Relay communication method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a relay communication method and a communication device, which can utilize forwarding resources of a plurality of beam sets of relay equipment to transmit signals and improve communication performance. The method comprises: a network device sending a plurality of pieces of forwarding resource configuration information to a relay device, the plurality of pieces of forwarding resource configuration information corresponding to a plurality of beam sets of the relay device, each of the plurality of beam sets comprising a plurality of beams; the network equipment sends first indication information to the relay equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating to forward the first signal based on a beam set corresponding to first forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple pieces of forwarding resource configuration information; wherein the first signal comes from terminal equipment or network equipment; and the relay device forwards the first signal according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a relay communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] In a mobile communication system, it has been proposed to assist the communication between a network device and a terminal device through a relay device to improve network coverage and cell-edge throughput, etc. The signal between the network device and the terminal device can be transmitted through the forwarding of the relay device. How the network device controls the relay device to use the forwarding resources to forward the signal to achieve the purpose of improving signal coverage has become an urgent problem to be solved currently. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a relay communication method and a communication device, which are used to configure the forwarding resources of multiple beam sets on a relay device and use the relay device to perform relay transmission of signals, and can improve signal coverage and communication performance.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a relay communication method, including: a network device sends multiple forwarding resource configuration information to a relay device, the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams; the network device sends first indication information to the relay device, and the first indication information is used to indicate to forward a first signal based on the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein, the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device; the relay device forwards the first signal according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0005] It can be understood that the function of the first indication information can also be described as the first indication information being used to activate the forwarding resources corresponding to the specified first forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information. When the relay device forwards the first signal, it can be specifically implemented in the following manner: when the first signal comes from the terminal device, the first signal can also be understood as an uplink signal, and the relay device forwards the first signal from the terminal device to the network device according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information; when the first signal comes from the network device, the first signal can also be understood as a downlink signal, and the relay device forwards the first signal from the network device to the terminal device according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0006] In the above design, one beam set of the relay device can correspond to one panel. The network device configures the forwarding resources corresponding to multiple beam sets to implement relay transmission based on multiple panels, which can improve signal coverage and communication performance.

[0007] The specific correspondence between the forwarded resource configuration information and the beam sets will be described in detail below.

[0008] In a possible design, the multiple pieces of forwarded resource configuration information correspond one-to-one to the multiple beam sets of the relay device. Each piece of forwarded resource configuration information in the multiple pieces of forwarded resource configuration information includes an identifier of a beam set and an identifier of a forwarded resource.

[0009] Among them, the time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources corresponding to the multiple pieces of forwarded resource configuration information are different. Or it can also be described as the time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources corresponding to the forwarded resources of different beam sets are different. For example, when the time-domain resources corresponding to the multiple pieces of forwarded resource configuration information are the same but the frequency-domain resources are different, the relay device can simultaneously use multiple beam sets to forward signals on different frequency-domain resources. For example, when the time-domain resources corresponding to the multiple pieces of forwarded resource configuration information are different but the frequency-domain resources are the same, the relay device can use multiple beam sets to forward signals on the same frequency-domain resource in a time-division manner. Another example is that when the time-domain resources and frequency-domain resources corresponding to the multiple pieces of forwarded resource configuration information are different, the relay device can use multiple beam sets to forward signals in a time-division and frequency-division manner.

[0010] In such a design, the correspondence between the beam sets and the forwarded resources is constructed, which is convenient for quickly activating the forwarded resources corresponding to the specified beam sets subsequently and then used for relay transmission. Based on such a correspondence, when activating the forwarded resources in the first forwarded resource configuration information through the first indication information, only the identifier of a forwarded resource in the first forwarded resource configuration information or the identifier of a beam set in the first forwarded resource configuration information needs to be included in the first indication information.

[0011] In another possible design, each piece of forwarded resource configuration information in the multiple pieces of forwarded resource configuration information includes an identifier of a set of forwarded resources. The set of forwarded resources corresponds to at least one beam set of the relay device, and the multiple forwarded resources in the set of forwarded resources correspond one-to-one to the multiple beams included in each beam set in the at least one beam set.

[0012] Among them, the time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources corresponding to the multiple pieces of forwarded resource configuration information are different. Or it can also be described as the time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources corresponding to the sets of forwarded resources of different beam sets are different.

[0013] Taking the case where multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds one-to-one with multiple beam sets, and one forwarding resource set corresponds to one beam set as an example, it can be understood that: when the time-domain resources corresponding to multiple forwarding resource sets are the same but the frequency-domain resources are different, the relay device can simultaneously use multiple beam sets to forward signals on different frequency-domain resources. For example, when the time-domain resources corresponding to multiple forwarding resource sets are different but the frequency-domain resources are the same, the relay device can use multiple beam sets to forward signals on the same frequency-domain resources in a time-sharing manner. Another example is that when the time-domain resources corresponding to multiple forwarding resource sets are different and the frequency-domain resources are different, the relay device can use multiple beam sets to forward signals in a time-division and frequency-division manner.

[0014] Taking the case where one forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets, that is, one forwarding resource set corresponds to multiple beam sets as an example, the frequency-domain resources corresponding to one forwarding resource set can be divided into multiple frequency-domain ranges, and different beam sets in the multiple beam sets corresponding to the forwarding resource set correspond to different frequency-domain ranges. Optionally, the multiple frequency-domain ranges can be obtained by dividing according to sub-bands. Such a design can enable the relay device to simultaneously use multiple beam sets to forward signals on different frequency-domain resources, which can improve signal coverage and communication performance while saving the time of relay transmission.

[0015] When activating the forwarding resources in the first forwarding resource configuration information through the first indication information, the first indication information includes the identifier of one forwarding resource set in the first forwarding resource configuration information and the identifiers of at least one beam set; wherein, the first forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to the at least one beam set. In such a design, multiple forwarding resource sets are configured, and the corresponding relationship between the beam set and the forwarding resource set is bound during the activation process, and then used for relay transmission.

[0016] In addition, optionally, the case where the frequency domains corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different can be specifically manifested as: the sub-bands corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different. In this case, each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes the identifier of one sub-band.

[0017] In a possible design, the network device receives beam configuration information from a third-party network element; and / or, the relay device receives beam configuration information from a third-party network element; wherein, the beam configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: the identifier of each beam set in the multiple beam sets included in the relay device; the identifier of each beam included in each beam set; the identifier of the quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam. Such a design can enable both the network device and the relay device to have a unified understanding of the beam set allocation on the relay device, which is convenient for the subsequent normal progress of relay transmission.

[0018] In a possible design, the network device may further determine the forwarding priorities corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information according to the types of forwarding resources corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information. This design can be applied in the case where the time-domain resources corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information have overlapping parts, and quickly determine which beam set corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information to use for relay transmission in the overlapping parts (such as collision time slots).

[0019] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a relay communication method applied to a relay device, including: receiving multiple forwarding resource configuration information from a network device, the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponding to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams; receiving first indication information from the network device, the first indication information being used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; where the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device; and forwarding the first signal through the communication module according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0020] Some possible designs can be understood with reference to the description in the first aspect, and the embodiments of the present application will not elaborate on this.

[0021] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a relay communication method applied to a network device, including: sending multiple forwarding resource configuration information to a relay device through a communication module, the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponding to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams; and sending first indication information to the relay device through the communication module, the first indication information being used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; where the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device.

[0022] Some possible designs can be understood with reference to the description in the first aspect, and the embodiments of the present application will not elaborate on this.

[0023] Fourthly, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a relay device, or a device, module, or chip in the relay device, or a device that can be used in combination with the relay device. In one design, the communication device may include modules corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect. The module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. In one design, the communication device may include a processing module and a communication module. Optionally, the communication module includes a sending unit and a receiving unit. The communication module may also be described by other names such as a transceiver unit, a communication interface, or a communication unit. The processing module may also be described by other names such as a processing unit.

[0024] A communication module, configured to receive multiple forwarding resource configuration information from a network device, where the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams;

[0025] The communication module is further configured to receive first indication information from the network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein, the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device;

[0026] A processing module, configured to forward the first signal through the communication module according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0027] It can be understood that when the processing module forwards information through the communication module, specifically, the processing module instructs the communication module to forward or send information. In a possible design, the communication device described in the fourth aspect may also include only the communication module and not the processing module.

[0028] In a possible design, the communication module is further configured to: receive beam configuration information from a third-party network element; wherein, the beam configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: an identifier of each beam set included in the relay device; an identifier of each beam included in each beam set; an identifier of the quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam.

[0029] In a possible design, the processing module is further configured to: determine a forwarding priority corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information according to a forwarding resource type corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information.

