A method for state information indication of a network node

Abstract

Methods, devices, and computer program products for wireless communication are provided. One method includes performing, by a network node, a sensing operation to obtain a sensing result of the sensing operation, and transmitting, by the network node, the sensing result or information of one or more actions corresponding to the sensing result to a wireless communication node.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the patent application for invention titled “A method for state information indication of network node” with international application number PCT / CN2022 / 074387, international filing date of 27 January 2022, entered into the National Phase in the People’s Republic of China on 20 May 2024, Chinese national application number 202280077009.5. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This document relates generally to wireless communications, and in particular to fifth generation (5G) communications. BACKGROUND

[0003] Coverage is a fundamental aspect of cellular network deployment. Mobile operators rely on different types of network nodes to provide comprehensive coverage in their deployments.

[0004] Hence, new types of network nodes have been considered to improve the flexibility of mobile operator network deployments. For example, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) was introduced in Rel-16 and enhanced in Rel-17 as a new type of network node that does not require wired backhaul. Another type of network node is a RF repeater that simply amplifies and forwards any received signal. RF repeaters have been widely deployed in 2G, 3G, and 4G to complement the coverage provided by regular full-stack cells. SUMMARY

[0005] This document relates to a method for state information indication of network node, a device thereof and a system thereof.

[0006] One aspect of the disclosure relates to a wireless communication method. In one embodiment, the wireless communication method comprises: receiving, by a network node, state indication information, the state indication information comprising at least one of: an on / off state, or a power control state; and determining, by the network node, a state of the network node according to the state indication information.

[0007] Another aspect of the disclosure relates to a wireless communication method. In one embodiment, the wireless communication method comprises: transmitting, by a wireless communication node to a network node, state indication information, the state indication information being used to determine a state of the network node according to the state indication information.

[0008] Another aspect of the disclosure relates to a wireless communication node. In one embodiment, the wireless communication node comprises a communication unit and a processor. The processor is configured to: receive, by the communication unit, state indication information, the state indication information comprising at least one of: an on / off state, or a power control state; and determine a state of the network node according to the state indication information.

[0009] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a wireless communication node. In one embodiment, the wireless communication node comprises a communication unit and a processor. The processor is configured to: send, by the communication unit, state indication information to a network node, the state indication information to determine a state of the network node according to the state indication information.

[0010] Various embodiments can preferably implement the following features:

[0011] Preferably, the on / off state comprises at least one of: an on / off state of the network node; an on / off state of a group of network nodes; an on / off state of one or more antenna ports of the network node; an on / off state of one or more beam indices of the network node; an on / off state of one or more serving sectors of the network node; or an on / off state of one or more components of the network node.

[0012] Preferably, the on / off state further comprises at least one of: a 1-bit on / off state, a duration of the on / off state, or a periodicity of the on / off state.

[0013] Preferably, the on / off state further comprises an on / off state of at least one of the following links: a first communication link from the wireless communication node to the network node; a second communication link from the network node to the wireless communication node; a first forwarding link from the wireless communication node to the network node; a second forwarding link from the network node to the wireless communication node; a third forwarding link from the network node to a user equipment, UE; or a fourth forwarding link from the user equipment to the network node.

[0014] Preferably, the power control state comprises at least one of the following power control parameters: a target power, a path loss compensation factor, a closed loop power control parameter, a power ramping step, a gain of amplification, a gain of maximum amplification, or a maximum transmission power.

[0015] Preferably, the power control state is applied to at least one of the following links: a first communication link from the wireless communication node to the network node; a second communication link from the network node to the wireless communication node; a first forwarding link from the wireless communication node to the network node; a second forwarding link from the network node to the wireless communication node; a third forwarding link from the network node to a user equipment, UE; or a fourth forwarding link from the user equipment to the network node.

[0016] Preferably, determining the on / off status comprises at least one of: determining the one or more forwarding links to be off in response to the network node being configured with a power saving mode, PSM, or a discontinuous reception, DRX, mode; determining the one or more forwarding links to be off in response to the network node being in a radio link failure, RLF, state, or a beam failure recovery, BFR, state; or determining the one or more forwarding links to be on or off according to a configuration of the PSM mode or the DRX mode in response to the one or more forwarding links being configured with the PSM mode or the DRX mode.

