Communication method and device and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device, and a computer readable storage medium, and the communication method comprises the steps: receiving a beam indication group which is used for indicating the forwarding of beams indicated by at least two beam indexes on an indicated time domain resource. The invention provides a scheme for realizing NCR enhanced coverage.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) protocol version 18 (Release 18, R18) introduced the Network-Controlled Repeater (NCR), also known as the smart repeater, and the Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS). The smart repeater / RIS can form a beam under the control of the base station and send the received data in a directional manner. Specifically, the smart repeater / RIS forwards signals in a directional manner through the side control information (SCI) sent by the base station, which increases the coverage while reducing power waste.

[0003] For details, please refer to Figure 1Taking the relay device as an example, in terms of function, the relay device can be divided into two parts. The first part is the mobile terminal-oriented part, which mainly completes the control signaling transmission between the network device and the relay device. The link between the network device and this part is called the control link (or C-link); the second part is the forwarding part, which realizes the data exchange between the network device and the terminal device by amplifying and forwarding. The link between the network device and the forwarding part is called the backhaul link (or B-link), and the link between the terminal device and the forwarding part is the access link (or A-link). For the access link, the network device needs to indicate the relay device when and in which direction to transmit. This can be divided into two problems, time domain resource indication and beam indication. In the existing scheme, the sending direction is represented by the beam index (beamindex), and the time domain resource (time resource) used by the access link is indicated in an explicit way. For beam indication, dynamic indication can be supported as well as semi-static indication. Specifically, periodic, non-periodic and semi-persistent access link beam indication can be considered. When multiple beam indications are made in one beam indication, these beams are sent in a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner. In the latest communication standard discussion plan, it is hoped that NCR capabilities can be further enhanced, and it is hoped that NCR can have the ability to maintain multiple beams at the same time to further enhance coverage.

[0004] However, there is currently no solution for enhanced coverage of NCR / RIS capabilities. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and device, and provides a solution for achieving NCR / RIS enhanced coverage.

[0006] In order to achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: receiving a beam indication group, wherein the beam indication group is used to indicate forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on an indicated time domain resource.

[0008] Optionally, the beam indication group indicates forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on each time domain resource, or forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on partially overlapping time domain resources.

[0009] Optionally, the beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes multiple beam indexes and an identifier indicating time domain resources, or each forwarding resource group includes a beam index and multiple identifiers indicating time domain resources, and the time domain resources in the multiple forwarding resource groups are at least partially overlapped.

[0010] Optionally, the beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes multiple forwarding resources, each forwarding resource includes a beam index and an identifier of a time domain resource, the time domain resources in the multiple forwarding resources are at least partially overlapping, and on the same time domain resource, at most K beams are indicated simultaneously, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0011] Optionally, the value of K is less than or equal to N, where N represents the maximum number of beams used on the same time domain resources, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0012] Optionally, the beam indication group includes a radio resource control RRC list, the RRC list includes X forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes a maximum of N groups of forwarding resources, each forwarding resource includes a beam index and a time domain resource, wherein N represents the maximum number of beams used on the same time domain resource, and N and X are positive integers greater than or equal to 2.

[0013] Optionally, the time domain resources in the beam indication group are periodic resources or semi-persistent resources.

[0014] Optionally, the beam indication group indicates forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices in completely overlapping time domain resources.

[0015] Optionally, the beam indication group is carried by a first newly added field in downlink control information DCI.

[0016] Optionally, the time domain resources in the beam indication group are non-periodic resources.

[0017] Optionally, the communication method further includes: receiving beam selection information, wherein the beam selection information indicates at least one beam index in the beam indication group used for data transmission.

[0018] Optionally, the beam selection information is carried in a second newly added field of the DCI.

[0019] Optionally, the communication method further includes: receiving a priority identifier of a beam indication group, wherein the beam indications in the beam indication group have the same type.

[0020] Optionally, the type of the beam indication group is periodic indication or semi-continuous indication, and the priority of the beam indication group with the priority identifier is higher than the priority of the beam indication group with a non-periodic indication type.

