Identifying active and passive entities in wireless communication system using zaudoff-chu sequences

Abstract

The present disclosure proposes various entities in a wireless communication system, in particular, a transmitting entity, a digital controllable scattering (DCS) entity, a receiving entity, and a control entity. The receiving entity may identify the transmitting entity and the DCS entity that contribute in received signals received by the receiving entity over one or more direct links and / or one or more indirect links by transmitting or scattering signals, respectively. The identification by the receiving entity is possible due to the use of Zaudoff-Chu (Zadoff-Chu, ZC) identification that determines a ZC sequence, a unique ZC identification is used at the transmitting entity to transmit a signal, and a unique ZC identification is used at the DCS entity to scatter an incident signal.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication in a wireless communication system. The present disclosure provides a transmitting entity, a digitally controllable scattering (DCS) entity, a receiving entity and a controlling entity for a wireless communication system. A DCS can also be referred to as a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS), a large intelligent surface (LIS) or an intelligent repeater. The wireless communication system can comprise a plurality of the above-mentioned entities. The receiving entity can identify which of one or more transmitting entities and one or more DCS entities in the wireless communication system contributed to a received signal received at the receiving entity. The receiving entity can also identify through which direct and indirect links the signals contributing to the received signal propagated. The identification is possible due to the use of unique Zadoff-Chu (ZC) identities at the transmitting entity, the DCS entity and the receiving entity, respectively. BACKGROUND

[0002] For example, in a fourth generation (4G) or fifth generation (5G) wireless communication system, conventional synchronization techniques using a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) consider the identification of a direct link between a transmitting entity and a receiving entity, respectively. However, these techniques do not consider the identification of indirect links, i.e. links including scattering at one or more DCS entities, which contribute to a received signal at the receiving entity. In other words, only the contribution of the transmitting entity to the received signal can be identified by the receiving entity, while the contribution of the DCS entity cannot be identified. SUMMARY

[0003] The present disclosure and its solutions are further based on the following considerations.

[0004] An exemplary conventional synchronization technique in a 4G system uses ZC sequences with an identity a prime number length The k-th sample of a ZC sequence can be expressed as

[0005] ​

[0006] The ZC identifier is assigned to each transmitting entity, such as to each base station (BS), so that each BS transmits a different ZC-based signal (referred to as "ZC signal") during synchronization, as described below.

[0007] (1) For orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) waveforms:

[0008] a. The sending entity transmits the conjugate of the created ZC sequence. Mapped to the following The length of the inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) input is used to construct OFDM symbols:

[0009]

[0010] b. Has an identifier The conjugate IDFT transform of the ZC sequence generates another one with a new identifier. The frequency-shifted ZC sequence can be written after the following operations:

[0011]

[0012] in It is 2 modulo Multiplicative inverse, yes Mold taking The multiplicative inverse. This means that, with the identifier... The OFDM signal of the ZC sequence is another one with roots The ZC sequence has a frequency shift of , scale to .

[0013] (2) For cyclic prefix (CP) OFDM waveforms:

[0014] a. The sending entity maps the conjugate of the created ZC sequence to the following... Length IDFT input, to construct CP-OFDM symbols:

[0015]

[0016] The CP part indicates the last OFDM symbol. Each sample is copied to the beginning of the OFDM symbol. Therefore, it has an identifier. of The CP-OFDM symbol of a ZC sequence will generate a new ZC sequence with the identity which is scaled and frequency-offset in the following way:

[0017]

[0018] As a result of the above signal design at the BS, the signal received at the receiving entity (e.g. an end-user mobile or terminal device) from each transmitting entity (e.g. a BS) is based on a ZC sequence. By decorrelating based on the known used ZC sequence, the receiving entity can identify the transmitting entity that contributes most energy to the signal it receives.

[0019] However, this approach (where ZC sequences are only assigned to transmitting entities and not to DCS entities) does not support the receiving entity to identify the DCS nodes that contribute to the indirect link.

[0020] Furthermore, the conventional approach does not take into account the guarantee of orthogonality of the signal after multiple DCS reflections (a DCS reflection is a signal scattering at a DCS entity). When the signal is scattered by multiple DCS entities when transmitted from a transmitting entity to a receiving entity, the signal experiences multiple DCS reflections. When the number of contributing DCS entities is more than one, the conventional approach cannot be used to identify the DCS entities that contribute to the creation of the link from the transmitting entity to the receiving entity.

[0021] In view of the above, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a receiving entity with the ability to identify the different direct and indirect links that the signal transmitted by at least one transmitting entity experiences before reaching the receiving entity. It is also an object to identify one or more transmitting entities and zero, one or more DCS entities that contribute to the received signal at the receiving entity. It is a further object to use the knowledge about the above identification in post-processing at the receiving entity to obtain the Timing Advance (TA) and the signal to interference and / or noise ratio (SINR) of each of the identified links and / or to perform positioning of the receiving entity.