[0017] Preferably, the status indication information is determined based on at least one of: an explicit indication, an implicit indication, or an operation, administration, and maintenance, OAM, configuration.

[0018] Preferably, the explicit indication is indicated by at least one of: a radio resource control, RRC, message; a downlink control information, DCI; a medium access control control element, MAC CE; or system information.

[0019] Preferably, the system information or the RRC message is configured to indicate at least one of: a periodic on / off status, a power level, or a preconfigured parameter for the implicit indication.

[0020] Preferably, one of the power levels is activated by the DCI, the MAC CE, or the implicit indication.

[0021] Preferably, a first type of the DCI comprises the status indication information corresponding to a first link of the network node, and a second type of the DCI comprises the status indication information corresponding to a second link of the network node.

[0022] Preferably, a DCI field comprises the status indication information.

[0023] Preferably, the DCI field comprises at least one of: a transmit power control, TPC, field; a modulation coding scheme, MCS, field; a redundancy version, RV, field; a new data indicator, NDI, field; a spare bit in the DCI field; or a reserved bit in the DCI field.

[0024] Preferably, the status indication information comprises at least one of: the on / off status, a value of a power control parameter, or an activation of a set of power levels.

[0025] Preferably, the MAC CE comprises the status indication information, and the status indication information comprises at least one of: the on / off status, a power level of a power control parameter, or an activation of a power level from a set of pre-indicated power levels.

[0026] Preferably, the implicit indication corresponds to at least one of: a reference signal sequence, a port of a reference signal port, a code division multiplexing, CDM, group index, a low peak to average power ratio, PAPR, sequence, a frequency band, a modulation coding scheme, MCS, or a state of the network node.

[0027] Preferably, at least one of the power level or the on / off state of the state indication information is indicated by at least one of a sequence generation value or a sequence index of the reference signal sequence.

[0028] Preferably, at least one of the power level or the on / off state of the state indication information is indicated by at least one of: a port index of the reference signal sequence, or a CDM group index.

[0029] Preferably, the reference signal sequence comprises a demodulation reference signal, DMRS, a phase tracking reference signal, PTRS, or a channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS.

[0030] Preferably, wherein at least one of the power level or the on / off state of the state indication information is indicated by a cyclic shift of a low PAPR sequence.

[0031] Preferably, at least one of the power level or the on / off state of the state indication information is indicated by a frequency band of a downlink signal.

[0032] Preferably, at least one of the power level or the on / off state of the state indication information is indicated by a comparison result between a preconfigured MCS threshold and an indicated MCS.

[0033] Preferably, at least one of the power level or the on / off state of the state indication information corresponds to a forwarding state of the network node.

[0034] Preferably, an operation, administration and maintenance, OAM, configuration is configured to indicate at least one of: a periodic on / off state, a power level, or a preconfigured parameter for the implicit indication.

[0035] The present disclosure relates to a computer program product comprising a computer readable program medium stored thereon, the code which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the wireless communication method of any of the preceding methods.

[0036] The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are intended to provide functionality that will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following description and in conjunction with the drawings. According to various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. It should be understood, however, that these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and that various modifications might be made to the disclosed embodiments while still remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure.

[0037] Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Additionally, the specific order and / or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely illustrative examples of methods that can be implemented by the present disclosure. Based upon design preferences, the specific order and / or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein can be re-arranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or acts in a sample order, and the present disclosure is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless expressly stated otherwise.

[0038] The above and other aspects and implementations are described in more detail in conjunction with the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a network is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0040] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of transmission links between a BS to a SN and a SN to a UE is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0041] Figure 3 A tree diagram is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0042] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of different cyclic shifts for a 1 RB sequence is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0043] Figure 5 An example of a schematic diagram of a wireless terminal is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0044] Figure 6 An example of a schematic diagram of a wireless network node is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] Figures 7 to 8 A flowchart of a method is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] In some embodiments, network-controlled repeaters can be introduced as an enhancement to traditional RF repeaters with the ability to receive and process side control information from the network. Side control information can allow network-controlled repeaters to perform their amplification and forwarding operations in a more efficient manner. Potential benefits can include reduced unnecessary noise amplification, transmissions and receptions with better spatial directionality, and simplified network integration.

