CN113315555A

CN113315555A - Beam forming method and related device

Info

Publication number: CN113315555A
Application number: CN202010123879.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈思雁; 汪利标; 郑忠亮
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-02-27
Filing date: 2020-02-27
Publication date: 2021-08-27
Anticipated expiration: 2040-02-27
Also published as: WO2021169831A1; CN113315555B

Abstract

In the method, a network device determines a first beam based on a first signal and a second signal, and determines a second beam based on a third signal. Wherein, the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal is a fixed value, and the third signal and the first signal and the second signal are from an array which is not identical. In addition, the first beam is used for transmitting a cell reference signal CRS to each terminal device in the first cell, and the second beam is used for transmitting traffic data to at least one terminal device in the first cell. Therefore, not only the radiation direction and coverage of the first beam will be fixed, but also the coverage and radiation direction of the first beam will not be affected when the phase value of the third signal determining the second beam is changed. Therefore, the quality of CRS received by the terminal equipment is not influenced, and the influence on the quality of service data received by the terminal equipment is reduced.

Description

Beam forming method and related device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a beamforming method and a related apparatus.

Background

Beamforming (BF) refers to adjusting parameters of the basic elements of a phased array such that signals at certain angles obtain constructive interference and signals at other angles obtain destructive interference. In a communication system, the transmitted energy can be concentrated in a specific direction through beamforming, so that the transmitted power in a certain direction is increased, and the transmitted power in other directions is close to zero, thereby achieving the purposes of expanding the communication distance in a desired direction and avoiding interference to other directions. The beamforming includes Digital Beamforming (DBF), Analog Beamforming (ABF), and Hybrid Beamforming (HBF). The hybrid beamforming HBF comprises a digital beamforming DBF of a baseband part and an analog beamforming HBF of an antenna feed part.

In an HBF architecture in an LTE scenario, a network device maps a weight of a beam for transmitting a Cell Reference Signal (CRS) and a weight of a beam for transmitting service data to the same array, so as to form a beam for transmitting the cell reference signal CRS and a beam for transmitting the service data, respectively. Since the beam for transmitting the cell reference signal CRS and the beam for transmitting the service data share the same array, when the analog weight of the beam for transmitting the service data is changed, the radiation direction of the beam for transmitting the cell reference signal CRS is changed under the influence of the beam for transmitting the service data. At this time, since the radiation direction of the beam transmitting the cell reference signal CRS is changed, and some of the cell reference signals CRS received by the terminal device will be weakened, the accuracy of the channel sounding reference signal SRS fed back to the network device by the terminal device will be affected, and the quality of the service data received by the terminal device will be affected.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a beam forming method and a related device, which are used for reducing the influence of beam scanning on the quality of cell reference signals CRSs received by terminal equipment, and further reducing the influence on the quality of service data received by the terminal equipment.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a beamforming method, in which a network device determines a first beam based on a first signal and a second signal, where a difference between a phase value of the first signal and a phase value of the second signal is a fixed value, the first signal and the second signal are from different arrays in an array antenna connected to the network device, and the first beam is used for transmitting a cell reference signal CRS to each terminal device in a first cell. Then, the network device determines a second beam based on a third signal, the third signal and the first signal and the second signal are from different same arrays, and the third signal is determined by a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) returned by at least one terminal device in the first cell. Then, the network device transmits service data to the at least one terminal device in the first cell by using the second beam.

In the embodiment of the present application, since the first beam is determined by the first signal and the second signal, and the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal is a fixed value, the radiation direction and the coverage area of the first beam will be fixed. Again, the signals defining the first beam and the signals defining the second beam are from not all the same array. Therefore, when the phase value of the third signal determining the second beam is changed, the coverage and radiation direction of the first beam are not affected. Therefore, the quality of the cell reference signal CRS received by the terminal equipment is not influenced, and the influence on the quality of service data received by the terminal equipment is further reduced.

According to the first aspect, in a first implementation manner of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the first signal is from at least one column of first elements in the array antenna, the second signal is from at least one column of second elements in the array antenna, the first element and the second element share the same port channel, and at least one column of third elements is further included between one column of the first elements and one column of the second elements, and the third elements are used for transmitting the third signal.

In this embodiment, it is proposed that the network device maps the first signal, the second signal, and the third signal to partial arrays in the array antenna, respectively. The first signal is mapped to at least one row of the first array, and the second signal is mapped to at least one row of the second array. In addition, the first array for transmitting the first signal and the second array for transmitting the second signal are distributed at intervals, and it can be understood that the network device maps the first signal and the second signal to the two arrays distributed at intervals respectively. And, it is further proposed that a third array for transmitting a third signal is also present between the first array and the second array, that is, the network device maps the third signal to the third array and radiates the third signal through the third array. In such an embodiment, since the array transmitting the first signal (i.e. the first array), the array transmitting the second signal (i.e. the second array) and the array transmitting the third signal (i.e. the third array) are adjacently distributed but do not coincide, it can also be understood that different signals are transmitted using different arrays. Therefore, the influence of the third signal on the first signal and the second signal can be reduced, and the influence of the second beam determined by the third signal on the first beam determined by the first signal and the second signal can be reduced.

According to the first implementation manner of the first aspect, in the second implementation manner of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the first array is further configured to transmit the third signal, and the second array is further configured to transmit the third signal.

In this embodiment, it is proposed that the first array may transmit a third signal in addition to the first signal, and the second array may transmit a third signal in addition to the second signal. In such an embodiment, due to the addition of the array for transmitting the third signal, the radiation power of the third signal may be increased, and therefore, the quality of the service data transmitted by the network device using the second beam determined by the third signal may be improved.

