Patent Description:
Beam-forming is a technology related to directional transmission of data, through which energy is concentrated in a useful direction to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of system, thereby increasing the coverage of the system.

Pilot information is information which is transmitted by a first communication node on a specified time-frequency resource and is known by both the first communication node and second communication node. According to the received pilot information, the second communication node estimates the information about a channel from the first communication node to the second communication node, calculates the quality of the channel, selects a beam which is found to be the best according to the quality of channel, feeds back one or more beams with better channel quality to the first communication node. The second communication node also can report channel quality to the first communication node, so that the first communication node has more information for reference while transmitting data.

In actual beam-forming implementation, the first communication node generally has a fixed location while the second communication node is randomly distributed around the first communication node, causing different distances to the first communication node from different second communication nodes; as the second communication nodes with different distances have different path losses, the measurement pilots of the second communication nodes are influenced by noise or interference to different extents, thus the reliability is different too. The existing technology generally transmits a beam with the same feature to each of the second communication nodes without distinguishing the second communication nodes, for example, the transmit power, the beam gain, the multiplexing manner for transmitting beams, and the number of beams are all the same, which causes the second communication node with low path loss to waste power resources, while the second communication node with high path loss can not get a reliable measurement pilot for lacking of sufficient power resources. On the other hand, the second communication nodes probably are not evenly distributed on a horizontal plane, for example, there are a great number of second communication nodes in an area, while there are a small number of second communication nodes in another area. As shown in <FIG>, in view of the vertical direction, the downward inclination angles corresponding to the same distance L are different, the farther the distance to the first communication node is, the smaller the downward inclination angle is, but the bigger the area of the formed ring is. In <FIG>, the vertical direction is divided into <NUM> regions, including A, B, C, D and E in sequence; the length of each region is L; obviously, the downward inclination angle of the region A is bigger than that of the region B. However, since the semi-diameter of the region A is smaller, the area of the region A is smaller. If the second communication nodes are distributed evenly, the number of second communication nodes in the region A is smaller. Likewise, the number of second communication nodes in the region E is greater than that in the region D. The existing technology also transmits a beam with the same feature to the second communication node in all the regions without distinguishing the second communication nodes, this causes the region with dense second communication nodes not to obtain sufficient power or space resources, while the region with fewer second communication nodes has abundant power or space resources. Here the space resource is acquired through the orientation of beam-forming in the airspace, the narrower the beam is, the more accurate the division of air space is.

Document <CIT> discloses a method for dynamically controlling the transmit power of transmission streams transmitted via multiple antennas. A transmit power level for multiple streams is determined based on a first reference channel. The difference of signal to interface ratios (SIRs) between two reference channels may represent a power offset. The power offset may be used to determine gain factors used to transmit data channels on the secondary stream with reference to the gain factor of the first reference channel. The power offset may be used to determine other parameters, such a serving grant or transport block sizes of channels carried on the secondary stream. The power offset may allow transmission parameters of channels on the secondary stream to be determined based on the transmit power level of the primary stream and on a gain factor for a reference channel transmitted via the primary stream. The method is provided for the uplink. The power of the first reference channel corresponding to the first transmission stream is controlled by a received feedback. The first and second reference channels are precoded by different sets of precoding weights.

Document <CIT> discloses a method for performing hierarchical beamforming in a wireless access system and a device therefor. Particularly, the method comprises: an initial step for allowing a base station to transmit a plurality of first beams, to which different steering vector are applied, to a terminal, through corresponding reference signals; and a repetition step for allowing the base station to transmit a plurality of second beams, to which different steering vectors are applied, to the terminal, through corresponding reference signals by considering feedback information that contains an index of one or more beams received from the terminal. The repetition step can be repeated up to a predetermined number of times. <CIT> discloses methods for determining a digital precoder, wherein different precoders are used for sending pilot signals on different subcarriers. Each precoder uses a respective transmission power which may include a boosted transmission power. Information about the power boost of each subcarrier is provided to the receiving user equipment for beam selection.

The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are described below in combination with accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments described below are only to describe and illustrate the present disclosure, but to limit the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, this embodiment provides a method for acquiring beam information, including:.

