal (PSS) / secondary synchronization signal (SSS), physical downlink control demodulation reference signal (PDCCH-DMRS), physical downlink shared channel demodulation reference signal (PDSCH-DMRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), channel states information reference signal (CSI-RS), cell reference signal (CRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), positioning reference signal (positioning RS), and synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.

[0135] (6) Precoding techniques.

[0136] The transmitting end can process the signal to be transmitted using a precoding matrix that matches the channel, given the known channel conditions, thus ensuring the precoded signal is compatible with the channel. Therefore, compared to the receiving end receiving an un-precoded signal and eliminating inter-channel interference, the complexity of receiving a precoded signal and eliminating inter-channel interference is reduced. Consequently, precoding the signal improves the quality of the received signal (e.g., signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio). Furthermore, precoding technology enables multiple receivers to transmit on the same time-frequency resources, achieving multiple-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO).

[0137] Optionally, the sending end can be a network device and the receiving end can be a terminal device; or, the sending end can be a terminal device and the receiving end can be a terminal device.

[0138] In one implementation, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology is used to increase system capacity and improve throughput. The mathematical expression is y = Hx + n, where y is the received signal, H is the channel information of the MIMO channel, x is the transmitted signal, and n is noise. In communication systems with multiple antennas, signals from multiple transmitting antennas can be superimposed on any one receiving antenna. Therefore, the method of transmitting signals at the transmitting end affects system performance, and recovering the transmitted signal at the receiving end is often complex. In this context, precoding is used to reduce system overhead and maximize the system capacity of MIMO, while also reducing the complexity of eliminating inter-channel interference at the receiver. In this case, the mathematical expression is y = HPx + n, where P is the precoding matrix (or vector). To simplify implementation complexity, P can be selected from a predefined set of matrices (or vectors), called the codebook; this method is also known as a codebook-based transmission method. If the transmitting end has all the information of H, P can be obtained at the transmitting end; this method is also known as a non-codebook (NCB) transmission method.

[0139] It should be understood that the descriptions of precoding techniques are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application. In specific implementations, the transmitting end may also perform precoding in other ways. For example, when channel information (e.g., but not limited to the channel matrix) is unknown, a pre-set precoding matrix or a weighted processing method may be used for precoding. For the sake of brevity, the specific details will not be elaborated upon here.

[0140] (7) Antenna port.

[0141] An antenna port, often simply called a port, can be understood as a transmitting antenna that is recognized by the receiving end, or a spatially distinguishable transmitting antenna. Each virtual antenna can be pre-configured with one antenna port. Each virtual antenna can be a weighted combination of multiple physical antennas. Each antenna port can correspond to a reference signal; therefore, each antenna port can be called a port for a reference signal, such as a CSI-RS port, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or an SRS port.

[0142] In this context, an antenna port is a logical concept, and there is generally no direct correspondence between an antenna port and a physical antenna. An antenna port is typically associated with a reference signal, and its meaning can be understood as a transmit / receive interface on the channel through which the reference signal passes. For low frequencies, an antenna port may correspond to one or more antenna elements that jointly transmit the reference signal; the receiver can treat them as a whole without distinguishing between individual elements. For high-frequency systems, an antenna port may correspond to a beam; similarly, the receiver only needs to treat this beam as an interface and does not need to distinguish between individual elements.

[0143] Furthermore, a port group can refer to a group of multiple antenna ports. One approach is to group multiple digital ports of a network device to form multiple port groups. Another approach (especially in hybrid digital-analog beamforming architectures) is that a port group can be multiple digital ports corresponding to the same analog beam, also simply called a port group or digital-analog port group. Alternatively, a port group can be a group of digital ports corresponding to multiple analog beams, also simply called a port group or digital-analog port group. Or, multiple digital ports of the same analog beam can be divided into multiple subsets, each subset being called a port group or digital-analog port group.

[0144] (8) Beamforming.

[0145] In wireless communication systems (such as the communication system shown in Figure 1), MIMO technology, as a key technology for wireless communication, can be used to meet the demand for high-speed transmission. In MIMO technology, network devices use massive MIMO antennas to counteract path loss caused by increased frequency bands with higher array gain, thereby improving beam coverage. Beamforming implementation schemes include: digital beamforming (DBF), analog beamforming (ABF), or hybrid beamforming (HBF).

[0146] Beamforming will be described below with reference to Figures 2a to 2c, which are schematic diagrams of beamforming.

[0147] Please refer to Figure 2a, which illustrates digital beamforming (DBF). In Figure 2a, each or a group of antenna elements is directly connected to a digital channel. Since each antenna signal is directly converted to the digital domain, subsequent array weighting is performed in the digital domain, hence the name digital beamforming. Digital domain signal processing offers the highest degree of freedom and can support very complex signal processing methods; therefore, DBF architecture offers the best performance for the same array size. On the other hand, due to the high power consumption and cost of digital-to-analog / analog-to-digital converters (ADCs / DACs), DBF is more expensive for the same array size.

[0148] Please refer to Figure 2b, which illustrates analog beamforming (ABF). In Figure 2b, each or a group of antenna elements is connected to an analog phase shifter, and then multiple antenna elements are combined in the analog domain and passed through a digital-to-analog (DAC) to analog-to-digital (ADI) converter. Compared to DBF, the entire ABF array corresponds to only one DAC, thus the ABF architecture features low cost and low power consumption.

[0149] Please refer to Figure 2c, which illustrates Hybrid Beamforming (HBF). The HBF shown in Figure 2c is an intermediate form between ABF and DBF. The example in Figure 2c is a 3-channel HBF architecture, with each channel corresponding to two analog phase shifters. HBF has a certain number of digital ports supporting digital beamforming, and each digital port drives an ABF subarray. Compared to ABF, for the same array size, each digital channel drives a smaller analog subarray, resulting in a wider beam, better reliability, and lower beam scanning overhead.

[0150] (9) Connection architecture between phase shifter and antenna channel.

[0151] Utilizing more spectrum resources is a crucial means of enhancing wireless channel capabilities, and the 6GHz band is a future spectrum resource available for wireless communication. However, higher frequency bands result in greater signal energy loss over the same transmission distance. To overcome this issue, larger-scale antenna arrays are typically used on the network device side to weight the transmitted signal and obtain higher antenna array gain, thereby increasing signal transmission energy. To reduce implementation costs, large-scale antenna arrays on the network device side usually employ an HBF architecture, where a single digital channel drives multiple antenna elements through multiple phase shifters. Downlink signal transmission on the network device side typically uses both analog and digital domain weighting.

[0152] For easier understanding, please refer to Figures 2d to 2e, which are schematic diagrams of the connection architecture between the phase shifter and the antenna channel. The connection architecture between the phase shifter and the antenna channel includes: subarray connection architecture, partially fully connected architecture, or fully connected architecture. Subarray connection refers to a single phase shifter connected to a single antenna channel; partially fully connected architecture refers to achieving full connection between the phase shifter and the antenna channel within a subarray; fully connected architecture refers to achieving full connection between the phase shifter and the antenna channel.

[0153] (10) Channel State Information (CSI) report.

[0154] In wireless communication systems, CSI (Channel State Information) is information reported by the receiving end (such as a terminal device) to the transmitting end (such as a network device) to describe the channel attributes of the communication link. The CSI report may include, but is not limited to, precoding matrix indication (PMI), rank indication (RI), channel quality indicator (CQI), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), channel state information resource index (CRI), and layer indicator (LI). It should be understood that the specific content of CSI listed above is merely illustrative and should not constitute any limitation on this application. CSI may include one or more of the information listed above, or other information used to characterize CSI beyond what is listed above; this application does not limit this.

[0155] (11) Channel measurement.

[0156] Both HBF and ABF architectures involve the use of analog beams. The direction of the analog beam is determined by the beam weights and needs to be configured before signal transmission and reception. Better signal quality can only be achieved when the analog beams are aligned and accurately aimed at the communication target. When network devices perform beam scanning, they typically transmit reference signals using different analog beam weights. Correspondingly, terminal devices measure these reference signals and report the measurement results back to the network device. The network device then determines which beam has the best quality based on these measurement results.

[0157] Taking the communication process between network devices and terminal devices as an example, the network device performs channel measurement through reference signals to obtain channel state information (CSI) (or channel information). Subsequently, the network device can use the channel information to calculate the precoding information between the network device and the terminal device. MIMO communication can then be achieved between the network device and the terminal device through this precoding information.

[0158] In one implementation example, to send data to the terminal device, the network device can perform precoding on the digital port, while selecting appropriate coding and modulation orders. For example, the role of precoding is to better match the antenna (or beam) with the channel, ensuring better signal quality and less interference when the transmitted data arrives at the terminal. A better modulation order and code rate can maximize channel transmission capacity while ensuring reliable data transmission. The settings for precoding and modulation coding scheme (MCS) need to be determined based on channel quality and channel response. A common method is for the network device to send a downlink reference signal, the terminal device to determine the channel based on the downlink reference signal, and then feed back the corresponding channel state information, including precoding information, the number of transport streams supported by the channel (i.e., RI), and CQI (used to provide feedback on the MCS recommended by the terminal under the current channel quality). This process is called channel state information feedback (CSI feedback). Another approach is to measure and obtain uplink channel information using an uplink reference signal, and then further obtain downlink channel information based on channel reciprocity.

[0159] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a downlink channel measurement. As shown in Figure 3, the channel measurement process based on the downlink reference signal includes the following steps.

[0160] S301. The network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the configuration information includes channel information reporting (or measurement) configuration information.