[0047] Network-controlled repeaters can be seen as a stepping stone to reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) nodes that can adjust the phase and amplitude of received signals to improve coverage.

[0048] In this disclosure, for simplicity, such network nodes (including but not limited to network-controlled repeaters, smart repeaters, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), integrated access and backhaul (IAB)) are referred to as smart nodes (SNs). SNs are a kind of network nodes used to assist base stations (BSs) to improve coverage, and since SNs cannot be aware of other SNs, user equipment (UEs) can be interfered by other SNs, especially for cell-edge UEs.

[0049] In one embodiment, to mitigate unintended interference, a state information indication method is provided, which makes the network can explicitly or implicitly indicate certain state information of SNs, such as on / off amplify-and-forward operation, power control, etc.

[0050] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a network (architecture) is shown according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As Figure 1 shown, when there is an obstruction between the BS and the UE, the BS can provide services for the UEs in its cell via SNs, respectively. However, in some cases, signals from SNs can interfere with communications in neighboring cells.

[0051] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of transmission links between BS to SN and SN to UE is shown according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The SN is composed of two functional parts: one is a communication unit (CU), and the other is a forwarding unit (FU). The SN CU receives and decodes the side control information from the BS like a UE. The SN CU can be a mobile terminal (MT), a part of a UE, a third-party IoT device, etc. The SN FU performs intelligent amplify-and-forward operation using the side control information received by the SN CU. The SN FU can be a radio unit (RU), an RIS, etc.

[0052] As Figure 2 shown, the transmission links between BS to SN and SN to UE are defined as follows:

[0053] C1: communication link from SN CU to BS;

[0054] C2: communication link from BS to SN CU;

[0055] F1: forwarding link from SN FU to BS;

[0056] F2: forwarding link from BS to SN FU;

[0057] F3: forwarding link from UE to SN FU; and

[0058] F4: forwarding link from SN FU to UE.

[0059] A communication link refers to a signal from one party will be detected and decoded by the other party, so that the information transmitted in the communication link can be used to control the state of the forwarding link.

[0060] A forwarding link refers to a signal from a BS or UE is unknown to the SN FU, which will simply amplify and forward the signal without decoding. F1+F3 is the complete UL forwarding link from UE to BS, where F1 is the SN FU UL forwarding link; F2+F4 is the complete DL forwarding link from BS to UE, where F4 is the SN FU DL forwarding link.

[0061] Figure 3 A tree diagram is shown according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0062] In one embodiment, the BS sends a state information indication to the SN, according to which the state of the SN is changed Figure 3 The left arm of the tree diagram.

[0063] In one embodiment, the state information includes an on / off state and / or a power control state of the SN FU.

[0064] In one embodiment, the on / off state includes at least one of: a 1-bit on / off state (e.g., “on” or “off”), a duration of the on / off state, or a periodicity of the on / off state.

[0065] In one embodiment, the state information includes an on / off state: the state “on” means that the SN will amplify and forward the received signal corresponding to the on / off state. The on / off operation can have different granularity, including at least one of the following:

[0066] 1. Per SN:

[0067] In one embodiment, the BS indicates on / off signaling to turn on / off the SN (e.g., the forwarding function). In one embodiment, the BS indicates on / off signaling to turn on / off the SN (e.g., the forwarding function). In one embodiment, the BS indicates on / off signaling to turn on / off a group of SNs.

[0068] 2. Per link or link combination (this can depend on the definition of the link):

[0069] In one embodiment, the on / off state corresponds to the UL forwarding link F1 or F1+F3. For example, when the UL forwarding link F1 is “off”, the SN FU will only disable the transmission operation, but can receive and process the received signal; when the UL forwarding link F1+F3 is “off”, the SN FU will disable both the transmission and reception operations.

