Relay equipment configuration method and device and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a relay equipment configuration method and device and a storage medium, relates to the technical field of communication, and can solve the problem that the transmission performance of a terminal is affected due to long switching and configuration delay of relay equipment. The method comprises the following steps: a first access network device receives a switching indication message of a terminal device; the switching indication message is used for indicating the terminal equipment to be switched from the first access network equipment to the second access network equipment; the first access network device sends a first indication message in response to the switching indication message; and the second access network device receives and responds to the first indication message, and configures a second relay device for relaying the wireless signal between the second access network device and the terminal device for the terminal device. According to the invention, the relay equipment configuration efficiency can be improved, and the transmission performance of the terminal is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In mobile communication systems, it is crucial to ensure that terminals can continuously and stably access the network and maintain high-quality communication during movement. Cell switching technology is a common technology to solve the problem of signal coverage continuity when terminals move. In order to ensure the continuity and quality of communication, cell switching technology allows terminals to switch from the current serving cell to another cell with a stronger signal when they move from one cell to the border of another cell to maintain communication continuity.

[0003] However, after the cell switching, the access network equipment cannot configure the relay device for the terminal in time. Instead, it is necessary to reconfigure the relay device for the terminal based on the channel measurement information after the terminal accesses the cell and completes the channel measurement to provide signal forwarding services. In the above scheme, the switching and configuration delay of the relay device is relatively long, which affects the terminal transmission performance. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a relay device configuration method, device and storage medium, which solves the problem that the switching and configuration delay of the relay device is long, affecting the terminal transmission performance, and can improve the efficiency of the relay device configuration, thereby ensuring the transmission performance of the terminal.

[0005] In order to achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a relay device configuration method, which is applied to a first access network device, the method comprising: receiving a switching indication message from a terminal device; the switching indication message is used to indicate that the terminal device switches from the first access network device to the second access network device; in response to the switching indication message, sending a first indication message; the first indication message is used to indicate that the second access network device configures a second relay device for the terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device.

[0007] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method also includes: sending a first indication message to the second access network device; or, sending a first indication message to the core network so that the core network forwards the first indication message to the second access network device.

[0008] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation, the method also includes: corresponding to the first indication message being a message sent to the second access network device, the first indication message is carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message being a message sent to the core network, the first indication message is carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device.

[0009] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identification of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device.

[0010] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location prediction information of the terminal device; corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location prediction information of the terminal device.

[0011] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending a second indication message to the first relay device; the second indication message is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device.

[0012] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation method, the second indication message carries at least one of the following: a stop forwarding indication, an identifier of the first beam, and a forwarding resource identifier; the first beam is a beam used by the first relay device to forward signals of terminal devices; the second indication message is specifically used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals in the direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam according to the identifier of the first beam; or, the second indication message is specifically used to instruct the first relay device to determine the identifier of the first beam according to the forwarding resource identifier, and stop forwarding signals in the direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam; wherein the stop forwarding indication is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals of terminal devices; the identifier of the first beam is used to indicate the first beam; and the forwarding resource identifier is used to indicate at least one of the multiple forwarding resources configured by the first access network device for the first relay device.

[0013] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the second indication message is carried by at least one of the following: a radio resource control RRC message, a medium access control element MAC CE, or a downlink control message DCI; corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the RRC message, the second indication message includes at least one of the following: a stop forwarding indication information element, an identification information element of the first beam, and a forwarding resource identification information element; corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the MAC CE, the second indication message includes an identification field of the first beam, a stop forwarding indication field, and / or a reserved bit; or, the second indication message is configured with a first packet header and carries an identification field and / or a reserved bit of the first beam; wherein the first packet header is used to characterize the MAC CE is a message used to instruct to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device; corresponding to the second indication message carried by the DCI, the second indication message includes the identification field of the first beam and / or the stop forwarding indication field; corresponding to the second indication message carried by the RRC message and the DCI, and the RRC message includes a stop forwarding indication element, then the DCI includes a forwarding indication field; corresponding to the second indication message carried by the RRC message and the DCI, and the RRC message does not include a stop forwarding indication element, then the DCI does not include a forwarding indication field.

[0014] In a second aspect, the present application provides a relay device configuration method, which is applied to a second access network device, the method comprising: receiving a first indication message; in response to the first indication message, configuring a second relay device for a terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device.

[0015] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message being a message from the first access network device, the first indication message is carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message being a message from the core network, the first indication message is carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device.

[0016] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identification of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device.

[0017] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location prediction information of the terminal device; corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location prediction information of the terminal device.

[0018] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation, the method also includes: determining the distance between the terminal device and each relay device managed by the second access network device based on the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device or the location prediction information of the terminal device, and determining that the relay device with a distance less than a preset threshold is the second relay device; or, determining the angle of the first angle corresponding to each relay device managed by the second access network device based on the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device or the location prediction information of the terminal device, and determining that the relay device with a first angle less than the preset angle is the second relay device; the first angle is the angle formed by the line of sight propagation direction between the relay device and the terminal device and the normal direction of the antenna surface of the relay device.

[0019] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending a third indication message to the second relay device; the third indication message is used to instruct the second relay device to forward the signal of the terminal device.

[0020] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, the third indication message is specifically used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the second beam until the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forward the signal of the terminal device through the second beam.

[0021] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, the third indication message carries the identifier of the second beam; the identifier of the second beam is used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the second beam to point to the location of the terminal device; the third indication message is specifically used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the direction angle of the second beam based on the identifier of the second beam so that the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forward the signal of the terminal device.

[0022] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in a possible implementation method, the identification of the second beam is determined according to the direction of the second beam; the direction of the second beam is determined according to the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; the direction of the second beam is the direction pointing to the location of the terminal device.

[0023] In combination with the above second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the identifier of the second beam is specifically determined from a preset mapping relationship according to a beamforming codebook; and the beamforming codebook is determined according to a direction of the second beam.

[0024] In a third aspect, the present application provides a method for configuring a relay device, the method comprising: receiving a first indication message from a first access network device; the first indication message is used to instruct a second access network device to configure a second relay device for a terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device; and sending the first indication message to the second access network device.

[0025] In combination with the third aspect above, in a possible implementation, the first indication message is carried in a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device.

[0026] In combination with the above-mentioned third aspect, in a possible implementation method, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; or, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the second access network device and the location prediction information of the terminal device.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a relay device configuration device, the device comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit; the communication unit is used to receive a switching indication message of a terminal device; the switching indication message is used to indicate that the terminal device switches from a first access network device to a second access network device; the processing unit is used to instruct the communication unit to send a first indication message in response to the switching indication message; the first indication message is used to indicate that the second access network device configures a second relay device for the terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device.

[0028] In combination with the above-mentioned fourth aspect, in a possible implementation method, the communication unit is specifically used to: send a first indication message to the second access network device; or, send a first indication message to the core network so that the core network forwards the first indication message to the second access network device.

[0029] In combination with the above-mentioned fourth aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message being a message sent to the second access network device, the first indication message is carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message being a message sent to the core network, the first indication message is carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device.

[0030] In combination with the above-mentioned fourth aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identification of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device.

[0031] In combination with the above-mentioned fourth aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location prediction information of the terminal device; corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location prediction information of the terminal device.

[0032] In combination with the fourth aspect above, in a possible implementation, the communication unit is further used to send a second indication message to the first relay device; the second indication message is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device.

[0033] In combination with the above-mentioned fourth aspect, in a possible implementation method, the second indication message carries at least one of the following: a stop forwarding indication, an identifier of the first beam, and a forwarding resource identifier; the first beam is a beam used by the first relay device to forward signals of terminal devices; the second indication message is specifically used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals in the direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam according to the identifier of the first beam; or, the second indication message is specifically used to instruct the first relay device to determine the identifier of the first beam according to the forwarding resource identifier, and stop forwarding signals in the direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam; wherein the stop forwarding indication is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals of terminal devices; the identifier of the first beam is used to indicate the first beam; and the forwarding resource identifier is used to indicate at least one of the multiple forwarding resources configured by the first access network device for the first relay device.

[0034] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the second indication message is carried by at least one of the following: a radio resource control RRC message, a medium access control element MAC CE, or a downlink control message DCI; corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the RRC message, the second indication message includes at least one of the following: a stop forwarding indication information element, an identification information element of the first beam, and a forwarding resource identification information element; corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the MAC CE, the second indication message includes an identification field of the first beam, a stop forwarding indication field, and / or a reserved bit; or, the second indication message is configured with a first packet header and carries an identification field and / or a reserved bit of the first beam; wherein the first packet header is used to characterize the MAC CE is a message used to instruct to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device; corresponding to the second indication message carried by the DCI, the second indication message includes the identification field of the first beam and / or the stop forwarding indication field; corresponding to the second indication message carried by the RRC message and the DCI, and the RRC message includes a stop forwarding indication element, then the DCI includes a forwarding indication field; corresponding to the second indication message carried by the RRC message and the DCI, and the RRC message does not include a stop forwarding indication element, then the DCI does not include a forwarding indication field.