[0030] For some other possible designs, reference may be made to the description in the first aspect, and the embodiments of the present application will not elaborate on this.

[0031] Fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, which may be a network device, or a device, module, chip, etc. in the network device, or a device that can be used in matching with the network device. In one design, the communication device may include modules corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the third aspect, and the module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. In one design, the communication device may include a processing module and a communication module. Optionally, the communication module includes a sending unit and a receiving unit, and the communication module may also be described by other names such as a transceiver unit, a communication interface, or a communication unit. The processing module may also be described by other names such as a processing unit.

[0032] The processing module is configured to send multiple forwarding resource configuration information to a relay device through the communication module, where the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams;

[0033] The processing module is further configured to send first indication information to the relay device through the communication module, where the first indication information is used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to a first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein, the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device.

[0034] It can be understood that when the processing module sends information through the communication module, it may specifically be to instruct the communication module to send or forward the information.

[0035] In a possible design, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may also only include a communication module and not include a processing module. In a possible design, the communication module is further configured to: receive beam configuration information from a third-party network element; wherein, the beam configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: an identifier of each beam set included in the relay device; an identifier of each beam included in each beam set; an identifier of the quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam.

[0036] In a possible design, the processing module is further configured to: determine a forwarding priority corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information according to the forwarding resource type corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information.

[0037] For some other possible designs, reference may be made to the description in the first aspect, and embodiments of the present application will not elaborate on this.

[0038] Sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the communication device includes a processor for implementing the method described in the second aspect above. The processor is coupled to a memory, and the memory is used to store instructions and data. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the second aspect can be implemented. Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory; the communication device may further include a communication interface, and the communication interface is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin or other types of communication interfaces.

[0039] Seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the communication device includes a processor for implementing the method described in the third aspect above. The processor is coupled to a memory, and the memory is used to store instructions and data. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the third aspect can be implemented. Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory; the communication device may further include a communication interface, and the communication interface is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin or other types of communication interfaces.

[0040] Eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, including the communication device described in the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect; and the communication device described in the fifth aspect or the seventh aspect.

[0041] Ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program, when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method provided in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect above.

[0042] Tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, including a computer program or instruction, when the computer program or instruction runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method provided in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect above.

[0043] Eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored, when the computer program or instruction runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method provided in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect above.

[0044] Twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, the chip is used to read the computer program stored in the memory and execute the method provided in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect above, or the chip includes a circuit for executing the method provided in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect above.

[0045] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a device to implement the method provided in any one of the first to third aspects above. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing necessary programs and data of the device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0046] For the effects of the solutions provided in any one of the second to thirteenth aspects above, reference may be made to the corresponding descriptions in the first aspect. Description of the Drawings

[0047] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system in the embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of multiple panels on the relay device in the embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 3 It is a schematic flowchart of a relay communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Figure 4A It is one of the schematic diagrams of resource allocation in the embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 4B It is one of the schematic diagrams of resource allocation in the embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 4C It is one of the schematic diagrams of resource allocation in the embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 5A It is one of the schematic diagrams of the beam distribution of multiple panels in the embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 5B It is one of the schematic diagrams of the beam distribution of multiple panels in the embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 6A It is one of the schematic diagrams of the structure of MAC-CE in the embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 6B It is one of the schematic diagrams of the structure of MAC-CE in the embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 6C It is one of the schematic diagrams of the structure of MAC-CE in the embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of time-domain resource conflict in the embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 8One of the schematic structural diagrams of the communication device in the embodiments of the present application;

[0060] Figure 9 One of the schematic structural diagrams of the communication device in the embodiments of the present application;

[0061] Figure 10 One of the schematic structural diagrams of the communication device in the embodiments of the present application;

[0062] Figure 11 One of the schematic structural diagrams of the communication device in the embodiments of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0063] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0064] At least one (item) involved in the following embodiments of the present application indicates one (item) or more (items). More (items) means two (items) or more than two (items). "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after. In addition, it should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various objects in the embodiments of the present application, these objects should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish each object from each other.

[0065] The terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof mentioned in the following description of the embodiments of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally further includes other steps or units not listed, or optionally further includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any method or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other methods or design solutions. Exactly speaking, using words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0066] Figure 1It is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture applicable to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one terminal device, and the communication system further includes at least one relay device. The relay device can assist in the communication between the network device and the terminal device. The relay device can be composed of multiple antennas (or antenna panels), where a part of the antennas are backhaul link side antennas for communicating with the network device through the backhaul link, and another part of the antennas are access link side antennas for communicating with the terminal device through the access link. The relay device can perform downlink forwarding. The network device sends a downlink signal through the backhaul link, and the relay device forwards the received signal on the backhaul link to the terminal device on the access link. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the downlink signal forwarded by the relay device on the access link. The relay device can also perform uplink forwarding. The terminal device sends an uplink signal through the access link, and the relay device forwards the received signal on the access link to the network device on the backhaul link.

[0067] Figure 1 In (a), (b), and (c) respectively show three different architectures. Figure 1 In (a) shows a single-hop forwarding architecture, Figure 1 In (b) shows a multi-hop forwarding architecture, Figure 1 In (c) shows a reflection forwarding architecture.

[0068] Figure 1 In (a) shows network device 110, relay device 120, and terminal device 130. Among them, network device 110 can provide network coverage for a specific geographical area. As mentioned above, when the distance between network device 110 and terminal device 130 is relatively far, the communication quality deteriorates. Therefore, relay device 120 is introduced to assist in the communication between network device 110 and terminal device 130. As Figure 1 shown, the backhaul link side beam of the relay device can receive signals from the network device and send them to terminal device 130 through the access link side beam. Similarly, network device 110 can send downlink signals to terminal device 130 through relay device 120; terminal device 130 can also send uplink signals to network device 110 through relay device 120.

[0069] Figure 1 In (b) shows network device 110, relay devices 120A, 120B, and terminal device 130. Different from Figure 1 in (a), Figure 1Sub - figure (b) shows multiple relay devices (such as relay devices 120A and 120B in the figure), that is, the downlink signal from the network device 110 can reach the terminal device 130 through the forwarding of the multiple relay devices, and the uplink signal from the terminal device 130 can also reach the network device 110 through the forwarding of the multiple relay devices. It should be understood that Figure 1 the processing of the signals received by relay devices 120A and 120B in sub - figure (b) is similar to Figure 1 that of relay device 120 in sub - figure (a), which will not be elaborated here.

[0070] Figure 1 Sub - figure (c) shows the network device 110, relay device 120, and terminal device 130. Different from Figure 1 sub - figures (a) and (b), this relay device 120 uses a reflective antenna panel and forwards signals by reflection.

[0071] In the embodiments of the present application, the relay device can be used in a multi - hop relay - cascaded communication network. That is, the relay node can establish a connection with the network device through at least one upper - level relay node and be controlled by the network device. At this time, the upper - level relay node can be regarded as a special network device; or the relay node can establish a connection with the terminal device through at least one lower - level relay node. At this time, the lower - level relay node can be regarded as a special terminal device. The relay device provided in the embodiments of the present application has a signal forwarding function. In one form of the relay device, the signal forwarding of the relay device can be to forward the signal after amplification, and the relay device can also shift the carrier frequency of the signal, or can also demodulate the signal and then re - modulate it before forwarding, or can also forward the signal after noise reduction. This form of relay device can be called an amplify - and - forward relay device or a network - controlled repeater (NCR). The NCR mainly consists of two parts, namely, a mobile terminal (MT) unit (also called a controller unit) and a forwarding (Fwd) unit. The relay device is a unit that uses the MT to interact with the base station. For example, beam control, amplification factor (or output power) control, uplink or downlink signal forwarding direction control, on - off control, etc. are all interactions between the MT and the base station. The Fwd is the unit for the relay to forward. It directly amplifies and forwards the received signal without demodulating it.

[0072] To improve the coverage range and transmission capacity of the relay device, the relay device uses a multi - panel technology on the access side. As Figure 2 shown, there are two panels on the access side of the relay device, which can generate up to two - direction beams at the same time to receive signals from the terminal device or amplify and forward signals to the terminal device.

[0073] In another form of the relay device, the relay device can adopt a special reflecting antenna or transmitting antenna to directly reflect or transmit the signal. The relay device in this form can be called a reflector, or a reflecting surface, or other names, such as intelligent reflecting surface, reconfigurable reflecting surface (RIS), reflecting array, intelligent reflecting array, reflector, intelligent reflector, backscatter device, passive device, semi-passive device, ambient signal device, etc. The relay device can also be regarded as a special form of terminal. On the other hand, if the relay device is classified based on the network side's control ability over the relay, it can be divided into non-intelligent relay devices and intelligent relay devices; or, uncontrolled repeaters and network controlled repeaters (NetConRepeater). Among them, the network device can control the intelligent relay to perform more functions with enhanced performance. For example, relay transmission power control, relay amplification gain control, relay beam scanning control, and relay precoding control.