According to the first implementation manner of the first aspect or the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a third implementation manner of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the array antenna includes at least six columns of arrays, and at least one column of the first arrays or at least one column of the second arrays is further included between one column of the first arrays and one column of the second arrays.

In this embodiment, it is proposed that each row of the first array and each row of the second array intersect with each other, which is beneficial for the first signal and the second signal to determine a better first beam. In addition, the third array is also beneficial to enable the third signal to determine a better second beam.

According to any one of the first implementation manner of the first aspect to the third implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fourth implementation manner of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the array antenna includes eight columns of arrays, a first column of arrays and a fourth column of arrays of the eight columns of arrays are the first array, a fifth column of arrays and an eighth column of arrays of the eight columns of arrays are the second array, and a second column of arrays, a third column of arrays, a sixth column of arrays and a seventh column of arrays of the eight columns of arrays are the third array.

According to any one of the first implementation manner of the first aspect to the third implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fifth implementation manner of the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application, the array antenna includes six columns of arrays, a first array and a third array of the six columns of arrays are the first array, a fourth column of arrays and a sixth column of arrays are the second array, and a second column of arrays and a fifth column of arrays are the third array.

According to a fourth implementation form of the first aspect, in a sixth implementation form of the first aspect as an embodiment of the present application, the third signal comprises a fourth signal from the sixth array element and a fifth signal from the seventh array element; when the fourth signal and/or the fifth signal changes, the network device adjusts a phase value of a first signal in the first array and a phase value of a second signal in the fourth array, and an absolute value of a difference between the adjusted phase value of the first signal and the adjusted phase value of the second signal is the fixed value.

In this embodiment, it is proposed that when the array antenna is composed of eight arrays of antennas, and when signals in the sixth array and the seventh array are changed, the network device adjusts the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal to ensure that the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal remains unchanged.

According to the first aspect, or any one of the first implementation manner of the first aspect to the sixth implementation manner of the first aspect, in a seventh implementation manner of the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application, before the network device determines the second beam based on the third signal, the method further includes: the network equipment receives a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) returned by at least one terminal equipment in the first cell; the network equipment determines channel information between the network equipment and the terminal equipment based on the SRS; the network device determines the third signal based on the channel information.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device that includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. Wherein the memory is configured to store a phase value of the first signal, a phase value of the second signal, and a phase value of the third signal, and program code. A processor for executing the program code to determine a first beam based on the first signal and the second signal and to determine a second beam based on the third signal. The processor is further configured to control the transceiver to transmit the service data to the at least one terminal device in the first cell using the second beam.

In this embodiment, the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal is a fixed value. The first signal and the second signal are from different columns of antennas in an array antenna connected to the network device. The first beam is used for transmitting a cell reference signal, CRS, to each terminal device in the first cell. Furthermore, the third signal is from a non-identical array as the first signal and the second signal. The third signal is determined by a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) returned by at least one terminal device in the first cell.

In this embodiment, since the first beam is determined by the first signal and the second signal, and the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal is a fixed value, the radiation direction and the coverage area of the first beam will be fixed. Again, the signals defining the first beam and the signals defining the second beam are from not all the same array. Therefore, when the phase value of the third signal determining the second beam is changed, the coverage and radiation direction of the first beam are not affected. Therefore, the quality of the cell reference signal CRS received by the terminal equipment is not influenced, and the influence on the quality of service data received by the terminal equipment is further reduced.

According to the second aspect, in a first implementation manner of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the first signal is from at least one column of first elements in the array antenna, the second signal is from at least one column of second elements in the array antenna, the first element and the second element share the same port channel, and at least one column of third elements is further included between one column of the first elements and one column of the second elements, and the third elements are used for transmitting the third signal.

In this embodiment, it is proposed that the communication device maps the first signal, the second signal and the third signal to partial antennas in the array antenna, respectively. The first signal is mapped to at least one row of the first array, and the second signal is mapped to at least one row of the second array. In addition, the first array for transmitting the first signal and the second array for transmitting the second signal are distributed at intervals, and it can be understood that the communication apparatus maps the first signal and the second signal to the two arrays distributed at intervals, respectively. It is further proposed that a third array for transmitting a third signal is also present between the first array and the second array, i.e. the communication device maps the third signal to the third array and radiates it through the third array. In such an embodiment, since the array transmitting the first signal (i.e. the first array), the array transmitting the second signal (i.e. the second array) and the array transmitting the third signal (i.e. the third array) are adjacently distributed but do not coincide, it can also be understood that different signals are transmitted using different arrays. Therefore, the influence of the third signal on the first signal and the second signal can be reduced, and the influence of the second beam determined by the third signal on the first beam determined by the first signal and the second signal can be reduced.

According to a first implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second implementation manner of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the first array is further configured to transmit the third signal, and the second array is further configured to transmit the third signal.

In this embodiment, it is proposed that the first array may transmit a third signal in addition to the first signal, and the second array may transmit a third signal in addition to the second signal. In such an embodiment, due to the addition of the array for transmitting the third signal, the radiation power of the third signal can be increased, and therefore, the quality of the second beam transmission service data determined by the communication device by using the third signal can be improved.

In a third implementation form of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, according to the first implementation form of the second aspect or the second implementation form of the second aspect, the array antenna includes at least six columns of arrays, and at least one column of the first arrays or at least one column of the second arrays is further included between one column of the first arrays and one column of the second arrays.