The first communication node generally refers to a fixed communication node, for example, a macro base station, a micro base station, a repeater, a relay device and a remote Radio Frequency (RF) Unit and other wireless access communication devices accessing wireless networks, which realizes the wireless access of the second communication and communication with the second communication node through the interaction with the second communication node. In this embodiment the method for acquiring beam information is described from the side of the second communication node. After the beam information is acquired, the method further includes returning the acquired beam information to the first communication node to enable the first communication node to perform beam-forming according to the returned beam information. The second communication node generally refers to a data card, a mobile phone, a notebook, a personal computer, a tablet computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (DPA) or Bluetooth and other various terminals.

In step S110, the second communication node may receive a plurality of pilot beams at the same time or at different times within a specified time range under the wireless coverage of the first communication node; the plurality of pilot beams can be classified into many types depending on whether the pilot beams are the same. In this embodiment, the second communication node can receive one or more pilot beams under the scanning of the pilot beam of the first communication node. The pilot bam refers to a beam which bears pilot information. The beam refers to a radio wave having a specific shape and having been subjected to beam-forming.

During specific implementation, the execution order of step S120 and step S110 might not be fixed. The configuration information includes the absolute value of at least one of followings: the beam transmit power, the beam maximum gain, the beam width and the number of transmitted beams of the pilot beams;
the information of a configuration difference includes at least one of followings: the difference in the beam transmit power, the difference in the beam maximum gain, the difference in the beam width, the difference in the number of transmitted beams between any two types of the pilot beams.

The difference in the power of transmitting two types of pilot beams to one same second communication node can be learned from the configuration information or information of a configuration difference. The configuration information directly repretransmitteds the power, radiation direction, radiation angle and/or transmission times and other information of each type of pilot beams. The information of a configuration difference repretransmitteds the difference between at least two types of pilot beams, for example, the difference value in transmit power; during specific implementation, the differences between any two types of the pilot beams transmitted by one same communication node are preferably the same, so as to reduce the formation and transmission of information of a configuration difference and reduce the interaction of signalling.

During specific implementation, the configuration information or information of a configuration difference can be acquired by at least three methods as follows:.

The step S130 can calculate the boosting value of each type of the pilot beams according to the configuration information of any two types of the pilot beams or information of a configuration difference there-between. In particular, if the transmit power of pilot beam <NUM> is N1 watt, the transmit power of pilot beam <NUM> is N2 watt, it can be learned that the boosting value of the pilot beam <NUM> relative to the pilot beam <NUM> is N2-N1 watt. After receiving pilot beams, the second communication node can calculate the channel quality information corresponding to each type of the pilot beams according to the existing methods. When comparing the channel quality information of two types of pilot beams, it is needed to subtract the boosting value from the channel quality information of the pilot beam <NUM>, and then compare the difference with the channel quality information of the pilot beam <NUM> to obtain a more accurate comparison result.

In the method described in this embodiment, according to different distribution locations of the second communication node in the first communication node, multiple pilot beams with different configurations are transmitted, so as to improve the power of the first communication node and the effective utilization of space resources. During specific implementation, after the second communication node selects one or more optimal pilot beams, the corresponding beam can be used to serve as the beam for communication. The second communication node can return the information such as index of the pilot beam so that the first communication node can determine the beam used to communicate with the second communication node in the following process.

Embodiment <NUM>, according to the claimed invention:
As shown in <FIG>, this embodiment provides a method for transmitting a pilot beam, including:.

In this embodiment the method for transmitting a pilot beam is described from the side of the first communication node. Relative to the existing technology, the pilot beams are classified into many types; many pilot beams are configured differently, moreover, the configuration information of each type of the pilot beams or the information of a configuration difference between any two types of the pilot beams is transmitted, so that the second communication node selects a beam and determines the beam information according to the configuration information or information of a configuration difference. During the specific implementation, the first communication node may receive the beam information fed back by the second communication node to perform beam-forming.

During implementation, step S220 may be or may be not executed at the same time, which depends on the transmitting manner of the configuration information or information of a configuration difference. Two transmitting manners are provided below:.

Specifically, the configuration information includes the absolute value of at least one of followings: the beam transmit power, the beam maximum gain, the beam width and the number of transmitted beams of the pilot beams;
the information of a configuration difference includes at least one of followings: the difference in the beam transmit power, the difference in the beam maximum gain, the difference in the beam width, the difference in the number of transmitted beams between any two types of the pilot beams.