[0074] The network device provided by the embodiments of the present application may be a wireless network device. The wireless network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation NodeB in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The network device provided by the embodiments of the present application may also be a module or unit that completes some functions of the base station. For example, it may be a central unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). Here, the CU completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and may also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP). The DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and may also complete some or all of the functions of the physical layer. In some other deployments, the network device may also be a radio unit (RU), etc. In still other deployments, the access network may adopt an open radio access network (ORAN) architecture, etc., and the network device may be a node in the ORAN architecture. The present application does not limit the specific type of the network device. Exemplarily, when the access network adopts the ORAN architecture, the network device shown in the embodiments of the present application may be a network device in the ORAN or a module in the network device, etc. In the ORAN system, the CU may also be referred to as an open (O)-CU. Similarly, the DU may also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-DU may also be referred to as an O-CU-DU, the CU-UP may also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU may also be referred to as an O-RU. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0075] For the specific descriptions of the above-mentioned respective protocol layers, reference can be made to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The wireless network device can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, or the like. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the network device.

[0076] The terminal device provided by the embodiments of this application can be a device with wireless transceiver functions, which can send signals to the base station or receive signals from the base station. The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a wearable device, a vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminal.

[0077] In the embodiments of this application, the functions of the network device can also be executed by modules (such as chips) in the network device, or can be executed by a control subsystem including the functions of the network device. The control subsystem including the functions of the network device here can be a control center in the above application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The functions of the terminal device can also be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) in the terminal device, or can be executed by a device including the functions of the terminal device. The functions of the relay device can also be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) in the relay device, or can be executed by a device including the functions of the relay device.

[0078] It should be understood that in the present application, "sending information to a communication device (such as the communication device may be a network device, a relay device, or a terminal device)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the communication device. It may include directly or indirectly sending information to the communication device. "Receiving information from a communication device" can be understood as the source of the information being the communication device, and it may include directly or indirectly receiving information from the communication device. Necessary processing may be performed on the information between the source and the destination of the information sending, such as format change, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in the present application can be understood similarly, and will not be elaborated here.

[0079] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number and type of each device in the shown communication system are only for illustration, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. In practical applications, the communication system may further include more terminal devices, more relay devices, more network devices, and may also include other network elements, such as core network devices, and / or network management devices such as operation administration and maintenance (OAM) devices.

[0080] The following gives examples of technical terms involved in the present application.

[0081] 1. Resource:

[0082] In the embodiments of the present application, there is a forwarding resource of a relay device. Based on the forwarding resource, the relay device mainly performs the following operations: forwarding a signal from a network device to a terminal device, or forwarding a signal from a terminal device to a network device. The forwarding resource is generally configured in a reference signal resource set, and a forwarding resource set may include one or more forwarding resources. To distinguish different forwarding resources, each forwarding resource may correspond to an index or identity (ID) of a forwarding resource. To distinguish different forwarding resource sets, each forwarding resource set may also correspond to an index or identity of a forwarding resource set.

[0083] The forwarding resource can be used to configure relay communication attributes, such as defining at least one of the following parameters corresponding to the signal forwarded by the relay device: time resource, frequency domain resource, access link beam, backhaul link beam, amplification gain, reflection configuration matrix (for a reflecting surface). It should be understood that sending a signal based on the forwarding resource can also be referred to as sending the forwarding resource. In the technical field, the two can be interchanged.

[0084] In beam measurement, there is a corresponding relationship between the beam and the resource. Measuring the quality of the resource by the terminal device is equivalent to measuring the quality of the beam. In the scenario where the relay device forwards the signal from the terminal device to the network device, the forwarding resource can be an uplink signal resource; in the scenario where the relay device forwards the signal from the network device to the terminal device, the forwarding resource can also be a downlink signal resource. Among them, the uplink signal includes, but is not limited to, the sounding reference signal (SRS) and the demodulation reference signal (DMRS). The downlink signal includes, but is not limited to: the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), the phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), the cell specific reference signal (CS-RS), the user equipment specific reference signal (US-RS), the demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and the synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block). Among them, the SS / PBCH block can be abbreviated as the synchronization signal block (SSB). The reference signal is generally used for channel estimation, auxiliary signal demodulation, detection, etc. For example, DMRS and CSI-RS can be used to obtain channel information, and PTRS can be used to obtain phase change information.

[0085] The types of forwarded resources can be classified based on the time-domain characteristics of the forwarded resources. The types of forwarded resources include periodic, aperiodic, and semi-persistent. Periodic resources are configured with a period and an offset, and periodic resources are periodically effective. The transmitting end can periodically transmit a reference signal according to the periodic resources, and this reference signal can be called a periodic reference signal (P-RS). Before each use of aperiodic resources, signaling is required to activate them, and they are only effective once after activation. When the aperiodic resources are activated, the transmitting end can transmit a reference signal through the aperiodic resources, and this reference signal can be called an aperiodic reference signal (AP-RS). Period and offset are also configured in semi-persistent resources, but semi-persistent resources are only periodically effective when in the active state and are not effective when in the inactive state. After the semi-persistent resources are activated, the transmitting end can periodically transmit a reference signal through these resources, and stop transmitting the reference signal after deactivation. This reference signal can be called a semi-persistent reference signal (SP-RS).

[0086] 2. Panel: A panel refers to an antenna panel, which can be the antenna panel of a network device or the antenna panel of a terminal device. Generally, there is one or more antennas on an antenna panel, and these antennas are arranged in an antenna array for beamforming to form an analog beam. The antenna array can generate analog beams pointing in different directions. That is to say, multiple analog beams can be formed on each antenna panel, and beam measurement can be used to determine which analog beam of the antenna panel is the best. A terminal device can be equipped with multiple antenna panels, and these antenna panels can be distributed at different positions and face different directions, which can ensure that no matter which direction the terminal device faces, there is at least one antenna panel facing the network device for data transmission with the network device. The terminal device can simultaneously turn on all antenna panels for transmission. Or, to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device, the terminal device can also use only a single antenna panel for transmission at a time, and other unused antenna panels can be turned off. Generally, whether the antenna panel of the terminal device is in the open or closed state needs to be notified to the network device. That is to say, the terminal device and the network device generally need to exchange the status information of the antenna panel.

[0087] In the embodiments of the present application, the antenna panel refers to the antenna panel of the relay device. In the protocol, the antenna panel can be represented by panel, panel index, panel ID, etc. In addition, the antenna panel can also be implicitly represented in other ways. For example, the antenna panel can also be characterized by an antenna port (such as a CSI-RS port, an SRS port, a DMRS port, a PTRS port, a common reference signal (CRS) port, a tracking reference signal (TRS) port, an SSB port, etc.) or an antenna port group; or it can also be characterized by a resource (such as a CSI-RS resource, an SRS resource, a DMRS resource, a PTRS resource, a CRS resource, a TRS resource, an SSB resource, etc.) or a resource group; or it can also be characterized by a certain channel. For example, the channel can be a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical random access channel (PRACH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), etc.; or it can also be characterized by a beam, a quasi co-location (QCL), a transmission configuration indicator (TCI)-state, a spatial relation, or an index configured in the QCL, TCI-state, or spatial relation; or it can also be characterized by a beam group, a QCL group, a TCI-state group, a spatial relation group, etc.; or it can also be characterized by a set of relay capability parameters reported by the relay device.

[0088] There is a corresponding relationship between the set of relay capability parameters and the panel. A set of relay capability parameters includes the relevant relay capabilities corresponding to a panel. For example, it includes the maximum number of transmission layers, the maximum number of SRS ports, the maximum transmission power, etc. corresponding to a panel. That is to say, the antenna panel / panel described in the present application can be replaced with the above content.

[0089] 2. Beam:

[0090] A beam is a communication resource. A beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The technology for forming a beam can be beamforming technology or other technical means. Beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology. The same information or different information can be sent through different beams. Optionally, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be regarded as one beam. One beam can include one or more antenna ports for transmitting data channels, control channels, sounding signals, etc.