[0070] In one embodiment, the on / off state corresponds to either (multiple) DL forwarding links F4 or F2+F4. For example, when DL forwarding link F4 is "off", the SN FU will only disable the transmit operation, but can receive and process received signals; when DL forwarding link F2+F4 is "off", the SN FU will disable both transmit and receive operations.

[0071] In one embodiment, the on / off state corresponds to either UL+DL forwarding link F1+F4 or F1+F2+F3+F4. For example, when forwarding link F1+F4 is "off", the SN FU will only disable the transmit operation, but can receive and process received signals; when DL forwarding link F1+F2+F3+F4 is "off", the SN FU will disable both transmit and receive operations.

[0072] 3. By partial link:

[0073] In one embodiment, the on / off state corresponds to an antenna port. For example, an SN FU may have multiple antenna ports, and status information may indicate the status of at least one of these antenna ports.

[0074] In one embodiment, the on / off state corresponds to the beam index. For example, the SN FU may have multiple beams, and the state information may indicate the state of at least one beam, including disabling a portion of the beam (this functionality can also be obtained through reconfiguration based on beam / TCI information).

[0075] In one embodiment, the on / off state corresponds to a sector. For example, similar to a gNB sector, the SN can serve UEs from different sectors, and each sector covers a service area.

[0076] 4. Press the FU component:

[0077] This relates to the circuit or hardware design of the SN FU, and the status information can indicate the status of at least one of these FU components. For example, if the SN is a RIS, then the FU component can be a RIS component, a RIS panel, amplitude, phase, etc.

[0078] In one embodiment, the status information includes power control status: the granularity of on / off status can also be applied to the power control status. It should also be noted that the indication of the power control status can be based on a link or a combination of links (e.g., F1 or F4 or F1+F4).

[0079] In one embodiment, the power control mechanism of the SN forwarding link can be the same as or different from that of a normal UE, and the power control state of the SN can be related to the following power control parameters:

[0080] Target power, i.e., the expected power at the receiver side;

[0081] Alpha, or path loss compensation factor;

[0082] TPC command, which stands for closed-loop power control parameter;

[0083] Power ramp step size, which is the increase in power compared to the previous one;

[0084] The amplification gain, or the maximum amplification gain, is the amplification power that can be added to the input power to determine the output power; or

[0085] Maximum transmission power, which is the maximum output power of SN.

[0086] In one embodiment, the power control state may include at least one of the following: activation of a power level within a set of power levels or a power level within a power level set. In one embodiment, the power level may be a set of values ​​for power control parameters.

[0087] Next, we will publicly announce and Figure 3 Various embodiments related to the signaling arm in ( Figure 3 (The right arm of the tree diagram).

[0088] Generally, as an example, after the BS sends a status information indication, the BS assumes that the state of the SN (e.g., FU) will change after time t (i.e., the processing time to realize this state change), where t can be at the slot level, symbol level, frame level, subframe level, or absolute time level (e.g., microseconds, milliseconds, seconds). The determination of t depends primarily on the capabilities of the SN.

[0089] In one embodiment, status information indication can be performed through at least one of explicit indication, implicit indication, or OAM configuration. Status information indication can also include joint signaling of one or more of the above methods. For example, the on / off status can be periodically configured through static or semi-static signaling (system information, RRC, OAM) or dynamically indicated through DCI, MAC CE, or implicit indication.

[0090] Implicit indication: In one embodiment, the implicit indication includes at least one of the following:

[0091] 1. System Information

[0092] In one embodiment, a periodic on / off state can be indicated to the SN via system information, and the SN will periodically apply the on / off state.

[0093] In one embodiment, different power levels can be indicated to the SN through system information, and the actual power level can be activated from the power level set through DCI, MAC CE, or implicit indication.

[0094] In one embodiment, some pre-configured values used in implicit indication, such as sequence for related operation, MCS threshold, can be indicated to the SN through system information.

[0095] 2. RRC

[0096] In one embodiment, the periodic on / off status can be indicated to the SN through RRC message, and the SN will apply the on / off status periodically.