[0035] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a relay device configuration device, which includes: a communication unit and a processing unit; the communication unit is used to receive a first indication message; the processing unit is used to configure a second relay device for the terminal device to relay wireless signals between a second access network device and the terminal device in response to the first indication message.

[0036] In combination with the fifth aspect above, in a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is specifically used to: receive a first indication message from a first access network device; or receive a first indication message from a core network.

[0037] In combination with the above-mentioned fifth aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message being a message from the first access network device, the first indication message is carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message being a message from the core network, the first indication message is carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device.

[0038] In combination with the above-mentioned fifth aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identification of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device.

[0039] In combination with the above-mentioned fifth aspect, in a possible implementation method, corresponding to the first indication message carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location prediction information of the terminal device; corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and the location prediction information of the terminal device.

[0040] In combination with the fifth aspect above, in a possible implementation method, the processing unit is specifically used to: determine the distance between the terminal device and each relay device managed by the second access network device according to the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device or the location prediction information of the terminal device, and determine that the relay device with a distance less than a preset threshold is the second relay device; or, determine the angle of the first angle corresponding to each relay device managed by the second access network device according to the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device or the location prediction information of the terminal device, and determine that the relay device with a first angle less than the preset angle is the second relay device; the first angle is the angle formed by the line of sight propagation direction between the relay device and the terminal device and the normal direction of the antenna surface of the relay device.

[0041] In combination with the fifth aspect above, in a possible implementation, the communication unit is further used to send a third indication message to the second relay device; the third indication message is used to instruct the second relay device to forward a signal of the terminal device.

[0042] In combination with the fifth aspect above, in a possible implementation method, the third indication message is specifically used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the second beam until the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forward the signal of the terminal device through the second beam.

[0043] In combination with the above-mentioned fifth aspect, in a possible implementation method, the third indication message carries the identifier of the second beam; the identifier of the second beam is used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the second beam to point to the location of the terminal device; the third indication message is specifically used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the direction angle of the second beam based on the identifier of the second beam so that the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forward the signal of the terminal device.

[0044] In combination with the above-mentioned fifth aspect, in a possible implementation method, the identification of the second beam is determined according to the direction of the second beam; the direction of the second beam is determined according to the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; the direction of the second beam is the direction pointing to the location of the terminal device.

[0045] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the identifier of the second beam is specifically determined from a preset mapping relationship according to a beamforming codebook; and the beamforming codebook is determined according to a direction of the second beam.

[0046] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a relay device configuration device, the device comprising: a communication unit; a communication unit for receiving a first indication message from a first access network device; the first indication message is used to instruct the second access network device to configure a second relay device for the terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device; the communication unit is also used to send the first indication message to the second access network device.

[0047] In combination with the sixth aspect above, in a possible implementation, the first indication message is carried in a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device.

[0048] In combination with the above-mentioned sixth aspect, in a possible implementation method, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; or, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the second access network device and the location prediction information of the terminal device.

[0049] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface and the processor are coupled, and the processor is used to run a computer program or instructions to implement the relay device configuration method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, and the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0050] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a terminal, the terminal executes the relay device configuration method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, and the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0051] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when the computer program product runs on a relay device configuration device, enables the relay device configuration device to perform the relay device configuration method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, and the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0052] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip, the chip including a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor are coupled, and the processor is used to run a computer program or instructions to implement the relay device configuration method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, and the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0053] Specifically, the chip provided in the present application also includes a memory for storing computer programs or instructions.

[0054] It should be noted that the above computer instructions may be stored in whole or in part on a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium may be packaged together with the processor of the device, or may be packaged separately from the processor of the device, which is not limited in this application.

[0055] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising: a terminal device, a first access network device, a second relay device and a second access network device, wherein the first access network device is used to execute the relay device configuration method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the second access network device is used to execute the relay device configuration method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0056] In a possible implementation manner, the communication system provided by the present application further includes a core network, wherein the core network is used to execute the relay device configuration method as described in the third aspect and any possible implementation manner of the third aspect.

[0057] The descriptions of the second to eleventh aspects of the present application can refer to the detailed description of the first aspect; and the beneficial effects of the descriptions of the second to eleventh aspects can refer to the beneficial effect analysis of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0058] In this application, the name of the above relay device configuration device does not limit the device or functional module itself. In actual implementation, these devices or functional modules may appear with other names. As long as the functions of each device or functional module are similar to those of this application, they fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalent technologies.

[0059] These and other aspects of the present application will become more apparent from the following description.

[0060] The above scheme brings at least the following beneficial effects: Based on the above technical scheme, in the relay device configuration method provided by the present application, the first access network device receives and responds to the switching indication message of the terminal device for indicating that the terminal device is switched from the first access network device to the second access network device, and sends the first indication message. Then the second access network device can receive and respond to the first indication message, and configure the second relay device for the terminal device to relay the wireless signal between the second access network device and the terminal device. In the above technical scheme, the switching configuration of the relay device can be realized by interactive signaling between the terminal device, the first access network device and the second access network device, without the need to realize the switching of the relay device according to the channel measurement information. That is to say, compared with the problem of long delay in switching and configuration of the relay device in the current access network device, which needs to reconfigure the relay device for the terminal based on the channel measurement information after the terminal accesses the cell and completes the channel measurement, the above technical scheme can realize the switching configuration of the relay device without waiting for the terminal to access the cell and complete the channel measurement, thereby shortening the delay of the switching configuration of the relay device, greatly improving the efficiency of the switching configuration of the relay device, and thus ensuring the transmission performance of the terminal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 3 A flowchart of a relay device configuration method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 4 A flowchart of another relay device configuration method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 5 A flowchart of another relay device configuration method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the composition of a second indication message provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of another second indication message provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of a relay device configuration apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Fig. 9A schematic diagram of the structure of another relay device configuration apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the structure of another relay device configuration apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0072] The term "and / or" in this article is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone.

[0073] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, or to distinguish different processing of the same object, rather than to describe a specific order of objects.

[0074] In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof mentioned in the description of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include other steps or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0075] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way.

[0076] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “plurality” means two or more.

[0077] The following explains the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application to facilitate the reader's understanding.

[0078] (1) Relay equipment.

[0079] In order to improve network coverage performance, different types of network nodes such as macro base stations, micro base stations, and repeaters are usually deployed in mobile communication networks to achieve wide and deep coverage of wireless networks. As mobile communication networks evolve towards the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) enhanced (5G-advanced, 5G-A) and the sixth generation mobile communication technology (6G), various new relay communication technologies will be introduced to provide more diverse technical solutions for network deployment.

[0080] Among them, the new relay communication technologies mainly include: network-controlled repeater (NCR) technology and reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) technology. That is, NCR or RIS can be used as relay equipment in the relay communication system to assist the base station in enhancing coverage, thereby effectively improving the efficiency of signal amplification and forwarding.

[0081] In a relay communication system, a relay device (RIS and / or NCR) needs to assist the communication between a terminal device and a network device by regulating a forwarding beam when the forwarding beam is directed toward a terminal device within a coverage area.

[0082] The following is a detailed introduction to NCR technology and RIS technology.

[0083] 1. NCR technology.

[0084] Based on the RF repeater, NCR technology was proposed in 3GPP Rel-18. NCR technology is a relay and amplification technology based on network control. In the network, NCR acts as a repeater to receive signals from base stations or mobile terminals, and then forwards the signals to the target receiver after amplification and signal processing. Through network control, the working status of the repeater can be remotely monitored and adjusted, thereby optimizing the performance of the communication network.

[0085] Compared with traditional RF repeaters, NCR is a RF repeater that has the ability to receive and process control information from the network side. It is mainly used for signal amplification and transmission to enhance signal coverage and signal quality. NCR can be used as a relay device in a relay communication system. Based on the control information sent from the network side, it optimizes and controls its amplification and forwarding strategy and adjusts the forwarding beam, which can effectively improve the efficiency of signal amplification and forwarding.

[0086] In addition, NCR has the ability of beamforming, which means that NCR can control the direction and shape of its forwarding beam. By adjusting the phase and amplitude of each element in the antenna array, NCR can form a beam with a specific directionality to achieve precise coverage of the target area. During the communication process, NCR will dynamically adjust its forwarding beam based on factors such as the location and mobility of the terminal device and network conditions. For example, when the terminal device moves to a new location, NCR will adjust the beam direction accordingly to ensure that the signal can continue to stably cover the area. By precisely controlling the forwarding beam, NCR can reduce signal attenuation and interference during transmission, thereby improving communication quality. At the same time, it can also help terminal devices maintain a stable connection in the edge areas of network coverage or signal blind spots.

[0087] 2.RIS technology.