[0091] The manifestation of a beam in the new radio (NR) protocol can be a spatial domain filter, or a spatial filter, or a spatial domain parameter, a spatial parameter, a spatial domain setting, a spatial setting, or Quasi-colocation (QCL) information, a QCL hypothesis, a QCL indication, etc. A beam can be indicated by a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI)-state parameter or by a spatial relation parameter. Therefore, in the embodiments of this application, a beam can be replaced with a spatial domain filter, a spatial filter, a spatial domain parameter, a spatial parameter, a spatial domain setting, a spatial setting, QCL information, a QCL hypothesis, a QCL indication, a TCI-state (DL TCI-state, UL TCI-state), a spatial relation, etc. These terms are also equivalent to each other. A beam can also be replaced with other terms representing a beam, which is not limited in this application.

[0092] A beam, which can also be understood as a spatial resource, can refer to a transmit or receive precoding vector with energy transmission directivity. The energy transmission directivity can mean that within a certain spatial position, the received signal after being precoded by this precoding vector has a good received power, such as meeting the received demodulation signal-to-noise ratio, etc. The energy transmission directivity can also mean that by using this precoding vector, the same signal transmitted from different spatial positions has different received powers. The same device (such as a network device or a terminal device) can have different precoding vectors, and different devices can also have different precoding vectors, that is, corresponding to different beams. For the configuration or capabilities of a device, a device can use one or more of multiple different precoding vectors at the same time, that is, it can form one beam or multiple beams simultaneously.

[0093] From the perspectives of transmission and reception, beams can be divided into transmission beams (Tx beams) and reception beams (Rx beams). A transmission beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength formed in different directions in space after a signal is transmitted by an antenna, and a reception beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength of a wireless signal received by an antenna in different directions in space. The reception beam of a signal will point as much as possible to the transmission beam of this signal to improve the received signal-to-noise ratio and avoid interference between different signals.

[0094] In the embodiments of this application, the relay device part can form one or more beams, or one or more beam sets (a beam set can also be called a beam collection). It should be understood that a beam collection includes at least one beam. Optionally, in the scenario where multiple panels are distributed on the relay device, the aforementioned one beam collection corresponds to one panel, and the identifier of the beam collection in the embodiments of this application can also be replaced and described as the identifier of the panel (such as panel ID).

[0095] In a possible design, identifiers for different beam sets and identifiers for each beam in each beam set are defined. For example, beam set A ({a0, a1, a2,...}), beam set B ({b0, b1, b2,...}), and beam set C ({c0, c1, c2,...}), where a0, a1, a2, b0, b1, b2, c0, c1, c2 are the identifiers (or called indices) of the beams.

[0096] In another possible design, all beams of the relay device can be uniformly numbered. For example, the network device and the relay device directly use Beam-index to identify different access-side beams. For example, assume that the maximum number of beams corresponding to beam set A is M, and the identifiers of the beams in beam set A are Beam-Index 0 to Beam-Index M-1; the maximum number of beams corresponding to beam set B is N, and the identifiers of the beams in beam set B are Beam-Index M to Beam-Index M+N-1.

[0097] Optionally, the number of beams in the relay access side or backhaul side beam set can be any value in {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 16, 24, 32}. Assume that the number of beams in the beam set or the set is not greater than K, where K can be any value in {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 16, 24, 32}.

[0098] 4. Quasi co-location (QCL):

[0099] QCL is used to indicate that one or more identical or similar communication characteristics exist between multiple forwarding resources. For multiple forwarding resources with a QCL relationship, the same or similar communication configurations can be adopted. For example, the signals corresponding to antenna ports with a QCL relationship have the same parameters, or the parameters of one antenna port (which can also be called QCL parameters) can be used to determine the parameters of another antenna port with a QCL relationship with this antenna port, or two antenna ports have the same parameters, or the parameter difference between two antenna ports is less than a certain threshold. Among them, the parameter can include one or more of the following: delay spread, doppler spread, doppler shift, average delay, average gain, spatial Rx parameters. Among them, the spatial Rx parameters can include one or more of the following: angle of arrival (AOA), average AOA, AOA spread, angle of departure (AOD), average AOD, AOD spread, receiving antenna spatial correlation parameter, transmitting antenna spatial correlation parameter, transmit beam, receive beam, and resource identifier.

[0100] In the NR protocol, the QCL relationship can be divided into four types as shown in Table 3 based on different parameters:

[0101] Table 1

[0102]

[0103]

[0104] In the case where the identifiers of different beam sets and the identifiers of each beam in each beam set are defined for multiple beam sets, the corresponding QCL information for each beam in each beam set is defined, and different Beam-Indices are used respectively. For example, as shown in Table 2 below, the QCL information corresponding to each beam in beam set A ({a0, a1, a2, …}) is represented by different Beam-Indices.

[0105] Table 2

[0106] Beam set A QCL information a0 Beam-Index 0 a1 Beam-Index 1 a2 Beam-Index 2 … …

[0107] Among them, Beam-Index and TCI-StateId have similar functions and are both a kind of index used to distinguish different beams. The Beam-Indices used in different beam sets can be the same. For example, the QCL information corresponding to each beam in beam set B ({b0, b1, b2, …}) can also be represented by Beam-Indices 0 to 2. The network device side can distinguish according to the identifier of the beam set.

[0108] In the case where all the beams of the relay device are uniformly numbered, the network device and the relay device directly identify the QCL information corresponding to different beams through the Beam-index. As shown in Table 3 below, assuming that the maximum number of beams corresponding to panel A is M, and the beam indices corresponding to it are identified by Beam-Index 0 to Beam-Index M - 1; the maximum number of beams corresponding to panel B is N, and the beam indices corresponding to it are identified by Beam-Index M to Beam-Index M + N - 1.

[0109] Table 3

[0110] Beam set QCL information {a0, a1, a2, …, a(M-1)} Beam-Index 0, Beam-Index 1, …, Beam-Index M-1 {b0, b1, b2, …, b(N-1)} Beam-Index M, Beam-Index M+1, …, Beam-Index M+N-1 … …

[0111] In the scenario where the network device communicates with the terminal device through the relay device, how to implement beam management of the network device, the relay device, and the terminal device to determine the communication beams actually used by the network device and the terminal device is a problem to be solved. The embodiment of the present application provides a relay communication method. The network device can configure and activate forwarding resources for the relay device, so that the relay device can forward the reference signals transmitted between the network device and the terminal device. Thus, the terminal device can measure the reference signals from the network device forwarded by the relay device, or the network device can measure the reference signals from the terminal device forwarded by the relay device, thereby realizing beam management in the relay scenario.

[0112] Specifically, as Figure 3 illustrates a relay communication method, which mainly includes the following steps.

[0113] S301. The relay device and the network device obtain the beam information of the relay device from a third-party network element. The beam information of the relay device is used to indicate the beam distribution on the relay device. For example, the beam information may include one or more of the following: the identifier of each beam set included in the relay device; the identifier of each beam included in each beam set; the identifier of the quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam. The specific implementation manner can be understood with reference to the foregoing description of beam-related terms. For example, a beam set corresponds to a panel of the relay device. The identifier of the beam set can be the ID of the beam set or the identifier of the corresponding panel (panel ID). The identifier of the beam can be the beam ID, and the identifier of the quasi-co-location information is represented by Beam-Index.

[0114] Optionally, the third-party network element can be an Operation, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) device. As Figure 3 illustrates that S301 includes S301a and S301b, where S301a illustrates that the OAM configures the beam information of the relay device and sends it to the network device; S301b illustrates that the OAM sends the beam information of the relay device to the relay device.

[0115] In addition, in a possible implementation manner, the beam information of the relay device can be determined by the network device itself. For example, the relay device reports its own beam capability information to the network device, and the network device configures the foregoing beam information of the relay device according to the beam capability information. Another example is that the beam capability information of the relay device is defined by the protocol, and the network device can directly determine the beam information of the relay device. The beam capability information of the relay device indicates the number of panels (or beam sets) of the relay device and the maximum number of beams supported by each panel. In this implementation, the OAM does not need to send the foregoing beam information to the network device, that is, S301 is not executed. Therefore, S301 is an optional step, and S301a and S301b are Figure 3 illustrated by dashed lines.

[0116] S302. The network device sends multiple forwarding resource configuration information to the relay device.

[0117] Among them, the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device. The specific corresponding relationship and forwarding resource configuration can be understood with reference to the following several ways.

[0118] Method (1): Multiple forwarding resource configuration information is in one-to-one correspondence with multiple beam sets of the relay device. Each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a beam set and an identifier of a forwarding resource. Among them, the identifier of the beam set can also be replaced with the identifier of the panel corresponding to the beam set, denoted as panel Id. Since there is one forwarding resource corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information, the foregoing forwarding resource configuration information can also be described as a forwarding resource.