In a fourth implementation form of the second aspect of the present application, the array antenna includes eight columns of arrays, a first column of arrays and a fourth column of arrays of the eight columns of arrays are the first array, a fifth column of arrays and an eighth column of arrays of the eight columns of arrays are the second array, and a second column of arrays, a third column of arrays, a sixth column of arrays and a seventh column of arrays of the eight columns of arrays are the third array.

In a fifth implementation form of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, according to any one of the first implementation form of the second aspect to the third implementation form of the second aspect, the array antenna includes six arrays, a first array and a third array of the six arrays are the first array, a fourth array and a sixth array are the second array, and a second array and a fifth array are the third array.

According to a fourth implementation form of the second aspect, the third signal comprises a fourth signal from the sixth column array and a fifth signal from the seventh column array. When the fourth signal and/or the fifth signal changes, the processor is further configured to adjust a phase value of a first signal in the first array and a phase value of a second signal in the fourth array, and an absolute value of a difference between the adjusted phase value of the first signal and the adjusted phase value of the second signal is the fixed value.

In this embodiment, when the array antenna is composed of eight arrays of antennas, and when signals in the sixth array and the seventh array are changed, the communication device adjusts the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal to ensure that the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal remains unchanged.

According to the second aspect or any one of the first implementation manner of the second aspect to the sixth implementation manner of the second aspect, in a seventh implementation manner of the second aspect of the embodiment of the present application, the transceiver is further configured to receive a channel sounding reference signal, SRS, returned by at least one terminal device in the first cell. The processor is further configured to determine channel information between the network device and the terminal device based on the channel sounding reference signal, SRS, and determine the third signal based on the channel information.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be the network device in the foregoing embodiment, and may also be a chip in the network device. The communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. When the communication apparatus is a network device, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be a transceiver; the network device may further include a storage module, which may be a memory; the storage module is configured to store instructions, and the processing module executes the instructions stored by the storage module to cause the network device to perform the method of the first aspect or any implementation manner of the first aspect. When the communication device is a chip in a network device, for example, the communication device is a chip in the network device, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be an input/output interface, a pin, a circuit, or the like; the processing module executes instructions stored by a storage module, which may be a storage module (e.g., register, cache, etc.) within the chip or a storage module (e.g., read-only memory, random access memory, etc.) external to the chip within the access network device, to cause the network device to perform the method of the first aspect or any of the embodiments of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be an integrated circuit chip. The integrated circuit chip includes a processor. The processor is coupled with a memory for storing a program or instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the communication device to perform the method as in the first aspect or any of the embodiments of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product comprising instructions, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any of the embodiments of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any one of the embodiments of the first aspect.

According to the technical scheme, the embodiment of the application has the following advantages:

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is apparent that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario of a beamforming method in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an internal structure of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a beamforming method in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is another flowchart of a beamforming method in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5A is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an array antenna in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5B is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an array antenna in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5C is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an array antenna in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5D is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an array antenna in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5E is a schematic diagram of another internal structure of the network device in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a communication device in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the communication device in the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments.

The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like in the description and in the claims of the present application and in the drawings described above, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It will be appreciated that the data so used may be interchanged under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements explicitly listed, but may include other steps or elements not explicitly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

For convenience of understanding, a system architecture and an application scenario to which the beamforming method proposed in the embodiment of the present application is adapted are introduced below:

the scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is mainly based on a Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. As shown in fig. 1, in LTE, a network device may transmit a cell reference signal CRS to a terminal device in a certain cell under the network device. After the terminal device receives the cell reference signal CRS, the terminal device may obtain the network device currently providing service for the terminal device and the serving cell of the network device. Then, the terminal device may decide whether to camp on the current cell or switch to another cell based on the aforementioned cell reference signal CRS. If the terminal device determines to reside in the current cell, the terminal device will periodically send a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) to the network device. The network device may determine the location of the terminal device based on the SRS, and send service data to the terminal device. In this process, beams for transmitting service data from the network device are scanned among the plurality of terminal devices. Since the beam for transmitting the service data and the beam for transmitting the cell reference signal CRS share the same array, the cell reference signal CRS transmitted by the network device will be affected. In the embodiment of the present application, a hybrid beamforming scheme is adopted, and the aforementioned influence can be greatly reduced by adjusting the weight and the mapping manner in the network device.

The network device in this embodiment may be a Radio Access Network (RAN) device. In particular, the RAN device may be a base station or an access point, or may be a device in an access network that communicates over the air interface with terminal devices via one or more cells. The network device may be configured to interconvert received air frames and internet protocol packets as a router between the terminal device and the rest of the access network, which may include an IP network. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the air interface. For example, the network device includes an evolved base station (evolved node B, NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB) in a long term evolution, LTE, system or an evolved LTE system (LTE-a).

In addition, the network device may be any one of the above devices or a chip in the device, and is not limited herein. The network device, whether as a device or as a chip, may be manufactured, sold, or otherwise used as a stand-alone product. In this embodiment and the following embodiments, only the network device is taken as an example for description.

Furthermore, terminal devices in embodiments of the present application include devices that provide voice and/or data connectivity to a user, for example, may include handheld devices with wireless connectivity capabilities or processing devices connected to wireless modems. The terminal device may communicate with a core network via a Radio Access Network (RAN), exchanging voice and/or data with the RAN. The terminal device may include a User Equipment (UE), a wireless terminal device, a mobile terminal device, a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a subscriber station (subscriber station), a mobile station (mobile), a remote station (remote station), an Access Point (AP), a remote terminal device (remote terminal), an access terminal device (access terminal), a user terminal device (user terminal), a user agent (user agent), or a user equipment (user device). For example, a mobile phone, a computer with a mobile terminal device, a portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included or vehicle-mounted mobile device, a smart wearable device, and the like may be included.

