Signal transmission method, network node, communication system and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a signal transmission method, a network node, a communication system and a storage medium, the method is applied to the network node, and the method comprises the following steps: according to an association relationship between SS / PBCH blocks in an SS / PBCH block group and PRACH transmission opportunities, and frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunities, determining the PRACH transmission opportunities according to the association relationship between the SS / PBCH blocks and the PRACH transmission opportunities; determining a forwarding beam pattern adopted in the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH blocks in the SS / PBCH block group; and performing signal forwarding processing based on the forwarding beam pattern within the duration of the PRACH transmission occasion associated with the SS / PBCH block. According to the method and the device, the forwarding beam pattern adopted by the network node in the related process of random access can be implicitly indicated under the condition that a network side does not need to issue additional control information, so that control signaling can be saved, the utilization rate and the spectrum efficiency of network resources are improved, and the reliability of signal forwarding of the network node is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a signal transmission method, a network node, a communication system and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] IRS (Intelligent Reflecting Surface) devices, RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) devices and other devices are composed of a large number of low-cost electromagnetic units. The reflection / transmission direction of the signal incident on the intelligent surface of IRS devices, RIS devices and other devices can be controlled by adjusting the parameters of each unit, such as adjusting the phase, etc., so that the signal can be reflected / transmitted in the desired direction. Due to the characteristics of low cost, low power consumption, and easy deployment, RIS can become a candidate technology for 6G wireless communication. Network nodes such as IRS devices and RIS devices can be controlled by base stations and are transparent to UE (User Equipment). At present, in the cell search stage, the network side needs to send additional control information to indicate the forwarding pattern used by network nodes such as IRS devices and RIS devices to assist in signal transmission. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, a technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a signal transmission method, a network node, a communication system and a storage medium.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a signal transmission method is provided, which is applied to a network node, comprising: determining a forwarding beam pattern to be used within the duration of a PRACH transmission opportunity associated with an SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group according to an association relationship between a synchronization signal and an SS / PBCH block in a physical broadcast channel SS / PBCH block group and a physical random access channel PRACH transmission opportunity, and frequency multiplexing information of the PRACH transmission opportunity; and performing signal forwarding based on the forwarding beam pattern within the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block.

[0005] Optionally, capability group information is sent to the network side; wherein the capability group information includes: forwarding beam switching capability and / or forwarding beam pattern generation capability information; configuration information of the SS / PBCH block group sent by the network side is received; wherein the network side configures the configuration information based on the capability group information; and the SS / PBCH block group is determined according to the configuration information.

[0006] Optionally, the forwarding beam switching capability information includes: a maximum duration for the network node to switch between forwarding beam patterns; and the forwarding beam pattern generation capability information includes: capability information for the network node to forward an incident beam to a desired direction at the same time.

[0007] Optionally, the forwarding beam pattern generation capability information is determined by one or more capability identification bits.

[0008] Optionally, the number of the multiple capability identification bits is two; the values ​​of the two capability identification bits include: a first value, a second value, a third value and a fourth value; the first value represents that the network node has the ability to forward the incident beam of a single incoming wave direction to the desired direction at the same time; the second value, the third value and the fourth value respectively represent that the network node has the ability to forward the incident beams within the first angle range, the second angle range and the third angle range to the same desired direction at the same time.

[0009] Optionally, the SS / PBCH block group includes: at least one SS / PBCH block; the SS / PBCH block contains a synchronization signal block SSB index.

[0010] Optionally, the time domain interval between the SS / PBCH blocks satisfies the forwarding beam switching capability; and / or, when the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block is frequency division multiplexing, or multiple SS / PBCH blocks are associated with the same PRACH transmission opportunity, the network node satisfies the forwarding beam pattern generation capability information.

[0011] Optionally, the determining of the forwarding beam pattern to be used during the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group based on the association relationship between the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group and the PRACH transmission opportunity and the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity includes: when the frequency reuse information indicates that frequency reuse is not used and the association relationship is that one SS / PBCH block in an SS / PBCH block group is associated with one or more PRACH transmission opportunities; or when the frequency reuse information indicates that frequency reuse is used and the association relationship is that all PRACH transmission opportunities at the same time are associated with one SS / PBCH block in an SS / PBCH block group, determining the forwarding beam pattern based on the beam pattern used for forwarding the one SS / PBCH block.

[0012] Optionally, determining the forwarding beam pattern according to the beam pattern used for forwarding the one SS / PBCH block includes: in the presence of uplink and downlink beam reciprocity, determining that the forwarding beam pattern is the same as the beam pattern used for forwarding the one SS / PBCH block.