In addition, in this embodiment, configuring at least two types of pilot beams specifically includes:.

Preferably, each pilot group includes P pilot subgroups, where P is a positive integer;.

When pilot beams are transmitted, one or more pilot beams can be selected respectively from different pilot subgroups of one same pilot group and then transmitted. One same pilot beam can be transmitted adopting Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), different pilot beams corresponding to different beam features can be transmitted adopting Code-Division Multiplexing (CDM) or Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM) at the same time. Here, the difference in beam features means the difference in transmit power, the difference in beam maximum gain and/or the difference in beam width.

As shown in <FIG>, this embodiment provides a method for transmitting a pilot beam, including:.

Compared with the existing pilot beam transmission method, the pilot beam transmission method provided in this embodiment transmits more than two different pilot beams, each of which corresponds to a fixed time-frequency resource, so that the receiving end can acquire the configuration information of the pilot beam according to a mapping relationship between a pilot beam and a time-frequency resource, thereby effectively reducing signalling overhead. The mapping relationship is negotiated in advance by the first communication node and the second communication node through signal interaction, or may be preset in advance by a network management communication node and notified to the first communication node or the second communication node. The first communication node is a node to transmit a pilot beam, and the second communication node is a node to receive the pilot beam. Any two types of the pilot beams are different in at least one of following aspects: the beam transmit power, the beam maximum gain, the beam width and the number of transmitted beams.

In addition, in this embodiment, configuring at least two types of pilot beams specifically includes:
configuring a pilot group, each pilot group includes N pilot beams, the N pilot beams including at least two types of pilot beams with different beam features, where N is an integer not smaller than <NUM>, the beam features including the transmit power, the beam maximum gain, the beam width and/or the number of beams of the pilot beams.

When pilot beams are transmitted, one or more pilot beams can be selected respectively from different pilot subgroups of one same pilot group and then transmitted. One same pilot beam can be transmitted adopting TDM, different pilot beams corresponding to different beam features can be transmitted at the same time adopting CDM or FDM. Here, the difference in beam feature means the difference in transmit power, the difference in beam maximum gain and/or the difference in beam width.

Embodiment <NUM>, according to the claimed invention: This embodiment provides a method for acquiring beam information, including:.

In this embodiment, the first communication node refers to a node to transmit a pilot beam, which in particular can refer to the description of the first communication node in Embodiment <NUM>; the second communication node refers to a communication node to receive the pilot beam and determine the beam information using the pilot beam, which generally is a mobile communication node and the structure of which in particular can refer to Embodiment <NUM>.

This embodiment is combined with Embodiment <NUM> and Embodiment <NUM>; the operation executed by the first communication node in this embodiment corresponds to any technical scheme described in the Embodiment <NUM>; the operation executed by the second communication node corresponds to any technical scheme described in Embodiment <NUM>. The method described in this embodiment can effectively optimize the power in the communication process and the utilization of space resources, and enhance the performance of wireless communication.

This embodiment provides a method for acquiring beam information, including:.

As shown in <FIG>, this embodiment provides a communication node, which is a second communication node, including:.

The specific physical structure of the first receiving unit <NUM> might be a receiving antenna, which is configured to receive at least one type of pilot beams.

The physical structure of the acquisition unit <NUM> also might be a receiving antenna, which is configured to receive at least one kind of configuration information or information of a configuration difference, or the acquisition unit <NUM> might be a processor, which is configured to extract configuration information or information of a configuration difference according to a corresponding relationship between a pilot beam and a time-frequency resource. The processor might be a single-chip computer, a central processing unit, a digital processor or a programmable array or has other structures.

Both of the first calculation unit <NUM> and the second calculation unit <NUM> may correspond to a calculator or a calculating circuit having a calculation function, which is configured to calculate the boosting value or channel quality information.

The specific structure of the first selection unit <NUM> might include a comparator or an integration circuit having a comparison function and a subtracter, and is configured to compare the channel quality information of the received pilot beams; the subtracter is configured to subtract the difference in boosting values between two pilot beams from the pilot beam with a higher boosting value.

The specific structure of the first determination unit <NUM> also might be a processor, which is configured to extract from the pilot beam the information such as the index of the pilot beam so as to determine beam information.