[0097] In one embodiment, different power levels can be indicated to the SN through RRC message, and the actual power level can be activated from the power level set through DCI, MAC CE, or implicit indication.

[0098] In one embodiment, some pre-configured values used in implicit indication, such as sequence for related operation, MCS threshold, can be indicated to the SN through RRC message.

[0099] 3. DCI

[0100] In one embodiment, new DCI formats can be defined as DCI x_0 and DCI x_1, including state information of UL and DL forwarding link respectively.

[0101] In one embodiment, new DCI bit fields including state information can be defined.

[0102] In one embodiment, existing DCI bit fields can be reinterpreted to indicate state information, including at least one of TPC field, MCS field, RV field, NDI field, idle bit or reserved bit, such as NDI (New Data Indicator) field, where "1" can indicate "on" and "0" can indicate "off); TPC command field can be used to indicate power control state; MCS value can be used for comparison with pre-configured value to indicate on / off state; RV field, value 0 indicates off, other values indicate on.

[0103] In the above described embodiments, the state information can include on / off status, and the activation of power control parameter value or power level set.

[0104] 4. MAC CE

[0105] In one embodiment, a new MAC CE can be defined, e.g., SN status information MAC CE, including on / off status and / or power level of power control parameters.

[0106] In one embodiment, a new MAC CE can be defined, e.g., SN status information MAC CE, including on / off status and / or activation of a power level from a set of pre-indicated power levels.

[0107] Implicit indication: In one embodiment, implicit indication includes at least one of the following:

[0108] 1. RS sequence. Sequence index and n SCID may be used for implicit indication of status information.

[0109] In one embodiment, RS can be DMRS, PTRS, CSI-RS.

[0110] Some examples are provided below.

[0111] Example 1: n SCID selected from {0, 1} is used to indicate status on / off, where n SCID is used to generate DMRS sequence.

[0112] Example 2: Sequence index 0 and 1 are used to indicate status on / off.

[0113] Example 3: n SCID selected from {0, 1} is used to indicate power level 1 and power level 2, where n SCID is used to generate RS sequence.

[0114] Example 4: Sequence index 0, 1, …, N are used to indicate power level 1 to N.

[0115] 2. RS port, RS port index, and CDM group index can be used for implicit indication of status information.

[0116] In one embodiment, RS can be DMRS, PTRS, CSI-RS.

[0117] Some examples are provided below.

[0118] Example 1: DMRS port index can be divided into odd and even to indicate status on / off.

[0119] Example 2: DMRS port index can be divided into odd and even to indicate power level 1 and power level 2.

[0120] Example 3: CDM group 0 and 1 can be used to indicate status on / off.

[0121] Example 4: CDM group 0 and 1 can be used to indicate power level 1 and power level 2.

[0122] 3. Low PAPR sequence, such as different cyclic shifts of low PAPR sequence, can be used to implicitly indicate state information.

[0123] In one embodiment, the low PAPR sequence can be low PAPR sequence type 1 or low PAPR sequence type 2.

[0124] Some examples are provided below.

[0125] Example 1: As shown in Figure 4 , cyclic shifts equal to 0 and 6 indicate state on / off.

[0126] Example 2: As shown in Figure 4 , cyclic shifts equal to 0 and 6 indicate power level 1 and power level 2, where power level can be a set of values for power control parameter.

[0127] 4. Frequency band

[0128] Some examples are provided below.

[0129] Example 1: DL signals from gNB to SN CU can be configured in 2 frequency bands, frequency band 1 and frequency band 2 can indicate state on / off.

[0130] Example 2: DL signals from gNB to SN CU can be configured in 2 frequency bands, frequency band 1 and frequency band 2 can indicate power level 1 and power level 2.

[0131] 5. MCS

[0132] Some examples are provided below.

[0133] Example 1: MCS threshold can be pre-configured to SN, then comparison between indicated MCS i and pre-configured MCS p , such as MCS i > MCS p and MCS i <= MCS p , can be used to indicate state on / off.

[0134] Example 2: MCS threshold can be pre-configured to SN, then comparison between indicated MCS i and pre-configured MCS p , such as MCS i > MCS p and MCS i <= MCS p) can be used to indicate power level 1 and power level 2.