[0119] In a possible implementation, the time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different, and the frequency domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are the same; or, the time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different, and the frequency domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different. For example Figure 4A For illustration, the relay device uses 2 panels (Panel A, Panel B) for signal forwarding. Each panel occupies the same frequency domain resources (CC#1 and CC#2) without distinction, but forwards reference signals on different time domain resources through different panels. Among them, CC can refer to component carrier (CC). For example, the relay device forwards the reference signal using the access beam #11 of Panel A at time slot 1, forwards the reference signal using the access beam #21 of Panel B at time slot 2, forwards the reference signal using the access beam #12 of Panel A at time slot 3, forwards the reference signal using the access beam #22 of Panel B at time slot 4, until all the access side beams to be forwarded are traversed. Another example Figure 4B For illustration, the relay device forwards the reference signal using the first access beam #11 of Panel A at time slot 1, forwards the reference signal using the second access beam #12 of Panel A at time slot 2. When all the beams of Panel A are traversed, assuming the total number of beams of Panel A is 4, the relay device can forward the reference signal using the first access beam #21 of Panel B at time slot 5, and forward the reference signal using the fourth access beam #24 of Panel B at time slot 8, until all the access side beams to be forwarded are traversed.

[0120] In this implementation, the types of forwarding resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information can be different, and the configuration methods corresponding to different types of forwarding resources are different.

[0121] (1) Taking the type of the forwarding resource of the relay device as a periodic resource or a semi-persistent resource as an example, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling, and a forwarding resource configuration information is denoted as FwdResource.

[0122] In the case of defining the identifiers of different beam sets and the identifiers of each beam in each beam set for multiple beam sets, the format of FwdResource can be expressed as follows:

[0123]

[0124] When all the beams of the relay device are uniformly numbered, the format of FwdResource can be expressed as follows:

[0125]

[0126] In the above content, periodicFwdRsrcId-r18 indicates the identifier of the forwarding resource; beamIndex-r18 represents the identifier (index) of the beam. When all the beams of the relay device are uniformly numbered and the identifier of the access-side beam of the relay device is not bound to the panel Id, in one implementation mode during high-layer signaling configuration, beamIndex 0 to 31 are by default the access-side beams of panel A, and beamIndex 32 to 63 are by default the access-side beams of panel B. The beam index range of each panel does not exceed its maximum beam capacity; panel Id indicates the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource or the beam set corresponding to the forwarding resource, and maxNrofPanels represents the maximum number of panels of the relay device; periodicTimeRsrc-r18 indicates the periodic time resource of the forwarding resource; periodicityAndOffset-r18 represents the period and time offset of the forwarding resource, and this time offset value generally refers to the time slot offset; symbolOffset-r18 indicates the symbol offset corresponding to the forwarding resource, and maxNrofSymbols represents the maximum number of symbols; durationInSymbols-r18 indicates the duration of the symbol, or it can also be understood as the number of symbols.

[0127] (2) Taking the type of the forwarding resource of the relay device as an aperiodic resource as an example, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling.

[0128] When defining the identifiers of different beam sets and the identifiers of each beam in each beam set for multiple beam sets, the panel Id can be introduced in the aperiodic forwarding time resource (AperiodicFwdTimeResource) in the high-layer signaling to identify the corresponding relationship between the aperiodic forwarding time resource and the panel (or beam set). When all the beams of the relay device are uniformly numbered, the forwarding resource is configured according to the aperiodic forwarding time resource (AperiodicFwdTimeResource) in the high-layer signaling, but the panel Id is not introduced.

[0129] In another possible implementation, the time-domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are the same, while the frequency-domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different. For example Figure 4C As shown, the relay device uses 2 panels (Panel A, Panel B) to forward signals at the same moment. Panel A occupies the frequency-domain resource CC#1, and Panel B occupies the frequency-domain resource CC#2.

[0130] Optionally, the fact that the frequency-domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different specifically includes: the sub-bands corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different. Herein, a sub-band is a type belonging to the frequency-domain range, and the sub-band can also be replaced with a component carrier (CC), a cell, a passband, a frequency band, or other names, etc. Based on this, each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information further includes an identifier of a sub-band on the basis of the foregoing possible implementation manner.

[0131] Similarly, in this implementation, the types of forwarding resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information can be different, and the configuration methods corresponding to different types of forwarding resources are different.

[0132] (1) Taking the type of the relay device's forwarding resource as a periodic resource or a semi-persistent resource as an example, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling. Denote a forwarding resource configuration information as FwdResource. For example, in the case of defining identifiers of multiple beam sets and identifiers of each beam in each beam set, the format of FwdResource can be expressed as follows:

[0133]

[0134] Among them, the parameters mentioned in the format of FwdResource can be understood with reference to the foregoing description, and the embodiments of the present application will not elaborate on this. In addition, passband Id refers to the identifier of the sub-band, and maxNrofBands refers to the maximum number of sub-bands in the frequency domain.

[0135] (2) Taking the type of the relay device's forwarding resource as an aperiodic resource as an example, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling.

[0136] When defining the identifiers of different beam sets and the identifiers of each beam in each beam set, the panel Id and passbandId can be introduced in the AperiodicFwdTimeResource in the high-layer signaling to identify the correspondence between the aperiodic forwarding time resource and the panel (or beam set) and the sub-band. When uniformly numbering all the beams of the relay device, the forwarding resource configuration is performed according to the AperiodicFwdTimeResource in the high-layer signaling, but the panelId and passbandId are not introduced.

[0137] Method (2): Each forwarding resource configuration information in multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to at least one beam set among the multiple beam sets of the relay device. The one forwarding resource set corresponds to at least one beam set of the relay device, and the multiple forwarding resources in the one forwarding resource set correspond one by one to the multiple beams included in each beam set of the at least one beam set. Among them, the identifier of the beam set can also be replaced by the identifier of the panel corresponding to the beam set, denoted as panel Id. The forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to one forwarding resource set, so the foregoing forwarding resource configuration information can also be described as a forwarding resource set by replacement.

[0138] Taking the case where the beam sets and the panels correspond one by one and the multiple forwarding resource configuration information and the multiple beam sets correspond one by one as an example, each panel on the relay device corresponds to a forwarding resource set (FwdResourceSet), and the panels can be distinguished by using the identifier (FwdResourceSetId) of the forwarding resource set. Based on this, the network device configures multiple FwdResourceSets, each FwdResourceSet includes a FwdResourceSetId and one or more forwarding resources, and each forwarding resource corresponds to an access-side beam on the panel corresponding to the FwdResourceSetId.

[0139] In this method, the time-domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource sets are different, and the frequency-domain resources are the same or different. The types of the forwarding resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information can be different, and the configuration methods corresponding to different types of forwarding resources are different.

[0140] (1) Taking the type of the forwarding resources of the relay device as periodic resources or semi-persistent resources as an example, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling. Denote one forwarding resource configuration information as FwdResourceSet, and the format of FwdResourceSet can be expressed as follows:

[0141] In the above content, periodicFwdRsrcSetId-r18 indicates the identifier of the forwarding resource set; periodicFwdRsrcToAdddModList indicates the list of forwarding resources to be newly added, periodicFwdRsrcToReleaseList-r18 indicates the list of forwarding resources to be released, and maxNrofPeriodicFwdResource-r18 refers to the maximum value of the identifier of the forwarding resource; referenceSCS refers to the reference subcarrier spacing; priorityFlag-r18 refers to the priority flag.

[0142] (2) Taking the type of the forwarding resource of the relay device as an aperiodic resource as an example, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by higher-layer signaling.

[0143] In the case where identifiers of different beam sets and identifiers of each beam in each beam set are defined for multiple beam sets, panelId and passbandId can be introduced in the aperiodic forwarding configuration (AperiodicFwdConfig) in the higher-layer signaling to identify the correspondence between the aperiodic forwarding resource set and the panel (or beam set) and the sub-band. In the case where all the beams of the relay device are uniformly numbered, the forwarding resource is configured according to the aperiodic forwarding configuration (AperiodicFwdConfig) in the higher-layer signaling, but panel Id and passbandId are not introduced.