[0161] Specifically, the channel information reporting configuration information can be sent from the network device to the terminal device via RRC signaling, and can include two parts: resource configuration information and reporting configuration information.

[0162] Resource configuration information refers to information related to measurement resources and can be configured through a three-level structure (resource configuration (resourceConfig) - resource set (resource) - resource (resource)). In other words, a network device can configure one or more resource configurations for a terminal device. Each resource configuration includes one or more resource sets, and each resource set can include one or more resources. Each resource configuration / resource set / resource includes its own index. Optionally, the channel information reporting configuration information may also include other parameters, such as the resource period and the signal type corresponding to the resource.

[0163] In addition, the reporting configuration information refers to the information related to the reporting of measurement results, which is configured in the protocol through the reporting configuration (ReportConfig). Network devices can configure one or more reporting configurations (ReportConfig) for terminal devices. Each reporting configuration includes reporting metrics, reporting time and period, reporting format, and other reporting-related information. Furthermore, the reporting configuration also includes an index of resource configurations, indicating which measurement configuration was used to obtain the reported results.

[0164] Optionally, the channel information reporting configuration information includes codebook configuration information (CodebookConfig), which is used to configure the first type or the second type of codebook.

[0165] In one example, this configuration information is used to configure information related to CSI-RS. The resource configuration information included in this configuration information is shown in Figure 4a, which is a schematic diagram of CSI-RS resource configuration information. The CSI reporting configuration information included in this configuration information is shown in Figure 4b, which is a schematic diagram of CSI reporting configuration information.

[0166] S302. The network device sends a downlink reference signal. For example, the network device sends a downlink signal (usually a downlink reference signal) on the resources configured in the resource configuration information so that the terminal device can measure the downlink signal and determine the quality of each resource (i.e., the quality of the beam corresponding to the resource).

[0167] S303. The terminal equipment measures the downlink reference signal based on the configuration information reported by the channel information. The downlink reference signal mainly includes the synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block, CSI-RS, and tracking reference signal (TRS). In the PBCH, the master information block (MIB) can be carried, which is used to configure the main system information of the cell.

[0168] S304. The terminal device sends channel information to the network device. For example, this channel information may include a beam measurement report, which includes channel state information (CSI). The channel state information may include one or more of the following: indexes of one or more resources, CQI, reference signal received power (RSRP), PMI, rank indicator (RI), layer indicator (LI), CRI, synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block resource index (SSBRI), etc.

[0169] Optionally, channel state information can be carried in uplink control information (UCI) and transmitted via the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0170] In addition, after obtaining channel information in step S304, the network device can determine scheduling information, including one or more of the following: MCS, resource block (RB) resource allocation, transmit beam, and receive beam, thereby improving the degree of beam matching with the channel and thus helping to improve communication rate and efficiency.

[0171] In summary, to improve the reception quality of wireless signals received by terminal devices and the spectral efficiency of the communication system, network devices need to perform precise beamforming on the data stream. To this end, the network device sends a pilot signal CSI-RS to the terminal device for channel estimation. The terminal device receives the CSI-RS and calculates the channel state information. Then, the terminal device calculates the beamforming matrix based on this channel state information; this beamforming matrix is ​​also called the precoding matrix. The terminal device can use various algorithms to determine this precoding matrix, such as singular value decomposition (SVD). To feed back the precoding matrix to the network device, the terminal device needs to convert the precoding matrix into a precoding matrix indication (PMI). The network device can then select the corresponding precoding matrix from the codebook based on the PMI.

[0172] A codebook is a predefined, optimized set of beamforming matrices that allows network devices and terminal devices to efficiently exchange information over a communication link. The Type II codebook is a high-precision codebook designed for massive MIMO systems, incorporating finer-grained beamforming options to accommodate more complex channel conditions and higher system performance requirements. In the Type II codebook, spatial weights (or spatial parameters) determine the shape and orientation of the beam. These parameters are selected from multiple candidate spatial bases, each corresponding to a specific spatial orientation. The terminal device sends a Pre-Minute Indicator (PMI) to the network device based on the selected spatial base, enabling the terminal device to instruct the network device to precisely focus the wireless signal onto its location, reducing interference to other terminal devices.

[0173] For the codebook of Release 15, each layer's PMI matrix can be equivalently represented as: W = W1W2, where the dimension of W is P. CSI-RS ×N3, the dimension of W1 is P CSI-RS W1, with a dimension of 2L×N3, can also be called the wideband precoding matrix. W2, with a dimension of 2L×N3, can also be called the precoding matrix for each subband. Where P... CSI-RSN1 represents the number of CSI-RS ports, N2 represents the number of sub-bands for PMI feedback (or the number of PMIs), and 2L represents the total number of DFT beams (or the total number of CSI-RS ports).

[0174] The PMI matrix can be equivalently represented as: The dimension of W is P CSI-RS ×N3, the dimension of W1 is P CSI-RS ×2L, The dimension is 2L×N3. The corresponding W2 for Release 15 is the precoding matrix for each subband. The dimension is 2L×M. The dimension is M×N3. It is the Mth row of the N3×N3 inverse discrete Fourier transformation (IDFT) matrix, i.e., the N3×N3 DFT matrix W. f The conjugate of column M in the dataset. N3 represents the number of IDFT basis vectors selected, and N3 represents the number of subbands fed back by the PMI. When the final terminal device provides feedback, it only needs to feed back the port or DFT codebook information related to W1. Related IDFT substrate selection information, The non-zero element in.

[0175] In the R15 protocol, after performing beam measurement, the terminal device reports channel state information to the network device. The format of some fields in this channel state information is shown in Table 2. The CRI and SSBRI fields are used to indicate the resource index to be reported. The channel state information can report only CRI or SSBRI, or both. and It refers to the length of the CRI and SSBRI fields. This indicates the number of CSI-RS resources in resource set s. This represents the number of SSB resources in resource set s. This indicates rounding up. RSRP reporting uses a differential reporting criterion: the RSRP of the resource with the best quality is reported using 7-bit quantization of the RSRP field in Table 2. RSRPs of other resources are reported using 4-bit quantization of the other RSRP (differential RSRP) field.

[0176] Table 2

[0177] After obtaining channel state information, the base station can determine scheduling information, including one or more of the following: MCS, RB resource allocation, transmit beam, and receive beam, thereby improving the degree of beam matching with the channel and thus helping to improve communication rate and efficiency.

[0178] (12) CSI-RS.

[0179] CSI-RS distinguishes different CSI-RS ports through orthogonal resources in the time and frequency domains. The signals carried by different ports are weighted using code division sequences to achieve code division multiplexing (CDM). The code division sequences specifically include orthogonal cover codes (OCCs) in the time domain and orthogonal covers in the frequency domain. The specific configuration of the code division sequences is determined by the CDM type. Orthogonal covers can also be called orthogonal overlay codes. For easier understanding, please refer to Figures 5a to 5h, which are schematic diagrams of the time-frequency resource mapping of CSI-RS. Figures 5a to 5h illustrate the location of the REs occupied by CSI-RS in the time-frequency resources. These resources include one physical resource block (PRB) in the frequency domain and one time slot in the time domain. One PRB includes 12 subcarriers, and one time slot includes 14 symbols (i.e., OFDM symbols). Different ports can be distinguished through orthogonal resources in time and frequency. The same padding number shown in Figures 5a to 5h corresponds to a CDM time-frequency resource group, and each CDM time-frequency resource group corresponds to a code division sequence.

[0180] Taking Example (2) in Figure 5h as an example, 32 resources correspond to 32 ports. There are eight groups of resources with different padding numbers, each group containing 4 REs, corresponding to 4 ports respectively. In Example (2) in Figure 5h, each group of 4 resources with the same number corresponds to a code division with a frequency division (FD) of 2 and a time division (TD) of 2, i.e., cdm4-FD2-TD2. Specifically as follows:

[0181] The first set of resources (1): 4 REs corresponding to symbols 5 and 6, subcarrier 0 and subcarrier 1.

[0182] The second set of resources (2): 4 REs corresponding to symbols 5 and 6, subcarrier 2 and subcarrier 3.

[0183] The third set of resources (3): the four REs corresponding to symbols 5 and 6, subcarrier 4 and subcarrier 5.

[0184] The fourth set of resources (4): the four REs corresponding to symbols 5 and 6, subcarrier 6 and subcarrier 7.

[0185] The fifth set of resources (5): 4 REs corresponding to symbols 9 and 10, subcarrier 0 and subcarrier 1.

[0186] The sixth group of resources (6): 4 REs corresponding to symbols 9 and 10, subcarrier 2 and subcarrier 3.

[0187] The seventh set of resources (7): the four REs corresponding to symbols 9 and 10, subcarrier 4 and subcarrier 5.

[0188] The eighth set of resources (8): 4 REs corresponding to symbols 9 and 10, subcarrier 6 and subcarrier 7.

[0189] Between the four ports corresponding to each resource group, code division is performed in two dimensions: time domain and frequency domain. The start position of CSI-RS resources in time, the density in the frequency domain (i.e., how many resource elements REs are in a resource block (RB), or how many resources are in a group), the time domain OCC, and the frequency domain OCC can be specified by the configuration information sent by the network device.

[0190] For example, the code division sequences corresponding to the current code division multiplexing type are shown in Tables 3 to 6.

[0191] Table 3

[0192] Among them, the code division multiplexing type corresponding to the code division sequence shown in Table 3 is "noCDM".

[0193] Table 4

[0194] Among them, the code division multiplexing type corresponding to the code division sequence shown in Table 4 is "fd-CDM2".

