Signal transmission method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a signal transmission method and a communication device. The method comprises the steps that a first communication device sends a reference signal to a second communication device through an RIS, the RIS sends the reference signal to the second communication device based on first processing, and the first processing is that a first part of elements in a beam vector are processed according to a first rule, such as zero setting and inverse equality processing; or the first processing is to process a first part of arrays of the RIS according to the first rule, if the state of the part of arrays is switched. According to the method and the device, the states of partial elements or arrays of the beam vector of the RIS can be adjusted, so that wide and narrow beam switching is realized, and the beam training efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method for signal transmission and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology can utilize the resources in the spatial dimension to obtain array gain, multiplexing and diversity gain, and interference cancellation gain in space without increasing the system bandwidth, thereby multiplying the capacity and spectral efficiency of the communication system. However, with the continuous improvement of communication requirements such as high speed, high reliability, and low latency, modern communication systems will continue to face challenges of greater capacity, wider coverage, and lower latency. To address the above challenges, reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) has begun to be widely studied as a promising technology. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a method for signal transmission and a communication device, which can switch between narrow and wide beams by adjusting the elements of the RIS beam vector or the states of the RIS elements, thereby improving the efficiency of beam scanning.

[0004] In a first aspect, a method for signal transmission is provided, which can be executed by a communication device. The communication device may be an RIS, or may also be a chip or circuit for an RIS. This application does not limit this. Hereinafter, the RIS is taken as an example for illustration.

[0005] The method may include: receiving a reference signal from a first communication device; based on a first process, sending the reference signal to a second communication device, where the first process is to process a first part of the elements in the beam vector according to a first rule, or the first process is to process a first part of the elements of the RIS according to the first rule.

[0006] Based on the above technical solution, the RIS can switch between narrow and wide beams by adjusting the elements in the beam vector corresponding to the RIS beam, or the RIS can switch between narrow and wide beams by adjusting the elements of the RIS. Specifically, when the first communication device sends a reference signal to the second communication device through the RIS, after receiving the reference signal from the first communication device, the RIS can send the reference signal to the second communication device by using the beam or elements processed according to the first rule. In this way, without reconfiguring the weight vector of the beam, the elements in the beam vector can be directly adjusted according to the first rule, or the elements of the RIS used to send the reference signal can be adjusted, thereby improving the beam training efficiency.

[0007] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first processing is to process the first part of the elements in the beam vector according to the first rule, including: the first processing is to set the first part of the elements in the beam vector to zero according to the first rule.

[0008] Based on the above solution, by setting some of the elements in the beam vector to zero, wide and narrow beam switching can be achieved, and the beam training efficiency can be improved.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first part of the elements are consecutive elements, or the first part of the elements are elements with equal intervals.

[0010] Based on the above solution, some of the elements in the beam vector can be processed at a certain interval, such as setting the elements in the beam vector to zero at a certain interval; or a continuous plurality of elements can also be processed, such as setting a continuous plurality of elements to zero. In this way, not only can wide and narrow beam switching be achieved, but it is also simple and easy to implement, and can be applied to many scenarios.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving first indication information, where the first indication information indicates the first part of the elements.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first indication information includes at least one of the following: the starting element number of the first part of the elements, the total number of elements of the first part of the elements, the interval between adjacent elements in the first part of the elements.

[0013] Based on the above solution, the elements to be processed can be indirectly indicated, such as indicating the starting position, the total number of elements, the interval, etc., so that it is not necessary to indicate all the elements to be processed, which can reduce the indication overhead.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first indication information includes a beam grouping strategy, the beam grouping strategy has an association relationship with the first part of the elements, and the beam grouping strategy is the beam grouping strategy of the RIS.

[0015] Optionally, the association relationship is predefined, or the RIS receives the association relationship.

[0016] Based on the above solution, the elements to be processed can be indirectly indicated, such as indicating the beam grouping strategy, which has an association relationship with the elements to be processed, so that the elements to be processed can be directly determined based on the beam grouping strategy and the association relationship, reducing the indication overhead.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first indication information includes a bitmap, and the bitmap indicates the position information of the first partial elements.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first processing is to process the first partial array elements of the RIS according to the first rule, including: the first processing is to switch the states of the first partial array elements of the RIS to the connected or off states according to the first rule.

[0019] Based on the above technical solution, the RIS can achieve wide and narrow beam switching by adjusting the states of the array elements in the RIS, such as adjusting some of the array elements of the RIS to the off or connected states.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first partial array elements are consecutive array elements, or the first partial array elements are array elements with equal intervals.

[0021] Based on the above solution, the array elements of the RIS can be adjusted at a certain interval, or a plurality of consecutive array elements can also be processed. In this way, not only can wide and narrow beam switching be achieved, but it is also simple and easy to implement, and it can be applied to many scenarios.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the first partial array elements.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the second indication information includes at least one of the following: the starting array element number of the first partial array elements, the total number of array elements of the first partial array elements, and the interval between adjacent array elements in the first partial array elements.

[0024] Based on the above solution, the array elements to be processed can be indirectly indicated, such as indicating the starting position, the total number of array elements, the interval, etc., so that it is not necessary to indicate all the array elements to be processed, and the indication overhead can be reduced.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the second indication information includes a beam grouping strategy, the beam grouping strategy has an association relationship with the first partial array elements, and the beam grouping strategy is the beam grouping strategy of the RIS.

[0026] Optionally, the association relationship is predefined, or the association relationship is received.

[0027] Based on the above solution, elements to be processed can be indirectly indicated, such as indicating a beam grouping strategy, which has an associated relationship with the array elements to be processed. In this way, the array elements to be processed can be directly determined based on the beam grouping strategy and this associated relationship, reducing the indication overhead.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the second indication information includes a bitmap, and the bitmap indicates the position information of the first part of the array elements.

[0029] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first rule is determined according to a beam grouping strategy, and the beam grouping strategy is a grouping strategy for the beams of the RIS.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the beam grouping strategy includes at least one of the following information: performing beam measurements at L levels, the number of beam groups or beam group numbers during each level of beam measurement, or the number of beams or beam numbers in each beam group, where L is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0031] Based on the above solution, by designing a beam grouping strategy, such as performing beam measurements at L levels, the number of beams in each beam measurement can be made smaller than that in a single beam measurement, thereby reducing the overhead of beam measurements.

[0032] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the beam grouping strategy is determined according to the capability information of the RIS.

[0033] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes sending the capability information of the RIS, and the capability information of the RIS is used to determine the beam grouping strategy.

[0034] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the beam grouping strategy is sent to the first communication device.

[0035] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the beam grouping strategy is received.

[0036] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the capability information of the RIS includes at least one of the following information: the horizontal and vertical coverage angles of the RIS, the angular resolution, the size of the RIS, or the total number of beams of the RIS.

[0037] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving third indication information, and the third indication information indicates the first rule.

[0038] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving beam measurement results from the second communication device, where the beam measurement results are determined according to the reference signal; and sending the beam measurement results to the first communication device.

[0039] In a second aspect, a method for signal transmission is provided, and the method can be executed by a communication device. Among them, the communication device can be a terminal device, or a chip or circuit for a terminal device; or it can also be a network device, or a chip or circuit for a network device, and this application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0040] The method can include: sending first indication information and / or third indication information to a configurable intelligent surface RIS, where the third indication information indicates a first rule, and the first rule indicates processing of a first part of elements in the beam vector of the RIS, and the first indication information indicates the first part of elements. Among them, the beam vector of the RIS can be understood as the beam vector corresponding to the RIS, or the beam vector corresponding to the array elements of the RIS, or the beam vector of the RIS.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first rule indicating processing of a first part of elements in the beam vector of the RIS includes: the first rule indicating setting the first part of elements in the beam vector of the RIS to zero.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first part of elements are consecutive elements, or the first part of elements are elements with equal intervals.

[0043] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first indication information includes at least one of the following: the starting element number of the first part of elements, the total number of elements of the first part of elements, and the interval between adjacent elements in the first part of elements.

[0044] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first indication information includes a beam grouping strategy, where the beam grouping strategy has an association relationship with the first part of elements, and the beam grouping strategy is a grouping strategy for the beams of the RIS.

[0045] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first indication information includes a bitmap, and the bitmap indicates the first part of elements.

[0046] In a third aspect, a method for signal transmission is provided, which can be executed by a communication device. Wherein, the communication device can be a terminal device, or a chip or circuit for a terminal device; or it can also be a network device, or a chip or circuit for a network device. This application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0047] The method may include: sending second indication information and / or third indication information to a configurable intelligent surface RIS, where the third indication information indicates a first rule, and the first rule indicates processing of a first part of the RIS elements, and the second indication information indicates the first part of the RIS elements.

[0048] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first rule indicating processing of the first part of the RIS elements includes: the first rule indicating switching the state of the first part of the RIS elements to a connected or off state.

[0049] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first part of the RIS elements is a continuous set of elements, or the first part of the RIS elements is a set of elements with equal intervals.

[0050] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the second indication information includes at least one of the following: the starting element number of the first part of the RIS elements, the total number of elements in the first part of the RIS elements, the interval between adjacent elements in the first part of the RIS elements.

[0051] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the second indication information includes a beam grouping strategy, the beam grouping strategy has an association relationship with the first part of the RIS elements, and the beam grouping strategy is a beam grouping strategy of the RIS.

[0052] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the second indication information includes a bitmap, and the bitmap indicates the position information of the first part of the RIS elements.

[0053] In combination with the second aspect or the third aspect, in some implementation manners, the first rule is determined according to a beam grouping strategy, and the beam grouping strategy is a beam grouping strategy of the RIS.

[0054] In combination with the second aspect or the third aspect, in some implementation manners, the beam grouping strategy includes at least one of the following information: performing beam measurements at L levels, the beam groups or the number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement, or the beams or the number of beams in each beam group, where L is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1.

[0055] In combination with the second aspect or the third aspect, in some implementations, the beam grouping strategy is determined according to the capability information of the RIS.

[0056] In combination with the second aspect or the third aspect, in some implementations, the method further includes any one of the following: receiving the capability information of the RIS, where the capability information of the RIS is used to determine the beam grouping strategy; or, sending the beam grouping strategy.

[0057] In combination with the second aspect or the third aspect, in some implementations, the capability information of the RIS includes at least one of the following information: the horizontal-vertical coverage angle of the RIS, the angular resolution, the size of the RIS, or the total number of beams of the RIS.

[0058] In a fourth aspect, a method for signal transmission is provided, and this method can be executed by a communication device. Among them, the communication device can be a RIS, or it can also be a chip or circuit for the RIS, and this application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0059] The method may include: sending a beam grouping strategy, where the beam grouping strategy is a grouping strategy for the beams of a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), and the beam grouping strategy includes at least one of the following information: performing beam measurements at level L, the beam groups during each level of beam measurement, or the beams in each beam group, where L is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1.

[0060] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the beam grouping strategy is determined according to the capability information of the RIS.

[0061] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the capability information of the RIS includes at least one of the following information: the horizontal-vertical coverage angle of the RIS, the angular resolution, the size of the RIS, or the total number of beams of the RIS.

[0062] Regarding the beneficial effects and possible designs of the second aspect to the fourth aspect, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions in the first aspect, and details are not elaborated here.

[0063] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, and this device is used to execute the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the fourth aspect. Specifically, the device may include units and / or modules for executing the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, such as a processing unit and / or a communication unit.

[0064] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device, a network device, or a RIS). When the device is a terminal device, the communication unit can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface; the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0065] In another implementation, the device is a chip, a chip system, or a circuit for a communication device (such as a terminal device, a network device, or a RIS). When the device is a chip, a chip system, or a circuit for a terminal device, the communication unit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit, etc. on the chip, the chip system, or the circuit; the processing unit can be at least one processor, a processing circuit, or a logic circuit, etc.

[0066] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes: at least one processor, configured to execute the computer program or instruction stored in the memory to execute the method in any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects above. Optionally, the device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or instruction. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface through which the processor reads the computer program or instruction in the memory.

[0067] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device, a network device, or a RIS).

[0068] In another implementation, the device is a chip, a chip system, or a circuit for a communication device (such as a terminal device, a network device, or a RIS).

[0069] In a seventh aspect, a processor is provided for executing the methods provided in the first to fourth aspects above.

[0070] For operations such as sending, obtaining / receiving, etc. involved by the processor, if there is no special description, or if it does not conflict with its actual role or internal logic in the relevant description, it can be understood as operations such as the processor outputting and receiving, inputting, etc., and can also be understood as sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and the antenna. This application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0071] Optionally, the device further includes: a memory for storing a program; correspondingly, at least one processor is configured to execute the computer program or instruction in the memory.

[0072] Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor and can be used to input information to the processor or output the information in the processor.

[0073] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing program code for a device to execute, the program code including a method for executing any one of the possible implementation manners in the above first aspect to fourth aspect.

[0074] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program product including instructions, which, when the computer program product runs on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method in any one of the possible implementation manners in the above first aspect to fourth aspect.

[0075] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a chip including a processor and a communication interface. The processor reads instructions on a memory through the communication interface and executes the method provided by any one of the implementation manners in any one of the above first aspect to fourth aspect.

[0076] Optionally, as an implementation manner, the chip further includes a memory storing a computer program or instructions. The processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions on the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the processor is configured to execute the method provided by any one of the implementation manners in any one of the above first aspect to fourth aspect.

[0077] In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product including instructions, which, when the computer program product runs on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method provided by any one of the implementation manners in the above first aspect.

[0078] In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a communication system including one or more of the foregoing RIS, first communication device, and second communication device. Description of the Drawings

[0079] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0080] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a method 200 for signal transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0081] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of zeroing at a fixed interval applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0082] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of zeroing in a continuous interval applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0083] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of switching an element to the off state at a fixed interval applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0084] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of switching a plurality of consecutive elements to the off state applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0085] Figure 7 It is a schematic flowchart of the signal transmission method 700 applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0086] Figure 8 It is a schematic flowchart of the signal transmission method 800 applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0087] Figure 9 It is a schematic flowchart of the signal transmission method 900 applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0088] Figure 10 It is a schematic flowchart of the signal transmission method 1000 applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0089] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the number of RIS elements and the beams.

[0090] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of the beam grouping strategy proposed according to the embodiments of the present application.

[0091] Figure 13 It is a schematic diagram of a communication device 1300 provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0092] Figure 14 It is a schematic diagram of another communication device 1400 provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0093] Figure 15 It is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1500 provided by the embodiments of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0094] Next, the technical solutions in the present application will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0095] The technical solution provided by this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: the 5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system, the long term evolution (LTE) system, the LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, the LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, etc. The technical solution provided by this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system. The technical solution provided by this application can also be applied to device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and the Internet of Things (IoT) communication system. The technical solution provided by this application can also be applied to low-frequency scenarios, high-frequency scenarios, terahertz, optical communication, licensed bands, and can also be used in unlicensed bands, etc. The technical solution provided by this application can also be applied to non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems such as inter-satellite communication and satellite communication. As an example, a satellite communication system includes a satellite base station and a terminal device. The satellite base station provides communication services for the terminal device. The satellite base station can also communicate with a base station. A satellite can act as a base station or a terminal device. Among them, a satellite can refer to an unmanned aerial vehicle, a hot air balloon, a low-earth orbit satellite, a medium-earth orbit satellite, a geostationary orbit satellite, etc. A satellite can also refer to a non-ground base station or a non-ground device, etc.