[0144] Optionally, in the above solution, when the beam set identifier (such as panel Id) is not included in the forwarded resource configuration information, the correspondence between the forwarded resource configuration information and the beam set can also be determined (or referred to as bound) based on the values of the specified parameters in different forwarded resource configuration information. For example, for the case where the type of the forwarded resource is periodic or semi-persistent, the beam sets corresponding to different forwarded resource configuration information can be distinguished by the period size of the forwarded resource (or the set of forwarded resources) in the forwarded resource configuration information, that is, the period sizes in the forwarded resource configuration information corresponding to different beam sets are different. For example, for the case where the type of the forwarded resource is aperiodic, the beam sets corresponding to different forwarded resource configuration information can be distinguished by the size of the aperiodic forward time resource index (AperiodicFwdTimeResourceId), that is, the AperiodicFwdTimeResourceIds in the forwarded resource configuration information corresponding to different beam sets are different. For example, for the case where the type of the forwarded resource is aperiodic, the beam sets corresponding to different forwarded resource configuration information can be distinguished by the odd-even classification of the aperiodic forward time resource index AperiodicFwdTimeResourceId. For example, if the relay device includes panel A and panel B, and each panel corresponds to a beam set, it can be defined that the forwarded resource configuration information with an odd AperiodicFwdTimeResourceId corresponds to panel A, and the forwarded resource configuration information with an even AperiodicFwdTimeResourceId corresponds to panel B. For example, when the sub-band identifier is included in the forwarded resource configuration information and the sub-bands corresponding to different forwarded resource configuration information are different, different sub-band identifiers can be predefined for different beam sets, thereby indirectly indicating the correspondence between the forwarded resource configuration information and the beam set. Another example is that for the case where the type of the forwarded resource is periodic or semi-persistent, the network device can send multiple radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the multiple RRC signaling corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each RRC signaling carries a forwarded resource configuration information; for the case where the type of the transmitted resource is aperiodic, different modes of downlink control information (DCI) can be used to indicate the forwarded resource configuration information corresponding to different beam sets on the relay device.

[0145] In addition, in the specific implementation, there may be different beam information corresponding to different panels on the relay device. For example, the number of beams in the beam sets corresponding to different panels is different. In response to this situation, when the network device configures the forwarded resources, it is generally configured uniformly according to the maximum number of beams. For example Figure 5AAs shown, the beam set corresponding to panel A includes 4 beams denoted as beam #1, beam #2, beam #3, and beam #4, and the beam set corresponding to panel B includes 3 beams denoted as beam #1, beam #2, and beam #3. The network device will configure the forwarding resources according to each beam set including 4 beams. In this case, an indication error may occur where the beam index indicated by the network device for a certain panel exceeds the maximum number of beams corresponding to that panel. For example, for panel B, indicating beam index #4 exceeds the maximum beam index #3 supported by panel B. For this indication error, in one possible design, the relay device can feedback an error indication to the network device, and the relay device does not forward signals during the time of the forwarding resources corresponding to panel B. In another possible design, such beam indices can be redefined in advance. For example, the relay device can understand the beam index #4 exceeding the support of panel B as beam #1 corresponding to panel B, that is, map the beam index exceeding the maximum beam index cyclically to other beam indices less than the maximum beam index. Similarly, in the case of uniformly numbering all the beams of the relay device, for example Figure 5B As shown, the beam set corresponding to panel A includes 4 beams denoted as beam #1, beam #2, beam #3, and beam #4, and the beam set corresponding to panel B includes 3 beams denoted as beam #5, beam #6, and beam #7. If the network device indicates beam index #8 for panel B, which exceeds the maximum beam index #7 supported by panel B, the relay device can feedback an error indication to the network device or remap the beam index, and does not forward signals during the time of the forwarding resources corresponding to panel B.

[0146] S303. The network device sends first indication information to the relay device.

[0147] Specifically, the first indication information is used to indicate forwarding the first signal based on at least one beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information, or it can also be understood that: this first indication information is used to activate the forwarding resources or the set of forwarding resources in the first forwarding resource configuration information in S302. It can be understood that the activation of the forwarding resources is mainly implemented for the forwarding resource types of semi-persistent and non-periodic forwarding resources. For the case of the forwarding resource type of periodic forwarding resources, the resource activation process of S303 does not need to be executed.

[0148] Taking the type of the forwarding resources corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information as semi-persistent forwarding resources as an example, the first indication information can be a part of the medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE) or MAC-CE. The following introduces several designs of MAC-CE in different cases corresponding to the description in S302.

[0149] For Design 1, when the identification of the beam set (such as the panel ID (panelId)) is included in the first forwarding resource configuration information, it can be considered that the binding relationship between the forwarding resource (or forwarding resource set) and the panel ID has been formed during the resource configuration process of S302. Then, the network device only carries the identification of the forwarding resource (or forwarding resource set) in the MAC-CE. Exemplarily, when different panels (or different beam sets) correspond to different forwarding resource sets, the network device can activate multiple forwarding resource sets through multiple MAC-CEs, and the identifications of the forwarding resource sets included in different MCA-CEs are different. Among them, the identification of the forwarding resource set can be the Resource set ID. Specifically, the structure of the MCA-CE is as Figure 6A shown, and the meanings of the fields in the MCA-CE can be understood with reference to the following content:

[0150] Resource set ID, indicating the forwarding resource set in the first forwarding resource configuration information, such as Figure 6A shown that the Resource set ID occupies 5 bytes in the MAC-CE.

[0151] A / D: Used to indicate whether the forwarding resource set corresponding to the Resource set ID is activated. For example, when the value of A / D is 1, it means that the forwarding resource set corresponding to the Resource set ID is activated; for example, when the value of A / D is 0, it means that the forwarding resource set corresponding to the Resource set ID is deactivated.

[0152] C: Used to indicate whether the beam index (or panel ID field) exists. For example, when the value of C is 1, it means that the beam index (panel ID field) exists; for example, when the value of C is 0, it means that the beam index (panel ID field) does not exist. It can be understood that this field C only takes effect when the value of A / D is 1.

[0153] R: Refers to the reserved bit, or reserved position. In the embodiments of this application, the value of the reserved bit is set to 0.

[0154] Beam index (beamindex ID): Used to indicate the beam in the beam set corresponding to the forwarding resource set corresponding to the Resource set ID.

[0155] For Design 2, in the case where the identifier of the beam set (such as the panel ID (panelId)) is not included in the first forwarding resource configuration information, it can be considered that there is no binding relationship between the forwarding resource (or the set of forwarding resources) and the panel ID during the resource configuration process in S302. Based on this, the network device can carry the identifier of the forwarding resource (or the set of forwarding resources) and the identifier of the beam set (such as the panel ID) in the MAC-CE.

[0156] For example, different panels (or different beam sets) correspond to different sets of forwarding resources. The network device can activate multiple sets of forwarding resources through multiple MAC-Ces respectively. The identifiers of the sets of forwarding resources (Resource setID) included in different MCA-Ces are different. The structure of this MCA-CE is as Figure 6B shown. The panel ID (panel) in the MAC-CE indicates the beam set corresponding to the set of forwarding resources corresponding to the Resource set ID. The meanings of the remaining fields can be understood with reference to the introduction in Design 1. This embodiment of the present application will not elaborate on this.

[0157] Also, for example, one set of forwarding resources corresponds to multiple beam sets. The network device can activate multiple beam sets corresponding to one set of forwarding resources through one MAC-CE. Among them, the structure of the MCA-CE is as Figure 6C shown. This MCA-CE includes the identifier of one set of forwarding resources (Resource set ID) and the identifiers of the corresponding multiple beam sets (schematic with the panel ID). The meanings of the fields in this MCA-CE can be understood with reference to the introductions in Design 1 and 2. This embodiment of the present application will not elaborate on this.

[0158] In addition, optionally, corresponding to the case where the time-domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information described in S302 are the same but the frequency-domain resources are different, that is, the case of frequency-division forwarding, the network device can also carry the identifier of the sub-band (such as the passband Id) in the MAC-CE as Figure 6B or Figure 6C shown.

[0159] Taking the type of the forwarding resource corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information as a non-periodic forwarding resource as an example, the first indication information may be DCI_2_8 or some fields in DCI_2_8; or the first indication information may also be a newly defined DCI. In one possible implementation, if the first forwarding resource configuration information includes the identifier of the beam set (such as panel Id) and the identifier of the sub-band (passband Id), DCI 2_8 is understood in the format defined by the protocol without introducing new fields; in another possible implementation, the network device may introduce new fields in DCI 2_8 to indicate the identifier of the beam set and / or the sub-band information corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0160] S304. The relay device forwards the first signal according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0161] In one possible design, the first signal comes from the terminal device and can be regarded as an uplink signal forwarded by the relay device to the network device; in another possible design, the first signal comes from the network device and can be regarded as a downlink signal forwarded by the relay device to the terminal device.

[0162] Figure 3 Taking the first signal coming from the network device as an example, in S304, it is shown that the relay device forwards the first signal from the network device to the terminal device. As a possible implementation, the relay device amplifies and forwards the first signal on the specified panel and / or the specified sub-band through the specified beam and the specified forwarding resource according to the information such as the forwarding resource (forwarding resource set) configured by the higher-layer signaling in S302, the amplification gain, and the information such as the activated forwarding resource, beam / panel, and sub-band in S303.

[0163] In one possible application scenario, the first signal may be a reference signal for channel measurement such as CSI-RS; furthermore, optionally, the terminal device may also execute S305.