[0195] Table 5

[0196] Among them, the code division multiplexing type corresponding to the code division sequence shown in Table 5 is "cdm4-FD2-TD2".

[0197] Table 6

[0198] Among them, the code division multiplexing type corresponding to the code division sequence shown in Table 6 is "cdm8-FD2-TD4".

[0199] The relationship between CSI-RS port p, code block index j, and code sequence index s is as follows:

[0200] Where N is the number of ports corresponding to CSI-RS resources, L is the size of the code packet, s can be the index in Tables 3 to 6 above, a code packet includes one or more code segment sequences, and 3000 is a constant.

[0201] Currently, network devices provide services to different terminal devices using multiple beams. The terminal devices measure the channels of these multiple beams via CSI-RS and then report channel status information (CSI) to the network device. For clarity, please refer to Figure 6, which illustrates the measurement feedback of multi-beam channel status information. The network device transmits beams #0, #1, and #2. When the location of the terminal device (UE) changes from location 1 to location 2, i.e., the UE moves from the coverage area of ​​beam #2 to the coverage area of ​​beam #0, the terminal device needs to activate and use the resources corresponding to different beams because it has moved to the coverage area of ​​a different beam. For example, the resource corresponding to location 1 is resource 6 in resource set 1, and the resource corresponding to location 2 is resource 11 in resource set 2. When the terminal device moves from location 1 to location 2, the UE needs to activate resource 11 in resource set 2. Specifically, activating or enabling a resource means that the terminal device receives and measures CSI-RS based on that resource.

[0202] In scenarios where network devices periodically transmit CSI-RS, within a single CSI-RS transmission cycle, the network device transmits all CSI-RS resources within its CSI-RS resource set. Specifically, transmitting CSI-RS resources means that the network device transmits CSI-RS based on that resource. Due to hardware limitations of terminal devices, they cannot support CSI-RS resource sets containing a large number of resources. Therefore, when a terminal device moves from location A to location B, it may not be able to receive CSI-RS in location B based on its configured CSI-RS resource set. In such cases, the network device often needs to reconfigure the CSI-RS resource set, with the newly configured set including the resources corresponding to location B. However, when network devices periodically transmit CSI-RS, the ability to reconfigure CSI-RS resource sets for terminal devices is limited. Therefore, after a terminal device moves to location B, it may be unable to perform accurate channel measurements. Referring to the scenario illustrated in Figure 6, within one CSI-RS transmission cycle, the network device transmits all CSI-RS resources within resource set 1 and resource set 2. Resource set 1 includes 16 resources, namely resources 1 to 16; resource set 2 also includes 16 resources, namely resources 1 to 16. Due to hardware limitations, the terminal device can only be configured with one resource set, for example, resource set 1. Within one CSI-RS transmission cycle, the terminal device moves from position 1 to position 2. When at position 1, the terminal device can successfully receive and measure the CSI-RS corresponding to resource 6 of resource set 1. However, when the terminal device moves to position 2, it may not be able to receive and measure the CSI-RS corresponding to resource 11 of resource set 2 based on resource set 1. Therefore, after moving to position 2, accurate channel measurement may not be possible based on resource set 1.

[0203] Based on this, this application proposes a communication method in which a terminal device receives first information for configuring a resource set. The resource set includes at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset. The first resource subset is related to a first time, and the second resource subset is related to a second time. The first resource subset includes one or more resources, and the second resource subset includes one or more resources used to receive reference signals. Then, the terminal device activates the first resource subset at a first time based on the first information; the terminal device also activates the second resource subset at a second time based on the first information, the second time being different from the first time. Through this method, the resource set is divided into multiple resource subsets, and different activation times are configured for different resource subsets. The terminal device can activate different resource subsets at different times to achieve dynamic resource switching without reconfiguring the resource set, and receiving different reference signals based on different resources enables more flexible and comprehensive reference signal measurement. This ensures that the terminal device can obtain high-precision channel measurement results, improving the accuracy of channel measurement.

[0204] The concepts of resource sets and resource subsets will be introduced in detail below.

[0205] In the embodiments of this application, one resource in the resource set corresponds to one or more ports, one port corresponds to one antenna, or one port corresponds to one beam; or, one or more ports can be described as a port group, and correspondingly, one resource in the resource set can correspond to a port group.

[0206] In one example, a resource corresponds to one or more ports in a single polarization direction. For example, a resource corresponds to four ports in the first polarization direction. In another example, a resource corresponds to multiple ports in a dual polarization direction. For example, a resource corresponds to four ports in the first polarization direction and four ports in the second polarization direction, thus corresponding to eight ports. It should be understood that polarization direction in this document refers to the direction of the electric field vector of the electromagnetic wave radiated by the antenna in space. To improve the performance of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), the communicating parties measure the ports corresponding to the two polarization directions when performing signal measurements. For ease of description, in the following description, ports with different polarization directions will be referred to as ports corresponding to the first polarization direction and ports corresponding to the second polarization direction, respectively.

[0207] In another example, the relationship between the number of ports corresponding to a resource and the number of resources corresponding to the maximum number of ports supported by the first communication device is shown in Table 7. For example, the first communication device supports a maximum of 256 ports.

[0208] Table 7

[0209] Resources in a resource set can be identified by identification information. For example, 1 to 16 in Figure 9c or Figure 9d represent identification information used to indicate the corresponding resources in the resource set. "Resource 1" in the following text can be understood as the identification information used to indicate Resource 1. The first dimension mentioned above can be a vertical dimension (or vertical direction), and the second dimension can be a horizontal dimension (or horizontal direction).

[0210] In this embodiment of the application, the resource set can be divided into multiple resource subsets, and a resource subset consists of a portion of the resources in the resource set. That is, the resource set includes multiple resource subsets, and each resource subset includes one or more resources used for transmitting reference signals.

[0211] Figure 9b shows an example of a resource set divided into resource subsets. The resource set includes resources 1 to 32, which can be divided into six resource subsets: resource subset 1 to resource subset 6. Resource subset 1 includes resources 1, 2, 9, and 10. Resource subset 2 includes resources 17, 18, 25, and 26. Resource subset 3 includes resources 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, and 13. Resource subset 4 includes resources 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, and 29. Resource subset 5 includes resources 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, and 16. Resource subset 6 includes resources 22, 23, 24, 30, 31, and 32. Optionally, the resource set may also include resource subset 7 (not shown in the figure), which includes resources 2, 3, 10, and 11. Figures 10 and 11 illustrate another example of dividing a resource set into resource subsets. In Figure 10, the resources included in the first resource subset are partially the same as (or partially different from) those included in the second resource subset. The first resource subset includes resource 1, resource 2, resource 9, resource 10, resource 17, resource 18, resource 25, and resource 26; the second resource subset has 2 resources in its second dimension and 4 resources in its first dimension, including resource 2, resource 3, resource 10, resource 11, resource 18, resource 19, resource 26, and resource 27. In Figure 11, the first and second resource subsets do not overlap and are not adjacent. The first resource subset includes resource 1, resource 2, resource 9, resource 10, resource 17, resource 18, resource 25, and resource 26; the second resource subset has 4 resources in the second dimension and 4 resources in the first dimension. The second resource subset includes resources 4 to 7, resources 12 to 15, resources 20 to 23, and resources 28 to 31.

[0212] The resource subsets in a resource set can be of the same size, such as resource subset 1 and resource subset 2 in Figure 9b; the resource subsets in a resource set can be of different sizes, such as resource subset 1 and resource subset 3 in Figure 9b, or the first resource subset and the second resource subset in Figure 11. Resource subsets in a resource set can overlap (or multiple resource subsets can contain partially the same or partially different resources), such as resource subset 1 and resource subset 7 in Figure 9b, or the first resource subset and the second resource subset in Figure 10; resource subsets in a resource set can not overlap (or multiple resource subsets can contain all different resources), such as resource subset 1 and resource subset 3 in Figure 9b, or the first resource subset and the second resource subset in Figure 11.

[0213] The resources included in a resource set or subset can be described from the perspective of a first dimension and a second dimension. Optionally, the first dimension and the second dimension are orthogonal. Optionally, the first dimension corresponds to the vertical direction, and the second dimension corresponds to the horizontal direction. Optionally, the first dimension corresponds to the time domain, and the second dimension corresponds to the frequency domain. Optionally, the first dimension corresponds to the frequency domain, and the second dimension corresponds to the time domain. Optionally, the first dimension corresponds to a first direction in the time domain, and the second dimension corresponds to a second direction in the time domain, where the first direction and the second direction are different. Optionally, the first dimension corresponds to a first aspect in the frequency domain, and the second dimension corresponds to a second direction in the frequency domain. For ease of understanding, please refer to Figure 9a, which is a schematic diagram of a resource subset in an embodiment of this application. The resource subset illustrated in Figure 9a includes 16 resources. The number of resources included in the resource subset in the first dimension is 4, and the number of resources included in the resource subset in the second dimension is 4. The first dimension corresponds to the frequency domain, such as a subcarrier; the second dimension corresponds to the time domain, such as a time slot. One resource in this resource subset can be understood as a time-frequency resource. For example, one resource includes one or more RBs. Similarly, in Figure 10, the number of resources in the second dimension of the first resource subset is 2, and the number of resources in the first dimension of the first resource subset is 4. In Figure 11, the number of resources in the second dimension of the first resource subset is 2, and the number of resources in the first dimension of the first resource subset is 4.