[0013] Optionally, determining the forwarding beam pattern according to the beam pattern adopted for forwarding the SS / PBCH block includes: in the absence of reciprocity between uplink and downlink beams, determining an incident angle parameter according to the main lobe direction of the beam pattern adopted for forwarding the SS / PBCH block; and generating the forwarding beam pattern pointing to the network device according to the incident angle parameter.

[0014] Optionally, the determining of the forwarding beam pattern used during the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group according to the association relationship between the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group and the PRACH transmission opportunity and the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity includes: when the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity indicates no frequency reuse and the association relationship is that multiple SS / PBCH blocks in one SS / PBCH block group are associated with one PRACH transmission opportunity, or when the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity indicates that frequency reuse is used and the association relationship is that multiple PRACH transmission opportunities at the same time are associated with multiple SS / PBCH blocks in one SS / PBCH block group, determining the forwarding beam pattern according to the beam pattern used for forwarding the multiple SS / PBCH blocks.

[0015] Optionally, determining the forwarding beam pattern according to the beam pattern used for forwarding the multiple SS / PBCH blocks includes: determining multiple incident angle parameters according to the main lobe direction of the beam of the beam pattern used for forwarding the multiple SS / PBCH blocks; and generating a forwarding beam pattern directed to a network device according to the multiple incident angle parameters.

[0016] Optionally, the network node includes: a wireless forwarding device with a beamforming function.

[0017] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a network node is provided, comprising: a pattern determination module, configured to determine a forwarding beam pattern to be adopted within the duration of a PRACH transmission opportunity associated with an SS / PBCH block in a physical broadcast channel SS / PBCH block group according to an association relationship between a synchronization signal and an SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group and a physical random access channel PRACH transmission opportunity, and frequency multiplexing information of the PRACH transmission opportunity; and a signal forwarding module, configured to perform signal forwarding processing based on the forwarding beam pattern within the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block.

[0018] Optionally, an information reporting module is used to send capability group information to the network side; wherein the capability group information includes: forwarding beam switching capability and / or forwarding beam pattern generation capability information; a configuration receiving module is used to receive configuration information of the SS / PBCH block group sent by the network side; wherein the network side configures the configuration information based on the capability group information; a block group determination module is used to determine the SS / PBCH block group according to the configuration information.

[0019] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a network node is provided, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the method as described above based on instructions stored in the memory.

[0020] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, comprising: the network node as described above.

[0021] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and the instructions are executed by a processor as described above.

[0022] The signal transmission method, network node, communication system and storage medium disclosed in the present invention can implicitly indicate the forwarding beam pattern adopted by the network node in the relevant process of random access without the need for the network side to send additional control information, which can effectively save control signaling, improve the utilization rate and spectrum efficiency of network resources, and improve the reliability of data signal forwarding by the network node; and, the need for protocol modification is relatively small, and the system has good practicality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] By describing the embodiments of the present disclosure in more detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent. The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present disclosure, they are used to explain the present disclosure and do not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure. The above and other purposes and advantages of the present disclosure will be further described below in conjunction with specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding technical features or components will be represented by the same or corresponding figure marks.

[0024] Figure 1 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a signal transmission method according to the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of determining an SS / PBCH block group in an embodiment of a signal transmission method according to the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 3 and Figure 4 A schematic diagram for generating a forwarding beam pattern;

[0027] Figure 5 is a module diagram of an embodiment of a network node according to the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 6 is a module diagram of another embodiment of a network node according to the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a module of a pattern determination module in an embodiment of a network node according to the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of modules of another embodiment of a relay terminal according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. For the sake of clarity and conciseness, not all features of the embodiments are described in the specification. However, it should be understood that many implementation-specific settings must be made in the process of implementing the embodiments in order to achieve the specific goals of the developer, for example, to meet those restrictions related to the device and the service, and these restrictions may vary depending on the implementation. In addition, it should be understood that although the development work may be very complex and time-consuming, it is only a routine task for those skilled in the art who benefit from the content of this disclosure.

[0032] It should be noted that the relative arrangement of components and steps, the numerical expressions and numerical values ​​set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure unless specifically stated otherwise.

[0033] Those skilled in the art can understand that the terms "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different steps, devices or modules, etc., and neither represent any specific technical meaning nor indicate the necessary logical order between them.

[0034] It should also be understood that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” may refer to two or more than two, and “at least one” may refer to one, two, or more than two.