[0096] A device in a communication system can send a signal to another device or receive a signal from another device. The signal can include information, signaling, or data, etc. Among them, a device can also be replaced by an entity, a network entity, a network element, a communication device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, etc. In this disclosure, a device is used as an example for description. For example, a communication system can include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send a downlink signal to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send an uplink signal to the network device.

[0097] The terminal devices in the embodiments of this application include various devices with wireless communication functions, which can be used to connect people, objects, machines, etc. Terminal devices can be widely applied in various scenarios, such as: cellular communication, D2D, V2X, peer-to-peer (P2P), M2M, MTC, IoT, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and other scenarios. The terminal device can be a terminal in any of the above scenarios, such as an MTC terminal, an IoT terminal, etc. The terminal device can be a user equipment (UE), a terminal, a fixed device, a mobile station device or a mobile device, a subscriber unit, a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a SIP phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a computer, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a wireless modem, a handset, a laptop computer, a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a smart book, a vehicle, a satellite, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a target tracking device, an aircraft (such as a drone, a helicopter, a multi-helicopter, a quadcopter, or an airplane, etc.), a ship, a remote control device, a smart home device, an industrial device, or a device built into the above devices (such as a communication module, a modem or a chip in the above devices), or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. For the convenience of description, the terminal device will be described by taking the terminal or UE as an example hereinafter.

[0098] It should be understood that in some scenarios, the UE can also be used as a base station. For example, the UE can act as a scheduling entity, which provides sidelink signals between UEs in scenarios such as V2X, D2D or P2P.

[0099] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of a terminal device, i.e., the terminal device, may be the terminal device itself, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement such functions, such as a chip system or a chip. This device may be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0100] The network device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device for communicating with the terminal device. This network device may also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device may be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal device to a wireless network. The base station may generally cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point, master station, slave station, multi-mode radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. In a possible design, the processing unit for implementing the baseband function in the BBU is called the base band high (BBH) unit, and the processing unit for implementing the baseband function in the RRU / AAU / RRH is called the base band low (BBL) unit. The base station may be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node, or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station may also refer to a communication module, a modem, or a chip disposed in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The base station may also be a mobile switching center, and a device that undertakes the base station function in D2D, V2X, M2M communications, a network-side device in a 6G network, a device that undertakes the base station function in a future communication system, etc. The base station may support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the network device.

[0101] In some deployments, the network device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a device including a CU, or a DU, or a device including a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)) and a user plane CU node (Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)) and a DU node. For example, the network device may include a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP, and a gNB-DU.

[0102] In some deployments, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist a terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement partial functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node may be a CU, a DU, a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU may be separately provided, or may also be included in the same network element, such as in a BBU. The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as included in an RRU, an AAU, or an RRH.

[0103] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, the radio access network may also be an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture. In the ORAN system, the CU may also be referred to as an Open CU (O-CU), the DU may also be referred to as an Open DU (O-DU), the CU-CP may also be referred to as an Open CU-CP (O-CU-CP), the CU-UP may also be referred to as an Open CU-UP (O-CU-UP), and the RU may also be referred to as an Open RU (O-RU). Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0104] The base station may be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or a drone may be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells may move according to the position of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or a drone may be configured to be used as a device for communicating with another base station.

[0105] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of a network device may be a network device or a device capable of supporting the network device to implement such functions, such as a chip system or a chip, and this device may be installed in the network device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. In the embodiments of the present application, only the case where the device for implementing the functions of the network device is a network device is taken as an example for illustration, which does not limit the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0106] The network device and the terminal device may be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they may also be deployed on water; or they may be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and satellites in the air. In the embodiments of the present application, the scenarios where the network device and the terminal device are located are not limited. In addition, the terminal device and the network device may be hardware devices or software functions running on dedicated hardware or software functions running on general hardware. For example, they are virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform), or entities including dedicated or general hardware devices and software functions. The present application does not limit the specific forms of the terminal device and the network device.

[0107] First, a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application is briefly introduced as follows.

[0108] See Figure 1 , Figure 1 which is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0109] As Figure 1 shown, the wireless communication system includes at least one network device, such as Figure 1 the network device 110 shown, and the wireless communication system may further include at least one terminal device, such as Figure 1 the terminal device 120 shown. Both the network device and the terminal device may be configured with multiple antennas, and the network device and the terminal device may communicate using multi-antenna technology.

[0110] As Figure 1 shown, the wireless communication system further includes a configurable reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) 130. The RIS can be used to assist communication between devices, such as between a network device and a terminal device. For example, if direct communication between a sending end (such as a network device or a terminal device) and a receiving end (such as a network device or a terminal device) is not possible, or the signal is weak during direct communication, such as when there are obstacles blocking between the sending end and the receiving end, communication can be achieved through the RIS.

[0111] RIS, which can also be referred to as a RIS device, can also be called an intelligent reflective surface (IRS) or a large intelligent surface (LIS). RIS is a sub-wavelength-sized artificial two-dimensional material, usually composed of metal, dielectric, and tunable elements, and can be equivalently characterized as a radio link control (RLC) circuit. By adjusting the physical properties of the electromagnetic unit, such as capacitive reactance, impedance, or inductive reactance, to change the radiation characteristics of RIS, unconventional physical phenomena can be achieved, such as irregular reflection, negative refraction, wave absorption, focusing, and polarization conversion, thereby dynamically regulating electromagnetic waves. RIS can generate the electromagnetic behavior required for each electromagnetic unit by controlling the bias voltages of varactor diodes, PIN switches, micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) switches, liquid crystals, graphene, etc.

[0112] RIS can be regarded as a reflective panel, which appears as an intelligent panel including multiple antenna elements 131 (abbreviated as elements), and each element can be used as a passive reflective device. By flexibly configuring the parameters of each element (such as amplitude and / or phase), the purpose of controlling the fading of the wireless channel and forming a desired directional beam can be achieved. The element of RIS described below refers to the element on this RIS or the element in this RIS.

[0113] RIS can be installed in various environments. For example, RIS is installed on a large plane (such as the wall or ceiling indoors, the building or sign outdoors) to reflect the radio frequency (RF) energy around obstacles and create a virtual line of sight (LoS) propagation path between the communication source and the target. For example, the advantages of RIS can include the following aspects.

[0114] 1) Enhanced spectral efficiency: Through the intelligent control of the elements, RIS can further improve the communication quality of the wireless link, enhance the strength of the useful signal at the receiving end, reduce the intensity of channel interference, and provide an entry point for the realization of the future overall intelligent network.

[0115] 2) Reduced energy consumption and device complexity: RIS can passively reflect the received signal. At the RIS end, there is no need to configure transmitting and receiving units, and there is no need to encode and decode data. Therefore, the complexity of the actual hardware device of RIS can be greatly reduced compared with network devices and terminal devices, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing the system energy consumption of the wireless network.

[0116] 3) Easy to deploy: Since it only includes electromagnetic devices with passive reflection, RIS can be easily deployed on the surfaces of various buildings, indoor walls, platforms, roadside billboards, highway signs, vehicle windows and other devices. And it can be removed or redeployed at any time according to the needs of the network.

[0117] 4) Compatibility: RIS can be regarded as a supplementary device for the existing network, so it will not affect the existing protocols and there is no need to modify the existing devices, which has compatibility.

[0118] 5) Full duplex: Compared with the relay system operating in the half-duplex mode, RIS can only perform passive reflection, so it can operate in the full-duplex mode, thereby improving the spectral efficiency.

[0119] The above introduction to RIS is only for illustrative purposes, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto. In addition, in the following embodiments, RIS is mainly used as an example for illustration, but any device or apparatus capable of implementing the functions of RIS is applicable to the embodiments of this application.

[0120] In addition, Figure 1 This is only a schematic diagram. Other devices may also be included in this wireless communication system, such as core network devices, wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices, as well as a larger number of network devices, terminal devices, etc., which are not drawn in Figure 1 here.

[0121] To better understand the technical solutions of this application, some related technologies involved in the technical solutions of this application are introduced.

[0122] 1. Reference signal (RS): It can also be called pilot, reference sequence, reference signal, etc. For the sake of uniformity, the reference signal is used for description below. A reference signal is a physical signal that transmits a bearing sequence to achieve a specific function. Specifically, a reference signal is a physical signal generated by mapping a specific sequence to the corresponding resources according to the pre-specified resource mapping method.

[0123] In a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system, each transmitting antenna (virtual antenna or physical antenna) has an independent data channel. Based on the known reference signal, the receiving end performs channel estimation for each transmitting antenna and restores the transmitted data based on this. Channel estimation refers to the process of reconstructing the received signal to compensate for channel fading and noise, and uses the known reference signals at the transmitting and receiving ends to track the time-domain and frequency-domain changes of the channel.

[0124] In this application, the reference signals involved, by way of example, can be any one of the following: channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), phase track reference signal (PT-RS), cell reference signal (CRS), etc. Among them, DMRS can be used for the demodulation of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). CSI-RS can be used for channel information measurement and to report channel state information (CSI), which includes at least one of the following: precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indication (RI), and channel quality indicator (CQI).

[0125] It should be understood that the reference signals listed above are only examples and should not impose any limitations on this application. This application does not exclude the possibility of defining other reference signals in future protocols to achieve the same or similar functions.

[0126] 2. Beam: It is a communication resource. Different beams can be considered as different resources. The same information or different information can be transmitted through different beams.

[0127] The manifestation of a beam in the NR protocol can be a spatial domain filter, or a spatial filter or a spatial parameter. The beam used for transmitting a signal can be called a transmission beam (Tx beam), and the beam used for receiving a signal can be called a reception beam (Rx beam).

[0128] The transmitting beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength formed in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and the receiving beam can refer to the signal strength distribution of the wireless signal received by the antenna in different directions in space.

[0129] In addition, the beam can be a wide beam, or a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The technology for forming the beam can be beamforming technology or other technologies. The beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology, etc.

[0130] As an example, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be regarded as one beam.

[0131] One beam can correspond to one or more antenna ports, which are used to transmit data channels, control channels, sounding signals, etc. The one or more antenna ports corresponding to one beam can also be regarded as an antenna port set.

[0132] 3. RIS Channel Estimation: Since RIS is usually considered a passive reflection device, and in a MIMO system, the number of RIS elements is usually large (such as there may be thousands), directly estimating the RIS channel matrix itself requires a number of pilot frequencies of the same order as the number of RIS elements, and there is a bottleneck in the overhead. In addition, since RIS does not have RF chains for active transmission and reception and cannot transmit, receive, and process signals, this leads to the inability to use traditional channel estimation methods to obtain channel state information; moreover, as the number of reflection units increases, the sharp increase in the channel dimension also increases the difficulty of obtaining channel state information.

[0133] Without loss of generality, assume that the network device has M antennas, RIS has N elements (or called unit elements), and the terminal device is a single-antenna case. Then the signal received by the network device (after removing the reference signal) can satisfy Equation 1.

[0134]

[0135] Among them, F H is the channel between the network device and RIS (such as simply called the BS-RIS channel), diag(W) is the weight of RIS, H is the channel between RIS and the terminal device (such as simply called the RIS-UE channel), and H BS-UE is the channel between the network device and the terminal device (such as simply called the BS-UE channel). The embodiments of this application mainly focus on estimating the cascaded channel between the network device, RIS, and the terminal device (such as simply called the BS-RIS-UE channel). For example, by transmitting uplink reference signals or downlink reference signals, the uplink cascaded channel and the downlink cascaded channel can be estimated, and then operations such as precoding, modulation order, and rank number setting can be performed.

[0136] 4. RIS Precoding / Beamforming: Similar to the precoding technology in traditional multi-user MIMO (multiple user MIMO, MU-MIMO) systems, precoding can achieve the rational utilization of channel state information and preprocess the transmitted signal to improve the receiving performance. For example, by adjusting the parameters (such as phase and / or amplitude) of each electromagnetic unit of the RIS, the beam can be adjusted to be transmitted in a specific direction, thereby reducing the transmission power of the required signal, improving the spectral efficiency, expanding the coverage range, and weakening interference simultaneously.

[0137] The beamforming design mainly includes the design of the precoding and equalization matrices for the multi-antenna transceiver to achieve directional signal transmission. The introduction of the RIS makes the beamforming design of the system more complex. Based on the programmable characteristics of the RIS, the RIS can be used as an external analog precoder to design the corresponding phase shift matrix, that is, the RIS uses analog beamforming to reflect and regulate the signal from the transmitter.

[0138] There are some new challenges for the beamforming of the RIS compared with traditional beamforming, such as:

[0139] (1) The number of panel units of the RIS is large, and it has a high complexity to design the beamforming parameters for each electromagnetic unit. Dimension reduction and grouping are a way to compromise the beamforming accuracy and computational complexity.

[0140] (2) The channel in RIS communication has a segmented characteristic, and it is necessary to jointly design the active beamforming of the network device and the passive beamforming of the RIS. When the RIS has the ability to actively measure and sense signals, the segmented channel CSI can be directly obtained, and the design of the beamforming from the transmitter to the RIS and from the RIS to the receiver is relatively simple. When the RIS does not have the ability to actively measure and sense signals, it is difficult to directly obtain the segmented channel CSI, and the design of the beamforming from the RIS to the receiver will be a challenging problem.

[0141] This application proposes a RIS beam training scheme, which can achieve wide and narrow beam switching and improve the beam training efficiency by controlling the local change of the codeword (or beam vector) corresponding to the RIS beam or by controlling the state (or working state) of the RIS element.

[0142] Before introducing the solution of this application, the following points are explained.

[0143] (1) In this application, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, display indication, and implicit indication. When it is described that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0144] In this application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indirectly indicate the information to be indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to only indicate a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or pre-agreed. For example, it is also possible to implement the indication of specific information by means of the arrangement order of each piece of information pre-agreed (such as protocol regulations), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. In addition, the information to be indicated can be sent as a whole, or can be divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending cycles and / or sending timings of these sub-information can be the same or different.

[0145] (2) In this application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include directly sending through the air interface, and also include indirectly sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include directly receiving from YY through the air interface, or can also include indirectly receiving from YY through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between a network device and a terminal device, or can also be carried out within a device, for example, sending or receiving between components within a device, between modules, between chips, between software modules or hardware modules through a bus, trace or interface.

[0146] (3) In each embodiment of this application, if there is no special description and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred to, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0147] (4) In this application, "first" and "second" are only for the convenience of description and are used to distinguish objects, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. Instead of being used to describe the order or sequence of features. It should be understood that the objects described in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so as to be able to describe the solutions other than the embodiments of this application.

[0148] The method provided by the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments provided by this application can be applied to the Figure 1 communication system shown above, without limitation.

[0149] SeeFigure 2 , Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a signal transmission method 200 provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 The method 200 shown may include the following steps. In the following embodiments, RIS is mainly used as an example for illustration, but any device or apparatus capable of implementing the functions of RIS is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0150] 210, the RIS receives a reference signal from the first communication device. Correspondingly, the first communication device sends the reference signal.

[0151] The first communication device may send a reference signal to the second communication device through the RIS.

[0152] In a possible scenario, the first communication device is a network device or a component of a network device (such as a chip or a circuit), and the second communication device is a terminal device or a component of a terminal device (such as a chip or a circuit). In this case, the reference signal is a downlink reference signal, such as CSI-RS.