[0021] Optionally, the communication method further includes: reporting capability indication information, wherein the capability indication information indicates the capability of simultaneously maintaining N access link beams, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0022] Optionally, the communication method further includes: reporting a maximum number of beams, wherein the maximum number of beams is the maximum value of the number of beams used on the same time domain resources.

[0023] In a second aspect, the present application also discloses a communication method, which includes: sending a beam indication group, wherein the beam indication group is used to indicate forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on an indicated time domain resource.

[0024] Optionally, the beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes multiple beam indexes and an identifier indicating time domain resources, or each forwarding resource group includes a beam index and multiple identifiers indicating time domain resources, and there is partial overlap in the time domain resources in the multiple forwarding resource groups.

[0025] Optionally, the beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes multiple forwarding resources, each forwarding resource includes a beam index and an identifier of a time domain resource, the time domain resources in the multiple forwarding resources at least partially overlap, and on the same time domain resource, at most K beams are indicated simultaneously, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0026] Optionally, the beam indication group indicates forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices in completely overlapping time domain resources.

[0027] Optionally, the communication method further includes: sending beam selection information, wherein the beam selection information indicates at least one beam index in the beam indication group used for data transmission.

[0028] Optionally, the communication method further includes: sending a priority identifier of the beam indication group.

[0029] In a third aspect, the present application also discloses a communication device, comprising: a communication module, configured to receive a beam indication group, wherein the beam indication group is configured to indicate forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on an indicated time domain resource.

[0030] In a fourth aspect, the present application also discloses a communication device, comprising: a communication module, configured to send a beam indication group, wherein the beam indication group is configured to indicate forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on an indicated time domain resource.

[0031] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, and the computer program is executed by a processor to execute any one of the methods provided in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0032] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program executable on the processor, and the processor executes the computer program to execute any one of the methods provided in the first aspect.

[0033] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program executable on the processor, and the processor executes the computer program to execute any one of the methods provided in the second aspect.

[0034] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, on which a computer program is stored, and the computer program is executed by a processor to execute any one of the methods provided in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0035] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising the above-mentioned terminal device and the above-mentioned network device.

[0036] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip (or a data transmission device) on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by the chip, the steps of the above method are implemented.

[0037] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a system chip, which is applied to a terminal, and the chip system includes at least one processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit and the at least one processor are interconnected through lines, and the at least one processor is used to execute instructions to execute any one of the methods provided in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0038] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of this application has the following beneficial effects:

[0039] In the technical solution of the present application, a relay device or a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) receives a beam indication group, which is used to indicate forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on the indicated time domain resources. In the technical solution of the present application, a network device instructs a relay device or an intelligent reflective surface to use multiple beams for forwarding on the indicated time domain resources through a beam indication group, thereby enhancing the coverage of the relay device or the intelligent reflective surface.

[0040] Furthermore, the beam indication group indicates forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on each time domain resource, or forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on partially overlapping time domain resources. The beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes multiple beam indices and an identifier indicating a time domain resource, or each forwarding resource group includes a beam index and multiple identifiers indicating time domain resources, and the multiple time domain resources are at least partially overlapped. The technical solution of the present application achieves the purpose of forwarding with at least two beams on the same time domain resource through the above-mentioned different indication forms, thereby enhancing the coverage of the relay device or the intelligent reflection surface.

[0041] Further, beam selection information is received, and the beam selection information indicates at least one beam index in the beam indication group for data transmission. The technical solution of the present application can select at least two beams indicated in the beam indication group and use the selected beams for forwarding through the beam selection information, so as to select a specific beam and realize precise control of forwarding on the access link. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a relay network in the prior art;

[0043] Figure 2 It is an interactive flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 3 is an interactive flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 4 is an interactive flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 5 is a structural diagram of another communication configuration provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] The communication systems to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable include, but are not limited to, Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, fifth-generation (5G) systems, new wireless (NR) systems, and future evolution systems or multiple communication fusion systems. Among them, the 5G system can be a non-standalone (NSA) 5G system or a standalone (SA) 5G system. The technical solution of the present application is also applicable to different network architectures, including but not limited to relay network architectures, dual-connection architectures, vehicle-to-everything architectures, and other architectures.