[0035] It should also be understood that any component, data or structure mentioned in the embodiments of the present disclosure can generally be understood as one or more, unless explicitly limited or otherwise indicated in the context.

[0036] In addition, the term "and / or" in the present disclosure is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in the present disclosure generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0037] It should also be understood that the description of the various embodiments in the present disclosure focuses on the differences between the various embodiments, and the same or similar aspects thereof can be referenced to each other, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be described one by one.

[0038] At the same time, it should be understood that for the convenience of description, the sizes of the various parts shown in the drawings are not drawn according to the actual proportional relationship.

[0039] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the present disclosure, its application, or uses.

[0040] Technologies, methods, and equipment known to ordinary technicians in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the technologies, methods, and equipment should be considered as part of the specification.

[0041] It should be noted that like reference numerals and letters refer to similar items in the following figures, and therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be further discussed in subsequent figures.

[0042] In addition, in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure due to unnecessary details, only the processing steps and / or device structures closely related to at least the scheme according to the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, and other details that are not closely related to the present disclosure are omitted. It should also be noted that similar reference numerals and letters in the drawings indicate similar items, and therefore once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be discussed again for subsequent drawings.

[0043] In the related technology known to the inventors, when the user performs initial random access, the PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) configuration information is indicated by the physical random access channel configuration index prach-ConfigurationIndex parameter in SIB1 (System Information Block 1), and the value of this parameter is an index value of 0-255, corresponding to the row index in the random access configuration table, specifically indicating the following information: Preamble format, system frame number of PRACH transmission, subframe number, starting OFDM symbol position, number of time slots used to transmit PRACH in a subframe, number of PRACH time domain transmission opportunities in a PRACH time slot, and number of continuous symbols of PRACH. The number of frequency domain transmission opportunities of PRACH is indicated by the parameter msg1-FDM of SIB1, which can be configured as {1,2,4,8}. The total number of transmission opportunities of PRACH in a time slot is determined by the number of its time domain transmission opportunities and the number of frequency domain transmission opportunities.

[0044] The parameter ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB in SIB1 indicates the number of PRACH transmission opportunities associated with each SSB (Synchronization Signal block) index, and the values ​​include {oneEighth, oneFourth, oneHalf, one, two, four, eight, sixteen}. For example, the value "oneHalf" means that 1 SSB index is associated with 2 PRACH transmission opportunities, and the value "two" means that 2 SSB indexes are associated with 1 PRACH transmission opportunity. Each value can correspond to a set of enumerated values, indicating the number of contention-based random access preambles corresponding to each SSB index. The value "oneHalf{n4}" means that 1 SSB index is associated with 2 PRACH transmission opportunities, and each SSB index corresponds to 4 contention preambles.

[0045] Each SSB index is associated with at least one PRACH transmission opportunity, and the base station can indirectly obtain the SSB index information by detecting the PRACH transmission opportunity used by the user. When the system is configured with N SSB indexes, the N SSB indexes are associated with the corresponding PRACH transmission opportunities in sequence according to certain rules; after completing a round of association, if there are still remaining PRACH transmission opportunities, these SSB indexes will continue to be associated with the remaining PRACH transmission opportunities until the remaining PRACH transmission opportunities are insufficient to support a full round of SSB index association mapping. According to the relevant technology, the remaining PRACH transmission opportunities do not perform PRACH transmission.

[0046] IRS equipment, RIS equipment and other network nodes can be controlled by the base station and are transparent to the UE (User Equipment), that is, the UE is unaware of the existence of IRS equipment, RIS equipment and other network nodes. In the cell search phase, IRS equipment, RIS equipment and other network nodes can use different beams to forward broadcast signals (SSB) to different areas to expand network coverage. Therefore, in the random access phase, it is necessary to forward the Msg1 sent by the user to the network side on different ROs (Random Access Channel Occasions). The network side needs to send additional control information to indicate the forwarding pattern used by network nodes such as IRS equipment and RIS equipment for auxiliary signal transmission.

[0047] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a signal transmission method according to the present disclosure. The signal transmission method of the present disclosure is applied to a network node, such as Figure 1 As shown:

[0048] Step 101, determine the forwarding beam pattern used during the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group based on the association relationship between the SS / PBCH blocks in the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel SS / PBCH block group and the physical random access channel PRACH transmission opportunity, and the frequency multiplexing information of the PRACH transmission opportunity.