The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be any one of the above devices or a chip in the device, and is not limited herein. The terminal device, whether as a device or as a chip, may be manufactured, sold or used as a stand-alone product. In this embodiment and the following embodiments, only the terminal device is taken as an example for description.

For understanding, the following first describes a hybrid beamforming process, which is specifically shown in fig. 2:

in this embodiment, the hybrid beamforming process mainly includes a digital beamforming stage and an analog beamforming stage. Wherein, the digital beam forming stage relates to a baseband processing module and a plurality of radio frequency links; the hybrid beamforming stage involves multiple phase shifters and an array antenna. The baseband processing module is configured to process a baseband signal, for example, determine digital weights of beams, and map different digital weights into different radio frequency links. The radio frequency link is used for transmitting radio frequency signals. The phase shifter is configured to adjust a phase value in each rf signal, which can also be understood as adjusting an analog weight of a beam. The array antenna refers to an antenna array, also called an antenna array or an antenna array, formed by feeding and spatially arranging two or more single antennas working at the same frequency according to certain requirements. The antenna radiating elements that make up an array antenna are called elements, also called elements. Each element of the array antenna may be connected to one or more phase shifters, which are adjusted to adjust the phase value of the rf signal transmitted to the element. In the embodiment of the application, the beam used for transmitting the cell reference signal CRS is ensured not to change along with the scanning of the service beam by mapping the radio frequency signal to part of the array in the array antenna and adjusting part of the phase shifters.

The main flow of the beamforming method in this embodiment will be described based on the foregoing scenario, as shown in fig. 3, the steps executed by the network device in the beamforming method include the following steps:

301. the network device determines a first beam based on the first signal and the second signal.

Wherein, the first signal and the second signal are both radio frequency signals. The first signal is from one array element in an array antenna connected to the network device and the second signal is from another array element in the array antenna. The difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal is a fixed value. Alternatively, the phase value of the first signal at different time instants may be different, and the phase value of the second signal at different time instants may be different. It should be understood that the weights of the beams include phase values and amplitude values. In the embodiment of the present application, the adjustment of the phase value corresponding to the digital weight in the digital beamforming stage and the phase value corresponding to the analog weight in the analog beamforming stage is mainly involved.

Furthermore, the first beam is used for transmitting a cell reference signal, CRS, to each terminal device in the first cell. The first cell is a cell under the network device, and one or more terminal devices reside in the first cell. After the network device transmits a cell reference signal CRS to each terminal device in the first cell by using the first beam, the terminal device in the first cell may know which cell the terminal device resides in based on the cell reference signal CRS. And, the terminal device may further determine whether to camp on the first cell or whether handover to other cells is required.

302. The network device determines a second beam based on the third signal.

Wherein the third signal is also a radio frequency signal. The third signal is from one or more columns of elements of the array antenna, and the third signal is from an array that is not identical to the first signal and the second signal. The third signal is determined by a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) returned by at least one terminal device in the first cell. The second beam will be directed towards the at least one terminal device, which may also be understood as being located within the coverage area of the second beam. For example, when the third signal is determined by a channel sounding reference signal SRS returned by the first terminal device in the first cell, the second beam will be directed to the location of the first terminal device. It can also be understood that the first terminal device is located within the coverage area of the aforementioned second beam. For another example, when the third signal is determined by the SRS returned by the first terminal device and the second terminal device in the first cell, the second beam will be directed to the area formed by the location of the first terminal device and the location of the second terminal device. At this time, it can also be understood that the first terminal device and the second terminal device are both located within the coverage of the second beam.

Optionally, the network device may determine a plurality of second beams simultaneously. The terminal devices within the coverage area of the different second beams are different. When the network device determines a plurality of second beams, determining that the third signal of each second beam is based on the terminal device in the first cell.

In addition, the SRS is periodically transmitted by the terminal device because the network device receives the SRS. Thus, the third signal will also vary over time. Variations in the third signal may result in variations in the coverage of the second beam. A phenomenon can then be exhibited in which this second beam is scanned over time between different terminal devices, which is also referred to as beam scanning.

303. And the network equipment adopts the second beam to send service data to at least one terminal equipment in the first cell.

In this embodiment, after determining the second beam, the network device may send service data to each terminal device within the coverage of the second beam. Optionally, when the network device determines multiple second beams, the network device may use different second beams to send service data to different terminal devices in the first cell. Since the second beam is determined on the basis of one or more terminal devices in the first cell. Therefore, the one or more second beams can more accurately cover the terminal device in the first cell, which is beneficial to improving the quality of the terminal device in the first cell receiving the service data sent by the network device.

In this embodiment, since the first beam is determined by the first signal and the second signal, and the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal is a fixed value, the radiation direction and the coverage area of the first beam will be fixed. Since the signal for determining the first beam and the signal for determining the second beam are from different arrays, when the phase value of the third signal for determining the second beam is changed, the coverage area and the radiation direction of the first beam are not affected, and therefore, the quality of the cell reference signal CRS received by the terminal device is not affected, and the effect on the quality of the service data received by the terminal device is reduced.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, the beamforming method will be further described, and as shown in fig. 4, the steps performed by the network device and the terminal device in the beamforming method include the following steps:

401. the network device determines a first beam based on the first signal and the second signal.

Wherein the first signal and the second signal are from different columns of antennas in an array antenna connected to the network device. The difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal is a fixed value.