[0088] RIS is a large number of low-cost reflective elements integrated on a plane. By intelligently adjusting and configuring these components, the wireless propagation environment can be regulated, thereby improving the performance of wireless communication networks. As a two-dimensional implementation of electromagnetic metamaterials, RIS actively and intelligently regulates electromagnetic waves in space in a programmable manner, thereby forming an electromagnetic field with controllable amplitude, phase, polarization and frequency. As a carrier for implementing electromagnetic regulation, RIS is usually composed of a series of periodically arranged electromagnetic unit structures.

[0089] Among them, multiple adjustable elements (such as PIN diodes, varactor diodes, liquid crystals, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) switches, etc.) are integrated in the electromagnetic unit structure to obtain the reconfigurability of electromagnetic wave control.

[0090] The introduction of RIS has changed the wireless propagation environment from passive adaptation to active control, thus building an intelligent wireless environment. By dynamically adjusting the wireless channel environment, RIS can significantly improve the transmission performance between communication devices and enhance the coverage performance of wireless communication systems. In the relay communication system, using RIS as a relay device can assist the base station in enhancing coverage, especially when covering the cell edge and blind spot areas. The signals sent by the base station are mainly forwarded (reflected / transmitted) to the terminal through the intelligent metasurface, and the signals sent by the terminal can also be forwarded to the base station through the intelligent metasurface. In order to expand the coverage range and suppress interference, RIS needs to point the beam to a specific terminal through beamforming.

[0091] (ii) Beamforming codebook.

[0092] Beamforming is a technology that adjusts the parameters of the antenna array to form an enhanced beam in a specific direction. The beamforming codebook is a set of predefined beamforming parameters, and each codebook corresponds to a specific beam direction and shape.

[0093] Determining the corresponding beamforming codebook according to the beam direction is to select the codebook that best suits the target beam direction from the codebook set. This process can be achieved through methods such as lookup tables, mapping relationships, algorithm calculations, or machine learning.

[0094] In addition, in order to facilitate the management and identification of different beamforming codebooks, the communication system usually assigns a unique beam identifier to each beamforming codebook. This identifier can be a combination of numbers, letters or other symbols, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between it and the beamforming codebook. By establishing and maintaining this correspondence, the communication system can quickly and accurately find the beam identifier corresponding to a specific beamforming codebook, thereby realizing the identification and control of the beam. After determining the beam identifier corresponding to the beamforming codebook, the communication system can also use this identifier to perform subsequent communication operations, such as sending signals, receiving signals, switching beams, etc. The beam identifier can be used as an identifier within the communication system to facilitate collaboration and interaction between different modules. At the same time, it can also provide information about the current communication beam to external systems or users for easy monitoring and management.

[0095] The above is a detailed explanation of the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application. The following is a detailed introduction to the application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application.

[0096] In mobile communication systems, it is crucial to ensure that terminals can continuously and stably access the network and maintain high-quality communication during movement. Cell switching technology is a common technology to solve the problem of signal coverage continuity when terminals move. In order to ensure the continuity and quality of communication, cell switching technology allows terminals to switch from the current serving cell to another cell with a stronger signal when they move from one cell to the border of another cell to maintain communication continuity.

[0097] However, after the cell switching, the access network equipment cannot configure the relay device for the terminal in time. Instead, it is necessary to reconfigure the relay device for the terminal based on the channel measurement information after the terminal accesses the cell and completes the channel measurement to provide signal forwarding services. In the above scheme, the switching and configuration delay of the relay device is relatively long, which affects the terminal transmission performance.

[0098] In view of this, in the relay device configuration method provided by the present application, the first access network device receives and responds to the switching indication message of the terminal device for indicating that the terminal device is switched from the first access network device to the second access network device, and sends the first indication message. Then the second access network device can receive and respond to the first indication message, and configure the second relay device for the terminal device to relay the wireless signal between the second access network device and the terminal device. In the above technical scheme, the switching configuration of the relay device can be realized by interactive signaling between the terminal device, the first access network device and the second access network device, without the need to realize the switching of the relay device according to the channel measurement information. That is to say, compared with the problem of long delay in switching and configuration of the relay device in the current access network device, which needs to reconfigure the relay device for the terminal based on the channel measurement information after the terminal accesses the cell and completes the channel measurement, the above technical scheme can realize the switching configuration of the relay device without waiting for the terminal to access the cell and complete the channel measurement, thereby shortening the delay of the switching configuration of the relay device, greatly improving the efficiency of the switching configuration of the relay device, and thus ensuring the transmission performance of the terminal.

[0099] The implementation of the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0100] Figure 1 The following is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes: a terminal device 101, a first access network device 103, a second relay device 104 and a second access network device 105.

[0101] Among them, the terminal device 101 and the first access network device 103 transmit wireless signals through a communication link; or the terminal device 101 and the second relay device 104 transmit wireless signals through a communication link, and the second relay device 104 and the second access network device 105 transmit wireless signals through a communication link (that is, the second relay device 104 is used to relay the wireless signal between the terminal device 101 and the second access network device 105). The communication link can be a wired communication link or a wireless communication link, which is not limited in this application.

[0102] Optionally, the communication system further includes a first relay device 102. The first relay device is used to relay wireless signals between the terminal device 101 and the first access network device 103 (that is, wireless signals are transmitted between the terminal device 101 and the first relay device 102 via a communication link; wireless signals are transmitted between the first relay device 102 and the first access network device 103 via a communication link).

[0103] The following is a detailed introduction to the terminal device 101 involved in the embodiment of the present application.

[0104] In a possible implementation, the terminal device 101 is currently a device accessing the first access network device 103 . Furthermore, the terminal device 101 communicates with the first access network device 103 , and the terminal device 101 communicates with the first access network device 103 through the first relay device 102 .

[0105] In addition, the terminal device 101 is also used to send switching indication information to the first access network device 103 to indicate access network device switching. After the second access network device 105 determines the corresponding second relay device 104 for the terminal device 101 and controls the second relay device 104 to establish a communication connection with the terminal device 101, the terminal device 101 is now a device accessing the second access device 105, and the terminal device 101 now communicates with the second access network device 105 through the second relay device 104.

[0106] In a possible implementation, the terminal device 101 is further configured to report its own location information in real time, for example, by encapsulating the location information in the first indication information and reporting it, or reporting it separately as independent information.

[0107] In a possible implementation, the terminal device 101 in the embodiment of the present application may also be an entity on the user side for receiving signals, or sending signals, or receiving and sending signals. The terminal device 101 is used to provide one or more of voice services and data connectivity services to the user. The terminal device 101 may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), terminal, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device 101 may be a vehicle to everything (V2X) device, such as a smart car (or intelligent car), a digital car, an unmanned car (or driverless car or pilotless car or automobile), a self-driving car (or autonomous car), a pure electric vehicle (or battery EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (or HEV), a range extended EV (or REEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (or PHEV), a new energy vehicle, etc. The terminal device 101 may also be a device to device (or D2D) device, such as an electric meter, a water meter, etc.

[0108] The terminal device 101 may also be a mobile station (MS), a subscriber unit (subscriberunit), a drone, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a station (ST) in a WLAN, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a cordless phone, a wireless data card, a tablet computer, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, 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 (also referred to as a wearable smart device). The terminal device 101 may also be a terminal device in a next generation communication system, for example, a terminal device in a 5G system or a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN, a terminal device in an NR system, etc.

[0109] The following introduces the relay devices (including the first relay device 102 and the second relay device 104) involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0110] In some embodiments, before the terminal device 101 sends the switching indication message, the first relay device 102 is a relay device that supports the terminal device 101 to communicate with the first access network device 103. After the terminal device 101 sends the switching indication information, and after the second access network device 105 switches the relay device (that is, after the second access network device 105 controls the second relay device 104 to forward the signal of the terminal device), the second relay device 104 is a relay device that supports the terminal device 101 to communicate with the second access network device 105.

[0111] For the first relay device 102, in a possible implementation, the first relay device 102 is a device controlled by the first access network device 103. When the terminal device 101 is located in the first cell within the coverage of the first access network device 103, the terminal device 101 establishes a communication connection with the first relay device 102. The first relay device 102 is used to forward uplink and downlink signals between the first access network device 103 and the terminal device 101. For example, in the downlink direction, the first relay device 102 receives the downlink signal transmitted by the first access network device 103, and adjusts the direction of the target beam, and after the direction of the target beam is toward the direction of the terminal device 101, the downlink signal is forwarded to the terminal device 101.

[0112] With respect to the second relay device 104, in a possible implementation, the second relay device 104 is a device controlled by the second access network device 104. When the terminal device 101 is located in the second cell within the coverage of the second access network device 105, the terminal device 101 establishes a communication connection with the second relay device 104. The second relay device 104 is used to forward context signals between the second access network device 105 and the terminal device 101. For example, in the downlink direction, the second relay device 104 receives the downlink signal transmitted by the second access network device 105, adjusts the direction of the target beam, and after the direction of the target beam is toward the direction of the terminal device 101, forwards the downlink signal to the terminal device 101.