[0049] In one embodiment, the forwarding beam pattern may also be referred to as a reflection pattern, etc. The forwarding beam pattern refers to a beamforming pattern used by a network node when forwarding a signal. The forwarding beam pattern represents a specific electromagnetic wave spatial field strength formed by beamforming. For example, the forwarding beam pattern may be an electromagnetic wave pattern with a specific reflection / transmission style formed by adjusting electromagnetic elements, or may be a reflection / transmission electromagnetic wave pattern pointing to certain specific directions.

[0050] The network nodes include wireless forwarding devices with beamforming functions, and the wireless forwarding devices include intelligent reflective surface IRS devices, reconfigurable intelligent surface RIS devices, network control relays and other devices.

[0051] Step 102: Perform signal forwarding based on the forwarding beam pattern during the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block.

[0052] In one embodiment, the network node uses the determined forwarding beam pattern to assist transmission during the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with each SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group. The network node can use different beams to forward the broadcast signal to different areas in the cell search phase to expand network coverage, and needs to forward the random access sequence Msg1 sent by the user to the network side on different ROs in the random access phase.

[0053] The signal transmission method disclosed in the present invention determines the forwarding beam pattern of the network node-assisted random access according to the correlation between SSB and RO. It can implicitly indicate the forwarding beam pattern adopted by the network node in the relevant process of random access without the need for the network side to send additional control information. It can effectively save control signaling, improve the utilization rate of network resources and spectrum efficiency, and improve the reliability of data signal forwarding by the network node.

[0054] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of determining an SS / PBCH block group in an embodiment of a signal transmission method according to the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown:

[0055] Step 201, sending capability group information to the network side; wherein the capability group information includes: forwarding beam switching capability and / or forwarding beam pattern generation capability information and other information.

[0056] In one embodiment, the forwarding beam switching capability information includes the maximum duration for a network node to switch between forwarding beam patterns, that is, the maximum switching time required for the network node to switch from any forwarding beam pattern (reflection pattern) to any other forwarding beam pattern. The unit can be the number of symbols, the number of time slots, or commonly used time units, such as seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, etc.

[0057] The forwarding beam pattern generation capability information includes information such as the network node's ability to forward the incident beam to the desired direction at the same time, that is, whether the network node has the ability to forward beams from different incoming directions at the same time to the same desired direction. The forwarding beam pattern generation capability information can be determined by one or more capability identification bits, and the forwarding beam pattern generation capability information can be transmitted using one or more capability identification bits. When the capability identification bit is 1 bit, the value of the capability identification bit is 0, indicating that the network node does not have the forwarding beam pattern generation capability information; the value of the capability identification bit is 1, indicating that the network node has the forwarding beam pattern generation capability information.

[0058] When the number of capability identification bits is two, the values ​​of the two capability identification bits include a first value, a second value, a third value, and a fourth value. The first value indicates that the network node has the ability to forward an incident beam of a single incoming direction to a desired direction at the same time; the second value, the third value, and the fourth value respectively indicate that the network node has the ability to forward incident beams within the first angle range, the second angle range, and the third angle range to the same desired direction at the same time.

[0059] For example, the first value, the second value, the third value and the fourth value are "00", "01", "10" and "11" respectively. The value of the two capability identification bits is "00", which means that the network node can only forward the incident beam in a single direction to the desired direction; the value of the two capability identification bits is "01", which means that the network node can simultaneously forward multiple beams within the first angle range to the same desired direction; the value of the two capability identification bits is "10", which means that the network node can simultaneously forward multiple beams within the second angle range to the same desired direction; the value of the two capability identification bits is "11", which means that the network node can simultaneously forward multiple beams within the third angle range to the same desired direction. The first angle range, the second angle range and the third angle range characterize that a specific incident angle range can be set to multiple angle ranges. For example, the first angle range, the second angle range and the third angle range are -30°-30°, -45°-45° or -60°-60° of the network node antenna or surface normal, respectively.

[0060] Step 202: receiving configuration information of the SS / PBCH block group sent by the network side; wherein the network side configures the configuration information of the SS / PBCH block group based on the capability group information.

[0061] In one embodiment, the SS / PBCH block group includes at least one SS / PBCH block, the SS / PBCH block is configured with a synchronization signal block SSB index, and the SS / PBCH block includes the SSB index. The network side device includes a base station, etc. The network node determines the SS / PBCH block group according to the configuration information sent by the base station and other devices on the network side. The SS / PBCH block group on the network side includes one or more SS / PBCH blocks, and the multiple SS / PBCH blocks have different SSB indexes.