[0153] In another possible scenario, the first communication device is a terminal device or a component of a terminal device (such as a chip or a circuit), and the second communication device is a network device or a component of a network device (such as a chip or a circuit). In this case, the reference signal is an uplink reference signal, such as SRS.

[0154] In another possible scenario, the first communication device is a terminal device or a component of a terminal device (such as a chip or a circuit), and the second communication device is a terminal device or a component of a terminal device (such as a chip or a circuit). In this case, the reference signal is a sidelink (SL) reference signal, such as a sidelink beam management reference signal.

[0155] Optionally, the method 200 further includes step 220.

[0156] 220, the RIS performs a first process, where the first process is to process a first part of elements in the beam vector according to a first rule, or the first process is to process a first part of the antenna elements of the RIS according to a first rule.

[0157] Wherein, the beam vector is the beam vector corresponding to the RIS, or the beam vector corresponding to the antenna elements on the RIS, or the beam vector corresponding to the RIS beam (i.e., the beam used by the RIS to send the reference signal), or simply referred to as the beam vector of the RIS. The beam vector (or matrix, or weight coefficient vector, or weight coefficient matrix) can be X-dimensional, the vector elements correspond to the antenna elements of the RIS, and X is an integer greater than 1 or equal to 1.

[0158] In a possible implementation, the beam vector is a preset codebook, such as a pre-configured or protocol-predefined codebook. Based on this, in step 220, the RIS processes the first part of the elements in the preset codebook. The processed codebook is not exactly the same as the codebook before processing (i.e., the preset codebook), that is, the first part of the elements is adjusted. In other words, according to the embodiments of the present application, the RIS does not directly reflect the reference signal based on the preset codebook, but reflects the received reference signal based on the codebook obtained by processing the elements in the preset codebook.

[0159] In another possible implementation, the beam vector is a preset or pre-configured X-dimensional vector, and the elements of the X-dimensional vector correspond one-to-one with the antenna elements of the RIS. For example, if the number of antenna elements of the RIS is P, the beam vector can be a one-dimensional vector of P*1, that is, each antenna element can correspond to one element; or, the beam vector can be a two-dimensional vector of P*P, that is, the antenna elements of the RIS can correspond to a certain P elements of the two-dimensional vector, such as the P elements on the diagonal. Or, the beam vector can also exist in the form of a codeword, which is not limited herein.

[0160] Among them, the first part of the elements in the beam vector can represent some elements in the beam vector. That is, the RIS processes some elements in the beam vector according to the first rule. It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not exclude processing all the elements in the beam vector, that is, the first part of the elements may also include all the elements in the beam vector; and the embodiments of the present application do not exclude not processing the elements in the beam vector. As long as the RIS processes the elements in the beam vector according to a rule, or determines whether to process the elements in the beam vector according to a rule, or determines which elements in the beam vector to process according to a rule, it is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0161] Among them, the first part of the antenna elements of the RIS can represent some antenna elements of the RIS. That is, the RIS processes some antenna elements of the RIS according to the first rule. It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not exclude processing all the antenna elements of the RIS, that is, the first part of the antenna elements may also include all the antenna elements of the RIS; and the embodiments of the present application do not exclude not processing the antenna elements of the RIS. As long as the RIS processes the antenna elements of the RIS according to a rule, or determines whether to process the antenna elements of the RIS according to a rule, or determines which antenna elements of the RIS to process according to a rule, it is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0162] If the first process is to process the first part of the elements in the beam vector according to the first rule, then in step 220, the RIS processes the first part of the elements in the beam vector according to the first rule. In other words, the RIS adjusts (or updates, or controls) the first part of the elements in the beam vector according to the first rule.

[0163] If the first process is to process the first part of the antenna elements of the RIS according to the first rule, then in step 220, the RIS processes the first part of the antenna elements of the RIS according to the first rule. In other words, the RIS adjusts (or updates, or controls) the first part of the antenna elements of the RIS according to the first rule.

[0164] The specific solution for step 220 will be described in detail later.

[0165] 230, the RIS sends a reference signal to the second communication device.

[0166] Specifically, based on the first process, the RIS sends a reference signal to the second communication device.

[0167] For example, if in step 220, the first process is to process the first part of the antenna elements of the RIS according to the first rule, that is, the RIS processes the first part of the elements in the beam vector according to the first rule, then in step 230, the RIS sends (or reflects) a reference signal to the second communication device based on the processed beam vector. In other words, the RIS sends (or reflects) a reference signal to the second communication device through a beam, and the beam vector of this beam is obtained by processing the first part of the elements in the beam vector according to the first rule.

[0168] For another example, if in step 220, the first process is to process the first part of the antenna elements of the RIS according to the first rule, that is, the RIS processes the first part of the antenna elements of the RIS according to the first rule, then in step 230, the RIS sends (or reflects) a reference signal to the second communication device through the processed antenna elements. In other words, the RIS sends a reference signal to the second communication device through the antenna elements of the RIS, and the first part of the antenna elements of this RIS is processed according to the first rule.

[0169] Further optionally, method 200 further includes step 240.

[0170] 240. The second communication device sends the measurement result to the first communication device. Specifically, the second communication device can perform measurements (or beam measurements) based on the received reference signal and send the measurement result (which can also be referred to as the beam measurement result) to the first communication device; the second communication device can also send the measurement result to the first communication device through the RIS. The second communication device can perform measurements (or beam measurements) based on the received reference signal and send the measurement result (which can also be referred to as the beam measurement result). After receiving the measurement result, the RIS sends (or reflects) the measurement result to the first communication device.

[0171] As an example, the measurement result includes at least one of the following: reference signal receiving power (RSRP), signal to noise ratio (SNR), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), whether the beam is available, whether the transmission timing needs to be adjusted, whether the change amount of the reception timing exceeds the threshold, the resource identifier used to obtain the measurement result, or the logical identifier of the antenna panel (such as the capability value identifier).

[0172] Optionally, the first rule is determined according to the beam grouping strategy. Based on this, the first rule is related to the beam grouping strategy. Further optionally, the first rule is related to the beam grouping strategy and the total number of beams of the RIS.

[0173] Among them, the beam grouping strategy is a grouping strategy related to the beams of the RIS. When the first communication device and the second communication device perform beam training through the RIS, they can perform beam training according to this beam grouping strategy.

[0174] As an example, the beam grouping strategy includes at least one of the following information: performing beam measurements at the L level, the beam group or the number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement, or the beams or the number of beams in each beam group. Wherein, L is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The above information is introduced below.

[0175] 1) Perform beam measurements at level L, which means that during beam measurements (or beam training, or beam scanning), L beam measurements are performed (or L rounds of beam measurements are performed, or L rounds of beam scanning are performed). For example, the first communication device sends L times (or L rounds) of reference signals to the second communication device through the RIS. The second communication device can perform beam measurements based on the reference signals received each time (or each round) and feedback the measurement results of each beam measurement (or each round of beam measurement). It should be noted that the embodiments of this application do not limit the number of reference signals transmitted during each beam measurement. For example, during each beam measurement, the first communication device can send multiple reference signals to the second communication device through the RIS. By designing to perform beam measurements at level L, the number of beams in each beam measurement can be made smaller than that in a single beam measurement, thereby reducing the overhead of beam measurements.

[0176] Further optionally, if it is determined to perform beam measurements at level L according to the beam grouping strategy, then in step 230, the RIS sends reference signals to the second communication device through the beams at the i-th level. Among them, the beam vector corresponding to the beams at the i-th level is obtained by processing the first part of the elements in the beam vector according to the first rule; or when the RIS sends reference signals to the second communication device through the beams at the i-th level, the antenna elements of the RIS are obtained by processing the first part of the antenna elements of the RIS according to the first rule. Where i = 1, 2,..., L.

[0177] 2) The beam groups during each level of beam measurement, which means the beam groups during each level of beam measurement when performing L-level beam measurements.

[0178] Taking the i-th level as an example, as an example, the information of the beam group during the i-th level of beam measurement includes at least one of the following: the number of beam groups during the i-th level of beam measurement, the identifier of the beam group during the i-th level of beam measurement, the number of beams in the beam group during the i-th level of beam measurement, and the beam identifiers in the beam group during the i-th level of beam measurement.

[0179] The number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement can be the same or different. If the number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement is the same, then regarding the number of beam groups, the beam grouping strategy may include a parameter (such as G), and this G represents the number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement. If the number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement is different, then regarding the number of beam groups, the beam grouping strategy may include L parameters (such as Gi, i = 1, 2,..., L), and this Gi represents the number of beam groups during the i-th level of beam measurement.

[0180] 3) The beams in each beam group, which means the beams contained in the beam groups during each level of beam measurement when performing L-level beam measurements.

[0181] As an example, the information of the beams in each beam group includes at least one of the following: the number of beams in the beam group, and the beam identifier in the beam group. The number of beams in each beam group can be the same (for example, the number of beams in the beam group during the same-level beam measurement is the same, or the number of beams in the beam group during the L-level beam measurement is the same), or different. If the number of beams in each beam group is the same, then regarding the number of beams in the beam group, the beam grouping strategy may include a parameter (such as K), and this K represents the number of beams in each beam group. If the number of beams in the beam groups during the same-level beam measurement is the same, and the number of beams in the beam groups during different-level beam measurements is different, the beam grouping strategy may include L parameters (such as Ki, i = 1, 2, ……, L), and this Ki represents the number of beams in the beam group during the i-level beam measurement.

[0182] It can be understood that the above is for illustrative purposes and is not limited thereto. For example, the beam grouping strategy includes performing L-level beam measurements and the beams during each level of beam measurement, that is, during each level of beam measurement, the beams may not be grouped.

[0183] Optionally, the beam grouping strategy is determined according to the capability information of the RIS.

[0184] Specifically, the control device determines the capability information of the RIS (or simply referred to as the capability information), and determines the beam grouping strategy according to the capability information of the RIS. As an example, the capability information of the RIS includes at least one of the following information: the horizontal and vertical coverage angle of the RIS (such as the maximum horizontal and vertical coverage angle), the angular resolution, the size of the RIS, or the total number of beams of the RIS. Among them, the size of the RIS may include, for example, the number of elements of the RIS (that is, the number of elements contained in the RIS).

[0185] As an example, the control device can be any one of the following: the first communication device, the second communication device, or the RIS; or, the control device can be deployed in any one of the following: the first communication device, the second communication device, or the RIS. There are several possible situations regarding the control device.

[0186] The first possible situation is that the control device is deployed on the network side, such as the control device is a network device or a component of a network device (such as a chip or a circuit). In this case, the RIS can send the capability information of the RIS to the control device, so that the control device can determine the beam grouping strategy according to the capability information.

[0187] In this case, further optionally, the control device sends a beam grouping policy to the first communication device and / or the RIS. If the control device sends a beam grouping policy to the first communication device, the first communication device may further send the beam grouping policy to the RIS. Similarly, if the control device sends a beam grouping policy to the RIS, the RIS may further send the beam grouping policy to the first communication device. The second communication device may also obtain the beam grouping policy, which is not limited herein.

[0188] In this case, further optionally, the control device indicates a first rule to the RIS. The control device may directly indicate the first rule to the RIS, or may also indicate the first rule to the RIS through other devices. This will be described in detail later in combination with the third indication information.

[0189] The second possible case is that the control device is deployed on the terminal side, such as the control device is a terminal device or a component of the terminal device (such as a chip or a circuit). In this case, the RIS may send the capability information of the RIS to the control device, so that the control device can determine the beam grouping policy according to the capability information. In this case, further optionally, the control device sends a beam grouping policy to the first communication device and / or the RIS. For details, reference may be made to the description in the first possible case. Further optionally, the control device indicates the first rule to the RIS.

[0190] The third possible case is that the control device is deployed on the RIS side, such as the control device is the RIS or a component of the RIS (such as a chip or a circuit). In this case, the control device can read the capability information of the RIS, so that the control device can determine the beam grouping policy according to the capability information. In this case, further optionally, the control device sends a beam grouping policy to the first communication device. Further optionally, the first communication device or the second communication device indicates the first rule to the RIS.

[0191] The above is for illustrative purposes and is not limited thereto. For example, the control device may also be deployed by a third party.

[0192] The specific solution of step 220 will be described in detail below in combination with the first rule. The first rule may include the following two solutions.

[0193] Solution 1, the first rule indicates (or is used for) processing the first part of the elements in the beam vector, that is, the first processing is to process the first part of the elements in the beam vector according to the first rule. In this solution, in step 220, the RIS processes the first part of the elements in the beam vector according to the first rule.

[0194] Solution 2, the first rule instructs (or is used for) processing the first part of the RIS array elements, that is, the first processing is to process the first part of the RIS array elements according to the first rule. Under this solution, in step 220, the RIS processes the first part of the RIS array elements according to the first rule.

[0195] The following describes these two solutions separately.

[0196] Solution 1, the first rule instructs to process the first part of the elements in the beam vector. For the sake of distinction, the first rule in Solution 1 is called Rule #A, that is, Rule #A instructs to process the first part of the elements in the beam vector.

[0197] Based on this solution, when the first communication device sends a reference signal to the second communication device through the RIS, after the RIS receives the reference signal from the first communication device, it can send the reference signal to the second communication device using the beam processed according to Rule #A. In this way, there is no need to reconfigure the weight vector of the beam, and the elements in the beam vector can be directly adjusted according to Rule #A to achieve wide and narrow beam switching, reducing the overhead of beam training and improving the efficiency of beam training.

[0198] Hereinafter, for the sake of description, the first part of the elements is called Element #A, that is, Rule #A instructs to process Element #A in the beam vector. It should be noted that in the following, it is repeatedly mentioned that Rule #A instructs to process Element #A in the beam vector, which can also be replaced by processing Element #A in the beam vector according to Rule #A.

[0199] Among them, Rule #A instructing to process Element #A in the beam vector can be to process Element #A in the beam vector according to Rule #A so that Element #A before processing and Element #A after processing are different. Optionally, Rule #A instructs to set Element #A in the beam vector to zero. Based on this, in step 220, the RIS sets Element #A in the beam vector to zero according to the first rule. By performing the zeroing operation on some elements in the beam vector, the RIS beam can achieve wide and narrow beam switching. The zeroing operation is an example, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, it can also be other operations, such as inverting operation, setting to 1 operation, etc. Hereinafter, for the sake of understanding and description, the zeroing operation is used as an example for illustration.

[0200] Regarding the zeroing operation, at least the following two situations are included.

[0201] The first possible situation is to zero at a fixed interval. In this case, Element #A includes elements with equal intervals.

[0202] Taking the beam vector as a two-dimensional vector as an example, for instance, Rule #A indicates setting to zero multiple rows of elements in the beam vector, that is, setting to zero multiple rows of elements in the beam vector according to Rule #A, where the row interval between every two adjacent rows in these multiple rows is the same. For another example, Rule #A indicates setting to zero multiple columns of elements in the beam vector, that is, setting to zero multiple columns of elements in the beam vector according to Rule #A, where the column interval between every two adjacent columns in these multiple columns is the same.

[0203] For ease of description, use Δ1 to represent the above interval. As an example, Δ1 is an integer greater than 0. For example, Δ1 = 2 n , n is an integer greater than or equal to 0. For example, any one of the following for Δ1: 2, 4, 8, 16.