[0049] This application mainly involves the communication between terminal equipment, relay equipment / RIS and network equipment. Among them:

[0050] The network device in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as an access network device, for example, a base station (BS) (also referred to as a base station device), which is a device deployed in a radio access network (RAN) to provide wireless communication functions. For example, in the second-generation (2G) network, the equipment that provides base station functions includes the base transceiver station (BTS), in the third-generation (3G) network, the equipment that provides base station functions includes the node B (NodeB), in the fourth-generation (4G) network, the equipment that provides base station functions includes the evolved node B (eNB), in the wireless local area network (WLAN), the equipment that provides base station functions is the access point (AP), the equipment that provides base station functions in NR is the next generation Node Base station (gNB), and the evolved node B (ng-eNB), where the gNB and the terminal device communicate using NR technology, and the ng-eNB and the terminal device communicate using evolved universal terrestrial radio access (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access, E-UTRA) technology, and both gNB and ng-eNB can be connected to the 5G core network. The network devices in the embodiments of the present application also include devices that provide base station functions in future new communication systems, etc.

[0051] The terminal equipment in the embodiments of the present application may refer to various forms of access terminals, user units, user stations, mobile stations, mobile stations (Mobile Station, MS), remote stations, remote terminals, mobile devices, user terminals, wireless communication devices, user agents or user devices. The terminal equipment may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolving Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The terminal equipment may also be referred to as User Equipment (UE), a terminal, etc.

[0052] The control signaling between the network device and the relay device / RIS may include at least one of the following: 1. Beamforming information, because the relay device can perform directional transmission, and a beam can represent a transmission direction, and the beam information contains the content related to the beam. 2. Switch information (ON-OFF information), which controls the switch of the forwarding part and determines whether the relay device performs amplification and forwarding. 3. Uplink and downlink time division duplex (TDD) configuration information, which is used to allocate the time for uplink and downlink transmission.

[0053] The implementation method of beam indication in the current protocol is shown in Table 1.

[0054] Table 1

[0055]

[0056]

[0057] As described in the background art, there is currently no solution for enhancing the coverage of NCR / RIS capabilities.

[0058] In the technical solution of the present application, the network device instructs the relay device or the intelligent reflection surface to use multiple beams for forwarding on the indicated time domain resources through a beam indication group, thereby enhancing the coverage of the relay device or the intelligent reflection surface.

[0059] The relay device in the embodiment of the present application refers to an intelligent relay device in the 3GPP protocol R18, or a relay device in other evolved communication systems. The relay device supports omnidirectional forwarding and directional forwarding of data.

[0060] The smart reflective surface in the embodiment of the present application refers to a plane composed of a large number of passive reflective elements, which is placed between the network device and the terminal device. Since each element can independently change the phase (or / and) amplitude or even frequency of the incident signal, the smart reflective surface can be used to enable the terminal device to better receive the signal sent by the network device.

[0061] In an embodiment of the present application, the identifier indicating the time domain resource may include a starting time slot, a starting symbol, and a duration, wherein the starting time slot is defined as a time slot offset within a cycle, the starting symbol is defined as a symbol offset within a time slot, and the duration is defined as the number of symbols.

[0062] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0063] See also Figure 2 The method provided in this application specifically comprises the following steps:

[0064] Step 201: The network device sends a beam indication group. The beam indication group is used to indicate that forwarding is performed with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on the indicated time domain resources. Correspondingly, the relay device / intelligent reflector receives the beam indication group.

[0065] Step 202: The relay device / intelligent reflecting surface forwards on the indicated time domain resources using beams indicated by at least two beam indices.

[0066] It should be noted that the serial numbers of the steps in this embodiment do not limit the execution order of the steps.

[0067] It is understandable that, in a specific implementation, the communication method can be implemented in the form of a software program, which runs in a processor integrated inside a chip or a chip module. The method can also be implemented in the form of software combined with hardware, which is not limited in this application.