[0062] The time domain interval between SS / PBCH blocks satisfies the forwarding beam switching capability. When the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block is frequency division multiplexing, or multiple SS / PBCH blocks are associated with the same PRACH transmission opportunity, the network node satisfies the forwarding beam pattern generation capability information.

[0063] For example, the time domain interval between each SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group configured by the network side should meet the forwarding beam switching capability of the network node. If the PRACH transmission timing associated with each SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group configured by the network side is frequency division multiplexing, or multiple SS / PBCH blocks are associated with the same PRACH transmission timing, the forwarding beam pattern generation capability information of the network node is met. The SS / PBCH blocks in the SS / PBCH block group are forwarded to different directions by the network node using beamforming to achieve coverage of different areas.

[0064] Step 203: Determine the SS / PBCH block group according to the configuration information.

[0065] In one embodiment, a plurality of methods may be used to determine the forwarding beam pattern used by the SS / PBCH blocks in the SS / PBCH block group during the duration of the associated PRACH transmission opportunity. When the frequency reuse information indicates that frequency reuse is not used, and the association relationship is that one SS / PBCH block in one SS / PBCH block group is associated with one or more PRACH transmission opportunities, or when the frequency reuse information indicates that frequency reuse is used, and the association relationship is that all PRACH transmission opportunities at the same time are associated with one SS / PBCH block in one SS / PBCH block group, the forwarding beam pattern is determined according to the beam pattern used by the forwarding SS / PBCH block.

[0066] A plurality of methods may be used to determine the forwarding beam pattern according to the beam pattern adopted by the SS / PBCH block. For example, in the case where uplink and downlink beams are mutually different, the forwarding beam pattern is determined to be the same as the beam pattern adopted by the forwarding SS / PBCH block; in the case where uplink and downlink beams are mutually different, an incident angle parameter is determined according to the beam main lobe direction of the beam pattern adopted by the forwarding SS / PBCH block, and the forwarding beam pattern is determined according to the incident angle parameter, that is, the forwarding beam pattern directed to the network device is generated according to the incident angle parameter, and the network device includes a plurality of base stations, etc.

[0067] In one embodiment, the network node determines the forwarding beam pattern to be adopted by the network node in one or more PRACH transmission opportunities associated with each SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group based on the association relationship between the SS / PBCH blocks in the SS / PBCH block group and one or more PRACH transmission opportunities and the frequency multiplexing parameters of the PRACH transmission opportunities configured on the network side.

[0068] In the case where the PRACH transmission opportunities configured on the network side have no frequency reuse (for example, the value of the frequency reuse parameter of the PRACH transmission opportunities configured on the network side is 1), and according to the association relationship between the SS / PBCH block group and the one or more PRACH transmission opportunities, it is determined that the one or more PRACH transmission opportunities are associated with only one SS / PBCH block in the one SS / PBCH block group; or, in the case where the PRACH transmission opportunities with frequency reuse are configured on the network side (for example, the value of the frequency reuse parameter of the PRACH transmission opportunities configured on the network side is not 1, but 2, 4, 8, etc.), and according to the association relationship between the SS / PBCH block group and the one or more PRACH transmission opportunities, it is determined that all the frequency reused PRACH transmission opportunities at the same time are associated with only one SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group, the network node determines the forwarding beam pattern used in one or more PRACH transmission opportunities according to one SS / PBCH block. The network node determines the forwarding beam pattern used by the network node in one or more PRACH transmission opportunities according to the beam pattern used to forward the SS / PBCH block, such as Figure 3 shown.

[0069] When there is reciprocity between uplink and downlink beams, it is determined that the forwarding beam pattern used by the network node in one or more PRACH transmission opportunities is consistent with the forwarding beam pattern used to forward the SS / PBCH block. When there is no reciprocity between uplink and downlink beams, the incident angle parameter is determined according to the main lobe direction of the beam pattern used by the SS / PBCH block (the incident angle is the opposite direction of the main lobe direction of the beam), and based on the incident angle parameter, a forwarding beam pattern pointing to a network device such as a base station is generated.

[0070] In one embodiment, when the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity indicates that frequency reuse is not used, and the association relationship is that multiple SS / PBCH blocks are associated with one PRACH transmission opportunity, or when the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity indicates that frequency reuse is used, and the association relationship is that multiple PRACH transmission opportunities at the same time are associated with multiple SS / PBCH blocks, a forwarding beam pattern is determined according to the beam pattern used for forwarding the SS / PBCH block. A variety of methods can be used to determine the forwarding beam pattern, for example, a plurality of incident angle parameters are determined according to the beam main lobe direction of the beam pattern used for forwarding multiple SS / PBCH blocks; a forwarding beam pattern directed to a network device is generated according to the plurality of incident angle parameters.