[0204] See Figure 3 , Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of setting to zero at a fixed interval applicable to the embodiments of this application. As Figure 3 shown, use Φ to represent the beam vector, which is a two-dimensional vector of M×N, M is the number of rows, N is the number of columns, and M and N are integers greater than 1. As an example, M*N = P, where P is the number of elements of the RIS. Element #A is a part of the elements in this beam vector, that is, element #A is a part of the elements in this two-dimensional vector of M×N.

[0205] In one example, element #A includes n columns and m rows of elements, the column interval between every two adjacent columns in these n columns is Δ1, n is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to N, and m is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M.

[0206] As Figure 3 shown in (a) of, element #A includes n columns and M rows of elements, the column interval between every two adjacent columns in these n columns is Δ1. In this example, each column of elements in the n columns can be set to zero. For example, set to zero all the elements in the first column, all the elements in the (1 + Δ1)-th column, all the elements in the (1 + 2Δ1)-th column, all the elements in the (1 + 3Δ1)-th column, etc. In this example, Δ1 can be in one-dimensional form, that is, Δ1 is the interval (or column interval) of the elements to be set to zero in the vertical direction.

[0207] In another example, element #A includes n columns and m rows of elements, the interval between every two adjacent rows in these m rows is Δ1, n is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N, and m is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M.

[0208] As Figure 3As shown in (b), element #A includes N columns and m rows of elements, and the interval between adjacent rows among the m rows is Δ1. In this example, the elements in each of the m rows can be set to zero. For example, all elements in the first row, all elements in the (1 + Δ1)-th row, all elements in the (1 + 2Δ1)-th row, all elements in the (1 + 3Δ1)-th row, etc. are set to zero. In this example, Δ1 can be in one-dimensional form, that is, Δ1 is the interval (or row interval) of the elements to be set to zero in the horizontal direction.

[0209] In another example, element #A includes n columns and m rows of elements, and the interval between adjacent rows among the m rows is Δ1 h , and the interval between adjacent columns among the n columns is Δ1 v , where n is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to N, and m is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M. Δ1 h and Δ1 v can be the same or different. Here, taking Δ1 h and Δ1 v being the same, i.e., both being Δ1 as an example for illustration.

[0210] As Figure 3 shown in (c), element #A includes n columns and m rows of elements, the interval between adjacent rows among the m rows is Δ1, and the interval between adjacent columns among the n columns is Δ1. In this example, the elements in the m rows and n columns can be set to zero. In this example, Δ1 can be in two-dimensional form, that is, Δ1 includes the interval of the elements to be set to zero in the horizontal direction and the interval in the vertical direction (i.e., row interval and column interval).

[0211] The above is illustrated by taking Figure 3 as an example, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, the starting row can be the i-th row, where i is an integer greater than 1 and less than M. For another example, the starting column can be the j-th column, where j is an integer greater than 1 and less than N.

[0212] The second possible case is zeroing of a continuous interval. In this case, element #A includes continuous elements.

[0213] Taking the beam vector as a two-dimensional vector as an example, for example, rule #A indicates zeroing of the elements in continuous multiple rows of the beam vector, that is, zeroing of the elements in continuous multiple rows of the beam vector according to rule #A. For another example, rule #A indicates zeroing of the elements in continuous multiple columns of the beam vector, that is, zeroing of the elements in continuous multiple columns of the beam vector according to rule #A.

[0214] For ease of description, Δ2 is used to represent the interval length of the continuous interval, such as the number of rows of continuous multiple rows, or the number of columns of continuous multiple columns. As an example, Δ2 is an integer greater than 1.

[0215] See Figure 4 , Figure 4 which is a schematic diagram of continuous interval zeroing applicable to the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 4 shown, the beam vector is denoted by Φ, and this beam vector is a two-dimensional vector of M×N, where M is the number of rows, N is the number of columns, and M and N are integers greater than 1. Element #A is a part of the elements in this beam vector, that is, element #A is a part of the two-dimensional vector of M×N.

[0216] In one example, element #A includes n columns and m rows of elements. These n columns are Δ2 consecutive columns, where n is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to N, and m is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M. As Figure 4 shown in (a) of it, element #A includes Δ2 consecutive columns of elements. In this example, the Δ2 consecutive columns of elements starting from the first column can be set to zero. In this example, Δ2 can be in one-dimensional form, that is, Δ2 is the column length (or the number of columns) of continuous zeroing.

[0217] In another example, element #A includes n columns and m rows of elements. These m rows are Δ2 consecutive rows, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N, and m is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M. As Figure 4 shown in (b) of it, element #A includes Δ2 consecutive rows of elements. In this example, the Δ2 consecutive rows of elements starting from the first row can be set to zero. In this example, Δ2 can be in one-dimensional form, that is, Δ2 is the row length (or the number of rows) of continuous zeroing.

[0218] In another example, element #A includes n columns and m rows of elements. These m rows are Δ2 h consecutive rows, and these n columns are Δ2 v consecutive columns, where n is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to N, and m is an integer greater than 1 and less than or equal to M. Δ2 h and Δ2 v can be the same or different. As Figure 4 shown in (c) of it, element #A includes Δ2 h consecutive rows and Δ2 v consecutive columns of elements. In this example, the elements in the Δ2 h consecutive rows starting from the first row and the Δ2 v consecutive columns starting from the first column can be set to zero. In this example, Δ2 can be in two-dimensional form, that is, Δ2 includes the column length (or the number of columns) of continuous zeroing Δ2 v and the row length (or the number of rows) of continuous zeroing Δ2 h .

[0219] The above combination Figure 4For example, an example is given, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, the starting row to be set to zero can be the i-th row, where i is an integer greater than 1 and less than M. For another example, the starting column to be set to zero can be the j-th column, where j is an integer greater than 1 and less than N. For another example, element #A may include multiple elements starting from and the interval between every two adjacent elements among the multiple elements is Δ2 elements.

[0220] The above two cases are for illustrative purposes and are not limited thereto. For example, it is also possible to set to zero at different intervals.

[0221] Optionally, element #A has an association relationship with the beam grouping strategy (for distinction, this association relationship is called association relationship #A). In this way, element #A can be obtained according to the beam grouping strategy and this association relationship #A, or the beam grouping strategy can also be obtained according to element #A and this association relationship #A.

[0222] Among them, the association relationship #A can exist in the form of a table, a function, text, or a string, such as storage or transmission. For example, in combination with two cases, an example of presenting the association relationship #A in the form of a table is introduced.

[0223] Case 1: Set to zero at a fixed interval.

[0224] In this case, the association relationship #A can be as shown in Table 1.

[0225] Table 1

[0226] BM level Zeroing interval 1 Δ11 2 [[ID=4??]]Δ12 3 Δ13

[0227] Among them, the beam management level (BM level) represents the L-level beam measurement described above. In the example shown in Table 1, L = 3, that is, 3-level beam measurement is performed. The zeroing interval in Table 1 is the aforementioned Δ1. As described above, Δ1 can be in one-dimensional form. Specifically, Δ1 is the interval of the elements to be set to zero in the horizontal direction (or row interval), or Δ1 is the interval of the elements to be set to zero in the vertical direction (or column interval); or Δ1 can also be in two-dimensional form. Specifically, Δ1 includes the interval of the elements to be set to zero in the horizontal direction and the interval in the vertical direction (i.e., row interval and column interval).

[0228] Taking Table 1 as an example, when performing beam measurements at the first level, zeroing can be performed at zeroing intervals Δ11. For example, when performing beam measurements at the first level, the RIS can start from the first row of the beam vector and zero the elements at every Δ11 rows. For another example, when performing beam measurements at the first level, the RIS can start from the first column of the beam vector and zero the elements at every Δ11 columns. Among them, starting from the first row or the first column can be predefined, or preconfigured, or indicated, and this is not limited.

[0229] The above Table 1 is for illustrative purposes and is not limited. For example, Table 1 can also include a starting position, that is, the starting position of the elements to start zeroing. For example, the starting position in Table 1 is the row number (or index or identifier). For example, the starting position corresponding to the beam measurement at the first level is the number of the first row. Then, when performing beam measurements at the first level, the elements starting from the first row and at every Δ11 rows can be zeroed, that is, the elements of the first row, the (1 + Δ11)-th row, the (2 + Δ11)-th row, etc. are zeroed. For another example, the starting position in Table 1 is the column number. For example, the starting position corresponding to the beam measurement at the first level is the number of the first column. Then, when performing beam measurements at the first level, the elements starting from the first column and at every Δ11 columns can be zeroed, that is, the elements of the first column, the (1 + Δ11)-th column, the (2 + Δ11)-th column, etc. are zeroed. For another example, the starting position in Table 1 is two-dimensional, such as the row number and the column number. Regarding the row number, for example, the rows can be numbered sequentially starting from the first row in the beam vector; similarly, regarding the column number, for example, the columns can be numbered sequentially starting from the first column in the beam vector. Similarly, the elements in the beam vector can also be numbered. For example, the elements in each column or each row can be numbered independently; or all the elements can be numbered jointly, such as starting from the element in the first row and the first column and numbering them sequentially in the order of first row then column (or first column then row); or the numbers of each element are predefined.

[0230] Case 2, zeroing according to a continuous interval.

[0231] In this case, the association relationship #A can be as shown in Table 2.

[0232] Table 2

[0233] BM level Zeroing range 1 <![CDATA[{ID i1,j1 ,Δ21}]]> 2 <![CDATA[{ID i2,j2 ,Δ22}]]> 3 <![CDATA[{ID i3,j3 ,Δ23}]]>

[0234] The zeroing interval in Table 2 includes the starting position ID of the elements to be zeroed i,j , where ID i,j can be used to identify the starting element (that is, the first element in element #A). For example, ID i,j is the starting element Numbers. As mentioned above, the elements in the beam vector can have corresponding numbers, such as independent numbering for each row or each column, or joint numbering for the elements in the beam vector, or the numbers of the elements are predefined, which is not limited herein. The zeroing interval in Table 2 also includes the length of continuous zeroing, which is the Δ2 mentioned above. As mentioned above, Δ2 can be in one-dimensional form (such as Δ2 is the length of continuous zeroing columns, or Δ2 is the length of continuous zeroing rows), or it can also be in two-dimensional form (such as Δ2 is the length of continuous zeroing columns and rows), which is not limited herein.

[0235] Taking Table 2 as an example, when performing the first-level beam measurement, it can start from the starting position with ID i1,j1 , and zero the elements with a continuous zeroing length of Δ21. For example, when performing the first-level beam measurement, it can zero the elements in the rows starting from the row where ID i1,j1 is located for Δ21 consecutive rows. For another example, when performing the first-level beam measurement, it can zero the elements in the columns starting from the column where ID i1,j1 is located for Δ21 consecutive columns. For another example, when performing the first-level beam measurement, it can zero the elements in the rows starting from the row where ID i1,j1 is located and the elements in the columns starting from the column where ID i1,j1 is located, that is, zero the elements in Δ21 consecutive rows and Δ21 consecutive columns.

[0236] The above Table 2 is for illustrative purposes and is not limited herein. For example, Table 2 may also include more parameters. For example, Table 2 includes two zeroing lengths, which respectively represent the length of continuous zeroing columns and the length of continuous zeroing rows. For another example, Δ2 (i.e., Δ21 - Δ23) in Table 2 can also represent the total number of continuously zeroed elements. Taking the first-level beam measurement as an example, it can zero the consecutive Δ21 elements starting from the starting element identified by ID i1,j1 (such as the consecutive Δ21 elements in the order of row first and then column, or the consecutive Δ21 elements in the order of column first and then row). For another example, the starting position ID i,j in Table 2 can be replaced by ID i or ID j . ID i is used to identify the row where the starting element is located, and ID j is used to identify the column where the starting element is located. In this way, it can be defaulted that the first element or a certain element in the row identified by ID i or the column identified by ID j is the starting element. For another example, the starting position in Table 2 can be replaced by the ending position (i.e., the last element in element #A) or the middle position (i.e., the middle element in element #A), etc.

[0237] The above describes the association relationship #A in combination with two scenarios. It is understood that variations of the above solution are applicable to the embodiments of the present application. For example, an association relationship between elements that do not need to be set to zero and beam grouping strategies can also be defined.

[0238] Furthermore, as an example, association #A may be time-constrained. Specifically, association #A may be associated with a time period during which association #A is valid. That is, within this time period, the RIS may determine element #A based on association #A and the beam grouping strategy. Alternatively, the RIS may determine the beam grouping strategy based on association #A and element #A.

[0239] Optionally, the RIS receives first indication information, where the first indication information indicates element #A, or the first indication information indicates the location (or location information) of element #A. Specifically, a control device or a communication device (e.g., the first communication device or the second communication device) sends the first indication information, the RIS receives the first indication information, and based on the first indication information, learns the elements that need to be processed, such as the elements that need to be reset to zero. The first indication information may directly or indirectly indicate element #A, without limitation.

[0240] As an example, the first indication information may be carried in at least one of the following signaling: radio resource control (RRC), media access control (MAC) (such as media access control-control element (MAC CE)), or downlink control information (DCI).

[0241] Several possible implementations are described below.

[0242] In a first possible implementation, the first indication information indicates (e.g., includes) at least one of the following information: the number of the ending element in element #A, the number of the starting element in element #A, the total number of elements in element #A, and the interval between adjacent elements in element #A. Specifically, it can be assumed that the beam vector is a preset codebook. In this way, the RIS can obtain the corresponding position based on the at least one piece of information indicated by the first indication information, and thus determine element #A.

[0243] Taking the beam vector as a two-dimensional vector as an example, the above-mentioned various pieces of information can be one-dimensional or two-dimensional. Specifically, the number of the starting element (i.e., the first element) in element #A can be the row number where the starting element is located (i.e., the number of the starting row), or it can also be the column number where the starting element is located (i.e., the number of the starting column), or it can also be a specific element in the two-dimensional vector (such as ). The number of the ending element (i.e., the last element) in element #A can be the row number where the ending element is located (i.e., the number of the ending row), or it can also be the column number where the ending element is located (i.e., the number of the ending column), or it can also be the position of a specific element in the two-dimensional vector (such as ). The total number of elements contained in element #A can be the total number of rows where the elements to be set to zero are located, or it can also be the total number of columns where the elements to be set to zero are located, or it can also be the total number of the elements to be set to zero. The interval between adjacent elements in element #A can be the interval between adjacent rows in the row where the elements to be set to zero are located, or it can also be the interval between adjacent columns in the column where the elements to be set to zero are located, or it can also be the interval between adjacent elements set to zero in the two-dimensional vector.

[0244] The following is an explanation in combination with two cases.

[0245] Case 1: Set to zero at a fixed interval.

[0246] In this case, as an example, the first indication information indicates (such as includes) the zeroing interval (i.e., the interval between adjacent elements in element #A) and / or the starting position (i.e., the number of the starting element in element #A). For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 3 , the first indication information includes Δ1. In this case, it can be defaulted to start from the first column, and set the elements every Δ1 columns to zero.

[0247] Case 2: Set to zero in a continuous interval.

[0248] In this case, as an example, the first indication information indicates (such as includes) the zeroing interval (i.e., the total number of elements contained in element #A) and / or the starting position (i.e., the number of the starting element in element #A). For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 4 , the first indication information includes Δ2. In this case, it can be defaulted to start from the first column, and set the elements of consecutive Δ2 columns to zero.