[0068] In this embodiment, the network device indicates to the relay device / intelligent reflector surface through the beam indication group which beams to use for forwarding on which time domain resources. However, unlike the beam indication in the prior art, the beam indication group in the embodiment of the present application can indicate at least two beams, that is, it can indicate the relay device / intelligent reflector surface to forward with at least two beams on the same time domain resource, so as to enhance the coverage of the relay device / intelligent reflector surface.

[0069] For the terminal device, it can receive with as few as two beams on the time domain resources indicated above.

[0070] In a non-limiting embodiment, the relay device / intelligent reflecting surface may report its capability of maintaining multiple beams to the network device, so that the network device configures a beam indication group for the relay device / intelligent reflecting surface according to the capability of the relay device / intelligent reflecting surface.

[0071] Please refer to Figure 3 In step 301, the relay device / intelligent reflector reports capability indication information to the network device. The capability indication information indicates that the relay device / intelligent reflector has the capability to simultaneously maintain N access link beams, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0072] Furthermore, if the relay device / intelligent reflecting surface has the capability to maintain multiple beams, the capability indication information may also carry the maximum number of beams, where the maximum number of beams is the maximum value of the number of beams used by the relay device / intelligent reflecting surface on the same time domain resources.

[0073] In another optional embodiment, if the relay device / intelligent reflector surface has the ability to maintain multiple beams, step 302 can be further executed, and the relay device / intelligent reflector surface reports the maximum number of beams to the network device, where the maximum number of beams is the maximum value of the number of beams used on the same time domain resources.

[0074] Furthermore, in step 303, when the network device configures a beam indication group for the relay device / intelligent reflector, the number of beams configured on the same time domain resource is less than or equal to the maximum number of beams. For example, if the maximum number of beams is 5, the number of beam indexes configured on the same time domain resource indicated in the beam indication group may be 2, 3, 4 or 5.

[0075] Specifically, the network device needs to avoid configuring beam indications that exceed the capabilities of the relay device / intelligent reflector in a beam indication group. For example, if the relay device / intelligent reflector can only maintain two beams at the same time, then the network device indicates four beams on the same time domain resource, which is considered an error case.

[0076] In step 304, the relay device / smart reflecting surface forwards on the indicated time domain resources using the beams indicated by at least two beam indices.

[0077] The time domain resources and beam index indicated by the beam indication group may have different expressions; the beam indication group may also have different indication modes, which are described below in conjunction with different embodiments.

[0078] Embodiment 1: The beam indication group indicates that forwarding is performed with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on each time domain resource, or forwarding is performed with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on partially overlapping time domain resources.

[0079] In the embodiment of the present application, through the indication of the above beam indication group, the relay device / intelligent reflection surface can forward with the beams indicated by at least two beam indices on each time domain resource, or forward with the beams indicated by at least two beam indices on partially overlapping time domain resources. For non-overlapping time domain resources, forwarding can be performed with the indicated beam according to the existing protocol.

[0080] Embodiment 2: A beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, and each forwarding resource group includes multiple beam indexes and an identifier indicating a time domain resource.

[0081] In an embodiment of the present application, by including multiple beam indexes and an identifier indicating time domain resources in each forwarding resource group, the relay device / intelligent reflection surface can forward with the beams indicated by the multiple beam indexes on the time domain resources indicated by the forwarding resource group.

[0082] For example, the forwarding resource group is as follows: {beamindex1, beamindex2, ..., timeresource}, where timeresource indicates an identifier indicating a time domain resource. The relay device / intelligent reflection surface can forward the beams indicated by beamindex1 and beamindex2 on the time domain resource indicated by timeresource.

[0083] Embodiment 3: Each forwarding resource group includes a beam index and multiple identifiers indicating time domain resources, and the time domain resources in multiple forwarding resource groups are at least partially overlapped.

[0084] In an embodiment of the present application, although the forwarding resource group includes a beam index, the time domain resources in multiple forwarding resource groups are at least partially overlapped, which means that on the overlapping time domain resources, the relay device / intelligent reflection surface can forward with beams indicated by multiple beam indices.