Specifically, the first signal is from at least one row of first array in the array antenna. It will also be appreciated that a first element in the array antenna is arranged to transmit a first signal as described above, i.e. the first signal is radiated from the first element via the radio frequency link through the phase shifter and amplifier. The second signal is from at least one column of second array elements in the array antenna. Similarly, it will also be appreciated that a second element in the array antenna is arranged to transmit the aforementioned second signal, i.e. the second signal is radiated from the second element via the radio frequency link through the phase shifter and amplifier. Optionally, the first array and the second array share the same port channel.

In addition, at least one row of third arrays is also included between one row of the first arrays and one row of the second arrays. Taking fig. 5A as an example, one or more columns of third arrays are disposed between one column of first arrays 501 and one column of second arrays 502. It should be understood that the arrangement of the array elements in the array antenna reflects the mapping relationship of the radio frequency signals on the array antenna. That is, there is no difference in the structure of the individual elements in the array antenna, except for the radio frequency signals mapped to the individual elements. Or that the radio frequency signals emitted from different arrays are different. The mapping relationship may be stored in a Virtual Antenna Mapping (VAM) table, and the VAM table is stored in the network device. The VAM table records the weight of a signal and an array in the array antenna corresponding to the signal. For example, if the VAM table records the weight values of the first signal (including the phase values and amplitude values of the first signal) and the first array element in the array antenna, the network device may map the first signal to the first array element based on the VAM table, that is, the first signal is radiated from the first array element by using the phase values and amplitude values of the first signal.

In addition, the third array is used for transmitting a third signal. Optionally, the third array does not transmit the first signal, and the third array does not transmit the second signal. The third signal is determined by the network device based on a channel sounding reference signal SRS returned by the terminal device. Please refer to the related descriptions in step 404 and step 405, which are not described herein again.

Optionally, at least one row of the first array or at least one row of the second array is further included between one row of the first array and one row of the second array. Taking fig. 5B as an example, there are one or more first arrays (e.g., first array 512) and one or more third arrays between first array 511 and second array 513. Between the first and

second arrays

512, 514, there are one or more second arrays (e.g., second array 513) and one or more third arrays.

In this embodiment, the array antenna includes at least six arrays of elements. The at least six arrays of elements include at least one array of first elements, at least one array of second elements, and at least one array of third elements. The arrangement mode of the array elements in the array antenna can ensure that the coverage area of the first wave beam is not influenced by the second wave beam, and simultaneously can ensure that the second wave beam is narrower and has smaller side lobes. In practical applications, too wide a waveform is likely to cause interference to a neighboring cell (e.g., a cell neighboring to the aforementioned first cell) under the network device, too narrow a waveform is likely to cause coverage shrinkage, or cause the signal of the first cell to be too weak and degrade the quality of the received cell reference signal CRS.

In an alternative embodiment, the array antenna comprises eight columns of elements. As shown in fig. 5C, the first array 521 and the fourth array 524 of the eight arrays are the first array, the fifth array 525 and the eighth array 528 of the eight arrays are the second array, and the second array 522, the third array 523, the sixth array 526 and the seventh array 527 of the eight arrays are the third array. In this embodiment, the second beam can be shaped more easily to a wave width of about 65 ° while ensuring that the coverage of the first beam is not affected by the second beam.

In another alternative embodiment, the array antenna includes six columns of elements. As shown in fig. 5D, the first array 531 and the third array 533 in the six arrays are the first array, the fourth array 534 and the sixth array 536 are the second array, and the second array 532 and the fifth array 535 are the third array.

Optionally, in practical application, the array antenna may also adopt twelve columns, sixteen columns, or more columns to meet the requirements of practical application scenarios, and is not limited herein. In addition, there are multiple arrays in each column of arrays, and only 3 arrays are shown in fig. 5A to 5D for convenience of description. In practical applications, a column of elements in the array antenna may include 6, 8, or 16 elements, which is not limited herein.

Optionally, the first array is further configured to transmit the third signal, and the second array is further configured to transmit the third signal. For example, the first column of elements 521 in fig. 5C is also used to transmit a third signal (i.e., the first column of elements 521 is used to transmit the first signal and the third signal), and the fifth column of elements 525 is also used to transmit a third signal (i.e., the fifth column of elements 525 is used to transmit the second signal and the third signal). As another example, the fourth column array 524 in fig. 5C is also used to transmit a third signal (i.e., the fourth column array 524 is used to transmit the first signal and the third signal), and the eighth column array 528 is also used to transmit a third signal (i.e., the eighth column array 528 is used to transmit the second signal and the third signal). As another example, the first column array 531 in fig. 5D is also used to transmit a third signal (i.e., the first column array 531 is used to transmit the first signal and the third signal), and the fourth column array 534 is also used to transmit a third signal (i.e., the fourth column array 534 is used to transmit the second signal and the third signal).

In this embodiment, based on the mapping manner of the rf signal, the rf signal shaped by the digital beam is adjusted by the phase shifter to have a phase value, and then is mapped to the array antenna, and is radiated by each array in the array antenna to obtain the first beam. The first beam is used for transmitting a cell reference signal, CRS.

402. And the network equipment transmits a cell reference signal CRS to the terminal equipment by adopting the first wave beam.

In this embodiment, after the network device determines the first beam, the network device will transmit a cell reference signal CRS to each terminal device in the first cell by using the first beam. The cell reference signal CRS may indicate to the terminal device the network device serving the terminal device and which cell under the network device the terminal device is. Then, the terminal device can know to which network device the channel sounding reference signal SRS is returned. Optionally, the cell reference signal CRS is used for downlink channel quality measurement, downlink channel estimation, and for reference for terminal equipment to select cell camping or cell handover.

403. And the terminal equipment transmits a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) to the network equipment.