[0249] The above briefly describes the combination of the two cases, without limitation. For example, the first indication information may include an end position, as well as a zeroing interval or a zeroing gap, so that all element positions to be zeroed can also be determined according to the end position and the zeroing interval or the zeroing gap. For another example, the first indication information may include an end position, and assuming that the start position is default, all elements to be zeroed can also be determined according to the end position and the default start position.

[0250] In the second possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a beam grouping strategy, and the beam grouping strategy has an association relationship with element #A. Specifically, the RIS can know element #A according to the beam grouping strategy and the association relationship.

[0251] Among them, the association relationship between the beam grouping strategy and element #A can refer to the association relationship #A described above, such as Table 1 or Table 2, which will not be elaborated here.

[0252] Furthermore, the association relationship between the beam grouping strategy and element #A can be predefined, or can also be preconfigured, or can also be indicated, without limitation. If the association relationship #A is indicated, the association relationship #A and the beam grouping strategy can be carried in the same signaling, or can also be carried in different signals, without limitation.

[0253] In the third possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a bitmap, and the position information of element #A is indicated by this bitmap.

[0254] Taking the beam vector as a two-dimensional vector as an example, this bitmap can be one-dimensional (that is, the bitmap indicates the row or column to be zeroed), or can also be two-dimensional (that is, the bitmap indicates the row and column to be zeroed). Assume that the beam vector is a two-dimensional vector of M×N, M is the number of rows, and N is the number of columns.

[0255] For example, use an M-bit bitmap to indicate the rows to be zeroed. Specifically, each bit represents a row. Assume that the bit value of "1" indicates that it needs to be zeroed, and the bit value of "0" indicates that it does not need to be zeroed. Assume M = 14. If the bitmap is 00001100001100, then it means that the elements in the 5th row, 6th row, 11th row, and 12th row need to be zeroed, and the elements in the remaining rows do not need to be zeroed.

[0256] For another example, an N-bit bitmap is used to indicate the columns that need to be set to zero. Specifically, each bit represents a column. Assume that a bit value of "1" indicates that the column needs to be set to zero, and a bit value of "0" indicates that the column does not need to be set to zero. Assume N = 12. If the bitmap is 100001000011, then it means that the elements in the 1st, 6th, 11th, and 12th columns need to be set to zero, and the elements in the remaining columns do not need to be set to zero.

[0257] For another example, an (N + M)-bit bitmap is used to indicate the rows and columns that need to be set to zero, or two bitmaps can be used to indicate the rows and columns that need to be set to zero respectively. For specific details, please refer to the above example.

[0258] The above introduced the solutions related to Solution 1. Next, the solutions related to Solution 2 will be introduced.

[0259] Solution 2: The first rule indicates to process the first part of the RIS elements. For the sake of distinction, the first rule in Solution 2 is called Rule #B, that is, Rule #B indicates to process the first part of the RIS elements.

[0260] Based on this solution, when the first communication device sends a reference signal to the second communication device through the RIS, after the RIS receives the reference signal from the first communication device, it can send the reference signal to the second communication device using the beam processed according to Rule #B. In this way, there is no need to reconfigure the weight vector of the beam, and the wide and narrow beam switching can be directly implemented according to Rule #B, reducing the overhead of beam training and improving the efficiency of beam training.

[0261] Next, for the sake of description, the first part of the elements is called Element #B, that is, Rule #B indicates to process the Element #B of the RIS. It should be noted that in the following text, it is repeatedly mentioned that Rule #B indicates to process the Element #B of the RIS, which can also be replaced by processing the Element #B of the RIS according to Rule #B.

[0262] Among them, Rule #B indicating to process the Element #B of the RIS can be to switch the state of Element #B according to Rule #B, so that the number of RIS elements before processing (such as the effective number of elements) is different from the number of RIS elements after processing (such as the effective number of elements). Among them, the effective number of elements represents the number of elements that can reflect signals.

[0263] Optionally, Rule #B indicates to switch the state (or called the working state) of Element #B, that is, to switch the state of Element #B according to Rule #B. Based on this, in step 220, the RIS switches the state of its Element #B according to the first rule.

[0264] In one possible implementation, rule #B instructs switching the state of RIS array #B to a connected state or an off state (or disconnected state); in other words, rule #B instructs switching the state of RIS array #B to a powered-on state or a powered-off state. For ease of understanding and explanation, the following example uses the example of rule #B instructing switching RIS array #B to the off state. Switching array #B to the off state indicates that the control diode of array #B is in the off state. If array #B is switched to the off state, it means that array #B does not reflect the reference signal, which means that the element of the beam vector corresponding to array #B is ineffective. Therefore, adjusting the state of array #B can also achieve wide and narrow beam switching.

[0265] In the first possible scenario, the arrays are switched off at regular intervals. In this scenario, array #B includes arrays with equal intervals.

[0266] Take the RIS array as an example, which is a two-dimensional deployment (e.g. Figure 1 As shown, the arrays of the RIS are deployed in both the horizontal and vertical directions. For example, rule #B instructs to switch multiple arrays of the RIS to an off state, wherein the interval between each two adjacent arrays in the multiple arrays in the horizontal direction is the same, and / or the interval between each two adjacent arrays in the vertical direction is the same.

[0267] For ease of description, the interval is represented by Δ3. As an example, Δ3 is an integer greater than 0. For example, Δ3=2 n , n is an integer greater than or equal to 0. For example, Δ3 is any of the following: 2, 4, 8, 16.

[0268] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of switching to the off state at fixed intervals applicable to the embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, the RIS array is deployed in both horizontal and vertical directions.

[0269] In one example, the vertical distance between each two adjacent arrays in array #B is Δ3, such as Figure 5 In this example, Δ3 may be in one-dimensional form, that is, Δ3 is the vertical spacing of the arrays to be switched to the off state.

[0270] In another example, the horizontal interval between two adjacent arrays in array #B is Δ3, as shown in FIG. Figure 5 In this example, Δ3 may be in one-dimensional form, that is, Δ3 is the horizontal interval of the arrays to be switched to the off state.

[0271] In another example, the interval between every two adjacent elements in the element array #B in the vertical direction is Δ3 v , and the interval between every two adjacent elements in the horizontal direction is Δ3 h , Δ3 h and Δ3 v can be the same or different.

[0272] The above combination Figure 5 is taken as an example for illustration, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. In addition, the first possible case in Solution 2 is similar to the first possible case in Solution 1. The difference is that in Solution 1, the elements of the beam vector are set to zero, and in Solution 2, the states of the elements of the RIS are switched.

[0273] In the second possible case, a continuous plurality of elements are switched to the off state. In this case, the element array #B includes a continuous plurality of elements.

[0274] Taking the case where the elements of the RIS are two-dimensionally deployed as an example (as shown in Figure 1 , the elements of the RIS are deployed both in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction), for example, Rule #B instructs to switch a plurality of elements of the RIS to the off state, where the plurality of elements are continuous in the horizontal direction and / or the plurality of elements are continuous in the vertical direction.

[0275] For ease of description, Δ4 is used to represent the number of consecutive elements to be switched to the off state, such as the number of consecutive elements switched to the off state in the horizontal direction, or the number of consecutive elements switched to the off state in the vertical direction. As an example, Δ4 is an integer greater than 1.

[0276] Referring to Figure 6 , Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of switching a continuous plurality of elements to the off state applicable to the embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 6 , the elements of the RIS are deployed both in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction. Assume that the RIS has a total of M*N elements, and each row in the horizontal direction deploys N elements, and each column in the vertical direction deploys M elements, where M and N are integers greater than 1.

[0277] In one example, the element array #B includes M*Δ4 elements, and the M*Δ4 elements are continuous in the vertical direction, and the continuous length is Δ4, as shown in (a) of Figure 6 .

[0278] In another example, the element array #B includes N*Δ4 elements, and the N*Δ4 elements are continuous in the horizontal direction, and the continuous length is Δ4, as shown in (b) of Figure 6 .

[0279] In another example, the antenna array #B includes Δ4 h *Δ4 v antenna elements, and these Δ4 h *Δ4 v antenna elements are continuous in the horizontal direction, and the continuous length is Δ4 h ; these Δ4 h *Δ4 v antenna elements are also continuous in the vertical direction, and the continuous length is Δ4 v , and Δ4 h and Δ4 v can be the same or different. As shown in (c) of Figure 6 , the antenna array #B includes 4 * 6 antenna elements (i.e., 24 antenna elements). These 24 antenna elements are continuous in the horizontal direction, and the continuous length is 4; these 24 antenna elements are also continuous in the vertical direction, and the continuous length is 6.

[0280] The above combination Figure 6 is taken as an example for illustration, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, the starting antenna element to be switched to the off state can also be defined. For another example, the antenna array #B can include multiple antenna elements starting from a certain antenna element, and the interval between every two adjacent antenna elements in these multiple antenna elements is Δ4 antenna elements.

[0281] The above two cases are for illustrative purposes and are not limited thereto. For example, the antenna array #B can also be switched to the off state according to different intervals.

[0282] In addition, Scheme 2 is similar to Scheme 1. The difference is that in Scheme 1, the elements of the beam vector are set to zero, while in Scheme 2, the state of the antenna elements of the RIS is switched.

[0283] Optionally, the antenna array #B has an association relationship with the beam grouping strategy (for distinction, this association relationship is called association relationship #B). In this way, the antenna array #B can be obtained according to the beam grouping strategy and this association relationship #B, or the beam grouping strategy can also be obtained according to the antenna array #B and this association relationship #B.

[0284] Among them, the association relationship #B can exist in the form of a table, a function, text, or a string. For example, for storage or transmission, an example of presenting the association relationship #B in the form of a table is introduced by combining two cases.

[0285] Case 1: The antenna elements are switched to the off state at a fixed interval.

[0286] In this case, the association relationship #B can be as shown in Table 3.

[0287] Table 3

[0288] ​ BM level Element interval in off state 1 <![CDATA[{Δ31 h , Δ31 v}]]> 2 <![CDATA[{Δ32 h ,Δ32 v}]]> 3 <![CDATA[{Δ33 h , Δ33 v}]]>

[0289] Among them, the BM level represents the beam measurement at level L as described above. In the example shown in Table 3, L = 3, that is, beam measurement at level 3 is performed. The off-state element interval in Table 3 is the Δ3 as described above. As described above, Δ3 can be in a one-dimensional form. Specifically, Δ3 is the interval of the elements to be switched to the off state in the horizontal direction, or Δ3 is the interval of the elements to be switched to the off state in the vertical direction; or Δ3 can also be in a two-dimensional form. Specifically, Δ3 includes the interval of the elements to be switched to the off state in the horizontal direction and the interval in the vertical direction.

[0290] Taking Table 3 as an example, when performing beam measurement at the first level, the RIS can process according to the off-state element interval being {Δ31 h , Δ31 v}. For example, when performing beam measurement at the first level, the RIS can start from the first element and switch every Δ31 h elements in the horizontal direction to the off state, and switch every Δ31 v elements in the vertical direction to the off state. Among them, starting from the first element can be predefined, or preconfigured, or indicated, and this is not limited.

[0291] The above Table 3 is for illustrative purposes and is not limited. For example, Table 3 can also include the starting position, that is, the position of the first element to be switched to the off state. In addition, Table 3 is similar to Table 1. The difference is that in Table 3, it is the association relationship between the BM level and the elements switched to the off state, while in Table 1, it is the association relationship between the BM level and the elements set to zero. This is not elaborated here.

[0292] Case 2: A continuous plurality of elements are switched to the off state.

[0293] In this case, the association relationship #B can be as shown in Table 4.

[0294] Table 4

[0295] BM level Element range in off state 1 <![CDATA[{ID h1 ,ID v1}+{Δ41 h ,Δ41 v}]]> 2 <![CDATA[{ID h2 , ID v2}+{Δ42 h , Δ42 v}]]> 3 <![CDATA[{ID h3 , ID v3}+{Δ43 h , Δ43 v}]]>

[0296] The off-state element interval in Table 4 includes: in the horizontal direction, the starting position of the elements to be switched to the off state, that is, ID h (such as ID h1 , ID h2 , ID h3 ), and the continuous length in the horizontal direction (that is, the Δ4 as described above, such as Δ4 h); and in the vertical direction, the starting position of the element switched to the off state, i.e., ID v (such as ID v1 , ID v2 , ID v3 ), and the continuous length in the vertical direction (i.e., the aforementioned Δ4, such as Δ4 v ). ID v or ID h can identify (or recognize) the position of the element or the position of the row or column where the element is located. For example, in the horizontal direction, in each row, the elements can be numbered in sequence starting from the first element of the RIS (such as from left to right, or from right to left), such as ID h1 , ID h2 , ID h3 etc.; similarly, in the vertical direction, in each column, the elements can be numbered in sequence starting from the first element of the RIS (such as from top to bottom, or from bottom to top), such as ID v1 , ID v2 , ID v3 etc.

[0297] Taking Table 4 as an example, when performing the first-level beam measurement, the RIS can process according to the off-state element interval {ID h1 , ID v1}+{Δ41 h , Δ41 v}. For example, when performing the first-level beam measurement, in the horizontal direction, the RIS can start from the element ID h1 and switch Δ41 h consecutive elements in the horizontal direction to the off state; in the vertical direction, the RIS can start from the element ID v1 and switch Δ41 v consecutive elements in the vertical direction to the off state.

[0298] The above Table 4 is for illustrative purposes and is not limited thereto. For example, Table 4 can refer to Table 2. Table 4 is similar to Table 2, the difference being that Table 4 shows the correlation between the BM level and the elements switched to the off state, while Table 2 shows the correlation between the BM level and the elements set to zero. This will not be elaborated here.

[0299] In addition, as an example, the correlation #B can be time-constrained. Specifically, the correlation #B can be associated with a time period during which the correlation #B is valid, that is, during this time period, the RIS can determine the element #B according to the correlation #B and the beam grouping strategy, or the RIS can determine the beam grouping strategy according to the correlation #B and the element #B.

[0300] Optionally, the RIS receives second indication information, which indicates element #B, or indicates the position (or location information) of element #B. Specifically, a control device or a communication device (such as a first communication device or a second communication device) sends the second indication information, and the RIS receives the second indication information and obtains the elements to be processed according to the second indication information, such as the elements that need to be switched to the off state. Among them, the second indication information can directly indicate element #B or can also indirectly indicate element #B, which is not limited herein. As an example, the second indication information can be carried in at least one of the following signaling: RRC, MAC (such as MAC CE), or DCI.

[0301] The following introduces several possible implementation manners.

[0302] In the first possible implementation manner, the second indication information includes at least one of the following: the number of the last element in element #B, the number of the first element in element #B, the total number of elements included in element #B, and the interval between adjacent elements in element #B.

[0303] Taking the two-dimensional deployment of the RIS elements as an example (as shown in Figure 1 where the RIS elements are deployed both in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction), the above-mentioned information can be one-dimensional or two-dimensional. Specifically, the number of the first element (i.e., the first element) in element #B can be the row number of the first element in the horizontal direction, or can also be the column number of the first element in the vertical direction, or can also be the number of the first element (such as the RIS elements can be numbered, that is, each element of the RIS has its corresponding number). The number of the last element (i.e., the last element) in element #B can be the row number of the last element in the horizontal direction, or can also be the column number of the last element in the vertical direction, or can also be the number of the last element (such as the RIS elements can be numbered, that is, each element of the RIS has its corresponding number). The total number of elements in element #B can be the total number of rows of the elements to be switched to the off state in the horizontal direction (or the total number of elements to be switched to the off state in each column), or can also be the total number of columns of the elements to be switched to the off state in the vertical direction (or the total number of elements to be switched to the off state in each row), or can also be the total number of elements to be switched to the off state. The interval between adjacent elements in element #B can be the interval in the horizontal direction of the elements to be switched to the off state, or can also be the interval in the vertical direction of the elements to be switched to the off state, or can also be the interval between every two adjacent elements among the elements to be switched to the off state.