[0113] Optionally, the first relay device 102 and the second relay device 104 may be RIS and / or NCR. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the first relay device 102 and the second relay device 104. The first relay device 102 and the second relay device 104 may also be other relay devices, such as intelligent reflecting surface (IRS), massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) relay device and drone relay device, etc., and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0114] Optionally, the first relay device 102 can be integrated into the first access network device 103, or it can be an independent physical entity device; the second relay device 104 can be integrated into the second access network device 105, or it can be an independent physical entity device, which is not limited in this application.

[0115] The following introduces the access network devices (including the first access network device 103 and the second access network device 105) involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0116] In one possible implementation, the first access network device 103 is used to receive switching indication information from the terminal device 101, and based on the switching indication information, send first indication information to instruct the second access network device 105 to configure the second relay device 104 for the terminal device 101 to relay between the second access network device and the terminal device.

[0117] In a possible implementation, the second access network device 105 is used to receive the first indication information, and in response to the first indication information, configure the second relay device 104 for relaying between the second access network device and the terminal device for the terminal device 101. And control the direction of the second beam in the second relay device 104 to point to the location of the terminal, so as to achieve the purpose of establishing a communication connection between the second relay device 104 and the terminal device 101.

[0118] Optionally, the first network device 103 and / or the second network device 105 is a device located on the access network side of the above-mentioned communication system and has a wireless transceiver function or a chip or chip system that can be set in the device. The first network device 103 and / or the second network device 105 include but are not limited to: access points (AP) in WiFi systems, such as home gateways, routers, servers, switches, bridges, etc., evolved NodeBs (evolved NodeBs, eNBs), radio network controllers (radio network controllers, RNCs), NodeBs (NodeBs, NBs), base station controllers (base station controllers, BSCs), base transceiver stations (base transceiver stations, BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved NodeBs, or home NodeBs, HNBs), base band units (base band units, BBUs), wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, transmission points (transmission and reception points, TRPs or transmission points, TPs), etc., and can also be 5G base stations, such as new air interfaces (new The first network device 103 and / or the second network device 105 also include base stations in different networking modes, such as a master evolved NodeB (MeNB), a secondary eNB (SeNB, or a secondary gNB, SgNB). The first network device 103 and / or the second network device 105 also include different types, such as ground base stations, aerial base stations, and satellite base stations.

[0119] When implemented by hardware, the various modules in the communication system can be integrated into Figure 2 Specifically, Figure 2 As shown, the basic hardware structure of the communication device is introduced.

[0120] Figure 2 The hardware structure diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, the communication device includes at least one processor 201, a communication line 202, and at least one communication interface 204, and may also include a memory 203. The processor 201, the memory 203 and the communication interface 204 may be connected via the communication line 202.

[0121] The processor 201 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSP), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGA).

[0122] The communication link 202 may include a pathway for transmitting information between the above-mentioned components.

[0123] The communication interface 204 is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks, and can use any transceiver-like device, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

[0124] The memory 203 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (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, an optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to include or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to these.

[0125] In one possible design, the memory 203 can exist independently of the processor 201, that is, the memory 203 can be a memory outside the processor 201. In this case, the memory 203 can be connected to the processor 201 through the communication line 202, and is used to store execution instructions or application code, and the processor 201 controls the execution to implement the XXXX method provided in the following embodiment of the present application. In another possible design, the memory 203 can also be integrated with the processor 201, that is, the memory 203 can be the internal memory of the processor 201, for example, the memory 203 is a high-speed cache, which can be used to temporarily store some data and instruction information, etc.

[0126] As a possible implementation, the processor 201 may include one or more CPUs, for example Figure 2 As another possible implementation, the communication device may include multiple processors, such as Figure 2 As another possible implementation, the communication apparatus may further include an output device 205 and an input device 206.

[0127] It should be pointed out that the various embodiments of the present application can learn from or refer to each other. For example, the same or similar steps, method embodiments, system embodiments and device embodiments can all refer to each other without limitation.

[0128] Figure 3 A flowchart of a relay device configuration method provided in an embodiment of the present application, which can be applied to Figure 2 In the communication device shown. Figure 3 As shown, the method includes the following S301-S303.

[0129] S301, a terminal device sends a switching instruction message. Correspondingly, a first access network device receives the switching instruction message from the terminal device.

[0130] The switching indication message is used to instruct the terminal device to switch from the first access network device to the second access network device. The second access network device is one of the adjacent access network devices of the first access network device.

[0131] Optionally, the execution scenario of S301 may be: the terminal device is currently located in a first cell within the coverage of a first access network device, and communicates with the first access network device (or communicates with the first access network device through a first relay device in the first cell). When the terminal device moves from the first cell to the second cell within the coverage of a second access network device, the terminal device triggers the execution of S301. That is, when the terminal device moves from the first cell to the second cell within the coverage of the second access network device, the terminal device sends a switching indication message to the first access network device to instruct the terminal device to switch from the first access network device to the second access network device.

[0132] In a possible implementation, S301 may be implemented as follows: the terminal device sends a switching indication message to the first relay device. The switching indication message may be an air interface measurement report message, which carries an identifier and signal strength corresponding to the first access network device and an identifier and signal strength corresponding to the second access network device. Accordingly, the first relay device receives the switching indication message and sends a switching indication message to the first access network device. Accordingly, the first access network device receives the switching indication message. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the terminal device sending a switching indication message. The process of the terminal device sending a switching indication message may also be implemented in other ways. For example, when a communication link by direct communication is established between the terminal device and the first access network device, the terminal device may directly send a switching indication message to the first access network device through the communication link. This application does not limit this.

[0133] S302: The first access network device sends a first indication message in response to the handover indication message. Correspondingly, the second access network device receives the first indication message.

[0134] Among them, the first indication message is used to instruct the second access network device to configure a second relay device for the terminal device to relay between the second access network device and the terminal device. Of course, the first indication message is also used to instruct the second access network device to configure transmission resources for the terminal device to relay between the second access network device and the terminal device. Among them, the transmission resources include but are not limited to the second relay device, time-frequency resources, air interface transmission resources (for example, physical layer (physical, PHY), media access control layer (media access control, MAC), RRC, packet data convergence protocol layer (packet data convergence protocol, PDCP) and other air interface transmission resources).

[0135] In a possible implementation, the implementation process of S302 may include: the first access network device sends a first indication message to the second access network device in response to the handover indication message. Correspondingly, the second access network device receives the first indication message from the first access network device.

[0136] Optionally, the first indication message is a message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, and the first indication message is carried in an interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device.

[0137] Optionally, the interface message may be an Xn interface message. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the interface message, and the interface message may also be an F1 interface message, an X2 interface, etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0138] Further, in the case where the first indication message is carried in an interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, the specific information elements included in the first indication message refer to the following embodiment 1 and are not described again here.

[0139] In another possible implementation, the implementation process of S302 may include: the first access network device sends a first indication message to the core network, so that the core network forwards the first indication message to the second access network device. That is, the core network receives the first indication message and sends the first indication message to the second access network device.

[0140] Among them, the first access network device is connected to the core network through a communication link, and the second access network device is connected to the core network through a communication link.

[0141] Optionally, the first indication message is a message sent to the core network, and the first indication message is carried in a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device. The first interface message and the second interface message are both used to request the second access network device to configure transmission resources including but not limited to the second relay device for the terminal device.

[0142] Optionally, the first interface message and / or the second interface message may be an NG interface message. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the interface message, and the first interface message and / or the second interface message may also be an F1 interface message, an S1 interface message, etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0143] Furthermore, in the case where the first indication message is carried by a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the specific information elements included in the first indication message refer to the following embodiment 2 and will not be repeated here.

[0144] S303: In response to the first indication message, the second access network device configures a second relay device for the terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device.

[0145] In one possible implementation method, the implementation process of S303 includes: the second access network device determines the distance between the terminal device and each relay device managed by the second access network device based on the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device or the location prediction information of the terminal device, and determines the relay device whose distance is less than a preset threshold as the second relay device.

[0146] The location prediction information may be the location information of the terminal device predicted based on the historical location information of the terminal device. For example, the location prediction information of the terminal device may be predicted based on the motion trajectory of the terminal device; the motion trajectory of the terminal device may be fitted based on the historical location information of the terminal device.

[0147] For example, the second access network device determines, based on the location information of the terminal device and the maximum coverage distance of multiple relay devices controlled by the second access network device, that the relay device whose signal can cover the terminal device and is the shortest distance from the terminal device is the second relay device.

[0148] Optionally, the maximum coverage distance of the relay device is related to the antenna gain of the relay device, that is, the second access network device can determine the maximum coverage distance of the relay device according to the antenna gain of the relay device.