[0214] There are multiple ways to divide a resource set into resource subsets, and this application does not limit this approach. For ease of understanding, two possible implementation methods for dividing resource subsets are described below:

[0215] In one possible implementation, the resources in the resource subset are contiguous in the first dimension, and the resources in the resource subset are contiguous in the second dimension. The number of resources included in the first dimension of the resource subset is X1, and the number of resources included in the second dimension of the resource subset is X2. For example, as shown in Tables 8 to 16.

[0216] Table 8

[0217] Table 8 shows a resource subset containing 2 resources.

[0218] Table 9

[0219] Table 9 shows a resource subset containing 3 resources.

[0220] Table 10

[0221] Table 10 illustrates a resource subset containing 4 resources.

[0222] Table 11

[0223] Table 11 shows a resource subset containing 5 resources.

[0224] Table 12

[0225] Table 12 shows a resource subset containing 6 resources.

[0226] Table 13

[0227] Table 13 shows a resource subset containing 7 resources.

[0228] Table 14

[0229] Table 14 shows a resource subset containing 8 resources.

[0230] Table 15

[0231] Table 15 shows a resource subset containing 9 resources.

[0232] Table 16

[0233] Table 16 shows a resource subset containing 10 resources.

[0234] When a resource subset includes more resources, the number of resources in the first dimension and the number of resources in the second dimension of the resource subset are similar to the examples in Tables 8 to 16 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0235] In another possible implementation, a subset of resources comprises resources that are discontinuous in a first and / or second dimension. Discontinuous resources in a first dimension mean that the resources included in the subset are spaced apart in that first dimension. Similarly, discontinuous resources in a second dimension mean that the resources included in the subset are spaced apart in that second dimension.

[0236] Furthermore, the aforementioned discontinuity can be either regular or irregular. Regular discontinuity refers to a situation where there are regular intervals between resources in the resource subset across the first and / or second dimensions. For example, multiple resources in the resource subset across the first dimension are not adjacent, and the intervals between these resources are the same. Another example is that the first resource subset includes resources with odd-numbered identifiers, and the second resource subset includes resources with even-numbered identifiers. Irregular discontinuity refers to a situation where there are irregular intervals between resources in the resource subset across the first and / or second dimensions. For example, multiple resources in the resource subset across the first dimension are not adjacent, and the intervals between these resources are different.

[0237] First, taking the resource set shown in Figure 10 as an example, we will introduce the "discontinuous rule". The first dimension corresponds to the vertical dimension (or vertical direction), and the second dimension corresponds to the horizontal dimension (or horizontal direction).

[0238] In one example, the resource subset includes three resources (resource 1, resource 3, and resource 5). The number of resources in the first dimension is 1, and the number of resources in the second dimension is 3. These three resources are located in columns 1, 3, and 5 of the first dimension, respectively. The number of resources in the first dimension is 1, meaning there is 1 resource in the vertical direction; that is, the resource subset has 1 row of resources. The number of resources in the second dimension is 3, meaning there are 3 resources in the horizontal direction; that is, the resource subset has 3 columns of resources. The interval of this resource subset in the second dimension is 1.

[0239] In another example, the resource subset includes two resources (resource 4 and resource 20), with 2 resources in the first dimension and 1 resource in the second dimension. The 2 resources in the first dimension mean there are 2 resources vertically, i.e., the subset has 2 rows of resources. The 1 resource in the second dimension means there are 1 resource horizontally, i.e., the subset has 1 column of resources. The interval of this resource subset in the first dimension is 1.

[0240] It should be noted that the resource sets illustrated in Figures 10 and 11 above may include resource 1 to resource 32; or resource 0 to resource 31. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0241] Next, an embodiment of this application will be described using an example communication scenario. Please refer to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of a communication scenario according to an embodiment of this application. This communication scenario includes a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device may be a terminal device, or it may be a device or apparatus with a chip, or a device or apparatus with integrated circuits, or a chip, chip system, functional module, control unit, circuit, processor, or integrated circuit that can be applied to a terminal device or apparatus; the specifics are not limited in this application. The second communication device may be a network device, or it may be a device or apparatus with a chip, or a device or apparatus with integrated circuits, or a chip, chip system, functional module, control unit, circuit, processor, or integrated circuit that can be applied to a network device or apparatus; the specifics are not limited in this application. The cell managed by the second communication device includes the first cell. The first communication device is located in the first cell and can receive signals from the second communication device.

[0242] Based on the aforementioned illustrated communication scenarios and scenarios where the resource set contains multiple resource subsets, the communication method proposed in this application embodiment will now be described. It should be noted that the reference signal in the communication method proposed in this application embodiment is illustrated using CSI-RS as an example; however, CSI-RS can be replaced with other reference signals, and this application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0243] Please refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic flowchart of one embodiment of the communication method in this application. The communication method proposed in this application includes:

[0244] 801. The first communication device sends a fifth message to the second communication device, the fifth message indicating the capabilities of the first communication device.

[0245] Step 801 is an optional step.

[0246] In step 801, the first communication device may report its capabilities to the second communication device through the fifth information. The capabilities of the first communication device include one or more of the following: the number of resources supported by the first communication device, the number of resource subsets supported by the first communication device, the number of resources included in the resource subsets supported by the first communication device, the shortest effective time of the resource subsets supported by the first communication device, the maximum effective time of the resource subsets supported by the first communication device, the measurement method of the resource subsets supported by the first communication device (i.e., the measurement method of the reference signal supported by the first communication device), or the feedback method of the resource subsets supported by the first communication device (i.e., the feedback method of the measurement result of the reference signal supported by the first communication device).

[0247] For example, the fifth information indicates that the first communication device supports a maximum of 256 resources, the first communication device supports a maximum of 4 resource subsets, and the maximum number of resources in a resource subset supported by the first communication device is 64.

[0248] For example, the fifth information indicates that the measurement methods for the resource subset supported by the first communication device include: measuring channel quality information and measuring channel information. Therefore, when the first communication device measures the reference signal corresponding to the resource subset, it can measure and determine the channel quality information corresponding to the reference signal, or it can measure and determine the channel information corresponding to the reference signal.

[0249] For example, the fifth information indicates that the feedback method for the resource subset supported by the first communication device includes: feedback channel quality information and feedback channel information. Therefore, when the first communication device measures the reference signal corresponding to the resource subset, it can feed back either the channel quality information corresponding to the reference signal or the channel information corresponding to the reference signal.

[0250] For example, channel quality information includes one or more of the following: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal receiving power (RSRP), and signal strength indicator.

[0251] Channel information includes one or more of the following: channel quality indicator (SSI), signal-to-interference ratio (SIR), interference signal strength (ISS), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), or signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR).

[0252] Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) indicates the power strength of the signal received by the receiver. A higher RSSI value indicates a stronger received signal, generally indicating better signal quality. Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) is the linear average of the signal power received across all resource elements carrying the reference signal within a symbol; it is also an important indicator of signal strength. Signal Strength Indication (SSI), similar to RSSI, is used to indicate signal strength. Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is the ratio of signal power to noise power, usually expressed in decibels (dB). A higher SNR indicates a stronger signal relative to noise, better signal quality, and higher reliability and accuracy of data transmission. Interference Signal Strength refers to the power of the received interference signal. Higher interference signal strength has a greater impact on the useful signal, leading to decreased signal quality and increased bit error rate. Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR) is the ratio of signal power to interference signal power, used to measure the degree of interference to the signal.

[0253] Optionally, the channel quality information may also include: layer 1 (L1)-SINR, L1-RSSI, L1-RSRP, L1-SSI, L1-SIR, L1-ISS, L1-SNR, or L1-RSRQ.

[0254] 802. The second communication device sends first information to the first communication device. The first information is used to configure a resource set. The resource set includes at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, wherein the first resource subset is related to a first time and the second resource subset is related to a second time.

[0255] First, a resource set includes at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, meaning that in addition to the first and second resource subsets, the resource set may include more resource subsets. The resources contained in the first and second resource subsets may be wholly or partially different. The first and second resource subsets can be different resource subsets obtained by dividing the resources of the resource set according to a certain partitioning method (taking the resource set shown in Figure 9b as an example, the first resource subset could be resource subset 1, and the second resource subset could be resource subset 2 or resource subset 3); or the first resource subset can be one of multiple resource subsets obtained by dividing the resources of the resource set according to the first partitioning method, and the second resource subset can be one of multiple resource subsets obtained by dividing the resources of the resource set according to the second partitioning method (the first resource subset could be resource subset 1 obtained by partitioning according to the method shown in Figure 9b, and the second resource subset could be the second resource subset obtained by partitioning according to the method shown in Figure 10).

[0256] The first information used to configure the resource set can be understood as the first information used to configure the resource set and the subset of resources included in the resource set.

[0257] Optionally, the first information may further include information indicating the number of resources included in the resource set in the first dimension and information indicating the number of resources included in the resource set in the second dimension. For ease of description, the information indicating the number of resources included in the resource set in the first dimension is referred to as the sixth sub-information, and the information indicating the number of resources included in the resource set in the second dimension is referred to as the seventh sub-information.

[0258] Optionally, the first information may further include information indicating the number of resource subsets included in the resource set in the first dimension and information indicating the number of resource subsets included in the resource set in the second dimension. For ease of description, the information indicating the number of resource subsets included in the resource set in the first dimension is referred to as the twelfth sub-information, and the information indicating the number of resource subsets included in the resource set in the second dimension is referred to as the thirteenth sub-information.