[0304] The following is described in combination with two cases.

[0305] In Case 1, the dipoles are switched to off at fixed intervals.

[0306] In this case, as an example, the second indication information indicates (such as includes) the interval between the dipoles switched to the off state (i.e., the interval between adjacent dipoles in dipole #B) and / or the starting position (i.e., the number of the starting dipole in dipole #B). For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 5 , the second indication information includes Δ3. In this case, it can be defaulted to start from the first column, and every Δ1 columns of dipoles are switched to the off state.

[0307] In Case 2, a continuous plurality of dipoles are switched to the off state.

[0308] In this case, as an example, the second indication information indicates (such as includes) the range of dipoles switched to the off state (i.e., the total number of dipoles included in dipole #B) and / or the starting position (such as the number of the starting dipole in dipole #B). For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 6 , the second indication information includes Δ4. In this case, it can be defaulted to start from the first column, and the continuous Δ4 columns of dipoles are switched to the off state.

[0309] The above is simply described in combination with two cases, and this is not limited. For example, the second indication information may include the ending position of the dipoles switched to the off state (such as the number of the ending dipole in dipole #B), as well as the interval between the dipoles switched to the off state or the range of the dipoles switched to the off state. In this way, all the dipoles to be switched to the off state can also be determined according to this ending position and the range or interval of the dipoles. For another example, the first indication information may include the ending position, and assuming that the starting position is default, all the dipoles to be switched to the off state can also be determined according to this ending position and the default starting position.

[0310] In the second possible implementation manner, the second indication information includes a beam grouping strategy, and the beam grouping strategy has an associated relationship with dipole #B. Specifically, the RIS can obtain dipole #B according to the beam grouping strategy and this associated relationship.

[0311] Among them, the associated relationship between the beam grouping strategy and dipole #B can refer to the aforementioned associated relationship #B, such as Table 3 or Table 4, which will not be elaborated here.

[0312] Furthermore, the associated relationship between the beam grouping strategy and dipole #B can be predefined, or can also be preconfigured, or can also be indicated, and this is not limited. If the associated relationship #B is indicated, then the associated relationship #B and the beam grouping strategy can be carried in the same signaling, or can also be carried in different signals, and this is not limited.

[0313] In the third possible implementation, the second indication information includes a bitmap, and the position information of the antenna element #B is indicated by this bitmap.

[0314] Taking the two-dimensional deployment of the antenna elements of the RIS as an example (as Figure 1 shown, the antenna elements of the RIS are deployed both in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction), this bitmap can be one-dimensional (that is, the bitmap indicates the row or column to be switched to the off state), or it can also be two-dimensional (that is, the bitmap indicates the rows and columns to be switched to the off state). Assume that the RIS has a total of M*N antenna elements, and there are N antenna elements deployed in each row in the horizontal direction and M antenna elements deployed in each column in the vertical direction, where M and N are integers greater than 1.

[0315] For example, an M-bit bitmap is used to indicate the row where the antenna element to be switched to the off state is located. Specifically, each bit represents a row. Assume that the bit value of "1" indicates that it needs to be switched to the off state, and the bit value of "0" indicates that it does not need to be switched to the off state. Assume M = 14. If this bitmap is 00001100001100, then it means that the antenna elements in the 5th row, 6th row, 11th row, and 12th row need to be switched to the off state, and the antenna elements in the remaining rows are not switched to the off state.

[0316] For another example, an N-bit bitmap is used to indicate the column where the antenna element to be switched to the off state is located. Specifically, each bit represents a column. Assume that the bit value of "1" indicates that it needs to be set to zero, and the bit value of "0" indicates that it does not need to be switched to the off state. Assume N = 12. If this bitmap is 100001000011, then it means that the antenna elements in the 1st column, 6th column, 11th column, and 12th column need to be switched to the off state, and the antenna elements in the remaining columns are not switched to the off state.

[0317] For another example, an (N+M)-bit bitmap is used to indicate the rows and columns to be switched to the off state, or two bitmaps can be used to indicate the rows and columns to be switched to the off state respectively. For specific details, please refer to the above examples.

[0318] Scheme 1 and Scheme 2 are described above. The above Scheme 1 and Scheme 2 can be used alone or in combination. When used in combination, the RIS can process the element #A in the beam vector and can also process the antenna element #B of the RIS.

[0319] As described above, the first rule may indicate processing of element #A in the beam vector, or the first rule may indicate processing of antenna element #B in the RSI. Further optionally, method 200 further includes: the RIS receives third indication information that indicates the first rule. For example, the control device sends the third indication information to the RIS; as another example, the first communication device or the second communication device sends the third indication information to the RIS.

[0320] In a possible implementation, the third indication information is implemented by at least one bit. For example, assume that it is indicated by 1 bit: processing of element #A in the beam vector, or processing of antenna element #B in the RSI. If this bit is set to "0", it means processing of element #A in the beam vector, that is, in step 220, the RIS processes element #A in the beam vector, such as setting element #A to zero; if this bit is set to "1", it means processing of antenna element #B in the RSI, that is, in step 220, the RIS processes antenna element #B in the RSI, such as switching the state of antenna element #B to the off state. It should be understood that the above is only an exemplary illustration and is not limiting.

[0321] In another possible implementation, the third indication information is implemented by the first indication information or the second indication information. For example, if the RIS receives the first indication information that indicates element #A, the RIS defaults to processing element #A in the beam vector; as another example, if the RIS receives the second indication information that indicates antenna element #B, the RIS defaults to processing antenna element #B of the RIS.

[0322] In another possible implementation, the third indication information includes a beam grouping strategy, and the beam grouping strategy has an associated relationship with the first rule. Specifically, the RIS can, according to the beam grouping strategy and this associated relationship, know whether to process element #A in the beam vector or antenna element #B of the RIS. As an example, the associated relationship between the beam grouping strategy and the first rule can be predefined, or can also be preconfigured, or can also be indicated, and this is not limited.

[0323] Further, the RIS can also determine how to process element #A or antenna element #B according to the beam grouping strategy and this associated relationship. For example, if the associated relationship is in a form similar to Table 1 or Table 3, the RIS can, according to this associated relationship, determine to set to zero at a fixed interval or switch antenna elements to the off state at a fixed interval. As another example, if the associated relationship is in a form similar to Table 2 or Table 4, the RIS can, according to this associated relationship, determine to set to zero in a continuous interval or switch a continuous plurality of antenna elements to the off state.

[0324] For ease of understanding, the following takes the first communication device as a network device, the second communication device as a terminal device, the reference signal as CSI-RS, and the control device is deployed in the network device as an example to introduce the specific process applicable to the embodiments of the present application. It can be understood that the processes described below are only illustrative examples, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. The content not described in detail below can refer to the description in Method 200 and will not be elaborated here.

[0325] See Figure 7 , Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of Method 700 for signal transmission applicable to the embodiments of the present application. This method 700 can be used to implement the above Scheme 1. In this method 700, it is assumed that the RIS zeros out some elements in the beam vector according to the first rule (i.e., the aforementioned Rule #A). Figure 7 The method 700 shown can include the following steps.

[0326] 710, the RIS sends the capability information of the RIS to the network device.

[0327] Regarding the capability information of the RIS, reference can be made to the relevant description in Method 200 and will not be elaborated here.

[0328] 720, the network device determines the beam grouping strategy according to the capability information.

[0329] Specifically, after receiving the capability information of the RIS, the network device determines the beam grouping strategy according to the capability information of the RIS. For example, the network device can determine the maximum number of narrow beams according to the capability information of the RIS, and then determine the beam grouping strategy. Among them, the beam grouping strategy can include at least one of the following information: performing L-level beam measurements, the beam group or the number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement, or the beam or the number of beams in each beam group.

[0330] Optionally, the network device sends the beam grouping strategy and / or the RIS codebook codeword index (i.e., the index of the beam vector of the RIS) to the RIS.

[0331] Regarding the beam grouping strategy, reference can be made to the relevant description in Method 200 and will not be elaborated here.

[0332] The network device performs the first-level beam measurement (or the first-level beam scan, such as the first-level wide beam scan) according to the beam grouping strategy. Specifically, the first-level beam measurement includes the following steps 731-734.

[0333] 731, the network device sends the first indication information and / or the third indication information to the RIS. The first indication information indicates element #A1, and the third indication information indicates that element #A is to be zeroed out.

[0334] Element #A1 represents an element that needs to be zeroed during beam measurement at level 1. Element #A1 may be continuous or evenly spaced. For details, please refer to the description of element #A in method 200 and will not be repeated here.

[0335] In one example, a network device sends first indication information to a RIS. Based on this, the RIS can obtain element #A1 based on the first indication information. In this example, the RIS can default to applying rule #A to element #A, meaning that the RIS can default to zeroing element #A. For example, if the first indication information indicates a zeroing interval or range, the RIS can default to zeroing starting from the first element according to the zeroing interval or range. For details about the first indication information, please refer to the relevant description of method 200.

[0336] In another example, the network device sends third indication information to the RIS. Based on this, the RIS can be informed by the third indication information to set some elements (i.e., element #A1) in the RIS beam vector to zero. In this example, element #A1 can be predefined or preconfigured. For details about the third indication information, please refer to the relevant description of method 200.

[0337] In another example, the network device sends the first indication information and the third indication information to the RIS.

[0338] 732. The network device sends a CSI-RS to the terminal device via the RIS.

[0339] Specifically, the network device sends a CSI-RS. After receiving the RIS, the RIS sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device through beam #1. Beam #1 is the beam used for the first-level beam measurement. Before the RIS sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device through beam #1, the RIS sets element #A1 in the beam vector of beam #1 to zero.

[0340] 733. The terminal device performs measurement according to the CSI-RS and obtains a measurement result.

[0341] 734. The terminal device sends the measurement result to the network device.

[0342] The terminal device can send the measurement results to the network device directly or through the RIS, without limitation.

[0343] The measurement results can be referred to the relevant description in method 200 and will not be described in detail here.

[0344] After receiving the measurement result, the network device can perform the second-level beam measurement according to the beam grouping strategy. If L = 2, the second-level beam measurement can also be called narrow beam measurement (or narrow beam scanning); if L>2, the second-level beam measurement can also be called wide beam measurement (or the second-level wide beam scanning). Specifically, the second-level beam measurement includes the following steps 741-744.

[0345] 741. The network device sends the first indication information and / or the third indication information to the RIS. The first indication information indicates element #A2, and the third indication information indicates to set element #A2 to zero.

[0346] Among them, element #A2 represents the element that needs to be set to zero during the second-level beam measurement. This element #A2 can be continuous or can also be equally spaced. For details, reference can be made to the relevant description of element #A in method 200, which will not be elaborated here.

[0347] Among them, element #A1 and element #A2 may be the same or different, and this is not limited.

[0348] 742. The network device sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the RIS.

[0349] Specifically, when the network device sends CSI-RS, after the RIS receives it, it sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through beam #2. This beam #2 is the beam used for the second-level beam measurement. And before the RIS sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through beam #2, the RIS sets element #A2 in the beam vector of beam #2 to zero.

[0350] 743. The terminal device performs measurements based on the CSI-RS and obtains the measurement result.

[0351] 744. The terminal device sends the measurement result to the network device.

[0352] Steps 741-744 are similar to steps 731-734, which will not be elaborated here.

[0353] Similarly, the network device performs the l-th (l≤L) level beam measurement according to the beam grouping strategy. The l-th level beam measurement is similar to the previous first-level beam measurement, which will not be elaborated here.

[0354] 750. The network device indicates the information of the RIS beam to the RIS.

[0355] Among them, the RIS beam is a beam for data transmission determined according to measurement results. Specifically, the network device determines, based on the measurement feedback at the L-th level, a beam with better beam quality (such as the optimal beam or a relatively good beam) in the RIS for data transmission. Therefore, the network device indicates the RIS beam information to the RIS. For example, the RIS beam is a beam whose quality is greater than or equal to a preset threshold determined according to measurement results.

[0356] 760, the network device sends data to the terminal device.

[0357] The network device can directly send data to the terminal device; or, the network device can also send data to the terminal device through the RIS. Specifically, the network device sends data, the RIS receives the data, and sends (or reflects) the data to the terminal device through the RIS beam in step 750.

[0358] Based on the above solution, by adjusting the elements in the beam vector, such as setting some elements in the beam vector to zero, wide and narrow beam switching can be achieved, and the beam training efficiency can be improved. In addition, through the beam grouping strategy, such as performing beam measurement in L levels, the overhead of each beam measurement can be reduced.

[0359] See Figure 8 , Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart of a signal transmission method 800 applicable to the embodiments of the present application. The method 800 can be used to implement the above solution 2. In the method 800, it is assumed that the RIS switches some elements of the RIS to the off state according to the first rule (i.e., the rule #B described above). Figure 8 The method 800 shown can include the following steps.

[0360] 810, the RIS sends the capability information of the RIS to the network device.

[0361] [[ID=2^4]]820, the network device determines a beam grouping strategy according to the capability information.

[0362] Optionally, the network device sends the beam grouping strategy to the RIS. Further, as an example, the network device also sends the RIS codebook codeword index (i.e., the index of the beam vector of the RIS) to the RIS.

[0363] The network device performs the first-level beam measurement (or the first-level beam scan, such as the first-level wide beam scan) according to the beam grouping strategy. Specifically, the first-level beam measurement includes the following steps 831-834.

[0364] 831, the network device sends the second indication information and / or the third indication information to the RIS. The second indication information indicates element #B1, and the third indication information switches element #B1 to the off state.

[0365] Among them, the antenna element #B1 represents the antenna element that needs to be switched to the off state during the first-level beam measurement. This antenna element #B1 can be continuous or can also be equally spaced. For specific details, reference can be made to the relevant description of the antenna element #B in method 200, which will not be elaborated here.

[0366] In one example, the network device sends second indication information to the RIS. Based on this, the RIS can obtain the antenna element #B1 according to the second indication information. In this example, the RIS can default to processing the antenna element #B according to rule #B, that is, the RIS can default to switching the antenna element #B1 to the off state. For example, the second indication information #1 indicates the interval or range of antenna elements to be switched to the off state. At this time, it can be defaulted that starting from the first antenna element, according to the interval or range of antenna elements to be switched to the off state, the antenna elements within this range are switched to the off state. For the second indication information, reference can be made to the relevant description in method 200.

[0367] In another example, the network device sends third indication information to the RIS. Based on this, the RIS can obtain that some antenna elements of the RIS (i.e., the antenna element #B1) are switched to the off state according to the third indication information. In this example, the antenna element #B1 can be predefined or pre-configured. For the third indication information, reference can be made to the relevant description in method 200.

[0368] In another example, the network device sends second indication information and third indication information to the RIS.

[0369] 832. The network device sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the RIS.