[0071] In one embodiment, when there is no frequency reuse of the PRACH transmission opportunity configured by the network side (for example, the value of the frequency reuse parameter of the PRACH transmission opportunity configured by the network side is 1), and according to the association relationship between the SS / PBCH block group and one or more PRACH transmission opportunities, it is determined that one PRACH transmission opportunity is associated with multiple SS / PBCH blocks in the SS / PBCH block group, or when the PRACH transmission opportunity with frequency reuse is configured on the network side (for example, the value of the frequency reuse parameter of the PRACH transmission opportunity configured by the network side is not 1, but 2, 4, 8, etc.), and according to the association relationship between the SS / PBCH block group and one or more PRACH transmission opportunities, it is determined that multiple (all) frequency reused PRACH transmission opportunities at the same time are associated with multiple SS / PBCH blocks in the SS / PBCH block group, the network node determines multiple incident angle parameters according to the main lobe direction of the beam used to forward the multiple SS / PBCH blocks (the multiple incident angles are the opposite directions of the multiple main lobe directions of the beam), and generates a forwarding beam pattern pointing to the network device according to the multiple incident angle parameters, such as Figure 4 As shown, various existing methods can be used to generate a forwarding beam pattern directed to a network device according to multiple incident angle parameters.

[0072] The signal transmission method disclosed in the present invention determines the forwarding beam pattern of the network node-assisted random access according to the correlation between SSB and RO. It can implicitly indicate the forwarding beam pattern adopted by the network node in the relevant process of random access without the need for the network side to send additional control information. By implicitly indicating the forwarding pattern, control signaling can be effectively saved, the utilization rate of network resources and the spectrum efficiency can be improved, and the reliability of data signal forwarding by the network node can be improved. In addition, the need for protocol modification is relatively small, and the method has good practicality.

[0073] In one embodiment, Figure 5As shown, the present disclosure provides a network node 50, including: a pattern determination module 51 and a signal forwarding module 52. The pattern determination module 51 determines the forwarding beam pattern used during the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group according to the association relationship between the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group and the PRACH transmission opportunity and the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity. The signal forwarding module 52 performs signal forwarding processing based on the forwarding beam pattern during the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block.

[0074] In one embodiment, Figure 6 As shown, the network node 50 also includes an information reporting module 53, a configuration receiving module 54 and a block group determining module 55. The information reporting module 53 sends capability group information to the network side, and the capability group information includes information such as forwarding beam switching capability and / or forwarding beam pattern generation capability information. The configuration receiving module 54 receives the configuration information of the SS / PBCH block group sent by the network side, and the network side configures the configuration information of the SS / PBCH block group based on the capability group information; the block group determining module 55 determines the SS / PBCH block group according to the configuration information.

[0075] In one embodiment, Figure 7 As shown, the pattern determination module 51 includes a first determination unit 511 and a second determination unit 512. The first determination unit 511 determines the forwarding beam pattern according to the beam pattern used for forwarding the SS / PBCH block when the frequency reuse information indicates that frequency reuse is not used and the association relationship is that one SS / PBCH block in one SS / PBCH block group is associated with one or more PRACH transmission opportunities, or when the frequency reuse information indicates that frequency reuse is used and the association relationship is that all PRACH transmission opportunities at the same time are associated with one SS / PBCH block in one SS / PBCH block group.

[0076] The first determination unit 511 determines that the forwarding beam pattern is the same as the beam pattern used for forwarding the SS / PBCH block when there is mutual difference between the uplink and downlink beams. The first determination unit 511 determines the incident angle parameter according to the beam main lobe direction of the beam pattern used by the SS / PBCH block when there is no mutual difference between the uplink and downlink beams, and determines the forwarding beam pattern according to the incident angle parameter.

[0077] The second determination unit 512 determines the forwarding beam pattern according to the beam pattern adopted by the SS / PBCH block when the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity indicates that frequency reuse is not used and the association relationship is that multiple SS / PBCH blocks are associated with one PRACH transmission opportunity, or when the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity indicates that frequency reuse is used and the association relationship is that multiple PRACH transmission opportunities at the same time are associated with multiple SS / PBCH blocks.