[0085] For example, the forwarding resource group is as follows: {beamindex1, time resource1, timeresource2, ...}, {beamindex2, time resource1, time resource3, ...}, then on the time domain resource indicated by timeresource1, the relay device / intelligent reflection surface can forward with the beams indicated by beamindex1 and beamindex2.

[0086] Embodiment 4: A beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes multiple forwarding resources (forwarding resource), each forwarding resource includes a beam index and an identifier of a time domain resource, the time domain resources in the multiple forwarding resources at least partially overlap, and on the same time domain resource, at most K beams are indicated simultaneously, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0087] The form of the forwarding resource in the embodiment of the present application is the same as that of the forwarding resource in the existing protocol. Since the time domain resources in the multiple forwarding resources are at least partially overlapped, the relay device / intelligent reflection surface can forward with the beams indicated by the multiple beam indices on the overlapping time domain resources.

[0088] Specifically, the network device indicates at most K beams simultaneously on the same time domain resource. The value of K is not greater than the maximum number of beams N supported by the relay device / intelligent reflector.

[0089] For example, the forwarding resources in the forwarding resource group are as follows: {beamindex1, time resource 1}, {beamindex2, time resource 2}, {beamindex3, time resource 1}. Timeresource 1 and time resource 2 represent identifiers indicating time domain resources. Then, on the time domain resource indicated by time resource 1, the relay device / intelligent reflector can forward with the beams indicated by beamindex1 and beamindex3.

[0090] For another example, the forwarding resources in the forwarding resource group are shown in Table 2:

[0091] Table 2

[0092]

[0093] Specifically, the time domain resources indicated by time resource 2 partially overlap with the time domain resources indicated by time resource 1, and the time domain resources indicated by time resource 3 overlap with another part of the time domain resources indicated by time resource 1. On the time domain resources indicated by time resource 2, the relay device / intelligent reflection surface can forward with the beams indicated by beamindex1 and beamindex2; on the time domain resources indicated by timeresource 3, the relay device / intelligent reflection surface can forward with the beams indicated by beamindex1 and beamindex3.

[0094] Embodiment 5: The beam indication group includes a wireless resource control RRC list, the RRC list includes X forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes a maximum of N groups of forwarding resources, each forwarding resource includes a beam index and a time domain resource, wherein N represents the maximum number of beams used on the same time domain resource, and N and X are positive integers greater than or equal to 2.

[0095] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device configures the beam indication group through the RRC list.

[0096] In a specific embodiment, the time domain resources in the aforementioned beam indication group are periodic resources, wherein the network device configures the period and subcarrier spacing of the time domain resources in RRC signaling.

[0097] Specifically, the beam indication group can use the existing protocol signaling format, as shown in Table 3.

[0098] Table 3

[0099]

[0100] In another specific embodiment, the time domain resources in the aforementioned beam indication group are semi-persistent resources. The network device sends the beam indication group to the relay device / intelligent reflection surface via the RRC list in the RRC signaling, and then the network device activates / deactivates one or more of the above RRC list via MAC CE.

[0101] Specifically, the beam indication group can use the existing protocol signaling format, as shown in Table 4.

[0102] Table 4

[0103]

[0104] Embodiment 6: A beam indication group includes completely overlapping time domain resources and at least two corresponding beam indexes, and the beam indication group is carried by a first newly added field in the downlink control information DCI.

[0105] In an embodiment of the present application, a beam indication group is carried by adding a first newly added field in the DCI. The first newly added field may indicate a beam on a completely overlapping time domain resource. That is, the relay device or the smart reflection surface can forward beams indicated by at least two beam indices on the completely overlapping time domain resource.

[0106] Furthermore, the time domain resources in the beam indication group are non-periodic resources.

[0107] Specifically, the beam indication group can use the existing protocol signaling format, as shown in Table 5.

[0108] Table 5

[0109]

[0110] In a non-limiting embodiment, as described above, the time domain resources and beam indexes in each beam indication group have a one-to-many or many-to-one association relationship. Specifically, when a time domain resource is associated with multiple beam indexes, in order to more flexibly select / enable beams, the network device can indicate to the relay device or the smart reflector which one or several beams in the beam indication group to use for forwarding through the beam selection information. In other words, the beam selection information indicates at least one beam index used by the relay device or the smart reflector for data transmission.