[0135] 6. SN CU’s state

[0136] Some examples are provided below.

[0137] Example 1: SN CU is configured with DRX (Discontinuous Reception), within DRX active time, SN FU’s state will be ON, otherwise the state will be OFF.

[0138] Example 2: SN CU is configured with DRX (Discontinuous Reception), within DRX active time, SN FU’s power level will be level 1, otherwise the power level will be level 2.

[0139] In one embodiment, a new state for SN (e.g., forwarding-ON / OFF state) can be defined to indicate state information.

[0140] In this state, SN will monitor specific signaling related to the forwarding-ON / OFF state, e.g., DCI, MAC CE, or the dedicated sequence mentioned above. When SN is not within the forwarding-ON / OFF state, SN will keep the ON / OFF state determined in the previous forwarding-ON / OFF state, or keep the default ON / OFF state, e.g., always ON.

[0141] In one embodiment, a new state for SN (e.g., forwarding-power control state) can be defined to indicate state information.

[0142] In this state, SN will monitor specific signaling related to the forwarding-power control state, e.g., DCI, MAC CE, or the dedicated sequence mentioned above. When SN is not within the forwarding-power control state, SN will keep the power level determined in the previous forwarding-power control state, or keep the default power level (maximum transmission power).

[0143] Example 3: When SN CU is configured with PSM (Power Saving Mode), within PSM, SN FU’s state will be OFF, otherwise, the state will be ON.

[0144] Example 4: When SN CU is configured with RLF (Radio Link Failure) or BFR (Beam Failure Recovery), SN FU’s state will be OFF, otherwise, the state will be ON.

[0145] Example 5: When SN FU is configured with PSM or DRX, the corresponding forwarding link will be OFF according to the configuration.

[0146] In one embodiment, OAM configuration can also be used to indicate state information.

[0147] In one embodiment, through OAM configuration, different power levels can be indicated to the SN, and the actual power level will be activated from the power level set through DCI, MAC CE or implicit indication.

[0148] In one embodiment, through OAM configuration, different power levels can be indicated to the SN, and the actual power level will be activated from the power level set through DCI, MAC CE or implicit indication.

[0149] In one embodiment, through OAM configuration, pre-configured values used in implicit indication can be indicated to the SN, such as sequence for related operation, MCS threshold.

[0150] In one embodiment, the BS sends (issues) a state information indication to the SN (intelligent node), and the state of the SN is determined according to the indication.

[0151] In one embodiment, the state indication includes on / off state and power control state, wherein the on / off state can be at SN level (per SN or per SN group), at link level (UL or DL or UL+DL), or at partial link level (such as antenna port, beam index), or per FU component.

[0152] In one embodiment, the power control state can include at least one of the following: target power, alpha, power ramping step, TPC command, gain of amplification, gain of maximum amplification, or maximum transmission power for a forwarding link.

[0153] In one embodiment, the state indication can be sent from the BS to the SN, wherein the signaling method includes explicit indication through at least one of RRC, DCI, MAC CE or system information; and / or implicit indication through at least one of RS sequence, RS port, low PAPR sequence, CSI-RS port, frequency band, MCS, or state of SN CU; and / or OAM configuration.

[0154] Figure 5A schematic diagram related to a wireless terminal 50 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless terminal 50 can be a user equipment (UE), a mobile phone, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, an e-book, or a portable computer system, and is not limited to these. The wireless terminal 50 can include a processor 500 such as a microprocessor or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a storage unit 510, and a communication unit 520. The storage unit 510 can be any data storage device storing program codes 512 which are accessed and executed by the processor 500. Embodiments of the storage unit 512 include, but are not limited to, a subscriber identity module (SIM), a read only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), a hard disk, and an optical data storage device. The communication unit 520 can be a transceiver and is used to transmit and receive signals (e.g., messages or data packets) according to the processing result of the processor 500. In one embodiment, the communication unit 520 transmits and receives signals via at least one antenna 522 as shown. Figure 5

[0155] In one embodiment, the storage unit 510 and the program codes 512 can be omitted and the processor 500 can include a storage unit having stored program codes.