[0078] The second determination unit 512 determines a plurality of incident angle parameters according to the beam main lobe direction of the beam pattern used to forward a plurality of SS / PBCH blocks, and generates a forwarding beam pattern directed to the network device according to the plurality of incident angle parameters.

[0079] In one embodiment, Figure 8 As shown, the network node may include a memory 81, a processor 82, a communication interface 83 and a bus 84. The memory 81 is used to store instructions, the processor 82 is coupled to the memory 81, and the processor 82 is configured to execute the above signal transmission method based on the instructions stored in the memory 81.

[0080] The memory 81 may be a high-speed RAM memory, a non-volatile memory, etc., or a memory array. The memory 81 may also be divided into blocks, and the blocks may be combined into virtual volumes according to certain rules. The processor 82 may be a central processing unit CPU, or an application specific integrated circuit ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the signal transmission method of the present disclosure.

[0081] In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a communication system, including a network node in any of the above embodiments. The communication system may be a 5G (5th generation) communication system, a 6G (6th generation) communication system, etc. The network node includes an intelligent reflective surface IRS device, a reconfigurable intelligent surface RIS device

[0082] In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, which implement the method in any of the above embodiments when the instructions are executed by a processor.

[0083] Computer readable storage media can adopt any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium can be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium can include, for example, but is not limited to, a system, device or device of electricity, magnetism, light, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (non-exhaustive enumeration) of readable storage media can include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0084] The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be a computer program product, which includes computer program instructions, which, when executed by a processor, enable the processor to execute the steps of the method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure described in the above “Exemplary Method” section of this specification.

[0085] The signal transmission method, network node, communication system and storage medium in the above-mentioned embodiments determine the forwarding beam pattern adopted by the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group during the duration of the associated PRACH transmission opportunity according to the association relationship between the SS / PBCH block group and the PRACH transmission opportunity and the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity, and perform signal forwarding processing based on the forwarding beam pattern; it is capable of determining the forwarding beam pattern of the network node assisted random access according to the correlation between the SSB and the RO, and can implicitly indicate the forwarding beam pattern adopted by the network node in the related process of random access without the need for the network side to send additional control information. By implicitly indicating the forwarding pattern, control signaling can be effectively saved, the utilization rate of network resources and the spectrum efficiency are improved, and the reliability of data signal forwarding by the network node is improved; and the need for protocol modification is small, and it has good practicality; it can save network deployment costs, ensure service quality, and improve user experience.

[0086] The basic principles of the present disclosure are described above in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the advantages, strengths, effects, etc. mentioned in the present disclosure are only examples and not limitations, and it cannot be considered that these advantages, strengths, effects, etc. are required by each embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, the specific details disclosed above are only for the purpose of illustration and ease of understanding, and are not limitations. The above details do not limit the present disclosure to the necessity of adopting the above specific details to be implemented.

[0087] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other. For the system embodiment, since it basically corresponds to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment.

[0088] The block diagrams of the devices, apparatuses, equipment, and systems involved in this disclosure are only illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that they must be connected, arranged, and configured in the manner shown in the block diagrams. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, these devices, apparatuses, equipment, and systems can be connected, arranged, and configured in any manner. Words such as "including," "comprising," "having," and the like are open words, referring to "including but not limited to," and can be used interchangeably therewith. The words "or" and "and" used herein refer to the words "and / or," and can be used interchangeably therewith, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The word "such as" used herein refers to the phrase "such as but not limited to," and can be used interchangeably therewith.

[0089] It should also be noted that in the apparatus, device and method of the present disclosure, each component or each step can be decomposed and / or recombined. Such decomposition and / or recombination should be regarded as equivalent solutions of the present disclosure.