[0111] For specific implementation, please refer to Figure 4 In step 401, the network device sends a beam indication group to a relay device or a smart reflecting surface.

[0112] In step 402, the relay device or the smart reflecting surface forwards using the beam indicated by the beam index on the indicated time domain resource.

[0113] In step 403, the network device sends beam selection information to the relay device or the smart reflective surface.

[0114] Specifically, the network device may carry the beam selection information in a second newly added field of the DCI. For example, the network device adds a second newly added field, beam selection field, in the DCI, where the field indicates the selected beam.

[0115] The embodiments of the present application can be used in scenarios of periodic beam indication and semi-continuous beam indication to dynamically adjust the beam used by the relay device or the intelligent reflection surface for forwarding, thereby achieving forwarding flexibility.

[0116] In a non-limiting embodiment, the network device may also send a priority identifier of a beam indication group to the relay device or the smart reflecting surface, where the beam indications in the beam indication group have the same type.

[0117] Specifically, the types of beam indications in the same beam indication group are the same. For example, the beam indications in the same beam indication group are all periodic beam indications, or the beam indications in the same beam indication group are all semi-persistent beam indications, or the beam indications in the same beam indication group are all non-periodic beam indications.

[0118] Further, the priority of the beam indication group having the priority identifier is higher than the priority of the beam indication group of the type of aperiodic indication.

[0119] In this embodiment, the network device can configure the priority of the beam indication group of periodic indication or semi-continuous indication type, and the priority of the beam indication group of periodic indication or semi-continuous indication type is higher than the priority of the beam indication group of non-periodic indication type.

[0120] In one variation, if the network device does not configure a priority for a beam indication group of periodic indication or semi-continuous indication type, the beam indication group of non-periodic indication type has the highest priority, followed by the priority of the beam indication group of semi-continuous indication, and finally the priority of the beam indication group of periodic indication.

[0121] For more specific implementation methods of the embodiments of the present application, please refer to the aforementioned embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0122] Please refer to Figure 5 , Figure 5 A communication device 50 is shown, which may include:

[0123] The communication module 501 is used to receive a beam indication group, where the beam indication group is used to indicate forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on indicated time domain resources.

[0124] In a specific implementation, the above-mentioned communication device 50 may correspond to a chip with communication function in the relay device / intelligent reflecting surface, such as a system-on-a-chip (SOC), a baseband chip, etc.; or correspond to a chip module with communication function in the relay device / intelligent reflecting surface; or correspond to a chip module with a data processing function chip, or correspond to the relay device / intelligent reflecting surface.

[0125] In another non-limiting embodiment, the communication module 501 is used to send a beam indication group, where the beam indication group is used to indicate that forwarding is performed with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on the indicated time domain resources.

[0126] In a specific implementation, the above-mentioned communication device 50 may correspond to a chip with communication function in a network device, such as a SOC, a baseband chip, etc.; or correspond to a chip module with communication function in a network device; or correspond to a chip module with a data processing function chip, or correspond to a network device.

[0127] For other related descriptions about the communication device 50 , reference may be made to the related descriptions in the aforementioned embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0128] Regarding the various modules / units included in the various devices and products described in the above embodiments, they can be software modules / units, or hardware modules / units, or they can be partially software modules / units and partially hardware modules / units. For example, for various devices and products applied to or integrated in a chip, the various modules / units included therein can all be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, or at least some of the modules / units can be implemented in the form of software programs, which run on a processor integrated inside the chip, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits; for various devices and products applied to or integrated in a chip module, the various modules / units included therein can all be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units can be located in the same component of the chip module (such as a chip, circuit module, etc.) or in different components, or at least some of the modules / units can be implemented in the form of software programs. It is implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on a processor integrated inside the chip module, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in hardware such as circuits; for various devices and products applied to or integrated in the terminal equipment, the various modules / units contained therein can be implemented in hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units can be located in the same component (for example, chip, circuit module, etc.) or in different components in the terminal equipment, or, at least some modules / units can be implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on a processor integrated inside the terminal equipment, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in hardware such as circuits.