[0164] S305. The terminal device sends the measurement result of the first signal to the network device through the relay device.

[0165] Among them, S305 is implemented through the following two sub-steps: S305a, the terminal device sends the measurement result of the first signal to the relay device; and S305b, the relay device forwards the received measurement result of the first signal to the network device.

[0166] Specifically, the terminal device receives and measures the first signal, and can obtain the measurement result of the first signal. The measurement result can indicate one or more of the following: channel quality indicator (CQI), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), transmitted precoding matrix indicator (TPMI), rank indicator (RI), layer indicator (LI), channel state information resource index (CSI-RS index, CRI), synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block resource index (SSBRI).

[0167] Accordingly, the network device can determine the beam set or panel with the best signal reception quality based on the aforementioned measurement results received, and then instruct the relay device to forward the signal using the beam set or panel with the best signal reception quality. It can be understood that the beam set with the best signal reception quality can also be denoted as the optimal beam set, and the panel with the best signal reception quality can also be denoted as the optimal panel. The best signal reception quality is mainly reflected in: the maximum reference signal receiving power (RSRP) or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) value.

[0168] The above solution provides the forwarding resource configuration of multiple panels on the relay device, which can realize the simultaneous use of multiple panels to forward signals, helps to quickly determine the optimal panel, and improves the subsequent communication performance.

[0169] In addition, considering that there are relay devices with the ability to send multiple panels simultaneously in actual applications, there are also relay devices that do not support sending multiple panels simultaneously. In a possible implementation, for relay devices with the ability to send multiple panels simultaneously, multiple panel beams are allowed to be configured at the same time; but for relay devices that only support time-division sending of multiple panels, when receiving forwarding resource configurations corresponding to different panels at the same time, different forwarding priorities can be defined for different panels or different forwarding resource configuration information. For example Figure 7 It is shown that the network device configures the relay device to forward the signal through beam a on panel A in the 3rd to 6th symbols of this time slot, and to forward the signal through beam b on panel B in the 1st to 14th symbols of this time slot. The relay device does not support sending multiple panels simultaneously, resulting in a forwarding conflict in the 3rd to 6th symbols in the same time slot. In this case, different forwarding priorities need to be defined for different panels or different forwarding resource configuration information.

[0170] In response to this situation, the embodiments of this application provide a method for determining the forwarding priority corresponding to each forwarding resource configuration information in combination with the forwarding resource type, which can be specifically implemented with reference to the following examples.

[0171] For example, in the case where priorityFlag is not enabled in periodic forwarding resources or semi-persistent forwarding resources, the priority order is defined as aperiodic resources > semi-persistent resources > periodic resources. Based on this, when there is an overlap in the time-domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information, such as a conflict time slot, the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a higher priority forwards normally in the conflict time slot, and the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a lower priority becomes invalid throughout the conflict time slot; or, the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a higher priority forwards normally in the conflict time slot, and the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a lower priority forwards at other non-conflicting times; or, the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a higher priority forwards normally in the conflict time slot, and the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a lower priority forwards in the next time slot. In addition, when the forwarding resource types corresponding to different panels in the conflict time slot are the same, the relay device can give an error feedback or the network device can dynamically issue the priority of panel forwarding.

[0172] Based on the same concept, see Figure 8, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device 800, which includes a processing module 801 and a communication module 802. The communication device 800 can be a relay device, or can be applied to a relay device or used in combination with a relay device, and can implement a communication device for transmitting a precoding matrix performed on the relay device side; or, the communication device 800 can be a network device, or can be applied to a network device or used in combination with a network device, and can implement a communication device for transmitting a precoding matrix performed on the network device side.

[0173] Among them, the communication module can also be called a transceiver module, transceiver, transceiver, or transceiver device, etc. The processing module can also be called a processor, processing board, processing unit, or processing device, etc. Optionally, the communication module is used to perform the sending operation and receiving operation on the relay device side or the network device side in the above method. The device in the communication module for implementing the receiving function can be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device in the communication module for implementing the sending function can be regarded as a sending unit, that is, the communication module includes a receiving unit and a sending unit.

[0174] When the communication device 800 is applied to a relay device, the processing module 801 can be used to implement Figure 3 the processing function of the relay device in the above example, and the communication module 802 can be used to implement Figure 3 the transceiver function of the relay device in the above example. Optionally, the communication device can also be understood with reference to the possible designs in the fourth aspect and the tenth aspect of the invention content.

[0175] When the communication device 800 is applied to the network device side, the processing module 801 can be used to implement Figure 3 the processing function of the network device in the above example, and the communication module 802 can be used to implement Figure 3 the transceiver function of the network device in the above example. Optionally, the communication device can also be understood with reference to the possible designs in the fifth aspect and the fifth aspect of the invention content.

[0176] In addition, it should be noted that in a possible design, the foregoing communication module and / or processing module can be implemented by a virtual module. For example, the processing module can be implemented by a software functional unit or a virtual device, and the communication module can be implemented by a software function or a virtual device. In another possible design, the processing module or the communication module can also be implemented by an entity device. For example, if the device is implemented by a chip / chip circuit, the communication module can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, performing an input operation (corresponding to the foregoing receiving operation) and an output operation (corresponding to the foregoing sending operation); the processing module is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

[0177] In the embodiments of the present application, the division of modules is illustrative, merely a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation. In addition, in each example of the embodiments of the present application, each functional module may be integrated in a processor, may exist alone physically, or two or more modules may be integrated in one module. The above integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules.

[0178] Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device 900. For example, the communication device 900 may be a chip or a chip system. Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0179] The communication device 900 can be used to implement the functions of any network element in the communication system described in the foregoing examples. The communication device 900 may include at least one processor 910. Optionally, the processor 910 is coupled to a memory, and the memory may be located within the device; or, the memory may be integrated with the processor; or, the memory may also be located outside the device. For example, the communication device 900 may further include at least one memory 920. The memory 920 stores the necessary computer programs, computer programs or instructions and / or data in implementing any of the foregoing examples; the processor 910 may execute the computer programs stored in the memory 920 to complete the methods in any of the foregoing examples.

[0180] The communication device 900 may further include a communication interface 930, and the communication device 900 may interact with other devices through the communication interface 930. Exemplarily, the communication interface 930 may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin or other type of communication interface. When the communication device 900 is a chip-type device or circuit, the communication interface 930 in the device 900 may also be an input / output circuit, which can input information (or, receive information) and output information (or, transmit information), and the processor is an integrated processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit or a logic circuit, and the processor may determine the output information according to the input information.

[0181] The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which may be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information interaction between devices, units or modules. The processor 910 may cooperate with the memory 920 and the communication interface 930. In the embodiments of the present application, the specific connection medium between the above-mentioned processor 910, memory 920 and communication interface 930 is not limited.

[0182] Optionally, see Figure 9, the processor 910, the memory 920, and the communication interface 930 are interconnected with each other through a bus 940. The bus 940 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of convenience of representation, Figure 9 only a thick line is used to represent it in Figure 9 , but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0183] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method in the embodiments of the present application in combination with the present application can be directly embodied as being executed and completed by a hardware processor, or executed and completed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0184] In the embodiments of the present application, the memory can be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., and can also be a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiments of the present application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0185] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device 900 can be applied to a relay device. Specifically, the communication device 900 can be a relay device, or can be a device capable of supporting a relay device and implementing the functions of the relay device in any of the above-mentioned examples. The memory 920 stores a computer program (or instructions) and / or data for implementing the functions of the relay device in any of the above-mentioned examples. The processor 910 can execute the computer program stored in the memory 920 to complete the methods executed by the relay device in any of the above-mentioned examples. When the communication device is applied to a relay device, the communication interface in the communication device 900 can be used to interact with a network device, send information to the network device, or receive information from the network device.

[0186] In another possible implementation, the communication device 900 can be applied to a network device. Specifically, the communication device 900 can be a network device or a device that can support a network device and implement the functions of the network device in any of the above-mentioned examples. The memory 920 stores computer programs (or instructions) and / or data for implementing the functions of the network device in any of the above examples. The processor 910 can execute the computer programs stored in the memory 920 to complete the methods executed by the network device in any of the above examples. When the communication device is applied to a network device, the communication interface in the communication device 900 can be used to interact with a relay device, send information to the relay device, or receive information from the relay device.

[0187] Since the communication device 900 provided in this example can be applied to a network device to complete the methods executed on the network device side, or applied to a relay device to complete the methods executed by the relay device, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method examples and will not be elaborated here.

[0188] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device 1000. As Figure 10 shown, the communication device 1000 can be a relay device, a processor of a relay device, or a chip. The communication device 1000 can be used to execute the operations performed by the relay device in the above method embodiments.