[0370] Specifically, the network device sends CSI-RS. After the RIS receives this CSI-RS, it sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device through the antenna element #1 of the RIS. The antenna element #1 of this RIS is the antenna element used during the first-level beam measurement. And before the RIS sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device through the antenna element #1 of the RIS, the RIS switches the antenna element #B1 in the antenna element #1 of the RIS to the off state.

[0371] 833. The terminal device measures according to the CSI-RS and obtains a measurement result.

[0372] 834. The terminal device sends the measurement result to the network device.

[0373] After the network device receives this measurement result, it can perform second-level beam measurement according to the beam grouping strategy. If L = 2, the second-level beam measurement can also be called narrow beam measurement (or narrow beam scanning); if L > 2, the second-level beam measurement can also be called wide beam measurement (or second-level wide beam scanning). Specifically, the second-level beam measurement includes the following steps 841 - 844.

[0374] 841. The network device sends the second indication information and / or the third indication information to the RIS. The second indication information indicates the antenna element #B2, and the third indication information indicates to switch the antenna element #B2 to the off state.

[0375] Among them, the antenna element #B2 represents the antenna element that needs to be switched to the off state during the second-level beam measurement. The antenna element #B2 can be continuous or equally spaced. For specific details, refer to the relevant description of the antenna element #B in method 200, which will not be elaborated here.

[0376] Among them, the antenna element #B1 and the antenna element #B2 may be the same or different, and this is not limited.

[0377] 842. The network device sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the RIS.

[0378] Specifically, the network device sends CSI-RS. After receiving the CSI-RS, the RIS sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device through the antenna element #2 of the RIS. The antenna element #2 of the RIS is the antenna element used for the second-level beam measurement. Before the RIS sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device through the antenna element #2 of the RIS, the RIS switches the antenna element #B2 in the antenna element #2 of the RIS to the off state.

[0379] 843. The terminal device measures based on the CSI-RS and obtains the measurement result.

[0380] 844. The terminal device sends the measurement result to the network device.

[0381] Steps 841-844 are similar to steps 831-834, which will not be elaborated here.

[0382] Similarly, the network device performs the l-th (l ≤ L) level beam measurement according to the beam grouping strategy. The l-th level beam measurement is similar to the previous first-level beam measurement, which will not be elaborated here.

[0383] 850. The network device indicates the information of the RIS beam to the RIS.

[0384] 860. The network device sends data to the terminal device.

[0385] The network device can directly send data to the terminal device; or, the network device can also send data to the terminal device through the RIS. Specifically, the network device sends data. After receiving the data, the RIS sends (or reflects) the data to the terminal device through the RIS beam in step 850.

[0386] Method 800 is similar to method 700, except that in method 700, elements in the beam vector are set to zero, while in method 800, the elements of the RIS are switched to the off state.

[0387] Based on the above solutions, by adjusting the state of the elements of the RIS, such as switching some elements of the RIS to the off state, wide and narrow beam switching can be achieved, improving the beam training efficiency. In addition, through beam grouping strategies, such as performing beam measurements in L levels, the overhead of each beam measurement can be reduced.

[0388] See Figure 9 , Figure 9 is a schematic flowchart of method 900 for signal transmission applicable to the embodiments of the present application. This method 900 can be used to implement the above solution 1. In this method 900, it is assumed that the RIS zeros out some elements in the beam vector according to the first rule (i.e., the aforementioned rule #A). Figure 9 The method 900 shown may include the following steps.

[0389] 910, the RIS sends capability information to the network device.

[0390] 920, the network device determines a beam grouping strategy according to the capability information.

[0391] 930, the network device sends the beam grouping strategy to the RIS.

[0392] As an example, the beam grouping strategy includes at least one of the following information: performing beam measurements in L levels, the beam group or the number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement, or the beams or the number of beams in each beam group. Wherein, L is an integer greater than or equal to 1. In step 931, the network device may send at least one of the above information to the RIS.

[0393] In one example, the number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement is the same, and the number of beams in each beam group is the same. At this time, in step 931, the network device may send at least one of the following parameters to the RIS: L, G, K. Wherein, G represents the number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement, and K represents the number of beams in a beam group. Wherein, L, G, and K are all positive integers.

[0394] In another example, the number of beam groups during each level of beam measurement is the same, and the number of beams in each beam group is different. At this time, in step 931, the network device may send at least one of the following parameters to the RIS: L, G, Ki. Wherein, Ki represents the number of beams in a beam group during the i-th level of beam measurement. Wherein, i = 1, 2,..., L, and Ki is a positive integer.

[0395] In another example, the number of beam groups during beam measurement at each level is different, and the number of beams in each beam group is the same. At this time, in step 931, the network device may send the following at least one parameter to the RIS: L, Gi, K. Wherein, Gi represents the number of beam groups during the i-th level of beam measurement. Wherein, Gi is a positive integer,

[0396] In another example, the number of beam groups during beam measurement at each level is different, and the number of beams in each beam group is different. At this time, in step 931, the network device may send the following at least one parameter to the RIS: L, Gi, Ki.

[0397] Further, as an example, the network device also sends the RIS codebook codeword index (i.e., the index of the beam vector of the RIS) to the RIS.

[0398] The network device performs the first-level beam measurement (or the first-level beam sweep, such as the first-level wide beam sweep) according to the beam grouping strategy. Specifically, the first-level beam measurement includes the following steps 941-944.

[0399] 941. The RIS determines element #A1 according to the beam grouping strategy and association relationship #A.

[0400] Wherein, element #A1 represents the element to be set to zero during the first-level beam measurement. This element #A1 can be continuous or can also have equal intervals. For specific reference, please refer to the relevant description of element #A in method 200, which will not be elaborated here.

[0401] Wherein, the association relationship #A represents the relationship between element #A (i.e., the element to be set to zero) and the beam grouping strategy.

[0402] Taking Table 1 above as an example, during the first-level beam measurement, zeroing can be performed according to the zeroing interval Δ11. For example, during the first-level beam measurement, the RIS can start from the first row of the beam vector and set the elements in every other Δ11 rows to zero. For another example, during the first-level beam measurement, the RIS can start from the first column of the beam vector and set the elements in every other Δ11 columns to zero. Among them, starting from the first row or the first column can be predefined, or pre-configured, or indicated, which is not limited here.

[0403] Regarding the mapping relationship #A, please refer to the relevant description in method 200, which will not be elaborated here.

[0404] 942. The network device sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the RIS.

[0405] Specifically, the network device sends CSI-RS. After receiving the CSI-RS, the RIS sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device through beam #1. The beam #1 is the beam used for the first-level beam measurement. Before the RIS sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device through beam #1, the RIS sets the element #A1 in the beam vector of beam #1 to zero.

[0406] 943, The terminal device measures based on the CSI-RS and obtains a measurement result.

[0407] 944, The terminal device sends the measurement result to the network device.

[0408] After receiving the measurement result, the network device can perform the second-level beam measurement according to the beam grouping strategy. If L = 2, the second-level beam measurement can also be called narrow beam measurement (or narrow beam scanning); if L > 2, the second-level beam measurement can also be called wide beam measurement (or the second-level wide beam scanning). Specifically, the second-level beam measurement includes the following steps 951-954.

[0409] 951, The RIS determines element #A2 according to the beam grouping strategy and association relationship #A.

[0410] Among them, element #A2 represents the element that needs to be set to zero during the second-level beam measurement. The element #A2 can be continuous or can also have equal intervals. For specific reference, please refer to the relevant description of element #A in method 200, which will not be elaborated here.

[0411] Among them, element #A1 and element #A2 may be the same or different, and this is not limited.

[0412] 952, The network device sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the RIS.

[0413] Specifically, the network device sends CSI-RS. After receiving the CSI-RS, the RIS sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device through beam #2. The beam #2 is the beam used for the second-level beam measurement. Before the RIS sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device through beam #2, the RIS sets the element #A2 in the beam vector of beam #2 to zero.

[0414] 953, The terminal device measures based on the CSI-RS and obtains a measurement result.

[0415] 954, The terminal device sends the measurement result to the network device.

[0416] Steps 951-954 are similar to steps 941-944 and will not be elaborated here.

[0417] Similarly, the network device performs beam measurements at the l-th (l ≤ L) level according to the beam grouping strategy. The beam measurements at the l-th level are similar to the previous beam measurements at the first level and will not be elaborated here.

[0418] 960, the network device indicates information of the RIS beam to the RIS.

[0419] 970, the network device sends data to the terminal device.

[0420] It can be understood that the above is for illustrative purposes. For example, step 941 can be executed after step 942, or before it, or simultaneously, without limitation. For another example, step 951 can be executed after step 952, or before it, or simultaneously, without limitation. For another example, step 941 and step 951 can also be executed simultaneously. For another example, step 942 and step 930 can be executed simultaneously.

[0421] Based on the above solution, by adjusting the elements in the beam vector, such as setting some elements in the beam vector to zero, wide and narrow beam switching can be achieved, improving the beam training efficiency. In addition, through the beam grouping strategy, such as performing beam measurements in L levels, the overhead of each beam measurement can be reduced. In addition, there is an association relationship between the beam grouping strategy and the elements to be set to zero, so that the elements to be set to zero during each beam measurement can be directly determined according to the association relationship, reducing the indication overhead.

[0422] See Figure 10 , Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart of a signal transmission method 1000 applicable to the embodiments of the present application. This method 1000 can be used to implement the above solution 2. In this method 1000, it is assumed that the RIS switches some of its antenna elements to the off state according to the first rule (i.e., the rule #B described above). [[ID=8??]]Figure 10 The method 1000 shown may include the following steps.

[0423] 1010, the RIS sends capability information to the network device.

[0424] 1020, the network device determines the beam grouping strategy according to the capability information.

[0425] 1030, the network device sends the beam grouping strategy to the RIS.

[0426] Further, as an example, the network device also sends the RIS codebook codeword index (i.e., the index of the beam vector of the RIS) to the RIS.

[0427] The network device performs the first-level beam measurement (or the first-level beam scanning, such as the first-level wide beam scanning) according to the beam grouping strategy. Specifically, the first-level beam measurement includes the following steps 1041-1044.

[0428] 1041. The RIS determines the element #B1 according to the beam grouping strategy and the association relationship #A.

[0429] Among them, the element #B1 represents the element that needs to be switched to the off state during the first-level beam measurement. The element #B1 can be continuous or equally spaced. For specific reference, please refer to the relevant description of the element #B in method 200, which will not be elaborated here.

[0430] Among them, the association relationship #B represents the relationship between the element #B (i.e., the element switched to the off state) and the beam grouping strategy.

[0431] Taking Table 3 above as an example, during the first-level beam measurement, the RIS can process the off-state element intervals as {Δ31 h , Δ31 v}. For example, during the first-level beam measurement, the RIS can start from the first element and switch every Δ31 h elements in the horizontal direction to the off state, and switch every Δ31 v elements in the vertical direction to the off state. Among them, starting from the first element can be predefined, pre-configured, or indicated, which is not limited here.

[0432] For the mapping relationship #B, please refer to the relevant description in method 200, which will not be elaborated here.

[0433] 1042. The network device sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the RIS.

[0434] Specifically, when the network device sends CSI-RS and the RIS receives it, the RIS sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the element #1 of the RIS. The element #1 of the RIS is the element used during the first-level beam measurement. Before the RIS sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the element #1 of the RIS, the RIS switches the element #B1 in the element #1 of the RIS to the off state.

[0435] 1043. The terminal device performs measurements based on the CSI-RS and obtains measurement results.

[0436] 1044. The terminal device sends the measurement results to the network device.

[0437] After receiving the measurement result, the network device can perform the second-level beam measurement according to the beam grouping strategy. If L = 2, the second-level beam measurement can also be referred to as narrow beam measurement (or narrow beam scanning); if L > 2, the second-level beam measurement can also be referred to as wide beam measurement (or the second-level wide beam scanning). Specifically, the second-level beam measurement includes the following steps 1051-1054.

[0438] 1051. The RIS determines the antenna element #B2 according to the beam grouping strategy and the association relationship #A.

[0439] Among them, the antenna element #B2 refers to the antenna element that needs to be switched to the off state during the second-level beam measurement. The antenna element #B2 can be continuous or equally spaced. For specific reference, please refer to the relevant description of the antenna element #B in method 200, which will not be elaborated here.

[0440] Among them, the antenna element #B1 and the antenna element #B2 may be the same or different, and this is not limited.

[0441] 1052. The network device sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the RIS.

[0442] Specifically, when the network device sends CSI-RS and the RIS receives it, the RIS sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the antenna element #2 of the RIS. The antenna element #2 of the RIS is the antenna element used for the second-level beam measurement. Before the RIS sends CSI-RS to the terminal device through the antenna element #2 of the RIS, the RIS switches the antenna element #B2 in the antenna element #2 of the RIS to the off state.

[0443] 1053. The terminal device performs measurements based on the CSI-RS and obtains the measurement result.

[0444] 1054. The terminal device sends the measurement result to the network device through the RIS.

[0445] Similarly, the network device performs the l-th (l ≤ L)-level beam measurement according to the beam grouping strategy. The l-th level beam measurement is similar to the previous first-level beam measurement and will not be elaborated here.

[0446] 1060. The network device indicates the information of the RIS beam to the RIS.

[0447] 1070. The network device sends data to the terminal device.

[0448] Method 1000 is similar to method 900. The difference is that in method 900, the elements in the beam vector are set to zero, while in method 1000, the antenna elements of the RIS are switched to the off state.

[0449] Based on the above solution, by adjusting the states of the RIS elements, such as switching some of the RIS elements to the off state, wide and narrow beam switching can be achieved, improving the beam training efficiency. In addition, through the beam grouping strategy, such as performing beam measurements in L levels, the overhead of each beam measurement can be reduced. Moreover, there is an association between the beam grouping strategy and the elements to be switched in state, so that the elements to be switched in state during each beam measurement can be directly determined according to the association, reducing the indication overhead.

[0450] The above details the solution of the embodiments of the present application. Next, in combination with Figure 11 and Figure 12 the effects of the above solution are introduced. [[ID=⑧]] [[ID=⑨]]

[0451] Refer to Figure 11 , Figure 11 which is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the number of RIS elements and the beams. As Figure 11 shown, the abscissa represents the antenna angle; the ordinate represents the directivity of the antenna, and this directivity can, for example, characterize the peak-to-average ratio of the radiation power in a certain spatial distribution, and its unit is dB. When the number of RIS elements is different, the waveform widths are different. Thus, it can be known that flexible switching between wide and narrow beams can be achieved based on controlling the states of the RIS elements.

[0452] Refer to Figure 12 , Figure 12 which is a schematic diagram of the beam grouping strategy proposed according to the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 12 shown, when performing 2-level beam measurements, that is, dividing the RIS beams into 2 rounds, wide beam measurements can be performed first (i.e., the beams shown by the dashed lines in Figure 12 ), and then narrow beam measurements. Among them, the method of switching from a wide beam to a narrow beam can be to set the element #A in the corresponding beam vector of the RIS to zero, or it can be to switch the element #B in the RIS to the off state. By designing the beam grouping strategy, such as performing L-level beam measurements, the beam training overhead will decrease as the total number of beams increases. In this way, not only can the training overhead be reduced, but also the system capacity can be improved.