In this embodiment the communication node corresponds to the second communication node mentioned in Embodiment <NUM> to Embodiment <NUM>, that is, a mobile communication node or a terminal, which can be configured to implement any technical scheme described in Embodiment <NUM>.

Preferably, the configuration information includes the absolute value of at least one of followings: the beam transmit power, the beam maximum gain, the beam width and the number of transmitted beams of the pilot beams;
the information of a configuration difference includes at least one of followings: the difference in the beam transmit power, the difference in the beam maximum gain, the difference in the beam width, the difference in the number of transmitted beams between any two types of the pilot beams.

The acquisition unit <NUM> specifically is configured to: extract the configuration information or the information of a configuration difference from the received pilot beams; or, receive the configuration information or the information of a configuration difference from the control signalling transmitted by the first communication node; or, acquire the configuration information or the information of a configuration difference according to a mapping relationship stored in advance between a pilot beam and a time-frequency resource used to transmit the pilot beam.

As shown in <FIG>, this embodiment provides a communication node, which is a first communication node, including:.

The specific structure of the first configuration unit <NUM> might be a processor, which can configure different types of pilot beams by pre-coded matrix or by other processing.

The specific structure of the generation unit <NUM> also might be a processor, which can generate corresponding configuration information according to the configuration of pilot beams.

The specific structure of the second transmission unit <NUM> may correspond to a transmitting antenna or a transmitting antenna array.

The communication node mentioned in this embodiment refers to the first communication node, which provides a hardware structure to implement the method for transmitting a pilot beam described in Embodiment <NUM> and can be configured to implement any technical scheme described in Embodiment <NUM>.

The second transmission unit <NUM> is configured to: bear the configuration information or the information of a configuration difference in the pilot beams and transmit it together with the pilot beams; or, bear the configuration information or the information of a configuration difference on a control channel, which then transmits the configuration information or the information of a configuration difference.

The processor in any one of the above function unit all can be a single-chip computer, a central processing unit, a digital processor or a programmable array or have other structures.

The configuration information includes the absolute value of at least one of followings: the beam transmit power, the beam maximum gain, the beam width and the number of transmitted beams of the pilot beams; the information of a configuration difference includes at least one of followings: the difference in the beam transmit power, the difference in the beam maximum gain, the difference in the beam width, the difference in the number of transmitted beams between any two types of the pilot beams.

In addition, the first configuration unit <NUM> is configured to configure at least one pilot group, each pilot group includes N pilot beams, the N pilot beams including at least two types of pilot beams with different beam features, where N is an integer not smaller than <NUM>, the beam features including the transmit power, the beam maximum gain, the beam width and/or the number of beams of the pilot beams;
the generation unit <NUM> is configured to generate configuration information of each of the pilot beams or information of a configuration difference between any two types of the pilot beams according to the beam feature of each of the pilot beams. Each of the pilot groups includes P pilot subgroups, where P is a positive integer; the pilot beams in each pilot subgroup have the same beam features; the pilot beams in different pilot subgroups have different beam features.

The specific structure of the second configuration unit <NUM> might be a processor, which can configure different types of pilot beams by pre-coded matrix or other processing.

The specific structure of the second determination unit <NUM> also might be a processor and a storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores a mapping relationship between a pilot beam and a time-frequency resource; the processor reads the mapping relationship from the storage medium, specifying a subframe and/or a timeslot used to transmit the pilot beam in the a wireless frame.

The specific structure of the third transmission unit <NUM> may correspond to a transmitting antenna or a transmitting antenna array.

Preferably, the second configuration unit <NUM> is configured to configure a pilot group, each pilot group includes N pilot beams, the N pilot beams including at least two types of pilot beams with different beam features, where N is an integer not smaller than <NUM>, the beam features including the transmit power, the beam maximum gain, the beam width and/or the number of beams of the pilot beams, wherein each pilot group includes P pilot subgroups, where P is a positive integer; the pilot beams in each pilot subgroup have the same beam features; the pilot beams in different pilot subgroups have different beam features.

The communication node mentioned in this embodiment refer to the first communication node, which provides a hardware structure to implement the method for transmitting a pilot beam described in Embodiment <NUM> and can be configured to implement any technical scheme described in Embodiment <NUM>. The processor in any one of the above function unit all can be a single-chip computer, a central processing unit, a digital processor or a programmable array and other structures.