After receiving the cell reference signal CRS, the terminal device may determine the signal strength of the first cell based on the cell reference signal CRS, so as to determine whether to camp on the current cell or switch to another cell. If the terminal device determines to reside in the first cell, the terminal device may send a channel sounding reference signal SRS to the network device, where the channel sounding reference signal SRS is used to estimate an uplink channel, and provide a basis for the network device to determine downlink beamforming.

404. The network device determines a third signal based on the channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) returned by the terminal device.

Specifically, the network device determines channel information between the network device and the terminal device based on the channel sounding reference signal SRS. Wherein the channel information may reflect a channel state or a channel quality between the network device and the terminal device. Optionally, the channel information is an equivalent channel matrix, channel quality information, or channel state information.

Specifically, the network device estimates uplink channel quality of different frequency bands by using the channel sounding reference signal SRS, and performs uplink channel recovery processing. The network device then determines the aforementioned channel information in conjunction with TD-LTE channel reciprocity. The channel reciprocity of TD-LTE refers to that uplink and downlink of TD-LTE system are transmitted in different time slots of the same frequency resource, so that in a relatively short time (coherence time of channel propagation), it can be considered that channel fading experienced by transmission signals of uplink and downlink are the same.

The network device then determines the third signal based on the channel information. It is also understood that the network device determines the phase value of the rf signal based on the channel information and the mapping relationship between the rf signal and each array in the array antenna.

Specifically, the network device calculates an analog weight and a digital weight with optimal service performance, that is, the analog weight and the digital weight of the third signal, according to the channel information through a scheduling algorithm. The phase value in the analog weight can be adjusted by the phase shifter connected with each array.

It should be understood that the mapping relationship between the aforementioned third signal and each array in the array antenna is recorded in a mapping table in the network device. Therefore, it can also be understood that the network device determines the mapping table of the third signal based on the aforementioned channel sounding reference signal SRS.

405. The network device determines a second beam based on the third signal.

When a third signal in the network device reaches the phase shifter through the radio frequency link, the phase shifter adjusts the third signal according to a phase value corresponding to the analog weight, so that the third signal forms the second beam according to the digital weight and the analog weight when radiating out of the third array. Wherein the third signal is from a non-identical array as the first signal and the second signal. Reference is specifically made to the description related to fig. 5A to 5D, which is not repeated herein.

406. And the network equipment adopts the second beam to send service data to the terminal equipment.

In this embodiment, step 406 is similar to step 303, and is not described herein again.

In this embodiment, steps 403 to 406 may be executed circularly for a plurality of times. At this time, the network device will receive the channel sounding reference signal SRS from the terminal device at different time instants. Then, the network device may determine a different third signal based on the SRS received at different time instants, and determine a second beam for transmitting traffic data at different time instants. At this time, if the phase value of the third signal changes, the network device will also adjust the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal, so that the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal is the fixed value. And further, the radiation direction and the coverage range of the first beam can be ensured not to be changed.

For ease of understanding, the foregoing description will be given by way of example in fig. 5C. The first array 521 is used to transmit a first signal, and the fifth array 525 is used to transmit a second signal. The difference between the phase value of the first signal transmitted by the first array element 521 and the phase value of the second signal transmitted by the fifth array element 525 is a fixed value. Similarly, a fourth column array element 524 is used to transmit the first signal and an eighth column array element 528 is used to transmit the second signal. The difference between the phase value of the first signal transmitted by the fourth array element 524 and the phase value of the second signal transmitted by the eighth array element 528 is a fixed value. The remaining third array is used to transmit a third signal.

Further, the third signal comprises a fourth signal from the sixth column array element 526 and a fifth signal from the seventh column array element 527. When the fourth signal and/or the fifth signal changes, the network device adjusts the phase value of the first signal in the first array element 521 and the phase value of the second signal in the fourth array element 524, so that the absolute value of the difference between the adjusted phase value of the first signal and the adjusted phase value of the second signal is the fixed value.

For example, if at a first time, the phase value of each array in the array antenna is shown in table 1:

TABLE 1

Number of the array in FIG. 5C	521	522	523	524	525	526	527	528
									Phase value	0°	0°	0°	0°	180°	180°	180°	180°

The connection relationship between each column of array and the phase shifter and the rf link is shown in fig. 5E. The first array 521 and the fifth array 525 share the same rf link. The phase shifter 5211 connected to the first array 521 is used to adjust the phase value corresponding to the analog weight of the first signal, and the phase shifter 5251 connected to the fifth array 525 is used to adjust the phase value corresponding to the analog weight of the second signal. The rest of the arrays are analogized, and the description is omitted here.

The phase values in table 1 are phase values corresponding to the simulation weights. At the first time, when the four rf signals processed by the baseband processing module pass through the phase shifter, the phase shifters 5211 (corresponding to the first array 521), 5221 (corresponding to the second array 522), 5231 (corresponding to the third array 523) and 5241 (corresponding to the fourth array 524) are all set to have a phase value of 0 °, and the phase shifters 5251 (corresponding to the fifth array 525), 5261 (corresponding to the sixth array 526), 5271 (corresponding to the seventh array 527) and 5281 (corresponding to the eighth array 528) are all set to have a phase value of 180 °. Wherein, the phase value of the first signal in the first array element 521 is different from the phase value of the second signal in the fifth array element 525 by 180 °. Since the phase value of the fourth signal of the sixth array element 526 is 180 deg., the phase value of the fifth signal of the seventh array element 527 is 180 deg..