[0453] It can be understood that in some of the above embodiments, taking the example of switching some of the RIS elements to the off state for illustration, the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, as long as it is a solution for switching or adjusting the states of the RIS elements, it is applicable to the embodiments of the present application. For another example, a solution that can make the effective number of RIS elements (i.e., the number of elements that can reflect signals) different also belongs to the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0454] It can also be understood that, in some of the above embodiments, taking the example of setting some elements in the beam vector to zero for illustration, the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, as long as it is a solution for adjusting the elements in the beam vector, it is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0455] It can also be understood that, in each of the above method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by the device can also be implemented by the components (such as chips or circuits) that make up the device, without limitation.

[0456] Above, in combination with Figures 2 to 12 The method provided by the embodiments of the present application has been described in detail. Below, in combination with Figures 13 to 15 The device provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, the content not described in detail can be referred to the above method embodiments. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0457] Refer to Figure 13 , Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 1300 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The device 1300 includes a transceiver unit 1310. The transceiver unit 1310 can be used to implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver unit 1310 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit. Optionally, the device 1300 further includes a processing unit 1320. The processing unit 1320 can be used for processing, such as determining the beam vector, setting to zero, switching the antenna element state, etc.

[0458] Optionally, the device 1300 may further include a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 1320 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit to enable the device to implement the foregoing method embodiments.

[0459] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1310 may include a receiving unit and a sending unit. Among them, the receiving unit can be used to perform operations related to receiving (such as operations of receiving data or messages), and the sending unit can be used to perform operations related to sending (such as operations of sending data or messages).

[0460] In a first possible design, the device 1300 can be the RIS in the foregoing embodiments, and the device 1300 can implement the steps or processes corresponding to those executed by the RIS in the above method embodiments. Among them, the transceiver unit 1310 can be used to perform operations related to the transceiver of the RIS in the above method embodiments (such as operations of sending and / or receiving data or messages). For example, the transceiver unit 1310 can be used to perform Figure 2 the steps 210 and 230 in the embodiment shown in Figures 7 to 10The operations related to the transceiver of the RIS in the illustrated embodiment. The processing unit 1320 can be used to perform the operations related to the processing of the RIS in the above method embodiments, or operations other than transceiver (such as operations other than sending and / or receiving data or messages), for example, the processing unit 1320 can be used to perform Figure 2 Steps 220 and 220 in the illustrated embodiment, and for another example, the processing unit 1320 can be used to perform Figures 7 to 10 The operations related to the processing of the RIS in the illustrated embodiment.

[0461] In a second possible design, the device 1300 can be the first communication device in the foregoing embodiment, and the device 1300 can implement the steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the first communication device in the above method embodiments. Among them, the transceiver unit 1310 can be used to perform the operations related to the transceiver of the first communication device in the above method embodiments (such as operations of sending and / or receiving data or messages), for example, the transceiver unit 1310 can be used to perform Figure 2 Steps 210 and 240 in the illustrated embodiment, and for another example, the transceiver unit 1310 can be used to perform Figures 7 to 10 The operations related to the transceiver of the network device in the illustrated embodiment. The processing unit 1320 can be used to perform the operations related to the processing of the first communication device in the above method embodiments, or operations other than transceiver (such as operations other than sending and / or receiving data or messages), for example, the processing unit 1320 can be used to perform Figure 2 The operations related to the processing of the first communication device in the illustrated embodiment, and for another example, the processing unit 1320 can be used to perform Figures 7 to 10 The operations related to the processing of the network device in the illustrated embodiment.

[0462] In a third possible design, the device 1300 can be the second communication device in the foregoing embodiment, and the device 1300 can implement the steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the second communication device in the above method embodiments. Among them, the transceiver unit 1310 can be used to perform the operations related to the transceiver of the second communication device in the above method embodiments (such as operations of sending and / or receiving data or messages), for example, the transceiver unit 1310 can be used to perform Figure 2 Steps 230 and 240 in the illustrated embodiment, and for another example, the transceiver unit 1310 can be used to perform Figures 7 to 10 The operations related to the transceiver of the terminal device in the illustrated embodiment. The processing unit 1320 can be used to perform the operations related to the processing of the second communication device in the above method embodiments, or operations other than transceiver (such as operations other than sending and / or receiving data or messages), for example, the processing unit 1320 can be used to perform Figure 2 The operations related to the processing of the second communication device in the illustrated embodiment, and for another example, the processing unit 1320 can be used to perform Figures 7 to 10 The operations related to the processing of the terminal device in the illustrated embodiment.

[0463] It should be understood that the specific processes for each unit to execute the corresponding steps above have been described in detail in the above method embodiments. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0464] It should also be understood that the device 1300 here is embodied in the form of functional units. The term "unit" here may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a proprietary processor or a group of processors, etc.) for executing one or more software or firmware programs, and a memory, a combined logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the art can understand that the device 1300 may specifically be the communication device in the above embodiments, and can be used to execute the respective processes and / or steps corresponding to the communication device in the above method embodiments. For the sake of avoiding repetition, they will not be repeated here.

[0465] The device 1300 of each of the above solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps executed by the communication device in the above method. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the sending unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing unit, etc. can be replaced by a processor, respectively executing the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0466] In addition, the above transceiver unit 1310 can also be a transceiver circuit (for example, it can include a receiving circuit and a sending circuit), and the processing unit can be a processing circuit.

[0467] It should be noted that Figure 13 the device in can be the communication device in the foregoing embodiments, or can be a chip or a chip system, for example: a system on chip (SoC). Among them, the transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit, a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip. It is not limited here.

[0468] See Figure 14 , Figure 14It is a schematic diagram of another communication device 1400 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The device 1400 includes a processor 1410, and the processor 1410 is coupled to a memory 1420. The memory 1420 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The processor 1410 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 1420, or read the data stored in the memory 1420, so as to execute the methods in the above method embodiments.

[0469] Optionally, the processor 1410 is one or more.

[0470] Optionally, the memory 1420 is one or more.

[0471] Optionally, the memory 1420 is integrated with the processor 1410 or is separately provided.

[0472] Optionally, as Figure 14 shown, the device 1400 further includes a transceiver 1430, and the transceiver 1430 is used for receiving and / or sending signals. For example, the processor 1410 is used to control the transceiver 1430 to receive and / or send signals.

[0473] As an example, the processor 1410 may have Figure 13 the functions of the processing unit 1320 shown in Figure 13 and the memory 1420 may have the functions of a storage unit, and the transceiver 1430 may have

[0474] the functions of the transceiver unit 1310 shown in

[0475] As a solution, the device 1400 is used to implement the operations performed by the communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0476] [[ID=

[30] ]For another example, the processor 1410 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 1420 to implement the related operations of the RIS in the above method embodiments.

[0477] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0478] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM). For example, the RAM may be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, the RAM includes the following various forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0479] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) may be integrated in the processor.

[0480] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0481] See Figure 15 , Figure 15 which is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1500 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The chip system 1500 (or can also be referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 1510 and an input / output interface 1520.

[0482] Among them, the logic circuit 1510 can be the processing circuit in the chip system 1500. The logic circuit 1510 can be coupled to a storage unit and call instructions in the storage unit, so that the chip system 1500 can implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface 1520 can be the input / output circuit in the chip system 1500, output the information processed by the chip system 1500, or input the data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 1500 for processing.

[0483] Optionally, the logic circuit 1510 can be implemented by one or more processors, including the one or more processors or the processing parts in the one or more processors.

[0484] Optionally, the input / output interface 1520 can include a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, an input / output circuit or a communication interface.

[0485] As a solution, the chip system 1500 is used to implement the operations performed by a communication device (such as a RIS, or a first communication device, or a second communication device) in the above method embodiments.

[0486] For example, the logic circuit 1510 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by a communication device (such as a RIS, or a first communication device, or a second communication device) in the above method embodiments; the input / output interface 1520 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by a communication device (such as a RIS, or a first communication device, or a second communication device) in the above method embodiments.

[0487] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which computer instructions for implementing the methods performed by a communication device (such as a RIS, or a first communication device, or a second communication device) in the above method embodiments are stored.

[0488] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the methods performed by a communication device (such as a RIS, or a first communication device, or a second communication device) in the above method embodiments.

[0489] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, including instructions which, when executed by a computer, are used to implement the methods executed by the communication device (such as RIS, or the first communication device, or the second communication device) in the above method embodiments.

[0490] The embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system, which includes at least one of RIS, the first communication device, and the second communication device in the above embodiments. For example, the system includes Figure 2 at least one of RIS, the first communication device, and the second communication device in. For another example, the system includes Figures 7 to 10 It should be noted that there seems to be a typo in "[[ID=4??]]Δ12 ", which should probably be "Δ12 ". This has been left as is in the translation as per the instruction to preserve the original text exactly. at least one of RIS, the network device, and the terminal device in.

[0491] The explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant content in any of the above provided devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be elaborated here. [[ID=,12]]

[0492] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the displayed or discussed couplings or direct couplings or communication connections to each other can be through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections of the devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0493] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD), etc.). For example, the foregoing available media include, but are not limited to: various media that can store program codes such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical discs.

[0494] As described above, the above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present application can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A signal transmission method, applied to the reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) side, characterized in that Comprising: Receiving a reference signal from a first communication device; Based on a first process, sending the reference signal to a second communication device, wherein the first process is to process a first part of elements in a beam vector according to a first rule, or the first process is to process a first part of antenna elements of a RIS according to the first rule.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first process being to process a first part of elements in a beam vector according to a first rule includes: the first process being to set to zero a first part of elements in the beam vector according to the first rule.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first part of elements are consecutive elements, or the first part of elements are elements with equal intervals.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further includes: Receiving first indication information, the first indication information indicating the first part of elements.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, The first indication information includes at least one of the following: the starting element number of the first part of elements, the total number of elements of the first part of elements, the interval between adjacent elements in the first part of elements; or, The first indication information includes a beam grouping strategy, the beam grouping strategy has an association relationship with the first part of elements, and the beam grouping strategy is the beam grouping strategy of the RIS; Or, The first indication information includes a bitmap, the bitmap indicating the position information of the first part of elements.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first process being to process a first part of antenna elements of a RIS according to the first rule includes: the first process being to switch the state of the first part of antenna elements of the RIS to a connected or off state according to the first rule.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that, The first part of antenna elements are consecutive antenna elements, or the first part of antenna elements are antenna elements with equal intervals.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1, 6 or 7, characterized in that The method further includes: Receiving second indication information, the second indication information indicating the first part of antenna elements.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The second indication information includes at least one of the following: the starting antenna element number of the first part of antenna elements, the total number of antenna elements of the first part of antenna elements, the interval between adjacent antenna elements in the first part of antenna elements; or, The second indication information includes a beam grouping strategy, the beam grouping strategy has an association relationship with the first part of antenna elements, and the beam grouping strategy is the beam grouping strategy of the RIS; Or, The second indication information includes a bitmap, the bitmap indicating the position information of the first part of antenna elements.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The first rule is determined according to a beam grouping strategy, and the beam grouping strategy is the beam grouping strategy of the RIS.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein The beam grouping strategy includes at least one of the following information: performing beam measurements at L levels, the beam groups during each level of beam measurement, or the beams in each beam group, where L is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The beam grouping strategy is determined according to the capability information of the RIS.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that, The method further includes any one of the following: Sending the capability information of the RIS, the capability information of the RIS being used to determine the beam grouping strategy; or, Send the beam grouping policy to the first communication device; or, Receive the beam grouping policy.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The capability information of the RIS includes at least one of the following information: the horizontal and vertical coverage angle of the RIS, the angular resolution, the size of the RIS, or the total number of beams of the RIS.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive third indication information, where the third indication information indicates the first rule.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a beam measurement result from the second communication device, where the beam measurement result is determined according to the reference signal; Send the beam measurement result to the first communication device.

17. A method for signal transmission, characterized in that, Includes: Send first indication information and / or third indication information to a configurable intelligent surface RIS, where the third indication information indicates a first rule, the first rule indicates processing of a first part of elements in the beam vector of the RIS, and the first indication information indicates the first part of elements.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The first rule indicating processing of a first part of elements in the beam vector of the RIS includes: the first rule indicating setting the first part of elements in the beam vector of the RIS to zero.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The first part of elements is consecutive elements, or the first part of elements is elements with equal intervals.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that The first indication information includes at least one of the following: the starting element number of the first part of elements, the total number of elements of the first part of elements, the interval between adjacent elements in the first part of elements; or, The first indication information includes a beam grouping policy, the beam grouping policy has an association relationship with the first part of elements, and the beam grouping policy is a grouping policy for the beams of the RIS; Or, The first indication information includes a bitmap, and the bitmap indicates the position information of the first part of elements.

21. A method for signal transmission, characterized in that, Includes: Send second indication information and / or third indication information to a configurable intelligent surface RIS, where the third indication information indicates a first rule, the first rule indicates processing of a first part of antenna elements of the RIS, and the second indication information indicates the first part of antenna elements of the RIS.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The first rule indicating processing of a first part of antenna elements of the RIS includes: the first rule indicating switching the state of the first part of antenna elements of the RIS to a connected or off state.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that, The first part of antenna elements is consecutive antenna elements, or the first part of antenna elements is antenna elements with equal intervals.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that The second indication information includes at least one of the following: the starting antenna element number of the first part of antenna elements, the total number of antenna elements of the first part of antenna elements, the interval between adjacent antenna elements in the first part of antenna elements; or, The second indication information includes a beam grouping policy, the beam grouping policy has an association relationship with the first part of antenna elements, and the beam grouping policy is a grouping policy for the beams of the RIS; Or, The second indication information includes a bitmap, and the bitmap indicates the position information of the first partial dipoles.

25. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 24, characterized in that, The first rule is determined according to a beam grouping strategy, and the beam grouping strategy is a beam grouping strategy of the RIS.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein The beam grouping strategy includes at least one of the following information: performing L-level beam measurements, beam groups during each level of beam measurement, or beams in each beam group, where L is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

27. The method according to claim 25 or 26, characterized in that, The beam grouping strategy is determined according to the capability information of the RIS.

28. The method according to any one of claims 25 to 27, characterized in that The method further includes any one of the following: Receiving the capability information of the RIS, where the capability information of the RIS is used to determine the beam grouping strategy; or, Sending the beam grouping strategy.

29. The method according to claim 27 or 28, characterized in that, The capability information of the RIS includes at least one of the following information: the horizontal and vertical coverage angle of the RIS, the angular resolution, the size of the RIS, or the total number of beams of the RIS.

30. A method for signal transmission, characterized in that, Including: Sending a beam grouping strategy, where the beam grouping strategy is a beam grouping strategy of a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), and the beam grouping strategy includes at least one of the following information: performing L-level beam measurements, beam groups during each level of beam measurement, or beams in each beam group, where L is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein The beam grouping strategy is determined according to the capability information of the RIS.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein, The capability information of the RIS includes at least one of the following information: the horizontal and vertical coverage angle of the RIS, the angular resolution, the size of the RIS, or the total number of beams of the RIS.

33. A communication device, characterized in that, Including a module or unit for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 32.

34. A communication device, characterized in that, Including a processor, where the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions in a memory to cause the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 32.

35. The device according to claim 34, characterized in that, The device further includes the memory and / or a communication interface, and the communication interface is coupled to the processor. The communication interface is configured to input and / or output information.

36. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instructions is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program or instructions runs on a communication device, the communication device is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 32.

37. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 32.

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