[0129] The embodiment of the present application also discloses a storage medium, which is a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and the steps of the aforementioned method can be executed when the computer program is run. The storage medium may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a disk or an optical disk, etc. The storage medium may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile) or a non-transitory memory, etc.

[0130] Please refer to Figure 6 The embodiment of the present application also provides a hardware structure diagram of a communication device. The device includes a processor 601, a memory 602 and a transceiver 603.

[0131] Processor 601 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application. Processor 601 may also include multiple CPUs, and processor 601 may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. The processor here may refer to one or more devices, circuits, or processing cores for processing data (such as computer program instructions).

[0132] The memory 602 may be a ROM or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a RAM or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on this. The memory 602 may exist independently (in this case, the memory 602 may be located outside the device or inside the device), or it may be integrated with the processor 601. Among them, the memory 602 may contain a computer program code. The processor 601 is used to execute the computer program code stored in the memory 602, thereby realizing the method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0133] The processor 601, the memory 602 and the transceiver 603 are connected via a bus. The transceiver 603 is used to communicate with other devices or a communication network. Optionally, the transceiver 603 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The device used to implement the receiving function in the transceiver 603 can be regarded as a receiver, and the receiver is used to perform the receiving step in the embodiment of the present application. The device used to implement the sending function in the transceiver 603 can be regarded as a transmitter, and the transmitter is used to perform the sending step in the embodiment of the present application.

[0134] when Figure 6 The schematic diagram of the structure shown is used to illustrate the structure of the relay device / intelligent reflective surface involved in the above embodiment. The processor 601 is used to control and manage the actions of the relay device / intelligent reflective surface. For example, the processor 601 is used to support the relay device / intelligent reflective surface to execute Figure 2 Steps 201 and 202 in, or, executing Figure 3 Steps 301 to 304 in, or, executing Figure 4 The processor 601 may communicate with other network entities through the transceiver 603, for example, communicating with the above-mentioned network device. The memory 602 is used to store program codes and data of the terminal device. When the processor runs the computer program, it may control the transceiver 603 to receive one or more of RRC signaling, MAC signaling and DCI.

[0135] when Figure 6 The schematic diagram of the structure shown in FIG. 1 is used to illustrate the structure of the network device involved in the above embodiment. The processor 601 is used to control and manage the actions of the network device. For example, the processor 601 is used to support the network device to execute Figure 2 Step 201 in, or, executing Figure 3 Steps 301 to 303 in, or, executing Figure 4 The processor 601 may communicate with other network entities through the transceiver 603, for example, communicating with the above-mentioned terminal device. The memory 602 is used to store program codes and data of the network device. When the processor runs the computer program, it may control the transceiver 603 to send one or more of RRC signaling, MAC signaling and DCI.

[0136] The embodiment of the present application defines a unidirectional communication link from an access network to a terminal device as a downlink, data transmitted on the downlink is downlink data, and the transmission direction of downlink data is called the downlink direction; and a unidirectional communication link from a terminal device to an access network is an uplink, data transmitted on the uplink is uplink data, and the transmission direction of uplink data is called the uplink direction.

[0137] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. 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 this article indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0138] The "plurality" appearing in the embodiments of the present application refers to two or more.

[0139] The first, second, etc. descriptions appearing in the embodiments of the present application are only used for illustration and distinction of the description objects. There is no order, nor do they indicate any special limitation on the number of devices in the embodiments of the present application, and cannot constitute any limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0140] The "connection" that appears in the embodiments of the present application refers to various connection methods such as direct connection or indirect connection to achieve communication between devices, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any limitations on this.

[0141] The above embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any other combination thereof. When implemented using software, the above embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means.