[0259] For example, taking the resource set shown in Figure 9b above as an example, in the first information, the sixth sub-information indicates that the number of resources included in the resource set in the first dimension is 4, the seventh sub-information indicates that the number of resources included in the resource set in the second dimension is 8, the twelfth sub-information indicates that the number of resource subsets included in the resource set in the first dimension is 2, and the thirteenth sub-information indicates that the number of resource subsets included in the resource set in the second dimension is 3.

[0260] The sixth, seventh, twelfth, and thirteenth sub-information mentioned above can be understood as part or all of the descriptive information of the resource set. The descriptive information of the resource set may also include one or more of the following: resource set identification information, frequency domain configuration information, time domain configuration information, antenna port related parameters, code division configuration information, power control parameters, measurement configuration information, quasi-co-address information, resource type information, or repetition information. The information includes: frequency domain configuration information indicating the starting position and number of resource blocks occupied by the reference signal; time domain configuration information indicating the symbol position occupied by the reference signal in the time domain; antenna port information indicating the number of antenna ports used for each resource; code division configuration information indicating the CDM type of the resource set; power offset information indicating the power offset of the reference signal corresponding to the resource set relative to other reference signals; measurement configuration information indicating the frequency domain range to be measured by the first communication device; quasi-co-location information indicating the quasi-co-location relationship between the reference signal corresponding to the resource set and other reference signals; resource type information indicating whether the transmission mode of the reference signal corresponding to the resource set is periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic; and repetition information indicating whether the reference signal corresponding to the resource set is repeatedly transmitted. It is understood that the description information of the resource set may also include other information used to describe the resources of the resource set, and this application does not limit this. The first information includes the description information of the resource set.

[0261] The first information may also include, but is not limited to, the following: repetition field, aperiodic triggering offset field, tracking reference signal information (trs-Info), and aperiodic triggering offset -r16.

[0262] The fields are: (aperiodicTriggeringOffset-r16), (aperiodicTriggeringOffset-r17), (aperiodicTriggeringOffsetL2-r17), or (resourceType-r18). The purpose of the repetition field is to configure the number of repetitions of the reference signal. The purpose of the aperiodicTriggeringOffset field is to specify the time offset, in timeslots or symbols, for the reference signal measurement performed by the first communication device after receiving an aperiodic trigger command (such as DCI) from the second communication device. The purpose of the Tracking Reference Signal Information (trs-Info) is to configure the parameters of the Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) for time and / or frequency tracking and channel state estimation by the first communication device.

[0263] The first resource subset is related to a first time, and the second resource subset is related to a second time. This can be understood as the different resource subsets included in the resource set having different effective times. The first time is the effective time of the first resource subset, and the second time is the effective time of the second resource subset. In other words, the second communication device sends corresponding reference signals based on different resource subsets at different times. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the corresponding reference signal based on the effective time of the resource subset according to the first information. Through the above method, dynamic measurement and switching of resources in the resource set are realized. The reference signal corresponding to the resource subset can be understood as the reference signal carried on the time-frequency resource corresponding to the resource subset. The second communication device sends the corresponding reference signal based on the resource subset, for example: the second communication device sends the reference signal corresponding to the resource subset on the time-frequency resource corresponding to the resource subset. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the reference signal corresponding to the resource subset on the time-frequency resource corresponding to the resource subset.

[0264] The first information may indicate that a first subset of resources is related to a first time and a second subset of resources is related to a second time, as in the first possible implementation below; or the first information may include information related to the effective time, and the first communication device determines that the first subset of resources is related to the first time and the second subset of resources is related to the second time based on the information related to the effective time, as in the second possible implementation below.

[0265] In a first possible implementation, the first information includes first sub-information and second sub-information. The first sub-information indicates the association between a first resource subset and a first time, and the second sub-information indicates the association between a second resource subset and a second time. In this case, the first information includes descriptive information of the first resource subset, descriptive information of the second resource subset, first time information corresponding to the first resource subset, and second time information corresponding to the second resource subset; or, in other words, the first sub-information includes descriptive information of the first resource subset and first time information corresponding to the first resource subset, and the second sub-information includes descriptive information of the second resource subset and second time information corresponding to the second resource subset.

[0266] In implementation method A, the first time information and the description information of the first resource subset are included in the same information structure or information element, which can be understood as the first sub-information. The second time information and the description information of the second resource subset are included in the same information structure or information element, which can be understood as the second sub-information. In other words, the first sub-information and the second sub-information explicitly indicate the aforementioned relationship.

[0267] It should be noted that first-time information can directly indicate the first time, or it can indirectly indicate the first time. Similarly, second-time information can directly indicate the second time, or it can indirectly indicate the second time.

[0268] In one example, the first time information includes the duration of effectiveness of the first resource subset. The duration of effectiveness of the first resource subset can also be expressed as the duration of its duration. Similarly, the second time information includes the duration of effectiveness of the second resource subset. For clarity, please refer to Table 17.

[0269] Table 17

[0270] Based on Table 17, the first information includes: the time information "T0" corresponding to resource subset 0, which indicates that the effective duration of resource subset 0 is T0; the time information "T1" corresponding to resource subset 1, which indicates that the effective duration of resource subset 1 is T1; and the time information "T2" corresponding to resource subset 2, which indicates that the effective duration of resource subset 2 is T2.

[0271] In another example, the first time information includes index information for the first time. The first communication device determines the first time based on the index information. The association between the index information and the first time can be predefined by the protocol, pre-configured in the first communication device, or configured by the second communication device to the first communication device; this embodiment does not impose any limitations on this. For ease of understanding, please refer to Table 18.

[0272] Table 18

[0273] Based on Table 18, the first information includes: the time index information "0" corresponding to resource subset 0, where "0" indicates that the effective time of resource subset 0 is T0; the time index information "1" corresponding to resource subset 1, where "1" indicates that the effective time of resource subset 1 is T1; and the time index information "2" corresponding to resource subset 2, where "2" indicates that the effective time of resource subset 2 is T2.

[0274] For example, the first time information may include information indicating the time interval between the nth and (n+1)th resource subsets being switched, the ratio of the transmission period of the resource subset to the transmission period of the resource set, or the transmission time of the resource subset. Here, n is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The transmission time of the resource subset is an absolute time, such as expressed in seconds, milliseconds, or microseconds.

[0275] It should be noted that the "effective time" in this application embodiment can also be replaced with: effective time, usage time, activation time, or switching time.

[0276] The descriptive information of a resource subset includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the resource subset, the identifier of the resources in the resource subset, or the resource description information of the resource subset.

[0277] The identification information of resources in different resource subsets can be the same or different. For example, the identification information of resources in the first resource subset is "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6", and the identification information of resources in the second resource subset is "7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12". Another example is that the identification information of resources in the first resource subset is "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6", and the identification information of resources in the second resource subset is also "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6". To distinguish resources from different resource subsets, a resource is identified by combining the identification information of the resource subset and the identification information of the resource itself. For example, resource 1 in resource subset 2 is identified by the following information: "{2,1}", where "2" indicates that the resource belongs to resource subset 2, and "1" indicates that the resource is the first resource in resource subset 2.

[0278] It is understandable that resource identification information can be either absolute or relative. Absolute identification information means that each resource has a unique identifier, which can uniquely identify a resource. Relative identification information means that resources in different resource subsets have the same identification information, so in addition to the resource's own identification information, the identification information of the resource subset to which it belongs is also needed to jointly identify a resource.

[0279] Optionally, before the first communication device receives the first information, the first and second communication devices have already acquired the same resource set. Then, the description information of the first resource subset includes the identification information of the first resource subset, and the description information of the second resource subset includes the identification information of the second resource subset. In this case, the first communication device can determine the first resource subset and the specific resources it includes based on the identification information of the first resource subset, and the first communication device can determine the second resource subset and the specific resources it includes based on the identification information of the second resource subset. The first and second communication devices can acquire the same resource set in various ways, and this application embodiment does not limit this. For example, the second communication device configures a resource set to the first communication device, or the first communication device reports a resource set to the second communication device. Another example is that the first and second communication devices pre-configure resource sets. Yet another example is that the protocol predefines resource sets.

[0280] If the description information of the first resource subset only includes the identification information of the first resource subset, then the aforementioned first sub-information including the description information of the first resource subset and the first time information corresponding to the first resource subset can be replaced with the first sub-information including the identification information of the first resource subset and the first time information corresponding to the first resource subset. The second sub-information is similar to the first sub-information and will not be described again here.

[0281] If the description information of the first resource subset only includes the identification information of the resources in the first resource subset, then the aforementioned first sub-information including the description information of the first resource subset and the first time information corresponding to the first resource subset can be replaced with the first sub-information including the identification information of the resources in the first resource subset and the first time information corresponding to the first resource subset. The second sub-information is similar to the first sub-information and will not be described again here.

[0282] The resource description information of the first resource subset includes: information indicating the number of resources included in the first resource subset in the first dimension (e.g., X1 in Tables 8 to 16 above), and information indicating the number of resources included in the first resource subset in the second dimension (e.g., X2 in Tables 8 to 16 above). It is understood that the resource description information of the first resource subset may also include other information used to describe the resources of the first resource subset, and this application does not limit this.

[0283] It is understandable that the description information of the second resource subset is similar to that of the first resource subset, and will not be repeated here.

[0284] In implementation method B, the first time information and the description information of the first resource subset are included in different information structures or information elements. Similarly, the second time information and the description information of the second resource subset are included in different information structures or information elements. In other words, the first time information and the description information of the first resource subset, which are located in different information structures / information elements, along with their implicit correspondence, can be understood as the first sub-information; and the second time information and the description information of the second resource subset, which are located in different information structures / information elements, along with their implicit correspondence, can be understood as the second sub-information.