[0156] The processor 500 can implement any one of the steps in the exemplary embodiments on the wireless terminal 50, for example, by executing the program codes 512.

[0157] The communication unit 520 can be a transceiver. Alternatively or additionally, the communication unit 520 can combine a transmission unit and a reception unit configured to respectively transmit and receive signals to and from a wireless network node (e.g., a base station).

[0158] Figure 6 ​A diagram illustrating a wireless network node 60 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless network node 60 can be a satellite, a base station (BS), a smart node, a network entity, a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), a radio access network (RAN) node, a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) node, a gNB, an eNB, a gNB central unit (gNB-CU), a gNB distributed unit (gNB-DU) data network, a core network, or a radio network controller (RNC), and is not limited to these. Further, the wireless network node 60 can include (execute) at least one network function, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user location function (UPF), a policy control function (PCF), an application function (AF), and the like. The wireless network node 60 can include a processor 600 (such as a microprocessor or an ASIC), a storage unit 610, and a communication unit 620. The storage unit 610 can be any data storage device storing program code 612, which is accessed and executed by the processor 600. Examples of the storage unit 612 include, but are not limited to, a SIM, a ROM, a flash memory, a RAM, a hard disk, and an optical data storage device. The communication unit 620 can be a transceiver and used to transmit and receive signals (e.g., messages or data packets) according to the processing result of the processor 600. In one example, the communication unit 620 transmits and receives signals via at least one antenna 622 shown. Figure 6

[0159] In one embodiment, the storage unit 610 and the program code 612 can be omitted. The processor 600 can include a storage unit having a stored program code.

[0160] The processor 600 can implement any one of the steps described in the exemplary embodiments on the wireless network node 60, e.g., via executing the program code 612.

[0161] The communication unit 620 can be a transceiver. Alternatively or additionally, the communication unit 620 can combine a transmission unit and a reception unit configured to respectively transmit and receive signals to and from a wireless terminal (e.g., a user equipment or another wireless network node).

[0162] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating a method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As Figure 7 The method shown can be used for a network node (e.g., a smart node), and includes: receiving, by the network node, state indication information, the state indication information including at least one of: an on / off state, or a power control state; and determining, by the network node, a state of the network node according to the state indication information.​

[0163] Details in this regard have been disclosed in the above embodiments.

[0164] Figure 8 A flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 8 The method shown can be used in a wireless network node (e.g., a BS) and includes: sending status indication information from the wireless communication node to the network node, the status indication information being used to determine the status of the network node based on the status indication information.

[0165] Details in this regard have been disclosed in the above embodiments.

[0166] While various embodiments of this disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only and not by way of limitation. Similarly, various schematic diagrams may illustrate exemplary architectures or configurations, and these diagrams are provided to enable those skilled in the art to understand the exemplary features and functions of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art should understand that this disclosure is not limited to the illustrated exemplary architectures or configurations, but can be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. Furthermore, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, one or more features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Therefore, the breadth and scope of this disclosure should not be limited to any of the exemplary embodiments described above.

[0167] It should also be understood that any reference to elements in this document using names such as "first," "second," etc., generally does not restrict the number or order of these elements. Rather, these names may be used as a convenient means of distinguishing two or more elements or instances of elements. Therefore, references to the first and second elements do not imply that only two elements can be used, nor do they imply that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0168] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and skills. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols referenced in the foregoing specification can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0169] Those skilled in the art should also understand that any of the various exemplary logic blocks, units, processors, components, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementation, analog implementation, or a combination of both), firmware, various forms of programs or design code containing instructions (which may be referred to herein as "software" or "software unit"), or any combination of these technologies.

[0170] To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, units, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware or software, or a combination thereof, depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. According to various embodiments, a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, unit, etc., can be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. The term "configured to" or "configured for" as used herein in connection with a particular operation or function refers to a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, unit, etc., that is physically constructed, programmed and / or arranged to perform the particular operation or function.