[0142] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0143] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed methods, devices and systems can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic; for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation; for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0144] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0145] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be physically included separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

[0146] The above-mentioned integrated unit implemented in the form of a software functional unit can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The above-mentioned software functional unit is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform some steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0147] Although the present application is disclosed as above, the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the scope defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: A beam indication group is received, where the beam indication group is used to indicate forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on indicated time domain resources.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The beam indication group indicates that forwarding is performed using beams indicated by at least two beam indices on each time domain resource, or that forwarding is performed using beams indicated by at least two beam indices on partially overlapping time domain resources.

3. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes multiple beam indexes and an identifier indicating time domain resources, or each forwarding resource group includes a beam index and multiple identifiers indicating time domain resources, and the time domain resources in the multiple forwarding resource groups are at least partially overlapped.

4. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes multiple forwarding resources, each forwarding resource includes a beam index and an identifier of a time domain resource, the time domain resources in the multiple forwarding resources are at least partially overlapped, and on the same time domain resource, at most K beams are indicated simultaneously, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

5. The communication method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The value of K is less than or equal to N, where N represents the maximum number of beams used on the same time domain resources, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

6. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The beam indication group includes a radio resource control RRC list, the RRC list includes X forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes a maximum of N groups of forwarding resources, each forwarding resource includes a beam index and a time domain resource, wherein N represents the maximum number of beams used on the same time domain resource, and N and X are positive integers greater than or equal to 2.

7. The communication method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that: The time domain resources in the beam indication group are periodic resources or semi-persistent resources.

8. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The beam indication group indicates that forwarding is performed using beams indicated by at least two beam indices in completely overlapping time domain resources.

9. The communication method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The beam indication group is carried by a first newly added field in downlink control information DCI.

10. The communication method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: The time domain resources in the beam indication group are non-periodic resources.

11. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: Beam selection information is received, where the beam selection information indicates at least one beam index in the beam indication group used for data transmission.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The beam selection information is carried in a second newly added field of the DCI.

13. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A priority identifier of a beam indication group is received, wherein the beam indications in the beam indication group have the same type.

14. The communication method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The type of the beam indication group is periodic indication or semi-persistent indication, and the priority of the beam indication group with the priority identifier is higher than the priority of the beam indication group with a non-periodic indication type.

15. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: Report capability indication information, where the capability indication information indicates the ability to simultaneously maintain N access link beams, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

16. The communication method according to claim 15, characterized in that: Also includes: Report the maximum number of beams, where the maximum number of beams is the maximum value of the number of beams used on the same time domain resources.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: include: A beam indication group is sent, where the beam indication group is used to indicate forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on the indicated time domain resources.

18. The communication method according to claim 17, characterized in that: The beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes multiple beam indexes and an identifier indicating time domain resources, or each forwarding resource group includes a beam index and multiple identifiers indicating time domain resources, and there is partial overlap in the time domain resources in the multiple forwarding resource groups.

19. The communication method according to claim 17, characterized in that: The beam indication group includes multiple forwarding resource groups, each forwarding resource group includes multiple forwarding resources, each forwarding resource includes a beam index and an identifier of a time domain resource, the time domain resources in the multiple forwarding resources are at least partially overlapped, and on the same time domain resource, at most K beams are indicated simultaneously, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

20. The communication method according to claim 17, characterized in that: The beam indication group indicates that forwarding is performed using beams indicated by at least two beam indices in completely overlapping time domain resources.

21. The communication method according to claim 17, characterized in that: Also includes: Sending beam selection information, where the beam selection information indicates at least one beam index in the beam indication group used for data transmission.

22. The communication method according to claim 17, characterized in that: Also includes: Send a priority identifier of the beam indication group.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: include: The communication module is used to receive a beam indication group, where the beam indication group is used to indicate forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on indicated time domain resources.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A communication module is used to send a beam indication group, where the beam indication group is used to indicate forwarding with beams indicated by at least two beam indices on indicated time domain resources.

25. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program executes the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or executes the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 17 to 22.

26. A communication device, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program executable on the processor, wherein: When the processor runs the computer program, the processor performs the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

27. A communication device, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be run on the processor, characterized in that: When the processor runs the computer program, the processor performs the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 17 to 22.

Images