[0149] Alternatively, in another possible implementation, the implementation process of S303 may further include: determining the angle of the first angle corresponding to each relay device managed by the second access network device according to the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device or the location prediction information of the terminal device, and determining the relay device whose first angle is less than the preset angle as the second relay device. The first angle is the angle formed by the line of sight propagation direction between the relay device and the terminal device and the normal direction of the antenna surface of the relay device.

[0150] Optionally, the process of the second access network device acquiring the location information of the terminal device may be implemented through the following process: determining the location information of the terminal device based on base station positioning technology and / or terminal positioning technology.

[0151] Optionally, when the first indication message is also used to instruct the second access network device to configure transmission resources for the terminal device for relaying between the second access network device and the terminal device, the second access network device configures transmission resources for the terminal device for relaying wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device.

[0152] Based on the above technical solution, in the relay device configuration method provided by the present application, the first access network device receives and responds to the switching indication message of the terminal device for indicating that the terminal device is switched from the first access network device to the second access network device, and sends a first indication message. Then, the second access network device can receive and respond to the first indication message, and configure the second relay device for the terminal device to relay the wireless signal between the second access network device and the terminal device. In the above technical solution, the switching configuration of the relay device can be realized by interactive signaling between the terminal device, the first access network device and the second access network device, without the need to realize the switching of the relay device according to the channel measurement information. That is to say, compared with the problem of long delay in switching and configuration of the relay device in the current access network device, which needs to wait for the terminal to access the cell and complete the channel measurement before reconfiguring the relay device for the terminal based on the channel measurement information, the above technical solution can realize the switching configuration of the relay device without waiting for the terminal to access the cell and complete the channel measurement, thereby shortening the delay of the switching configuration of the relay device, greatly improving the efficiency of the switching configuration of the relay device, and thus ensuring the transmission performance of the terminal.

[0153] In the following, when the first indication message is carried in an interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, the information element included in the first indication message is specifically introduced through Example 1.

[0154] Embodiment 1:

[0155] In some embodiments, corresponding to the first indication message carried by the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device, as shown in Table 1 below, the information element contained in the first indication message may include at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device (Source NG-RAN node UE XnAP ID reference), the cell identification (Target Cell Global ID) of the second access network device, and the historical location list (>UE History LocationList) of the terminal device (that is, the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device). Among them, the location information is used to configure the second relay device for the terminal device, that is, the second access network device can configure the second relay device for the terminal according to the location information of the terminal device.

[0156] The historical location list of the terminal device (i.e., the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device) can be replaced by the location prediction information of the terminal device. For the introduction of the location prediction information of the terminal device, refer to the introduction of the location prediction information in the embodiment shown in S303, which will not be repeated here.

[0157] Further, optionally, as shown in Table 1, the information element included in the first indication message may also include the reason (Cause) for sending the first indication message and the context information (UE Context Information) of the terminal device.

[0158] Table 1

[0159]

[0160]

[0161] It should be noted that in Table 1 / Table 2 / Table 3, the "Presence" field is used to reflect the presence of an information element (for example, an identification information information element of a terminal device) in the first indication message. The specific content of the "Presence" field can be "must exist" (M) or "optional existence" (O); if the specific content of the "Presence" field is "must exist", it means that the information element must exist in the first indication message; if the specific content of the "Presence" field is "optional existence", it means that the information element may exist in the first indication message or may not exist in the first indication message. The "IE type and reference" field is used to reflect the information element type of the corresponding information element and its reference information. The "Semantics description" field is used to reflect the meaning and purpose of each element, information, and operation contained in the corresponding information element. The "Criticality" field is used to reflect that if the information element is erroneous or incomplete, the receiving end can handle the information element in the first indication message by ignoring or rejecting it. The specific content of the "Exception Handling" field can be "Yes" (YES) or "blank" (that is, no instructions are given for filling in); if the specific content corresponding to the "Exception Handling Field" is "Yes", it means that the information element is erroneous or incomplete, and the specific content corresponding to the "Exception Handling Field" is "blank", the receiving end can handle the reason information element in the first indication message by ignoring or rejecting it.

[0162] As shown in Table 1, for the identification information element of the terminal device, the specific content of the "existence" field in the identification information element of the terminal device is "must exist", that is, the identification information element of the terminal device must exist in the first indication message.

[0163] The specific content of the "Information Type and Reference" field in the identification information information element of the terminal device is "identification information allocated by the first access network device to the terminal device at the interface" (NG-RAN node UE XnAP ID); the specific content of the "Semantic Description" field in the identification information element of the terminal device is "allocated by the first access network device" (Allocated at the source NG-RAN node); that is, the identification information of the terminal device is the identification information allocated by the first access network device to the terminal device when the terminal device accesses the first access network device communicates through the interface, so that the interface and each device can identify the identity of the terminal device. The identification information of the terminal device can be an integer value type. The cell identity of the second access network device can be a bit string value type, and the leftmost preset number of bits in the cell representation corresponds to the identity of the second access network device. The specific content of the "Exception Handling Field" field in the identification information element of the terminal device is "Yes", that is, when the identification information element of the terminal device is erroneous or incomplete, the receiving end can handle the identification information element of the terminal device in the first indication message by ignoring or rejecting it.

[0164] As shown in Table 1, for the cell identification information element of the second access network device, the specific content of the "existence" field in the cell identification information element of the second access network device is "must exist", that is, the cell identification information element of the second access network device must exist in the first indication message. The specific content of the "semantic description" field in the cell identification information element of the second access network device is "Includes either an E-UTRA CGI or an NR CGI". The specific content of the "exception handling field" field in the cell identification information element of the second access network device is "yes", that is, if the cell identification information element of the second access network device is erroneous or incomplete, the receiving end can handle the cell identification information element of the second access network device in the first indication message by ignoring or rejecting it.

[0165] As shown in Table 1, for the historical location list information element of the terminal device, the specific content of the "Existence" field in the historical location list information element of the terminal device is "Optional Existence", which means that the information element may exist in the first indication message or may not exist in the first indication message. The specific content of the "Information element type and reference" field in the historical location list information element of the terminal device is "See Table 2". The specific content of the "Semantic description" field in the historical location list information element of the terminal device is "Most recent user location information prior to the target cell".

[0166] As shown in Table 1, for the reason information element for sending the first indication message, the specific content of the "existence" field in the reason information element is "must exist", that is, the reason must exist in the first indication message; the specific content of the "exception handling field" in the reason information element is "yes", that is, if the reason information element is erroneous or incomplete, the receiving end can handle the reason information element in the first indication message by ignoring or rejecting it.

[0167] As shown in Table 1, for the context information cell of the terminal device, the specific content of the "exception handling field" in the context information cell of the terminal device is "yes", that is, if the context information cell of the terminal device is erroneous or incomplete, the receiving end can handle the context information cell of the terminal device in the first indication message by ignoring or rejecting it.

[0168] Table 2

[0169]

[0170]

[0171] Optionally, Table 2 is a reference information table of the terminal equipment history location list information element in Table 1. Table 2 specifically includes the terminal equipment history location list information element (UE History Location List) and the terminal equipment history location information element (>UE History Location).

[0172] In Table 2, the “range” of the terminal device’s historical location list cell is the maximum number of historical records of the terminal device that can be reported in the cell ( <maxnooflocations>(Maximum number of UE HistoryLocations records that can be reported in the IE)); or, the range may be a plurality of historical locations of the terminal device within a preset time length before the first indication message is sent. The specific content of the "Semantic Description" field in the information element of the historical location list of the terminal device is "Most recent information is added to the top of this list". In Table 2, the "Exists" field in the historical location information element of the terminal device is specifically "Optional Existence", that is, the information element in Table 2 may exist or may not exist. According to the "Information element type and reference" field in the historical location information element of the terminal device, the historical location of the terminal device specifically refers to Table 3.

[0173] Table 3

[0174]

[0175] Optionally, Table 3 is a reference information table of the historical location cell of the terminal device in Table 2. Table 3 specifically includes the historical location cell and the historical location information cell for selecting the terminal device. For the historical location cell for selecting the terminal device, according to the corresponding existence field, it can be known that the historical location cell for selecting the terminal device must exist. For the historical location information cell, according to the corresponding existence field, it can be known that the historical location information cell must exist; according to the cell type and the reference field, it can be known that the historical location information can be information composed of an X-bit byte string, for example, 8 bits, 16 bits or 32 bits, which is not limited in this application.

[0176] In the above, Example 1 is used to specifically introduce the information element included in the first indication message when the first indication message is carried in the interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device.

[0177] Below, through Example 2, when the first indication message is carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the information elements included in the first indication message (that is, the first interface message and / or the second interface message) are specifically introduced.

[0178] Embodiment 2:

[0179] In some embodiments, corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device.

[0180] The location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device can be replaced by the location prediction information of the terminal device. For the introduction of the location prediction information of the terminal device, refer to the introduction of the location prediction information in the embodiment shown in S303, which will not be repeated here.