[0171] Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, units, devices, components, and circuits described herein can be implemented or performed using integrated circuits (ICs): application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic, processing units, or combinations of various hardware components in integrated or distributed manner. Logical blocks, units, and circuits can further include antennas and / or transceivers to communicate in or with a network or device. The general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Therefore, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium.

[0172] Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program or code from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

[0173] As used herein, the term "unit" refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements that is used to achieve the functionality described herein. Moreover, the various units described herein can be comprised of various processors and other components that are configured to perform the various functions described herein. In addition, for the purposes of this disclosure, a "processor" includes any processing unit or device that is capable of performing mathematical and logical operations, including without limitation present-day processors and digital signal processors.

[0174] Furthermore, memory or other storage devices and communication components can be used in embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated that, for clarity, the above description has described embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains can be used without detracting from the present disclosure. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers can be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Hence, references to specific functional units are only to be seen as references to suitable means for providing the described functionality, rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0175] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure can be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein can be applied to other implementations without departing from the scope of the claims. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein and made apparent to others skilled in the art by the teachings herein.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication implemented by a smart node (SN), the SN comprising a SN communication unit (SN CU) configured to receive and decode side control information from a base station (BS), and a SN forwarding unit (SN FU) configured to perform amplify-and-forward operations using the side control information received by the SN CU, the method comprising: determining that a state of the SN FU is OFF in response to the SN CU being in a beam failure recovery (BFR) state, wherein the OFF state indicates that the SN FU turns off the forwarding function; receiving, by the SN, state indication information, wherein the state indication information indicates an ON state, the ON state corresponding to a beam index.

2. The wireless communication method of claim 1, the method further comprising: determining that the state of the SN FU is OFF in response to the SN CU being in a radio link failure (RLF) state. 3.The method of wireless communication of claim 1, wherein the OFF state indicates that the SN FU disables both transmission and reception operations. 4.The method of wireless communication of claim 2, wherein the OFF state indicates that the OFF state of a forwarding link between the SN FU and the BS, and a forwarding link between the SN FU and a UE, are OFF. 5.The method of wireless communication of claim 1, wherein the SN is a network-controlled repeater. 6.The method of wireless communication of claim 1, wherein the state indication information indicates a time duration of the ON state. 7.The method of wireless communication of claim 1, wherein the ON state of the state indication information indicates that the SN amplifies and forwards a received signal. 8.The method of wireless communication of claim 1, wherein the SN FU is a radio unit (RU) or a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS). 9.The method of wireless communication of claim 1, wherein the SN CU is a part of a mobile terminal (MT), a user equipment (UE), or a third-party Internet of Things (IoT) device. 10.A smart node (SN), the SN comprising a processor and comprising: a SN communication unit (SN CU) configured to receive and decode side control information from a base station (BS), a SN forwarding unit (SN FU) configured to perform amplify-and-forward operations using the side control information received by the SN CU, wherein, in response to the SN CU being in a beam failure recovery (BFR) state, the processor is configured to determine that a state of the SN FU is OFF, and wherein the OFF state indicates that the SN FU turns off the forwarding function; receiving, by the SN, state indication information, wherein the state indication information indicates an ON state, the ON state corresponding to a beam index. 11.The SN of claim 10, wherein, in response to the SN CU being in a radio link failure (RLF) state, the processor is configured to determine that the state of the SN FU is OFF. 12.The SN of claim 10, wherein the OFF state indicates that the SN FU disables both transmission and reception operations.

13. The SN of claim 12, wherein the off state indicates that the off state of the forwarding link between the SN FU and the BS and the forwarding link between the SN FU and the UE is off.

14. The SN of claim 10, wherein the SN is a network-controlled repeater.

15. The SN of claim 10, wherein the state indication information indicates a duration of the on state.

16. The SN of claim 10, wherein the on state of the state indication information indicates that the SN amplifies and forwards a received signal.

17. The SN of claim 10, wherein the SN FU is a radio unit (RU) or a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS).

18. The SN of claim 10, wherein the SN CU is a mobile termination (MT), a part of a user equipment (UE), or a third-party Internet of Things (IoT) device.

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