At the second time, when the phase value of the fourth signal of the sixth array 526 is 0 ° (i.e., the phase shifter 5261 is adjusted to 0 °), and the phase value of the fifth signal of the seventh array 527 is 0 ° (i.e., the phase shifter 5271 is adjusted to 0 °), the network device may adjust the phase value of the first signal in the first array 521 from 0 ° to 180 °, and at the same time, adjust the phase value of the first signal in the fifth array 525 from 180 ° to 0 °. Specifically, the network device may adjust the phase value corresponding to the digital weight of the first signal to 180 °, and simultaneously adjust the phase shifter 5251 corresponding to the fifth array 525 to 0 °. At this time, the difference between the phase value of the first signal in the first array 521 and the phase value of the second signal in the fifth array 525 is still 180 °.

It should be understood that the foregoing examples only list 0 ° or 180 °, and in practical applications, the foregoing phase shifters may be adjusted to other values, and are not limited herein. It should also be understood that only one phase shifter is connected to one array in the example of fig. 5E. However, in practical applications, one array may be connected to a plurality of phase shifters to expand the adjustment range of the phase shifters, and the specific implementation is not limited herein.

In this embodiment, since the signals for determining the first beam and the signals for determining the second beam are from different arrays, when the phase value of the third signal for determining the second beam is changed, the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal remains unchanged, and therefore, the radiation direction and the coverage area of the first beam are fixed. Therefore, the quality of the cell reference signal CRS received by the terminal equipment is not influenced, and the influence on the quality of service data received by the terminal equipment is further reduced.

The beamforming method proposed in the embodiment of the present application is introduced above, and a specific structure of a network device involved in executing the beamforming method will be described below.

As shown in fig. 6, the present embodiment provides a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 60. The network device in the method embodiments corresponding to fig. 3 and fig. 4 may be based on the structure of the communication apparatus 60 shown in fig. 6 in this embodiment.

The communication device 60 comprises at least one processor 601, at least one memory 602, at least one transceiver 603, at least one network interface 605, and one or more antennas 604. The processor 601, the memory 602, the transceiver 603 and the network interface 605 are connected through a connection device, and the antenna 604 is connected to the transceiver 603. The connection device may include various interfaces, transmission lines, buses, and the like, which is not limited in this embodiment.

The processor 601 may be a baseband processor or a Central Processing Unit (CPU), and the baseband processor and the CPU may be integrated together or separated. The processor 601 may be used to implement various functions for the communication device 60, such as processing communication protocols and communication data, or controlling the entire communication device 60, executing software programs, processing data of software programs; or for assisting in performing calculation processing tasks, such as calculating a phase value of the first signal, a phase value of the second signal, or a phase value of the third signal; or the processor 601 may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described above.

In this embodiment, the memory 602 is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The memory 602 may be separate and coupled to the processor 601. Alternatively, the memory 602 may be integrated with the processor 601, for example, within one or more chips. The memory 602 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and is controlled by the processor 601 to execute, and various executed computer program codes can also be regarded as drivers of the processor 601. It should be understood that fig. 6 in this embodiment shows only one memory and one processor. However, in practical applications, the communication device 60 may have multiple processors or multiple memories, and is not limited herein. The memory 602 may also be referred to as a storage medium, a storage device, or the like. The memory 602 may be a memory element on the same chip as the processor, that is, an on-chip memory element, or a separate memory element, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the transceiver 603 may be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the communication device 60 and other network devices, and the transceiver 603 may be connected to the antenna 604. The transceiver 603 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 604 may receive a radio frequency signal, and the receiver Rx of the transceiver 603 is configured to receive the radio frequency signal from the antennas 604, convert the radio frequency signal into a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal, and provide the digital baseband signal or the digital intermediate frequency signal to the processor 601, so that the processor 601 performs further processing on the digital baseband signal or the digital intermediate frequency signal, such as demodulation processing and decoding processing. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 603 is also used for receiving a modulated digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal from the processor 601, converting the modulated digital baseband signal or the digital intermediate frequency signal into a radio frequency signal, and transmitting the radio frequency signal through the one or more antennas 604. Specifically, the receiver Rx may selectively perform one or more stages of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the rf signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal, and the sequence of the down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion is adjustable. The transmitter Tx may selectively perform one or more stages of up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion processes on the modulated digital baseband signal or the modulated digital intermediate frequency signal to obtain the rf signal, where the sequence of the up-mixing and the digital-to-analog conversion processes is adjustable. The aforementioned digital baseband signal and digital intermediate frequency signal may be collectively referred to as a digital signal.

It should be understood that the aforementioned transceiver 603 may also be referred to as a transceiving unit, transceiver, transceiving means, or the like. Optionally, a device for implementing a receiving function in the transceiver unit may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device for implementing a sending function in the transceiver unit may be regarded as a sending unit, that is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a sending unit, the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, or the like, and the sending unit may be referred to as a transmitter, an output port, a sending circuit, or the like.

It should be further understood that the aforementioned antenna 604 refers to a device that converts energy in the form of a high-frequency current or a waveguide into an electromagnetic wave and emits it in a predetermined direction or reduces the electromagnetic wave from a certain direction into a high-frequency current. The antenna 604 is primarily referred to as an array antenna, which may also be referred to as an antenna array or antenna array. The antenna radiation elements constituting the array antenna are referred to as elements and also as elements. The array antenna comprises a plurality of arrays. Specifically, the arrangement of the elements in the array antenna may refer to the related descriptions in fig. 5A to 5D, and will not be described herein again.

In addition, the network interface 605 is used to connect the communication device 60 to other communication devices via a communication link. In particular, the network interface 605 may include a network interface between the communication device 60 and a core network element, such as an S1 interface; the network interface 605 may also include a network interface between the communication device 60 and other network devices (e.g., other network devices or core network elements), such as an X2 or Xn interface.