[0181] In a possible implementation, as shown in Table 4, the first interface message and / or the second interface message may include a first information element (Source to Target Transparent Container information element), indicating that the information element is sent by the first access network device to the second access network device. In addition, the existence field of the first information element is "must exist". The information element type and reference field in the first information element indicate that the first information element specifically includes at least one data item in Table 5.

[0182] Table 4

[0183] Cell / Group Name exist scope Cell Types and References Semantic Description First Message Must exist Table 5

[0184] Table 5

[0185]

[0186] As shown in Table 5, the first information element (ie, the first indication message) specifically includes at least one of the following information elements: a cell identifier (Target Cell ID) of the second access network device and location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device.

[0187] Among them, the cell identifier of the second access network device is a field that must exist, and according to the cell type and reference field, it can be known that the type of the cell identifier in the cell is the next generation radio access network cell global identifier (NG-RAN CGI). The location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device specifically includes the historical location list cell of the terminal device and the historical location cell of the terminal device.

[0188] Among them, the reception of the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device is referred to the specific introduction of this part in Table 3, and will not be repeated here.

[0189] In the above, through Example 2, when the first indication message is carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the information elements included in the first indication message (that is, the first interface message and / or the second interface message) are specifically introduced.

[0190] As a possible embodiment of the present application, Figure 3 ,like Figure 4 As shown, after S303, the process in which the second access network device controls the second relay device to forward the signal of the terminal device can be implemented through the following S401-S402.

[0191] S401: A second access network device sends a third indication message to a second relay device. Correspondingly, the second relay device receives the third indication message.

[0192] Among them, the third indication message is used to instruct the second relay device to forward the signal of the terminal device. The third indication message can be carried in at least one of radio resource control (RRC) information, medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC control element, MAC CE) or downlink control information (DCI). Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the information carrying the third indication message. The third indication message can also be carried in a non-access stratum (NAS) message, and this application does not limit this.

[0193] In some embodiments, the third indication message is specifically used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the second beam until the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forward the signal of the terminal device through the second beam.

[0194] Optionally, the third indication message carries an identifier of the second beam; the identifier of the second beam is used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the second beam to point to the location of the terminal device. In this case, the third indication message is specifically used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the direction angle of the second beam based on the identifier of the second beam so that the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forward the signal of the terminal device.

[0195] Optionally, the identifier of the second beam can be determined based on the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device. For example, the identifier of the second beam is determined based on the direction of the second beam; the direction of the second beam is determined based on the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device. That is to say, in a specific implementation, the second access network device can determine the direction of the target beam based on the location information of the terminal device; and determine the target beam identifier based on the direction of the target beam.

[0196] The direction of the second beam is the direction pointing to the location of the terminal device.

[0197] Further, optionally, the identifier of the second beam is specifically determined from a preset mapping relationship according to a beamforming codebook; and the beamforming codebook is determined according to the direction of the second beam. That is, in a specific implementation, the second access network device determines the beamforming codebook corresponding to the direction of the target beam; and based on the preset mapping relationship, determines the target beam identifier corresponding to the corresponding beamforming codebook.

[0198] It should be noted that the relationship between the beam identifier, beam direction and beamforming codebook can refer to the explanation of "beamforming codebook" in the above-mentioned glossary, and will not be repeated here.

[0199] S402. The second relay device forwards the signal of the terminal device based on the third indication message.

[0200] In one possible implementation, corresponding to the identifier of the second target beam carried in the third indication information, the implementation process of S402 may be: the second relay device adjusts the directional angle of the second beam based on the identifier of the second target beam so that the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forwards the signal of the terminal device.

[0201] Among them, optionally, the process of the second relay device adjusting the directional angle of the second beam based on the identifier of the second beam so that the second beam points to the location of the terminal device can be achieved as follows: the second relay device determines the beamforming codebook corresponding to the second beam identifier based on a preset mapping relationship; based on the beamforming codebook, adjusts the directional angle of the second beam so that the second beam points to the location of the terminal device.

[0202] Among them, the beamforming codebook corresponds one-to-one to the direction of the second beam. The preset mapping relationship can be configured in the second relay device, and can also be stored in a storage device. Corresponding to the preset mapping relationship configured in the second relay device, the second relay device can directly call the preset mapping relationship; corresponding to the preset mapping relationship stored in the storage device, the second relay device can request the preset mapping relationship from the storage device. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the configuration location of the preset mapping relationship. The preset mapping relationship can also be configured in other locations. For example, the second mapping relationship can also be configured in the second access network device, and the second relay device can request the second access network device for the mapping relationship. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0203] In the above scheme, the second access network device can instruct the second relay device to forward the signal of the terminal device. The terminal device can quickly access the second relay device without waiting for the terminal device to access and complete the channel measurement, which greatly improves the efficiency of relay device switching and ensures the communication of the terminal device.

[0204] As a possible embodiment of the present application, Figure 3 ,like Figure 5 As shown, in the case where the terminal device and the first access network device relay wireless signals through the first relay device, after the above S303, the process of the first access network device controlling the first relay device to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device can be implemented through the following S501-S502.

[0205] S501: A first access network device sends a second indication message to a first relay device. Correspondingly, the first relay device receives the second indication message.

[0206] The second indication message is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device.

[0207] In some embodiments, the second indication message carries at least one of the following: a stop forwarding indication, an identifier of the first beam, and a forwarding resource identifier. The first beam is a beam used by the first relay device to forward signals of the terminal device; the stop forwarding indication is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals of the terminal device; the identifier of the first beam is used to indicate the first beam and the direction of the first beam; the forwarding resource identifier is used to indicate at least one of the multiple forwarding resources configured by the first access network device for the first relay device. The forwarding resource identifier indicates the time resources used to forward the signal, etc.; there is a corresponding relationship between the forwarding resource identifier and the identifier of the first beam.

[0208] Optionally, the second indication message is specifically used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals in the direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam based on the identifier of the first beam; or, the second indication message is specifically used to instruct the first relay device to determine the identifier of the first beam based on the forwarding resource identifier, and stop forwarding signals in the direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam.

[0209] In some embodiments, the second indication message is carried in at least one of the following: RRC message, MAC CE or DCI. Of course, the above is only an exemplary description of the information carrying the second indication message, and the second indication message may also be carried in a NAS message, which is not limited in this application.

[0210] Optionally, in some embodiments, corresponding to the second indication message carried by the RRC message, the second indication message includes at least one of the following: a stop forwarding indication (ForwardCancel) information element, an identifier of the first beam (beamIndex) information element, and a forwarding resource identifier (FwdResourceId) information element.

[0211] It should be noted that the stop forwarding indication cell is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals. The value of the stop forwarding indication cell can be an enumerated value type, such as True. When the first relay device receives the second indication message, and the value of the stop forwarding indication cell in the second indication message is True, the first relay device stops forwarding signals in the direction of the first beam. Alternatively, the value of the stop forwarding indication cell can be an integer value type, such as True. When the first relay device receives the second indication message, and the value of the stop forwarding indication cell in the second indication message is the first value Nr 1 In this case, the first relay device stops forwarding the signal in the direction of the first beam.

[0212] The identification information element of the first beam is used to indicate the first beam to stop forwarding. The value of the identification of the first beam can be an integer value type. The identification of the first beam is at least one of the multiple beam identifications currently configured by the first relay device.

[0213] A forwarding resource identification information element is used to indicate at least one of the multiple forwarding resources configured by the first access network device for the first relay device. The value of the forwarding resource identification information element may be an integer value type. The forwarding resource identification information element is at least one of the multiple forwarding resource identifications currently configured by the first relay device. The forwarding resources of the first relay device include a beam identification and a corresponding transmission resource.

[0214] In one example, when the second indication message includes a stop forwarding indication element and an identification element of the first beam, the first relay device stops forwarding the signal in the direction corresponding to the identification element of the first beam after receiving the second indication message.

[0215] For example, after receiving the second indication message, the specific algorithm for the first relay device to stop forwarding the signal in the direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam is as follows:

[0216]

[0217] In another example, when the second indication message includes a stop forwarding indication element and a forwarding resource identification element, the first relay device stops forwarding the signal in the beam direction corresponding to the forwarding resource identification element after receiving the second indication message.

[0218] For example, after receiving the second indication message, the specific algorithm for the first relay device to stop forwarding the signal in the beam direction corresponding to the forwarding resource identification information element is as follows:

[0219]

[0220]

[0221] Optionally, in some embodiments, Figure 6 As shown, corresponding to the second indication message carried by MAC CE, the second indication message (byte 2, also called OCT2) includes an identification field (beamIndex) of the first beam, a stop forwarding indication field (F) and / or a reserved bit (R).

[0222] Among them, Figure 6 As shown, byte 1 (also called OCT1) is composed of 8 bits. The second indication message (ie, byte 2) is composed of 8 bits. Among them, in the second indication message, the reserved bit (R) is one bit, the stop forwarding indication field (F) is one bit, and the identification field of the first beam is 6 bits.