As shown in <FIG>, this embodiment provides a communication system, including:.

The specific structure of the first communication node can refer to Embodiment <NUM>; the structure of the second communication node can refer to Embodiment <NUM>. The communication system described in this embodiment provides a specific structure to implement the method for acquiring beam information described in Embodiment <NUM>, and can be configured to implement any technical scheme described in Embodiment <NUM>, so as to effectively improve the power of the existing communication system and/or utilization of space resources.

This embodiment provides a communication system, including:.

The present disclosure also provides a computer storage medium, which stores computer executable instructions that are configured to execute at least one or more of the technical schemes described in Embodiment <NUM> to Embodiment <NUM>, in particular, for example, to execute the method described in any one of <FIG>, <FIG> and/or <FIG>. The computer storage medium might be magnetic tape, compact disc, DVD, USB flash disk or mobile hard disk and other storage mediums. The computer storage medium preferably selects a non-instant storage medium.

Several specific application examples are provided below in combination with the technical scheme described in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this example, the first communication node is a base station; the second communication node is a mobile terminal; the base station is provided with Nt antennas or array subunits. The base station transmits a pilot signal in M measurement pilot beams using the antennas or array subunits. The terminal receives and measures channel information of the pilot signal in the M measurement pilot beams transmitted from the base station to the terminal, and calculates channel quality information corresponding to the M measurement pilot beams according to the channel information, selects Np pilots with best channel quality as a pilot group, where <NUM>≤ Np ≤ M, Np and M are integers. The base station configures multiple pre-coded matrixes, and the pre-coded matrixes can map Nt antennas or array subunits to Np ports to form beams in Np transmitting directions. The transmit power of the beams in Np transmitting directions might be the same or different. The base station divides the pilot group into N<NUM> subgroups; the number of pilots/ports in each subgroup is Ni, where N<NUM> and Ni, i=<NUM>,. , N<NUM> are integers greater than or equal to <NUM>, and <MAT>.

The base station maps a signal transmitted on the Nt antennas or array subunits to the jth port using the jth pre-coded matrix on the jth pilot in the pilot group, to form a beam in the jth direction, wherein the transmit power of the beam in the jth direction is Pj, j= <NUM>,. The beam transmit power in one same pilot subgroup is the same, while the beam transmit power in different pilot subgroups is different. The base station transmits pilot beams with different transmit power to a terminal through a pilot beam transmitter.

The base station transmits configuration information or information of a configuration difference to a terminal through a signalling configuration device. For example, a pilot in the first pilot group adopt normal beam transmit power, the information of a configuration difference of each pilot subgroup is a difference in beam transmit power between this pilot subgroup and the first pilot subgroup, so as to implement the transmission of the configuration information or the information of a configuration difference.

Or, the base station does not transmit configuration information or information of a configuration difference, the terminal and the base station agree on the beam transmit power of the jth pilot beam in advance; the base station transmits the jth pilot beam on the specified time-frequency resource, the terminal can learn the configuration information of the pilot beam according to the agreement when receiving the pilot beam.

After the terminal receives the jth pilot beam transmitted by the base station and acquires the configuration information or information of a configuration difference, the terminal calculates the boosting value Dj of transmit power of the pilot beam, calculates the channel quality information CQI'j. corresponding to the pilot beam according to the jth pilot beam, wherein the compared channel quality information in the beam direction corresponding to the jth pilot is CQIj = CQI'j -Dj. The terminal selects the beam with the maximum CQIj as the first-level beam. After the terminal selects the pilot beam, it acquires beam information of this pilot beam and feeds back the acquired beam information to the base station to perform beam-forming.

During specific implementation, the difference in configuration between different pilot beams refers to a difference in beam maximum gain, in beam width, in the number of the same type of pilot beams transmitted within one same period and/or the number of beam transmission times within a specified time.

In this example, supposing the first communication node is a base station and the second communication node is a mobile terminal; the base station is provided with Nt antennas or array subunits. The base station transmits a pilot signal in M measurement pilot beams. The terminal measures channel information of the pilot signal in the M measurement pilot beams transmitted from the base station to the terminal, and calculates the channel quality information corresponding to the M measurement pilot beams according to the channel information, selects Np pilots with best channel quality as a pilot group, where <NUM>≤ Np ≤ M, Np and M are integers. The base station configures multiple pre-coded matrixes, and the pre-coded matrixes can map Nt antennas or array subunits to Np ports to form beams in Np directions. The beam features in Np directions, that is, the beam maximum gain, might be the same or different. The base station divides the pilot group into N<NUM> subgroups; the number of pilots/ports in each subgroup is Ni, where N<NUM> and Ni, i=<NUM>,. , N<NUM> are integers greater than or equal to <NUM>, and <MAT>.