As shown in fig. 7, the present embodiment provides a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 70. The network device in the method embodiments corresponding to fig. 3 and fig. 4 may be based on the structure of the communication apparatus 70 shown in fig. 7 in this embodiment.

The communication device 70 includes a processing unit 701, a communication unit 702, and a storage unit 703. The communication device 70 may be a chip of the network device in the method embodiments corresponding to fig. 3 and fig. 4.

The processing unit 701 may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor is mainly used for processing a communication protocol and communication data, and the central processor is mainly used for controlling the whole communication device 70, executing a software program, and processing data of the software program. The aforementioned processing unit 701 may integrate functions of a baseband processor and a central processing unit, and those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may also be independent processors, and are interconnected through technologies such as a bus.

The aforementioned communication unit 702 may be an input or output interface, a pin or a circuit, or the like.

The storage unit 703 may be a register, a cache, or a Random Access Memory (RAM), and the storage unit 703 may be integrated with the processing unit 701; the memory unit 703 may be a Read Only Memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, and the memory unit 703 may be separate from the processing unit 701.

In one possible design, the processing unit 701 may include instructions that are executable on a processor to cause the communication apparatus 70 to perform the method performed by the network device in the above-described embodiment.

In yet another possible design, the storage unit 703 has instructions stored thereon, and the instructions are executable on the processing unit 701, so that the communication device 70 performs the method performed by the receiving end in the above embodiment. Optionally, the storage unit 703 may further store data. Optionally, the processing unit 701 may also store instructions and/or data therein.

In particular, the processing unit 701 is configured to determine a first beam based on a first signal and a second signal. Wherein, the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal is a fixed value, the first signal and the second signal are from different array antennas in an array antenna connected to the network device, and the first beam is used for transmitting a cell reference signal CRS to each terminal device in a first cell. The storage unit 703 is configured to store the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal.

The processing unit 701 is further configured to determine a second beam based on a third signal, where the third signal is from a non-identical array as the first signal and the second signal, and the third signal is determined by a channel sounding reference signal, SRS, returned by at least one terminal device in the first cell. The storage unit 703 is further configured to store the phase value of the third signal.

The communication unit 702 is configured to transmit service data to the at least one terminal device in the first cell by using the second beam.

The rest may refer to the steps executed by the network device in the above embodiment, and details are not described here.

In implementation, the steps of the above method may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor. To avoid repetition, it is not described in detail here.

It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the same reference numerals in different drawings may be regarded as the same thing, and explanations of the same reference numerals among the aforementioned drawings may be mutually referred to, except that they are specifically explained in the aforementioned embodiments.

It should be understood that the reference herein to first, second, third, fourth, and various numerical designations is merely for ease of description and distinction and is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" herein is merely one type of association relationship that describes an associated object, meaning that three relationships may exist, e.g., a and/or B may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

It should also be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not imply an order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic, and should not limit the implementation processes of the embodiments of the present application.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and not to limit the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for beamforming, comprising:

the network equipment determines a first beam based on a first signal and a second signal, wherein the difference between the phase value of the first signal and the phase value of the second signal is a fixed value, the first signal and the second signal are from different array antennas in an array antenna connected with the network equipment, and the first beam is used for transmitting a cell reference signal CRS to each terminal equipment in a first cell;

the network device determines a second beam based on a third signal, wherein the third signal is from a non-identical array with the first signal and the second signal, and the third signal is determined by a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) returned by at least one terminal device in the first cell;

and the network equipment adopts the second beam to send service data to the at least one terminal equipment in the first cell.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first signal is from at least one column of a first array in the array antenna, the second signal is from at least one column of a second array in the array antenna, the first array and the second array share a same port channel, and at least one column of a third array is further included between one column of the first array and one column of the second array, and the third array is used for transmitting the third signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first array is further configured to transmit the third signal, and wherein the second array is further configured to transmit the third signal.

4. A method as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the array antenna comprises at least six columns of elements, and further comprises at least one column of the first elements or at least one column of the second elements between one column of the first elements and one column of the second elements.

5. The method of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the array antenna comprises eight columns of arrays, a first column of arrays and a fourth column of arrays of the eight columns of arrays are the first arrays, a fifth column of arrays and an eighth column of arrays of the eight columns of arrays are the second arrays, and a second column of arrays, a third column of arrays, a sixth column of arrays and a seventh column of arrays of the eight columns of arrays are the third arrays.

6. The method of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the array antenna comprises six columns of arrays, a first array and a third array of the six columns of arrays being the first array, a fourth array and a sixth array being the second array, and a second array and a fifth array being the third array.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the third signal comprises a fourth signal from the sixth column array and a fifth signal from the seventh column array;

when the fourth signal and/or the fifth signal is changed, the network device adjusts a phase value of a first signal in the first array and a phase value of a second signal in the fourth array, and an absolute value of a difference between the adjusted phase value of the first signal and the adjusted phase value of the second signal is the fixed value.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein before the network device determines the second beam based on the third signal, the method further comprises:

the network equipment receives a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) returned by at least one terminal equipment in the first cell;

the network equipment determines channel information between the network equipment and the terminal equipment based on the SRS;

the network device determines the third signal based on the channel information.

9. A communications apparatus, comprising:

a processor coupled with a memory, the memory for storing a program or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program or instructions, which when executed cause a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.

11. A computer program product comprising computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to carry out the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.

12. A chip, comprising: a processor coupled with a memory, the memory for storing a program or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause an apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 8.