[0223] The first beam identification field is used to indicate the beam to stop forwarding, and the first beam identification is at least one of the multiple beam identifications currently configured by the first relay device. The stop forwarding indication field is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals.

[0224] Or, if Figure 7 As shown, corresponding to the second indication message carried by MAC CE, the second indication message (byte 2, also called OCT2) is configured with a first packet header, and the second indication message (byte 2, also called OCT2) carries an identification field of the first beam and / or multiple reserved bits (R).

[0225] There are two reserved bits in the second indication message, and one reserved bit (R) is one bit, and the identification field of the first beam is 6 bits.

[0226] The first packet header is used to indicate that the MAC CE is a message for indicating to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device. The value of the first packet header can be a numerical type. The identification field of the first beam is used to indicate the beam to stop forwarding, and the identification of the first beam is at least one of the multiple beam identifications currently configured by the first relay device.

[0227] It should be noted that different types of MAC CEs may be configured with different MAC headers (MAC subheaders), that is, different types of MAC CEs are distinguished by different MAC headers (different values ​​are set for the header fields).

[0228] Optionally, in some embodiments, corresponding to the second indication message being carried in the DCI, the second indication message includes an identification field of the first beam and / or a stop forwarding indication field.

[0229] The first beam identification field is used to indicate the beam to stop forwarding, which is at least one of the multiple beam identifications currently configured by the first relay device. The stop forwarding indication field is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals.

[0230] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second indication message is carried in the RRC message and the DCI, and the RRC message includes a stop forwarding indication information element, then the DCI includes a forwarding indication field.

[0231] Optionally, in some embodiments, corresponding to the second indication message being carried in the RRC message and the DCI, and the RRC message does not include a stop forwarding indication information element, the DCI does not include a forwarding indication field.

[0232] S502: The first relay device stops forwarding the signal of the terminal device based on the second indication message.

[0233] In a possible implementation, corresponding to the identifier of the first beam carried in the second indication message, the first relay device stops sending and receiving signals in the direction of the first beam according to the identifier of the first beam in the second indication message.

[0234] In another possible implementation, corresponding to the forwarding resource identifier carried in the second indication message, the first relay device determines the identifier of the corresponding first beam based on the forwarding resource identifier in the second indication message, and then stops forwarding the signal in the direction corresponding to the first beam.

[0235] Based on the above technical solution, by instructing the first relay device to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device, the forwarding resources of the relay device can be released, the resource utilization rate can be improved, and the purpose of energy saving of the relay device can be achieved.

[0236] It should be noted that the above S401 may be executed before S501, the above S401 may be executed after S501, or the above S401 may be executed simultaneously with S501, and this application does not limit this.

[0237] The embodiment of the present application can divide the relay device configuration device into functional modules or functional units according to the above method example. For example, each functional module or functional unit can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules or functional units. Among them, the division of modules or units in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, which is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

[0238] like Figure 8 , which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a relay device configuration apparatus 80 provided in an embodiment of the present application, the relay device configuration apparatus 80 includes: a communication unit 801 and a processing unit 802 .

[0239] The communication unit 801 is used to receive a switching indication message of a terminal device; the switching indication message is used to indicate that the terminal device switches from a first access network device to a second access network device; the processing unit 802 is used to instruct the communication unit 801 to send a first indication message in response to the switching indication message; the first indication message is used to indicate that the second access network device is configured for the terminal device as a second relay device for relaying wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device.

[0240] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 801 is specifically used to: send a first indication message to the second access network device; or send the first indication message to the core network, so that the core network forwards the first indication message to the second access network device.

[0241] In a possible implementation, corresponding to the first indication message being a message sent to the second access network device, the first indication message is carried on an interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message being a message sent to the core network, the first indication message is carried on a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device.

[0242] In a possible implementation, corresponding to the first indication message being carried by an interface message sent by a first access network device to a second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, a cell identification of the second access network device, and location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message being carried by a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identification of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device.

[0243] In a possible implementation, corresponding to the first indication message being carried by an interface message sent by a first access network device to a second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, a cell identification of the second access network device, and location prediction information of the terminal device; corresponding to the first indication message being carried by a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, a cell identification of the second access network device, and location prediction information of the terminal device.

[0244] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 801 is further used to send a second indication message to the first relay device; the second indication message is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device.

[0245] In one possible implementation, the second indication message carries at least one of the following: a stop forwarding indication, an identifier of the first beam, and a forwarding resource identifier; the first beam is a beam used by the first relay device to forward signals of terminal devices; the second indication message is specifically used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals in a direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam according to the identifier of the first beam; or, the second indication message is specifically used to instruct the first relay device to determine the identifier of the first beam according to the forwarding resource identifier, and stop forwarding signals in the direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam; wherein the stop forwarding indication is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals of terminal devices; the identifier of the first beam is used to indicate the first beam; and the forwarding resource identifier is used to indicate at least one of the multiple forwarding resources configured by the first access network device for the first relay device.

[0246] In a possible implementation, the second indication message is carried by at least one of the following: a radio resource control RRC message, a medium access control element MAC CE, or a downlink control message DCI; corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the RRC message, the second indication message includes at least one of the following: a stop forwarding indication information element, an identification information element of the first beam, and a forwarding resource identification information element; corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the MAC CE, the second indication message includes an identification field of the first beam, a stop forwarding indication field, and / or a reserved bit; or, the second indication message is configured with a first packet header and carries an identification field and / or a reserved bit of the first beam; wherein the first packet header is used to characterize that the MAC CE is a message for indicating to stop forwarding a signal of a terminal device; corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the DCI, the second indication message includes an identification field and / or a stop forwarding indication field of the first beam; corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the RRC message and the DCI, and the RRC message includes a stop forwarding indication information element, then the DCI includes a forwarding indication field; corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the RRC message and the DCI, and the RRC message does not include a stop forwarding indication information element, then the DCI does not include a forwarding indication field.

[0247] In a possible implementation, the relay device configuration apparatus 80 may further include a storage unit 803 ( Figure 8 The storage unit 803 stores a program or instruction. When the processing unit 802 executes the program or instruction, the relay device configuration apparatus 80 can execute the relay device configuration method described in the above method embodiment.

[0248] like Fig. 9 , which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a relay device configuration apparatus 90 provided in an embodiment of the present application, the relay device configuration apparatus 90 includes: a communication unit 901 and a processing unit 902 .

[0249] The communication unit 901 is used to receive a first indication message; the processing unit 902 is used to configure a second relay device for the terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device in response to the first indication message.

[0250] In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 901 is specifically configured to: receive a first indication message from a first access network device; or receive a first indication message from a core network.

[0251] In a possible implementation, corresponding to the first indication message being a message from the first access network device, the first indication message is carried on an interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message being a message from the core network, the first indication message is carried on a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device.

[0252] In a possible implementation, corresponding to the first indication message being carried by an interface message sent by a first access network device to a second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, a cell identification of the second access network device, and location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; corresponding to the first indication message being carried by a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identification of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device.

[0253] In a possible implementation, corresponding to the first indication message being carried by an interface message sent by a first access network device to a second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, a cell identification of the second access network device, and location prediction information of the terminal device; corresponding to the first indication message being carried by a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, a cell identification of the second access network device, and location prediction information of the terminal device.

[0254] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 902 is specifically used to: determine the distance between the terminal device and each relay device managed by the second access network device based on the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device or the location prediction information of the terminal device, and determine that the relay device with a distance less than a preset threshold is the second relay device; or, determine the angle of the first angle corresponding to each relay device managed by the second access network device based on the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device or the location prediction information of the terminal device, and determine that the relay device with a first angle less than the preset angle is the second relay device; the first angle is the angle formed by the line of sight propagation direction between the relay device and the terminal device and the normal direction of the antenna surface of the relay device.

[0255] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 901 is further used to send a third indication message to the second relay device; the third indication message is used to instruct the second relay device to forward the signal of the terminal device.

[0256] In a possible implementation, the third indication message is specifically used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the second beam until the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forward the signal of the terminal device through the second beam.

[0257] In one possible implementation, the third indication message carries an identifier of the second beam; the identifier of the second beam is used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the second beam to point to the location of the terminal device; the third indication message is specifically used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the direction angle of the second beam based on the identifier of the second beam so that the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forward the signal of the terminal device.

[0258] In one possible implementation, the identifier of the second beam is determined based on the direction of the second beam; the direction of the second beam is determined based on the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; the direction of the second beam is the direction pointing to the location of the terminal device.

[0259] In a possible implementation manner, the identifier of the second beam is specifically determined from a preset mapping relationship according to a beamforming codebook; and the beamforming codebook is determined according to a direction of the second beam.