[0285] One example is as follows: The first information includes the identification information of resource subset 1, the identification information of resource subset 2, and the identification information of resource subset 3; the first information also includes time information 1, time information 2, and time information 3. Based on the order of the resource subsets and the order of the time information in the first information, the first communication device determines that resource subset 1 corresponds to time information 1, resource subset 2 corresponds to time information 2, and resource subset 3 corresponds to time information 3.

[0286] In the second possible implementation, the first information includes a third sub-information. The first communication device determines the first time and the second time based on the third sub-information.

[0287] Optionally, the first information may also include description information of the first resource subset and description information of the second resource subset. Optionally, the first information may not include description information of the first resource subset and description information of the second resource subset. For example, the protocol may predefine the first resource subset or the second resource subset, or the protocol may predefine how the resource set is divided to obtain the first resource subset and the second resource subset, or the second communication device may have configured the information of the first resource subset and the second resource subset to the first communication device before step 802.

[0288] In implementation method C, the third sub-information is used to indicate the first time and the second time. The first communication device can determine the first time as the effective time of the first resource subset and the second time as the effective time of the second resource subset based on the principle that the longer the duration, the larger the index of the resource subset to be effective. Specifically, the effective time of the second resource subset is greater than the effective time of the first resource subset, and the index of the second resource subset is greater than the index of the first resource subset.

[0289] One example is as follows: the third sub-information specifically indicates times t0, t1, and t2, where time t2 is greater than time t1, and time t1 is greater than time t0. The first communication device determines, based on the first information, or predefined protocol information, or information configured before step 802, that the resource set includes resource subset 0, resource subset 1, and resource subset 2. Based on the third sub-information, the first communication device determines the effective time of each resource subset in the resource set as times t0, t1, and t2. Since the index of resource subset 2 is greater than the index of resource subset 1, and the index of resource subset 1 is greater than the index of resource subset 0, the first communication device, based on this third sub-information, determines that resource subset 0 is related to time t0, resource subset 1 is related to time t1, and resource subset 2 is related to time t2. That is, it determines that resource subset 0 becomes effective at time t0, resource subset 1 becomes effective at time t1, and resource subset 2 becomes effective at time t2.

[0290] In implementation method D, the third sub-information is used to indicate the first time interval. The first time interval can be understood as the time interval for switching resource subsets, or the time interval for the resource subset to take effect.

[0291] In one possible implementation, the third sub-information explicitly indicates the first time interval. The first communication device can determine the first time and the second time based on the first time interval and the initial transmission time of the reference signal transmitted by the second communication device.

[0292] One example is as follows: the initial transmission time of the reference signal sent by the second communication device is X, and the first time interval is Y. The first information indicates that the resource set includes resource subset 0, resource subset 1, and resource subset 2. Then, the effective time of resource subset 0 is X, the effective time of resource subset 1 is X+Y, and the effective time of resource subset 2 is X+2Y.

[0293] In another possible implementation, the third sub-information implicitly indicates the first time interval. For example, the third sub-information may include the number of resource subsets included in the resource set. Optionally, the third sub-information may also include the period during which the second communication device transmits the reference signal. The first communication device determines the first time interval based on the period during which the second communication device transmits the reference signal and the number of resource subsets included in the resource set.

[0294] One example is as follows: the period for the reference signal transmitted by the second communication device is Z, and the resource set includes 4 resource subsets. Then the first time interval Y = Z / 4. The " / " means division.

[0295] In implementation E, the third sub-information is used to indicate the first transmission count. The first transmission count can be understood as the number of resource subsets transmitted by the second communication device within one transmission cycle of transmitting a reference signal. Optionally, the third sub-information also includes the cycle in which the second communication device transmits the reference signal. The number of resource subsets transmitted by the second communication device within one transmission cycle of transmitting the reference signal refers to the number of resource subsets corresponding to the reference signals transmitted by the second communication device within one transmission cycle of transmitting the reference signal. For example, if the second communication device transmits 20 reference signals through 4 resource subsets within one transmission cycle of transmitting the reference signal, and each resource subset corresponds to 5 reference signals, then the first transmission count is 4.

[0296] The first communication device can determine the first time and the second time based on the first number of transmissions and the transmission period of the reference signal transmitted by the second communication device.

[0297] One example is as follows: the period for the second communication device to transmit the reference signal is Z, and the first transmission count is K. The first information indicates that the resource set includes resource subset 0, resource subset 1, and resource subset 2. Then, the effective time of resource subset 0 is time t0, the effective time of resource subset 1 is t0 + (Z / K), and the effective time of resource subset 2 is t0 + 2 × (Z / K). Here, "×" means multiplication.

[0298] A further example is shown in Figure 12, which is another schematic diagram of the first information in an embodiment of this application. Taking the resource set as a CSI-RS resource set and the resource subset as a CSI-RS resource subset as an example, the second communication device sends an RRC message to the first communication device. This RRC message includes configuration information for the non-zero power CSI-RS resource set (NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet). The first information can be the configuration information of the non-zero power CSI-RS resource set. The configuration information of the non-zero power CSI-RS resource set includes: configuration information for a non-zero power CSI-RS resource subset. The description information of the resource subset can be the configuration information of the non-zero power CSI-RS resource subset. The non-zero power CSI-RS resource subset can be the first resource subset and / or the second resource subset described in the foregoing embodiments. The configuration information of the non-zero power CSI-RS resource subset includes a switching gap field, which indicates the effective time of the CSI-RS resource subset. The first time information in the first sub-information or the second time information in the second sub-information can be the handover interval field; or, the third sub-information can be the handover interval field. Other fields of the configuration information for this non-zero power CSI-RS resource subset are similar to those of the non-zero power CSI-RS resource subset and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0299] It is understood that the description information of the resource set, the description information of the resource subset, and the resource description information of the resource subset can be specific information structures or information elements, or they can be logical concepts without being limited to specific information structures or information elements.

[0300] The above description uses the example of a resource set including a first resource subset and a second resource subset to illustrate the specific implementation of the first information. It is understandable that the implementation of the first information is similar when the resource set includes more resource subsets, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0301] 803. At the first moment, the second communication device sends the first reference signal.

[0302] The first reference signal is the reference signal corresponding to the first resource subset. The reference signal corresponding to the first resource subset can be understood as the first reference signal being carried by the time-frequency resources corresponding to the first resource subset.

[0303] Step 803 can be specifically understood as the second communication device transmitting a corresponding first reference signal through the first resource subset, that is, the second communication device transmitting the first reference signal corresponding to the first resource subset on the time-frequency resources corresponding to the first resource subset. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the corresponding first reference signal through the first resource subset, that is, the first communication device receiving the first reference signal corresponding to the first resource subset on the time-frequency resources corresponding to the first resource subset. The first reference signal includes one or more reference signals.

[0304] 804. The first communication device takes effect on the first resource subset at the first moment.

[0305] Step 804 can be specifically understood as the first communication device receiving the first reference signal through the first resource subset at the first time.

[0306] The first communication device receives a first reference signal and performs measurements to obtain a first measurement result. The first measurement result can be understood as the measurement result of the first reference signal, or the measurement result of the first resource subset.

[0307] Optionally, the first communication device reports the first measurement result to the second communication device.

[0308] 805. At the second time, the second communication device sends a second reference signal.

[0309] The second reference signal is a reference signal corresponding to a second resource subset. The reference signal corresponding to the second resource subset can be understood as a second reference signal carried on the time-frequency resources corresponding to the second resource subset. The second communication device transmits the corresponding second reference signal based on the second resource subset, for example: the second communication device transmits the second reference signal corresponding to the second resource subset on the time-frequency resources corresponding to the second resource subset. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the second reference signal corresponding to the second resource subset on the time-frequency resources corresponding to the second resource subset. The second reference signal includes one or more reference signals.

[0310] 806. The first communication device takes effect at the second time for the second resource subset.

[0311] Step 806 is executed after step 805.

[0312] Step 806 can be specifically understood as the first communication device receiving the second reference signal through the second resource subset at a second time.

[0313] The first communication device receives the second reference signal and performs measurements to obtain a second measurement result. The second measurement result can be understood as the measurement result of the second reference signal, or the measurement result of the second resource subset.

[0314] Optionally, the first communication device reports the second measurement result to the second communication device.

[0315] In the above technical solution, the resource set is divided into multiple resource subsets, and different effective times are configured for different resource subsets. The first communication device can activate different resource subsets at different times to achieve dynamic switching of resources without resource set reconfiguration. Furthermore, receiving different reference signals based on different resources enables more flexible and comprehensive reference signal measurement. For example, in scenarios where the first communication device moves rapidly, by configuring different effective times for different resource subsets, the first communication device only needs to receive reference signals through the activated resource subset at any given time. Therefore, the first communication device can support resource sets including more resources. Resource sets including more resources allow the first communication device to attempt to receive reference signals over a larger spatial range, increasing the likelihood of successfully receiving the corresponding reference signal during rapid movement. In addition, since frequent resource set reconfiguration is unnecessary, the signaling overhead between the first and second communication devices can be effectively reduced. Moreover, for first communication devices with lower hardware capabilities, by activating different resource subsets at different times, reference signals can be received flexibly and comprehensively without activating large resource sets, still achieving high-precision channel measurement results and improving the accuracy of channel measurements.

[0316] In conjunction with the foregoing embodiments, another embodiment of the communication method proposed in this application will be described below.