The base station maps a signal transmitted on the Nt antennas or array subunits to the jth port using the jth pre-coded matrix on the jth pilot in the pilot group, to form a beam in the jth direction, wherein the maximum gain of the beam in the jth direction is Gj, j= <NUM>,. The beam maximum gain in one same pilot subgroup is the same, while the beam maximum gains in different pilot subgroups are different. The base station transmits beams with different beam maximum gains to a terminal through a pilot beam transmitter. The beam maximum gains of different pilot subgroups are notified to the terminal through configuration information or information of a configuration difference.

The base station transmits signalling about a beam maximum gain relationship between pilots at different positions in the pilot group through a signalling configuration device. For example, the pilots in the first subgroup adopt normal beam maximum gain, the signalling in each pilot subgroup represents a difference in beam maximum gain between this pilot subgroup and the first pilot subgroup, or implicitly, both the base station and the terminal agree on the beam maximum gain used by the beam transmitted by the jth pilot.

The terminal receives, from the base station, the beam signal transmitted by the jth pilot and the configuration signalling of a beam maximum gain relationship. According to the difference in beam maximum gain between the pilot subgroup in which the jth pilot is located and the first pilot subgroup, or according to the index of the pilot subgroup in which the jth pilot is located, the terminal calculates the boosting value Dj of transmit power of the pilot beam, calculates the channel quality information CQI'j corresponding to the pilot beam according to the beam signal transmitted by the jth pilot, wherein the final channel quality information in the beam direction corresponding to the jth pilot is CQIj = CQI'j, -Dj. The terminal selects the beam with the maximum CQIj as the first-level beam.

In this example, supposing the first communication node is a base station and the second communication node is a mobile terminal; the base station is provided with Nt antennas or array subunits. The base station transmits a pilot signal in M measurement pilot beams. The terminal measures channel information of the pilot signal in the M measurement pilot beams transmitted from the base station to the terminal, and calculates the channel quality information corresponding to the M measurement pilot beams according to the channel information, selects Np pilots with best channel quality as a pilot group, where <NUM>≤ Np ≤ M, Np and M are integers. The base station configures multiple pre-coded matrixes, and the pre-coded matrixes can map Nt antennas or array subunits to Np ports to form beams in Np directions. The beam features in Np directions, that is, the beam width, might be the same or different. The base station divides the pilot group into N<NUM> subgroups; the number of pilots/ports in each subgroup is Ni, where N<NUM> and Ni, i=<NUM>,. , N<NUM> are integers greater than or equal to <NUM>, and <MAT>.

The base station maps a signal transmitted on the Nt antennas or array subunits to the jth port using the jth pre-coded matrix on the jth pilot in the pilot group, to form a beam in the jth direction, wherein the beam width in the jth direction is BWj, j=<NUM>,. The beam width in one same pilot subgroup is the same, while the beam widths in different pilot subgroups are different. The base station transmits beams with different beam widths to a terminal through a pilot beam transmitter. The beam widths of different pilot subgroups are notified to the terminal through configuration information or information of a configuration difference.

The base station transmits signalling about a beam width relationship between pilots at different positions in the pilot group through a signalling configuration device. For example, the pilots in the first subgroup adopt normal beam width, the signalling in each pilot subgroup represents a difference in beam width between this pilot subgroup and the first pilot subgroup, or implicitly, both the base station and the terminal agree on the beam width used by the beam transmitted by the jth pilot.

The terminal receives, from the base station, the beam signal transmitted by the jth pilot and the configuration signalling of a beam width relationship. The terminal calculates the real beam width of the pilot according to the difference in beam width between the pilot subgroup in which the jth pilot is located and the first pilot subgroup and according to the beam width of the first pilot subgroup, or, the terminal calculates the real beam width of the pilot according to the index of the pilot subgroup in which the jth pilot is located; then the terminal calculates the boosting value Dj of this beam relative to the normal transmit power according to the real width, calculates the channel quality information CQI'j corresponding to the beam according to the beam signal transmitted by the jth pilot, wherein the final channel quality information in the beam direction corresponding to the jth pilot is CQj = CQI'j -Dj. The terminal selects the beam with the maximum CQIj as the first-level beam.