[0022] These and other objects are achieved by the approach of the present disclosure described in the independent claims. Advantageous implementations are further defined in the dependent claims.

[0023] A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a control entity for a wireless communication system, the control entity configured to: obtain a first set of Zadoff-Chu (ZC) identities, the ZC identities of the first set designed to be individually assigned to one or more transmitting entities in the wireless communication system; obtain a second set of ZC identities, the ZC identities of the second set designed to be individually assigned to one or more digitally controllable scattering (DCS) entities in the wireless communication system; obtain a third set of ZC identities, each ZC identity of the third set associated with a direct link different from direct links associated with other ZC identities of the third set, the direct link being a link from one of the one or more transmitting entities to a receiving entity in the wireless communication system; obtain a fourth set of ZC identities, each ZC identity of the fourth set associated with an indirect link different from indirect links associated with other ZC identities of the fourth set, the indirect link being a link from one of the one or more transmitting entities to the receiving entity through at least one of the one or more DCS entities; the ZC identities of the third set associated with the ZC identities of the first set according to a one-to-one correspondence function; each ZC identity used to determine a unique ZC sequence; the third set and the fourth set having no common ZC identity.

[0024] The sets of ZC identities obtained by the control entity of the first aspect can be used at the one or more transmitting entities for transmitting signals, at the one or more DCS entities for scattering incident signals, and at the receiving entity for performing identifications, respectively. For example, for identifying different direct links and indirect links experienced by one or more transmission signals transmitted by the one or more transmitting entities before reaching the receiving entity in a received signal. For another example, for identifying which transmitting entity transmitted a transmission signal and through which one or more of the zero or more DCS entities the one or more transmission signals were scattered before reaching the receiving entity.

[0025] In an implementation form of the first aspect, the control entity is configured to: obtain one or more subsets of ZC identities, the union of the subsets being a subset of the fourth set; the ZC identities of a respective subset associated with an indirect link through a respective number of the one or more DCS entities from one of the one or more transmitting entities to the receiving entity, the respective number being one or more and different for the subsets.

[0026] Thus, before reaching the receiving entity, the receiving entity can determine which DCS entities scattered the transmission signal of the transmitting entity.

[0027] In an implementation form of the first aspect, the control entity is further configured to construct all of the sets of ZC-identifications.

[0028] In an implementation form of the first aspect, the control entity is further configured to transmit, to each of the one or more transmitting entities, a different ZC-identification from the first set or the third set of ZC-identifications; transmit, to each of the one or more DCS entities, a different ZC-identification from the second set of ZC-identifications.

[0029] That is, each transmitting entity can be provided by the control entity with a different ZC-identification from the first set, so that the receiving entity is able to distinguish between transmission signals from different transmitting entities.

[0030] In an implementation form of the first aspect, the control entity is further configured to transmit, to the receiving entity, the first set or the third set; transmit, to the receiving entity, the second set or the fourth set.

[0031] Thus, the receiving entity is provided with the knowledge of the ZC-identifications in these sets and can therefore use this knowledge when receiving the received signal to identify the transmitting entity and the DCS entity.

[0032] In an implementation form of the first aspect, the control entity is configured to transmit, to the receiving entity, a number of subsets and / or a number of subsets in the fourth set.

[0033] In an implementation form of the first aspect, the control entity is further configured to transmit, to the receiving entity, a ZC-sequence length, which is the same for each unique ZC-sequence.

[0034] A second aspect of the disclosure provides a DCS entity for a wireless communication system, the DCS entity configured to: scatter a signal incident to the DCS entity; the scattering of the DCS entity being based on a unique ZC-sequence determined by a ZC-identification configured to the DCS entity.

[0035] A different ZC-identification can be provided to each DCS entity in the wireless communication system, so that the receiving entity is able to distinguish between signals scattered by different DCS entities.

[0036] In an implementation form of the second aspect, the signal incident to the DCS entity comprises one or more ZC signals, the one or more ZC signals being respectively based on one or more transmission signals respectively originating from one or more transmitting entities and respectively scattered by zero or one or more other DCS entities in the wireless communication system; the one or more ZC signals comprising one or more ZC sequences.

[0037] That is, the DCS entity can scatter one or more transmission signals from one or more transmitting entities after zero, one or more DCS entities in the wireless communication system scatter the one or more transmission signals from the one or more transmitting entities, respectively.

[0038] In an implementation form of the second aspect, the DCS entity comprises a plurality of scattering elements, each scattering element having a controllable phase shift; a DCS controller configured to control the scattering of the signal incident to the DCS entity by setting a phase shift configuration for the plurality of scattering elements based on the ZC identity.