[0317] Please refer to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the communication method in this application. The communication method proposed in this application may further include:

[0318] 1301. The first communication device sends a fourth message, which indicates the capabilities of the first communication device. Accordingly, the second communication device receives the fourth message.

[0319] Step 1301 is the same as step 801 mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0320] 1302. The second communication device sends second information to the first communication device. The second information is used to configure a resource set, which includes at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset. Accordingly, the first communication device receives the second information.

[0321] The first resource subset and the second resource subset contain all or part of different resources. The first resource subset and the second resource subset can be different resource subsets obtained by dividing the resources of the resource set according to a certain partitioning method (taking the resource set shown in Figure 9b as an example, the first resource subset can be resource subset 1, and the second resource subset can be resource subset 2 or resource subset 3); or the first resource subset can be one of a set of multiple resource subsets obtained by dividing the resources of the resource set according to the first partitioning method, and the second resource subset can be one of a set of multiple resource subsets obtained by dividing the resources of the resource set according to the second partitioning method (taking the resource set shown in Figure 9b as an example, the first resource subset can be resource subset 1, and the second resource subset can be a resource subset composed of resource 1, resource 3, and resource 5).

[0322] The second information used to configure the resource set can be understood as the second information used to configure the resource set and the resource subsets included in the resource set.

[0323] Optionally, the second information includes resource description information of the resource set. The resource description information of the resource set may include the sixth and seventh sub-information, and / or the twelfth and thirteenth sub-information. For details regarding the resource description information of the resource set, please refer to the introduction of resource description information in step 802; it will not be repeated here.

[0324] Optionally, the second information includes description information of the first resource subset and the second resource subset. For details of the description information, please refer to the description information of the resource subset in step 802, which will not be repeated here.

[0325] The second information may also include, but is not limited to, the following: repetition field, aperiodic triggering offset field, tracking reference signal information (trs-Info), and aperiodic triggering offset -r16.

[0326] The fields are: (aperiodicTriggeringOffset-r16), aperiodicTriggeringOffset-r17, aperiodicTriggeringOffsetL2-r17, or resourceType-r18.

[0327] 1303. The second communication device transmits a first reference signal, which is a reference signal corresponding to the first resource subset. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first reference signal.

[0328] 1304. The first communication device takes effect on the first resource subset.

[0329] Step 1304 can be understood as follows: the first communication device receives the first reference signal through the first resource subset. The first communication device measures the first reference signal to obtain the measurement result of the first resource subset. The measurement result of the first resource subset can also be replaced by the measurement result of the first reference signal. Then, the first communication device sends the measurement result of the first resource subset to the second communication device.

[0330] Optionally, the measurement results of the first resource subset include fourth information, which indicates the first resource subset.

[0331] Optionally, the fourth information includes identification information of resources in the first resource subset. This identification information may be, for example, a Channel State Information Resource Index (CRI). Accordingly, the second communication device determines, based on the resource's identification, that the resource subset to which the resource belongs is the first resource subset.

[0332] Optionally, the fourth information includes the identification information of the first resource subset.

[0333] The second communication device receives the measurement results of the first resource subset and determines that the next effective resource subset is the second resource subset based on the fact that the first resource subset is currently in effect and the measurement results.

[0334] In one possible implementation, based on the resources of a first resource subset, other resources near the resources of the resource set are determined from among the multiple resources included in the resource set. For example, "nearby" here means adjacent or close in a first dimension, and / or adjacent or close in a second dimension. For instance, adjacent or close in the time domain and / or frequency domain. Then, a second resource subset is determined based on these other resources, and the second resource subset includes these other resources.

[0335] Optionally, when there are multiple resource subsets near the first resource subset in the resource set, the resource subset with the largest average RSRP among these multiple resource subsets can be selected as the second resource subset.

[0336] In another possible implementation, preset conditions are determined based on the measurement results of the first resource subset. Then, all resource subsets included in the resource set are filtered according to these preset conditions to determine the second resource subset. For example, the preset condition could be that the resource subset with the largest average RSRP is selected as the second resource subset.

[0337] 1305. The second communication device sends a third message to the first communication device, indicating that the next effective resource subset is the second resource subset. Accordingly, the first communication device receives the third message.

[0338] After step 1304, step 1305 is executed. The third information includes description information of the second resource subset.

[0339] 1306. The second communication device sends a second reference signal, which is a reference signal corresponding to the second resource subset.

[0340] 1307. The first communication device activates the second resource subset based on the third information.

[0341] Step 1307 can be understood as follows: the first communication device receives the second reference signal through the second resource subset. The first communication device measures the second reference signal to obtain the measurement result of the second resource subset. The measurement result of the second resource subset can also be replaced by the measurement result of the second reference signal. Then, the first communication device sends the measurement result of the second resource subset to the second communication device.

[0342] In the above technical solution, the resource set is divided into multiple resource subsets. After measuring the first resource subset in the resource set, the first communication device reports the measurement results of the first resource subset. Based on the measurement results of the first resource subset, the second communication device explicitly notifies the first communication device that the next effective resource subset is the second resource subset, enabling the first communication device to switch to the second resource subset to receive and measure the second reference signal. This allows for dynamic switching of resources without resource set reconfiguration, and enables more flexible and comprehensive reference signal measurement based on receiving different reference signals from different resources. Furthermore, switching subsequent resources based on the measurement results of resource subsets makes the switched resources more suitable for the first communication device to receive reference signals, improving the accuracy of channel measurement. For example, in scenarios where the first communication device moves rapidly, by explicitly indicating the next effective resource subset, the first communication device can switch resource subsets during movement to successfully receive the corresponding reference signal through the appropriate resource subset. In addition, since frequent resource set reconfiguration is not required, the signaling overhead between the first and second communication devices can be effectively reduced. In addition, for the first communication device with lower hardware capabilities, high-precision channel measurement results can still be obtained by explicitly indicating the effective subset of resources, thus improving the accuracy of channel measurement.

[0343] Next, the communication device involved in the embodiments of this application will be described. This communication device can be used in at least one of the first communication device or the second communication device in the foregoing embodiments.

[0344] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. Referring to Figure 14, the communication device 1400 includes a transceiver module 1401 and a processing module 1402.

[0345] The communication device 1400 includes a first communication device or components (e.g., a chip or chip system), modules, or units within the first communication device. Alternatively, the communication device 1400 includes a second communication device or components (e.g., a chip or chip system), modules, or units within the second communication device.

[0346] The communication device 1400 can be used to perform all or part of the steps performed by the first communication device in the embodiments shown in FIG8 to FIG13. For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the embodiments shown in FIG8 to FIG13.

[0347] The communication device 1400 can be used to perform all or part of the steps performed by the second communication device in the embodiments shown in FIG8 to FIG13. For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the embodiments shown in FIG8 to FIG13.

[0348] The processing module 1402 is used for data processing. The transceiver module 1401 is used to implement the corresponding communication functions.

[0349] Optionally, the transceiver module 1401 may include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to perform the sending operation in the above method embodiments. The receiving module is used to perform the receiving operation in the above method embodiments.

[0350] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may include a transmitting module but not a receiving module. Alternatively, the communication device 1400 may include a receiving module but not a transmitting module. Specifically, it depends on whether the above-described scheme performed by the communication device 1400 includes both transmitting and receiving actions.

[0351] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further include a storage module, which can be used to store at least one of the instructions or data. The processing module 1402 can read at least one of the instructions or data in the storage module so that the communication device 1400 can implement the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0352] The communication device 1400 can be used to perform the actions performed by the first communication device in the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13. The processing module 1402 is used to perform processing-related operations on the first communication device side in the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13. The transceiver module 1401 is used to perform receiving or transmitting-related operations on the first communication device side in the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13.

[0353] The communication device 1400 can be used to perform the actions performed by the second communication device in the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13. The processing module 1402 is used to perform processing-related operations on the second communication device side in the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13. The transceiver module 1401 is used to perform receiving or transmitting-related operations on the second communication device side in the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13.

[0354] For example, the communication device 1400 is used to execute the following scheme.

[0355] In one example, when the communication device 1400 is applied to a first communication device, the communication device 1400 includes:

[0356] The transceiver module 1401 is used to receive first information, the first information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset being related to a first time, the second resource subset being related to a second time, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to receive reference signals;

[0357] The transceiver module 1401 is also configured to activate the first resource subset at the first time based on the first information;

[0358] The transceiver module 1401 is also configured to activate the second resource subset at the second time based on the first information.

[0359] The implementation methods and descriptions of the first information, the first resource subset, the second resource subset, the first time, and the second time can be found in the corresponding contents of the embodiments in Figures 8 to 13, and will not be repeated here.

[0360] In another example, communication device 1400 is applied to a second communication device, the communication device 1400 comprising:

[0361] The transceiver module 1401 is used to send first information, the first information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset being related to a first time, the second resource subset being related to a second time, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to send reference signals;

[0362] The transceiver module 1401 is also configured to send a first reference signal through the first resource subset at the first time.

[0363] The transceiver module 1401 is also configured to send a second reference signal through the second resource subset at the second time, the second time being different from the first time.

[0364] In another example, when communication device 1400 is applied to a first communication device, the communication device 1400 includes:

[0365] The transceiver module 1401 is used to receive second information, the second information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to receive reference signals;

[0366] The transceiver module 1401 is further configured to receive a first reference signal through the first resource subset based on the second information;

[0367] The transceiver module 1401 is also used to report the measurement results of the first reference signal;

[0368] The transceiver module 1401 is also configured to receive third information, wherein the third information indicates that the next effective resource subset is the second resource subset, and the third information is determined based on the measurement result;

[0369] The transceiver module 1401 is further configured to receive a second reference signal through the second resource subset based on the second information and the third information.