In this example, supposing the first communication node is a base station and the second communication node is a mobile terminal; the base station is provided with Nt antennas or array subunits. The base station transmits a pilot signal in M measurement pilot beams. The terminal measures channel information of the pilot signal in the M measurement pilot beams transmitted from the base station to the terminal, and calculates channel quality information corresponding to the M measurement pilot beams according to the channel information, selects Np pilots with best channel quality as a pilot group, where <NUM>≤ Np ≤ M , Np and M are integers. The base station configures multiple pre-coded matrixes, and the pre-coded matrixes can map Nt antennas or array subunits to Np ports to form beams in Np directions. The beam features in Np directions, that is, the number of beams transmitted at the same time, might be the same or different. The base station divides the pilot group into N<NUM> subgroups; the number of pilots/ports in each subgroup is Ni, where N<NUM> and Ni, i=<NUM>,. , N<NUM> are integers greater than or equal to <NUM>, and <MAT>.

The base station maps a signal transmitted on the Nt antennas or array subunits to the jth port using the jth pre-coded matrix on the jth pilot in the pilot group, to form a beam in the jth direction, j=<NUM>,. The beam in the jth direction might be transmitted at the same time as beams in directions at other pilot positions in the pilot subgroup, so that multiple beams can be transmitted at the same time, wherein the pilots for transmitting multiple beams may adopt frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) or Code-division multiplexing (CDM), while the pilots for transmitting one beam adopts Time-division multiplexing (TDM). The number of beams in one same pilot subgroup is the same, while the numbers of beams in different pilot subgroups are different. The base station transmits beams with different beam amounts to a terminal through a pilot beam transmitter.

The base station transmits signalling about the beam number relationship between pilots at different positions in the pilot group through a signalling configuration device. For example, the pilots in the first subgroup adopt the manner that each pilot transmits only one beam at the same time, while the signalling in each pilot subgroup represents a difference in the number of beams between this pilot subgroup and the first pilot subgroup, or implicitly, both the base station and the terminal agree on the number of beams used by the beam transmitted by the jth pilot subgroup.

The terminal receives, from the base station, the beam signal transmitted by the jth pilot and the configuration signalling of a beam number relationship. The terminal calculates the real beam number of the pilot according to the difference in beam number between the pilot subgroup in which the jth pilot is located and the first pilot subgroup and according to the beam number of the first pilot subgroup, or, the terminal calculates the real beam number of the pilot beam according to the index of the pilot subgroup in which the jth pilot is located, or according to the multiplexing manner of the pilot subgroup: when the TDM manner is adopted, the beam amount is <NUM>; when the FDM manner is adopted, the beam amount is the pilot amount in the frequency domain during FDM; when the CDM is adopted, the beam amount is the code length. Then the terminal calculates the boosting value Dj of the beam relative to the normal transmit power according to number of beams multiplexed simultaneously, calculates the channel quality information CQI'j corresponding to the beam according to the beam signal transmitted by the jth pilot, wherein the final channel quality information in the beam direction corresponding to the jth pilot is CQIj = CQI'j -Dj. The terminal selects the beam with the maximum CQIj as the first-level beam.

In this example, supposing the first communication node is a base station and the second communication node is a mobile terminal; the base station is provided with Nt antennas or array subunits. The base station transmits a pilot signal in M measurement pilot beams. The terminal measures the channel information of the pilot signal in the M measurement pilot beams transmitted from the base station to the terminal, and calculates the channel quality information corresponding to the M measurement pilot beams according to the channel information, selects Np pilots with best channel quality as a pilot group, where <NUM>≤ Np ≤ M, Np and M are integers. The base station configures multiple pre-coded matrixes, and the pre-coded matrixes can map Nt antennas or array subunits to Np ports to form beams in Np directions. The beam features in Np directions, that is, the number of times of beam transmission, might be the same or different. The base station divides the pilot group into N<NUM> subgroups; the number of pilots/ports in each subgroup is Ni, where N<NUM> and Ni, i=<NUM>,. , N<NUM> are integers greater than or equal to <NUM>, and <MAT>.