[0260] In a possible implementation, the relay device configuration apparatus 90 may further include a storage unit 903 ( Fig. 9 The storage unit 903 stores a program or instruction. When the processing unit 902 executes the program or instruction, the relay device configuration apparatus 90 can execute the relay device configuration method described in the above method embodiment.

[0261] like Fig.10 , which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a relay device configuration apparatus 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application, the relay device configuration apparatus 100 includes: a communication unit 1001.

[0262] Communication unit 1001 is used to receive a first indication message from a first access network device; the first indication message is used to instruct the second access network device to configure a second relay device for the terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device; communication unit 1001 is also used to send a first indication message to the second access network device.

[0263] In a possible implementation, the first indication message is carried in a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device.

[0264] In one possible implementation, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: a cell identifier of the second access network device and location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; or, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: a cell identifier of the second access network device and location prediction information of the terminal device.

[0265] In a possible implementation, the relay device configuration apparatus 100 may further include a storage unit 1002 ( Fig.10 The storage unit 1002 stores a program or instruction. When the communication unit 100 executes the program or instruction, the relay device configuration apparatus 100 can execute the relay device configuration method described in the above method embodiment.

[0266] Through the description of the above implementation methods, technicians in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The specific working process of the system, device and unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the aforementioned method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0267] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product including instructions. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the relay device configuration method in the above method embodiment.

[0268] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which instructions are stored. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the relay device configuration method in the method flow shown in the above method embodiment.

[0269] Among them, the computer readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples of computer readable storage media (a non-exhaustive list) include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a register, a hard disk, 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, or any other form of computer readable storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In the embodiments of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program, which may be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0270] Since the communication device, relay device configuration device, computer-readable storage medium, and computer program product in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the above-mentioned method, the technical effects that can be obtained can also refer to the above-mentioned method embodiments, and the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here.

[0271] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as 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.

[0272] It should be understood that the various forms of processes shown above can be used to reorder, add or delete steps. For example, the steps recorded in this disclosure can be executed in parallel, sequentially or in different orders, as long as the desired results of the technical solution of this disclosure can be achieved, and this document is not limited here.

[0273] The above specific implementations do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and substitutions can be made according to design requirements and other factors. Any modification, equivalent substitution and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0274] 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.

[0275] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0276] The above are only specific implementations of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.< / maxnooflocations>

Claims

1. A relay device configuration method, characterized in that: Applied to a first access network device, the method includes: Receiving a switching indication message of the terminal device; the switching indication message is used to instruct the terminal device to switch from the first access network device to the second access network device; In response to the switching indication message, a first indication message is sent; the first indication message is used to instruct the second access network device to configure a second relay device for the terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The sending of the first indication message comprises: Sending the first indication message to the second access network device; Alternatively, the first indication message is sent to a core network so that the core network forwards the first indication message to the second access network device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Corresponding to the first indication message being a message sent to the second access network device, the first indication message is carried in an interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device; Corresponding to the first indication message being a message sent to the core network, the first indication message is carried by a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to a second access network device.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Corresponding to the first indication message being carried by the first access network device and sent to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, a cell identification of the second access network device, and location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; Corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: Corresponding to the first indication message being carried by the first access network device and sent to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, a cell identification of the second access network device, and location prediction information of the terminal device; Corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and location prediction information of the terminal device.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that In the case where the terminal device and the first access network device relay wireless signals through a first relay device, the method further includes: Send a second indication message to the first relay device; the second indication message is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The second indication message carries at least one of the following: a stop forwarding indication, an identifier of a first beam, and a forwarding resource identifier; the first beam is a beam used by the first relay device to forward a signal of the terminal device; The second indication message is specifically used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding signals in the direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam according to the identifier of the first beam; Alternatively, the second indication message is specifically used to instruct the first relay device to determine the identifier of the first beam according to the forwarding resource identifier, and stop forwarding signals in the direction corresponding to the identifier of the first beam; Among them, the stop forwarding indication is used to instruct the first relay device to stop forwarding the signal of the terminal device; the identifier of the first beam is used to indicate the first beam; and the forwarding resource identifier is used to indicate at least one of the multiple forwarding resources configured by the first access network device for the first relay device.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The second indication message is carried in at least one of the following: a radio resource control RRC message, a medium access control element MAC CE or a downlink control message DC I; Corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the RRC message, the second indication message includes at least one of the following: a stop forwarding indication information element, an identification information element of the first beam, and a forwarding resource identification information element; Corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the MAC CE, the second indication message includes an identification field of the first beam, a stop forwarding indication field and / or a reserved bit; or, the second indication message is configured with a first packet header and carries the identification field of the first beam and / or the reserved bit; wherein the first packet header is used to characterize that the MAC CE is a message for indicating to stop forwarding a signal of the terminal device; Corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the DC I, the second indication message includes an identification field and / or a stop forwarding indication field of the first beam; Corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the RRC message and the DCI, and the RRC message including the stop forwarding indication information element, the DCI includes the forwarding indication field; Corresponding to the second indication message being carried by the RRC message and the DCI, and the RRC message does not include the stop forwarding indication information element, the DCI does not include the forwarding indication field.

9. A method for configuring a relay device, characterized in that: Applied to a second access network device, the method comprises: receiving a first indication message; In response to the first indication message, a second relay device for relaying wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device is configured for the terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The receiving a first indication message comprises: Receiving a first indication message from a first access network device; Alternatively, a first indication message is received from a core network.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that Corresponding to the first indication message being a message from the first access network device, the first indication message is carried in an interface message sent by the first access network device to the second access network device; Corresponding to the first indication message being a message from the core network, the first indication message is carried by a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to a second access network device.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that Corresponding to the first indication message being carried by the first access network device and sent to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, a cell identification of the second access network device, and location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; Corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the second access network device and the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that Corresponding to the first indication message being carried by the first access network device and sent to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, a cell identification of the second access network device, and location prediction information of the terminal device; Corresponding to the first indication message carried by the first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or the second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, the cell identification of the second access network device, and location prediction information of the terminal device.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The second relay device configured for the terminal device to relay between the second access network device and the terminal device includes: Determine the distance between the terminal device and each relay device managed by the second access network device according to the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device or the location prediction information of the terminal device, and determine the relay device with the distance less than a preset threshold as the second relay device; Alternatively, based on the location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device or the predicted location information of the terminal device, the angle of the first angle corresponding to each relay device managed by the second access network device is determined, and the relay device whose first angle is smaller than a preset angle is determined to be the second relay device; the first angle is the angle formed by the line of sight propagation direction between the relay device and the terminal device and the normal direction of the antenna surface of the relay device.

15. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send a third indication message to the second relay device; the third indication message is used to instruct the second relay device to forward the signal of the terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The third indication message is specifically used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the second beam until the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forward the signal of the terminal device through the second beam.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The third indication message carries an identifier of the second beam; the identifier of the second beam is used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the second beam to point to the location of the terminal device; The third indication message is specifically used to instruct the second relay device to adjust the direction angle of the second beam based on the identifier of the second beam so that the second beam points to the location of the terminal device, and forward the signal of the terminal device.

18. A method for configuring a relay device, characterized in that: Applied to a core network, the method comprises: Receiving a first indication message from a first access network device; the first indication message is used to instruct the second access network device to configure a second relay device for the terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device; Send a first indication message to the second access network device.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first indication message is carried in a first interface message sent by the first access network device to the core network and / or a second interface message sent by the core network to the second access network device.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that The first indication message includes at least one of the following: a cell identifier of the second access network device and location information of the terminal device before accessing the second access network device; Alternatively, the first indication message includes at least one of the following: a cell identifier of the second access network device and location prediction information of the terminal device.

21. A relay device configuration device, characterized in that: The device comprises a communication unit and a processing unit; The communication unit is used to receive a switching indication message of a terminal device; the switching indication message is used to instruct the terminal device to switch from the first access network device to the second access network device; The processing unit is configured to instruct the communication unit to send a first indication message in response to the switching indication message; The first indication message is used to instruct the second access network device to configure a second relay device for the terminal device to relay between the second access network device and the terminal device.

22. A relay device configuration device, characterized in that: The device comprises a communication unit and a processing unit; The communication unit is used to receive a first indication message; The processing unit is used to configure a second relay device for the terminal device for relaying between the second access network device and the terminal device in response to the first indication message.

23. A relay device configuration device, characterized in that: The device comprises a communication unit; The communication unit is used to receive a first indication message from a first access network device; the first indication message is used to instruct the second access network device to configure a second relay device for the terminal device to relay wireless signals between the second access network device and the terminal device; The communication unit is further used to send a first indication message to the second access network device.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a computer program or instruction to implement the relay device configuration method as described in any one of claims 1-8, claims 9-17 or claims 18-20.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions. When a computer executes the instructions, the computer executes the relay device configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, claims 9 to 17, or claims 18 to 20.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the relay device configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, claims 9 to 17, or claims 18 to 20.

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