[0370] In another example, communication device 1400 is applied to a second communication device, the communication device 1400 comprising:

[0371] The transceiver module 1401 is used to send second information, the second information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to send reference signals;

[0372] The transceiver module 1401 is also used to send a first reference signal through the first resource subset;

[0373] The transceiver module 1401 is also used to receive the measurement result of the first reference signal;

[0374] The transceiver module 1401 is further configured to send third information based on the measurement result, the third information indicating that the next effective resource subset is the second resource subset.

[0375] For other implementation methods, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0376] It should be understood that the specific procedures for each module to perform the above-mentioned corresponding processes have been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0377] The processing module 1402 in the above embodiments can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuitry. The transceiver module 1401 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuitry. The transceiver module 1401 can also be referred to as a communication module or communication interface. The storage module can be implemented by at least one memory.

[0378] In one example, the transceiver module 1401 is used to perform the aforementioned steps 801 to 806.

[0379] This application also provides another communication device. FIG15 is another structural schematic diagram of the communication device according to an embodiment of this application. Referring to FIG15, the communication device 1500 includes a processor 1501.

[0380] Optionally, the communication device 1500 may also include a memory 1502.

[0381] Optionally, the communication device 1500 may also include a transceiver 1503.

[0382] In one possible implementation, the processor 1501, memory 1502, and transceiver 1503 are connected via a bus, and the memory 1502 stores computer instructions.

[0383] In one possible implementation, when the communication device 1500 includes a second communication device, or a CU or DU included in the second communication device, or a component (e.g., a chip or chip system), module, or unit within the second communication device, the communication device 1500 can be used to perform the steps performed by the second communication device in the above method embodiments, as can be referred to the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0384] Optionally, the processing module 1402 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 may be the processor 1501, and the transceiver module 1401 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 may be the transceiver 1503. Alternatively, the processing module 1402 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 may be the processor 1501, and the transceiver module 1401 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 may be the transceiver 1503.

[0385] The aforementioned memory 1502 can be built into the communication device 1500 or externally placed in the communication device 1500. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0386] This application also provides a communication device. Figure 16 is another structural schematic diagram of the communication device according to an embodiment of this application. Referring to Figure 16, the communication device 1600 can be the first communication device in the above method embodiments, or it can be a component (e.g., a chip or chip system), module, or unit of the first communication device in the above method embodiments. The communication device 1600 can be used to perform the steps performed by the first communication device in the above method embodiments, and can be referred to the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0387] Processors are mainly used to process data or signals, control communication devices, execute corresponding software programs, and process the data of software programs.

[0388] The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The radio frequency (RF) circuit is mainly used for the conversion between baseband signals and RF signals, as well as the processing of RF signals.

[0389] Antennas are primarily used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves.

[0390] Optionally, the communication device 1600 may also include input / output devices, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., primarily used to receive user input data and output data to the user.

[0391] When data needs to be transmitted, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit then processes the baseband signal and transmits it outward as electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts it into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor then converts the baseband signal back into data and processes it.

[0392] For ease of explanation, only one memory and processor are shown in Figure 16. In actual communication device products, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. Memory may also be called storage medium or storage device, etc. Memory may be set up independently of the processor or integrated with the processor; this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0393] In this embodiment, the antenna and radio frequency circuit with transceiver functions can be regarded as the transceiver unit of the communication device, and the processor with processing functions can be regarded as the processing unit of the communication device. As shown in FIG16, the communication device 1600 includes a transceiver unit 1610 and a processing unit 1620. The transceiver unit can also be called a transceiver, transceiver machine, transceiver device, etc. The processing unit can also be called a processor, processing board, processing module, processing device, etc.

[0394] Optionally, the devices in transceiver unit 1610 used for receiving functions can be considered as receiving units, and the devices in transceiver unit 1610 used for transmitting functions can be considered as transmitting units. That is, transceiver unit 1610 includes both receiving and transmitting units. A transceiver unit can also be called a transceiver, transceiver circuit, etc. A receiving unit can also be called a receiver, receiver, or receiving circuit, etc. A transmitting unit can also be called a transmitter, transmitter, or transmitting circuit, etc.

[0395] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1610 is used to perform the transmission and reception operations of at least one of the devices in the first communication device in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 1620 is used to perform other operations on at least one of the devices in the first communication device in the above method embodiment besides the transmission and reception operations.

[0396] When the communication device is a chip or chip system, the chip or chip system includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor, microprocessor, integrated circuit, or logic circuit integrated on the chip or chip system. In the above method embodiments, the sending operation corresponds to the output of the input / output circuit, and the receiving operation corresponds to the input of the input / output circuit.

[0397] This application also provides another communication system, which includes a second communication device and a first communication device. The second communication device is used to perform all or part of the steps performed by the second communication device in the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13, and the first communication device is used to perform all or part of the steps performed by the first communication device in the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13.

[0398] This application also provides a computer program product including computer instructions, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods of the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13 above.

[0399] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium including computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods of the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13 above.

[0400] This application also provides a chip device, including a processor, for calling a computer program or computer instructions stored in a memory, so that the processor executes the method of the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13 above.

[0401] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0402] Optionally, the chip device may also include a memory in which computer programs or computer instructions are stored.

[0403] The processor mentioned above can be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of a program for controlling the methods of the embodiments shown in Figures 8 to 13. The memory mentioned above can be read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices capable of storing static information and instructions, such as random access memory (RAM).

[0404] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units through some interfaces, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0405] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0406] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0407] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the part of the technical solution that makes an essential contribution, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a second communication device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0408] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit it. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a first communication device, and the method includes: Receive first information, the first information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset being related to a first time, the second resource subset being related to a second time, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to receive reference signals; Based on the first information, the first resource subset takes effect at the first time. Based on the first information, the second resource subset takes effect at the second time.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first resource subset that takes effect at the first time includes: Receive the first reference signal through the first resource subset at the first time; The second resource subset takes effect at the second time, including: The second reference signal is received through the second resource subset at the second time.

3. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a second communication device, and the method includes: Send first information, the first information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset being related to a first time, the second resource subset being related to a second time, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to send reference signals; Send a first reference signal through the first resource subset at the first time; A second reference signal is sent through the second resource subset at the second time, which is different from the first time.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first information includes a first sub-information and a second sub-information, wherein, The first sub-information is used to indicate the association between the first resource subset and the first time. The second sub-information is used to indicate the association between the second resource subset and the second time.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first sub-information includes: first time information and description information of the first resource subset, wherein the first time information indicates the first time and the description information of the first resource subset is used to indicate the first resource subset; The second sub-information includes: second time information and description information of the second resource subset, wherein the second time information indicates the second time and the description information of the second resource subset is used to indicate the second resource subset.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first information also includes third sub-information, which is used to indicate the first time and the second time; Alternatively, the third sub-information is used to indicate a first time interval, wherein the first time and the second time are determined based on the first time interval and the initial transmission time of the reference signal transmitted by the second communication device; Alternatively, the third sub-information is used to indicate the first transmission count, and the first time and the second time are determined based on the first transmission count and the transmission period of the reference signal transmitted by the second communication device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first information includes description information of the first resource subset and description information of the second resource subset, wherein the description information of the first resource subset is used to indicate the first resource subset, and the description information of the second resource subset is used to indicate the second resource subset.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The first information includes information indicating the number of resources included in the resource set in the first dimension and information indicating the number of resources included in the resource set in the second dimension.

9. The method according to claim 5 or 7, characterized in that, The description information of the first resource subset includes: information indicating the number of resources included in the first resource subset in the first dimension and information indicating the number of resources included in the first resource subset in the second dimension; The description information of the second resource subset includes: information indicating the number of resources included in the second resource subset in the first dimension and information indicating the number of resources included in the second resource subset in the second dimension.

10. The method according to claim 5 or 7, characterized in that, The description information of the first resource subset includes: the identification information of the resources in the first resource subset; The description information of the second resource subset includes: the identification information of the resources in the second resource subset.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, The first information also includes information indicating the number of resource subsets included in the resource set in the first dimension and information indicating the number of resource subsets included in the resource set in the second dimension.

12. A communication method, comprising: The method is applied to a first communication device, and the method includes: Receive second information, the second information being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to receive reference signals; Based on the second information, a first reference signal is received through the first resource subset; Report the measurement results of the first reference signal; Receive third information, the third information indicating that the next effective resource subset is the second resource subset, the third information being determined based on the measurement result; Based on the second information and the third information, a second reference signal is received through the second resource subset.

13. A method of communication, comprising: The method is applied to a second communication device, and the method includes: Send a second message, the second message being used to configure a resource set, the resource set including at least a first resource subset and a second resource subset, the first resource subset including one or more resources, the second resource subset including one or more resources, the resources being used to send reference signals; Send a first reference signal through the first resource subset; Receive the measurement result of the first reference signal; Based on the measurement results, a third message is sent, indicating that the next effective resource subset is the second resource subset.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, After sending the third information, the method further includes: The second reference signal is sent through the second resource subset.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12-14, characterized in that, The measurement results of the first resource subset include: fourth information, which indicates the first resource subset.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The fourth information includes the identification information of the resources in the first resource subset; Alternatively, the fourth information may include the identification information of the first resource subset.

17. A communications device, characterized by Includes modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A communications device, characterized by Includes a processor, which implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16 via logic circuits or executing code instructions.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16 to be implemented.

20. A computer program product, characterised in that, Includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16 to be implemented.

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