[0189] When the communication device 1000 is a relay device, Figure 10 a simplified structural schematic diagram of a relay device is shown. As Figure 10 shown, the relay device includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The memory can store computer program code. The transceiver includes a transmitter 1031, a receiver 1032, a radio frequency circuit (not shown in the figure), an antenna 1033, and an input / output device (not shown in the figure).

[0190] The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the relay device, execute software programs, and process data of software programs. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for the conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and the processing of radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input / output device. For example, a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc. are mainly used to receive data input by users and output data to users. It should be noted that some types of relay devices may not have an input / output device.

[0191] When data needs to be sent, after the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, it outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then sends the radio frequency signal outwards in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the relay device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data. For ease of explanation, Figure 10 only one memory, processor, and transceiver are shown. In an actual relay device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory can also be referred to as a storage medium or storage device, etc. The memory can be set independently of the processor or integrated with the processor. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0192] In the embodiments of the present application, the antenna and radio frequency circuit with transceiver functions can be regarded as the transceiver module of the relay device, and the processor with processing functions can be regarded as the processing module of the relay device.

[0193] As Figure 10 shown, the relay device includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020, and a transceiver 1030. The processor 1010 can also be referred to as a processing unit, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc. The transceiver 1030 can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc.

[0194] Optionally, the devices in the transceiver 1030 used to implement the receiving function can be regarded as the receiving module, and the devices in the transceiver 1030 used to implement the sending function can be regarded as the sending module, that is, the transceiver 1030 includes a receiver and a transmitter. The transceiver can sometimes also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver module, or a transceiver circuit, etc. The receiver can sometimes also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving module, or a receiving circuit, etc. The transmitter can sometimes also be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting module, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0195] For example, the processor 1010 is used to execute Figure 3 the processing actions on the relay device side in the shown embodiments, and the transceiver 1030 is used to execute Figure 3 the transceiver actions on the relay device side in

[0196] It should be understood that Figure 10 this is only an example and not a limitation. The above relay device including a transceiver module and a processing module may not depend on the Figure 10 shown structure.

[0197] When the communication device 1000 is a chip, the chip includes a processor and a transceiver. Among them, the transceiver can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processor can be a processing module integrated on the chip, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit. The sending operation of the relay device in the above method embodiments can be understood as the output of the chip, and the receiving operation of the relay device in the above method embodiments can be understood as the input of the chip.

[0198] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1100. The communication device 1100 can be a network device or a chip. The communication device 1100 can be used to perform the operations performed by the network device in the above method embodiments.

[0199] When the communication device 1100 is a network device, for example, a base station. Figure 11 A simplified schematic diagram of the base station structure is shown. The base station includes a part 1110, a part 1120, and a part 1130. The part 1110 is mainly used for baseband processing and controlling the base station, etc.; the part 1110 is usually the control center of the base station and can usually be called a processor, which is used to control the base station to perform the processing operations on the network device side in the above method embodiments. The part 1120 is mainly used for storing computer program codes and data. The part 1130 is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals and baseband signals; the part 1130 can usually be called a transceiver module, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc. The transceiver module of the part 1130 can also be called a transceiver or a transceiver, etc., and it includes an antenna 1133 and a radio frequency circuit (not shown in the figure), where the radio frequency circuit is mainly used for radio frequency processing. Optionally, the devices used to implement the receiving function in the part 1130 can be regarded as a receiver, and the devices used to implement the sending function can be regarded as a transmitter, that is, the part 1130 includes a receiver 1132 and a transmitter 1131. The receiver can also be called a receiving module, a receiver, or a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitter can be called a transmitting module, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0200] The part 1110 and the part 1120 can include one or more single boards, and each single board can include one or more processors and one or more memories. The processor is used to read and execute the programs in the memory to implement the baseband processing function and the control of the base station. If there are multiple single boards, the single boards can be interconnected to enhance the processing ability. As an optional implementation manner, it can also be that multiple single boards share one or more processors, or multiple single boards share one or more memories, or multiple single boards share one or more processors at the same time.

[0201] In one implementation, the transceiver module of the part 1130 is used to perform the above Figure 3The processes related to transceiver operations performed by a network device in the illustrated embodiments. The processor in part 1110 is used to execute the above Figure 3 The processes related to processing operations performed by a network device in the illustrated embodiments.

[0202] It should be understood that Figure 11 merely by way of example and not limitation, the above network device including a processor, a memory, and a transceiver may not depend on Figure 11 the illustrated structure.

[0203] When the communication device 1100 is a chip, the chip includes a transceiver and a processor. Among them, the transceiver may be an input / output circuit, a communication interface; the processor is a processor integrated on the chip, or a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit. The sending operation of the network device in the above method embodiments can be understood as the output of the chip, and the receiving operation of the network device in the above method embodiments can be understood as the input of the chip.

[0204] Embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, which includes a relay device and a network device in the above embodiments. The relay device is used to execute Figure 3 all or part of the steps in the illustrated embodiments. The network device is used to execute Figure 3 all or part of the steps in the illustrated embodiments.

[0205] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a relay device, a network device, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wirelessly (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium, etc.

[0206] In the embodiments of the present application, on the premise of no logical contradiction, the examples can refer to each other. For example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments can refer to each other. For example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments can refer to each other. For example, the functions and / or terms between device examples and method examples can refer to each other.

[0207] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the embodiments of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the embodiments of the present application are also intended to include these changes and modifications.

Claims

1. A relay communication method, characterized in that, Including: The network device sends multiple forwarding resource configuration information to the relay device, where the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams; The network device sends first indication information to the relay device, where the first indication information is used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein, the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device; The relay device forwards the first signal according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds one-to-one with the multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a beam set and an identifier of a forwarding resource.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The first indication information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource in the first forwarding resource configuration information or an identifier of a beam set in the first forwarding resource configuration information.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set, where the one forwarding resource set corresponds to at least one beam set of the relay device, and multiple forwarding resources in the one forwarding resource set correspond one-to-one with multiple beams included in each beam set in the at least one beam set.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first indication information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set in the first forwarding resource configuration information and identifiers of at least one beam set; wherein, the first forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to the at least one beam set.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different, and / or, frequency domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, Time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are the same, subbands corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different, and each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a subband.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, Also including: The network device receives beam configuration information from a third-party network element; and / or, The relay device receives beam configuration information from a third-party network element; Wherein, the beam configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: Identifiers of each beam set included in the relay device; Identifiers of each beam included in each beam set; Identifiers of quasi co-location information corresponding to each beam.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Also including: The network device determines forwarding priorities corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information according to forwarding resource types corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information.

10. A communication device, characterized in that, Applied to a relay device, including: A communication module, configured to receive multiple forwarding resource configuration information from a network device, where the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams; The communication module is further configured to receive first indication information from the network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate to forward a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein, the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device; The processing module is configured to forward the first signal through the communication module according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

11. A communication device, characterized in that, Applied to a network device, it includes: The processing module is configured to send multiple forwarding resource configuration information to a relay device through the communication module, where the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams; The processing module is further configured to send first indication information to the relay device through the communication module, where the first indication information is used to indicate to forward a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein, the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device.

12. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that, The multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to the multiple beam sets of the relay device one by one, and each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a beam set and an identifier of a forwarding resource.

13. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first indication information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource in the first forwarding resource configuration information or an identifier of a beam set in the first forwarding resource configuration information.

14. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that, Each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set, the one forwarding resource set corresponds to at least one beam set of the relay device, and multiple forwarding resources in the one forwarding resource set correspond to multiple beams included in each beam set in the at least one beam set one by one.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that, The first indication information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set in the first forwarding resource configuration information and identifiers of at least one beam set; wherein, the first forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to the at least one beam set.

16. The device according to any one of claims 11-15, characterized in that, The time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different, and / or, the frequency domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different.

17. The device according to any one of claims 11-16, characterized in that, The time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are the same, the subbands corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different, and each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a subband.

18. The device according to any one of claims 11-17, characterized in that, The communication module is further configured to: Receive beam configuration information from a third-party network element; wherein, the beam configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: Identifiers of each beam set included in the relay device; Identifiers of each beam included in each beam set; Identifiers of the quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam.

19. The device according to any one of claims 11-18, characterized in that, The processing module is further configured to: Determine the forwarding priorities corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information according to the forwarding resource types corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes: A processor, which is configured to execute a computer program or instructions in a memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-9.

21. A communication system, characterized in that, Comprising a communication device according to any one of claims 10 and 12-19, and a communication device according to any one of claims 11-19.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Instructions are stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-9.

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