The base station maps a signal transmitted on the Nt antennas or array subunits to the jth port using the jth pre-coded matrix on the jth pilot in the pilot group, to form a beam in the jth direction, wherein the number of transmission times of beams in the jth direction is NTj, j=<NUM>,. The number of transmission times of beams in one same pilot subgroup is the same, while the numbers of transmission times of beams in different pilot subgroups is different. The base station transmits beams with different numbers of transmission times of beams to a terminal through a pilot beam transmitter.

The base station transmits the signalling about a relationship about the number of transmission times of beams between pilots at different positions in the pilot group through a signalling configuration device. For example, the pilots in the first subgroup adopt one transmission time which is normal, while the signalling in each pilot subgroup represents a difference in the number of transmission times of beams between this pilot subgroup and the first pilot subgroup, or implicitly, both the base station and the terminal agree on the number of transmission times of beams transmitted by the jth pilot. The signalling representing the difference in beam feature between different pilot subgroups is one of the configuration information and the information of a configuration difference.

The terminal receives the beam signal transmitted by the jth pilot and the configuration signalling of the relationship about the number of transmission times of beams transmitted by the base station. According to the difference in the number of transmission times of beams between the pilot subgroup in which the jth pilot is located and the first pilot subgroup, and according to the number of transmission times of beams of the first pilot subgroup, the terminal calculates the real number of transmission times of beams of the pilot; or, according to the index of the pilot subgroup in which the jth pilot is located, the terminal calculates the real number of transmission times of beams of the pilot beam; then the terminal calculates the boosting value Dj of this beam relative to the normal transmit power according to the real number of transmission times of beams, calculates the channel quality information CQI'j corresponding to the beam according to the beam signal transmitted by the jth pilot, wherein the final channel quality information in the beam direction corresponding to the jth pilot is CQIj = CQI'j -Dj. The terminal selects the beam with the maximum CQIj as the first-level beam.

In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the device and method can be realized through other ways. The device embodiments described above are exemplary only, for example, the division of units is a division of logical functions only, which can select other division methods in actual implementation, for example, the combination of multiple units or components, or integrated into another system, or some feature might be neglected or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling, or direct coupling, or communication link between the displayed or discussed components might be realized through some interfaces; the direct coupling or communication link between devices or units might be electrically, mechanically or other forms.

The above units described as separate components might be or might not be physically separated; the component, displayed as a unit, might be or might not be a physical unit, that is, it might be located at one place, or might be distributed on multiple network units. Part of or all units can be selected to realize the purpose of the embodiment schemes according to actual needs.

In addition, each function unit in each embodiment of the present disclosure might be integrated in a processing module, or each unit serves as a unit separately, or two or more units are integrated in a unit. The above integrated units can be realized in the form of hardware, or in the form of hardware plus software function unit.

Claim 1:
A method for determining beam information, comprising:
configuring, by a first communication node, a pilot group including N pilot beams, wherein the N pilot beams include at least two types of pilot beams with different beam features, the pilot group includes P pilot subgroups, pilot beams in each of the pilot subgroups have same beam features, pilot beams in different pilot subgroups have different beam features, where N is an integer not smaller than <NUM>, P is a positive integer, and the beam features are a transmit power;
generating, by the first communication node, configuration information of each type of the N pilot beams or configuration difference information of any two types of the N pilot beams according to the beam feature of each of the pilot beams;
selecting, by the first communication node, one or more pilot beams respectively from different pilot subgroups of the pilot group;
transmitting, by the first communication node, the selected pilot beams;
transmitting, by the first communication node, the configuration information of each type of the pilot beams or the configuration difference information of any two types of the pilot beams;
receiving, by the second communication node, at least one type of the pilot beams transmitted by the first communication node;
acquiring, by the second communication node, the configuration information or the configuration difference information;
calculating, by the second communication node, boosting values of transmit power of any two types of the received pilot beams according to the configuration information or the configuration difference information;
calculating, by the second communication node, channel quality information of the received pilot beams; and
selecting, by the second communication node, a pilot beam according to the boosting values of the transmit power and the channel quality information;
determining, by the second communication node, beam information according to the selected pilot beam, and returning the determined beam information to the first communication node.