[0090] The above description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0091] The above description has been given for the purpose of illustration and description. In addition, this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure to the forms disclosed herein. Although multiple example aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments are merely illustrative and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments may be combined, modified or replaced without departing from the scope and essence of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A signal transmission method, applied to a network node, comprising: Determine, according to the association relationship between the synchronization signal and the SS / PBCH block in the physical broadcast channel SS / PBCH block group and the physical random access channel PRACH transmission opportunity, and the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity, the forwarding beam pattern used within the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group; Signal forwarding is performed based on the forwarding beam pattern during the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Sending capability group information to the network side; wherein the capability group information includes: forwarding beam switching capability and / or forwarding beam pattern generation capability information; receiving configuration information of the SS / PBCH block group sent by the network side; wherein the network side configures the configuration information based on the capability group information; The SS / PBCH block group is determined according to the configuration information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein: The forwarding beam switching capability information includes: a maximum duration for the network node to switch between forwarding beam patterns; The forwarding beam pattern generation capability information includes: capability information of the network node forwarding an incident beam to a desired direction at the same time.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein: The forwarding beam pattern generation capability information is determined by one or more capability identification bits.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein: The number of the multiple capability identification bits is two; The values ​​of the two capability identification bits include: a first value, a second value, a third value and a fourth value; The first value represents that the network node has the ability to forward an incident beam in a single incoming direction to the desired direction at the same time; The second value, the third value, and the fourth value respectively represent that the network node has the ability to forward incident beams within the first angle range, the second angle range, and the third angle range to the same desired direction at the same time.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein: The SS / PBCH block group includes: at least one SS / PBCH block; the SS / PBCH block includes a synchronization signal block SSB index.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein: The time domain interval between the SS / PBCH blocks satisfies the forwarding beam switching capability; and / or, When the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block is frequency division multiplexing, or multiple SS / PBCH blocks are associated with the same PRACH transmission opportunity, the network node satisfies the forwarding beam pattern generation capability information.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the forwarding beam pattern to be used within the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group according to the association relationship between the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group and the PRACH transmission opportunity and the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity comprises: When the frequency reuse information indicates that frequency reuse is not used, and the association relationship is that one SS / PBCH block in an SS / PBCH block group is associated with one or more PRACH transmission opportunities, or when the frequency reuse information indicates that frequency reuse is used, and the association relationship is that all PRACH transmission opportunities at the same time are associated with one SS / PBCH block in an SS / PBCH block group, the forwarding beam pattern is determined according to the beam pattern used for forwarding the one SS / PBCH block.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein determining the forwarding beam pattern according to the forwarding beam pattern used for forwarding the one SS / PBCH block comprises: In the case where uplink and downlink beams are mutually different, it is determined that the forwarding beam pattern is the same as the beam pattern used to forward the one SS / PBCH block.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein determining the forwarding beam pattern according to the forwarding beam pattern used for forwarding the SS / PBCH block comprises: In the absence of uplink and downlink beam reciprocity, determining an incident angle parameter according to a beam main lobe direction of a beam pattern used to forward the one SS / PBCH block; The forwarding beam pattern directed toward the network device is generated according to the incident angle parameter.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the forwarding beam pattern to be used within the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group according to the association relationship between the SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group and the PRACH transmission opportunity and the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity comprises: When the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity indicates no frequency reuse, and the association relationship is that multiple SS / PBCH blocks in one SS / PBCH block group are associated with one PRACH transmission opportunity, or when the frequency reuse information of the PRACH transmission opportunity indicates the use of frequency reuse, and the association relationship is that all PRACH transmission opportunities at the same time are associated with multiple SS / PBCH blocks in one SS / PBCH block group, the forwarding beam pattern is determined according to the beam pattern used for forwarding the multiple SS / PBCH blocks.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein determining the forwarding beam pattern according to the beam patterns used to forward the plurality of SS / PBCH blocks comprises: Determining a plurality of incident angle parameters according to a beam main lobe direction of a beam pattern used to forward the plurality of SS / PBCH blocks; A forwarding beam pattern directed toward the network device is generated according to the multiple incident angle parameters.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein: The network node includes: a wireless forwarding device with a beamforming function.

14. A network node, comprising: A pattern determination module, configured to determine a forwarding beam pattern used within a duration of a PRACH transmission opportunity associated with an SS / PBCH block in the SS / PBCH block group according to an association relationship between a synchronization signal and an SS / PBCH block in a physical broadcast channel SS / PBCH block group and a physical random access channel PRACH transmission opportunity, and frequency multiplexing information of the PRACH transmission opportunity; A signal forwarding module is used to perform signal forwarding processing based on the forwarding beam pattern within the duration of the PRACH transmission opportunity associated with the SS / PBCH block.

15. The network node of claim 14, further comprising: An information reporting module, used to send capability group information to the network side; wherein the capability group information includes: forwarding beam switching capability and / or forwarding beam pattern generation capability information; A configuration receiving module is used to receive the configuration information of the SS / PBCH block group sent by the network side; wherein the network side configures the configuration information based on the capability group information; The block group determination module is used to determine the SS / PBCH block group according to the configuration information.

16. A network node, comprising: Memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 based on instructions stored in the memory.

17. A communication system comprising: A network node as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 16.

18. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, wherein the instructions are executed by a processor to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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