[0039] In an implementation form of the second aspect, the phase shift configuration comprises a first phase shift configuration part and a second phase shift configuration part; the DCS controller is configured to set the first phase shift configuration part as a function of the ZC identity and to set the second phase shift configuration part independently of the ZC identity.

[0040] Accordingly, the DCS entity is configured to set the first phase shift configuration part based on the ZC identity, which can result in the scattering of the incident signal based on the ZC identity.

[0041] In an implementation form of the second aspect, the DCS entity is further configured to receive signaling from a control plane entity; the signaling comprising the ZC identity.

[0042] In this way, the DCS entity can be provided with and / or configured with the ZC identity.

[0043] In an implementation form of the second aspect, the scattered signal generated by scattering the signal incident to the DCS entity is based on the one or more ZC sequences comprised by the one or more incident ZC signals and further based on the unique ZC sequence determined by the ZC identity configured to the DCS entity, the ZC identity being comprised in the second set.

[0044] Thus, the receiving entity can identify from which one or more of the one or more transmitting entities the scattered signal originates and by which one or more DCS entities the scattered before reaching the receiving entity.

[0045] A third aspect of the present disclosure provides a receiving entity for a wireless communication system, the receiving entity configured to: obtain a received signal comprising one or more ZC signals, the one or more ZC signals respectively based on one or more transmission signals respectively originating from one or more transmitting entities and respectively scattered by zero or one or more DCS entities in the wireless communication system; process the received signal based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences respectively determined by a plurality of ZC identifiers, the receiving entity configured with the plurality of ZC identifiers, e.g., the receiving entity provided with the plurality of ZC identifiers; and determine, based on a result of the processing, one or more ZC sequences on which the one or more ZC signals in the received signal are based.

[0046] The receiving entity can identify in the received signal different direct links and indirect links experienced by one or more transmission signals transmitted by the one or more transmitting entities before reaching the receiving entity. The receiving entity can also identify which one or more of the one or more transmitting entities transmitted the transmission signals and by which one or more of the zero or one or more DCS entities the transmission signals were scattered before reaching the receiving entity by using the ZC identifiers provided thereto.

[0047] In an implementation form of the third aspect, to process the received signal, the receiving entity is configured to: correlate the received signal with each of a plurality of correlation signals, each correlation signal based on one of the unique ZC sequences determined by one of the ZC identifiers, the receiving entity configured with the ZC identifiers, e.g., the receiving entity provided with the plurality of ZC identifiers.

[0048] The above illustrates how the receiving entity efficiently identifies the one or more ZC signals in the received signal.

[0049] In an implementation form of the third aspect, the receiving entity is further configured to, for each of the determined one or more ZC sequences, determine, based on the one or more ZC identifiers associated with the determined one or more ZC sequences, the transmitting entity from which the determined ZC sequence originates and / or the zero or one or more DCS entities through which the determined ZC sequence propagates.

[0050] Thus, for each ZC signal, the receiving entity can identify the source transmitting entity and the zero or one or more DCS entities forming the link from the source transmitting entity to the receiving entity.

[0051] In an implementation form of the third aspect, the receiving entity is further configured to generate the plurality of correlation signals based on the plurality of ZC identifications.

[0052] In an implementation form of the third aspect, the plurality of ZC identifications the receiving entity is configured with comprises: a first set of ZC identifications, one of the ZC identifications of the first set is configured to each of the one or more transmitting entities; and / or a second set of ZC identifications, one of the ZC identifications of the second set is configured to each of the one or more DCS entities; and / or the plurality of ZC identifications the receiving entity is configured with comprises: a third set of ZC identifications, each direct link from one of the one or more transmitting entities to the receiving entity is associated with one ZC identification of the third set; and / or a fourth set of ZC identifications, each indirect link from one of the one or more transmitting entities to the receiving entity via at least one of the one or more DCS entities is associated with one ZC identification of the fourth set.

[0053] In an implementation form of the third aspect, the receiving entity is further configured to receive signaling from a control entity of the wireless communication system; the signaling comprises the first set or the third set; the signaling comprises the second set or the fourth set.

[0054] In this way, the receiving entity can be provided with and / or configured using the ZC identifications of the respective set.

[0055] In an implementation form of the third aspect, the receiving entity is further configured to determine a Timing Advance (TA) based on: the determined one or more ZC sequences the one or more ZC signals in the received signal are based on; or information about which one or ones of the one or more transmission signals of the one or more transmitting entities the one or more ZC signals in the received signal are based on, and the one or more transmission signals are scattered by the zero or one or more DCS entities, respectively.

[0056] In an implementation form of the third aspect, the receiving entity is further configured to determine a TA for each link of one or more direct links and / or one or more indirect links from one of the one or more transmitting entities to the receiving entity, and to generate a one-to-one relationship between the one or more time advance and the one or more links.

[0057] The receiving entity can obtain the TA, and can also obtain the SINR of each identified link, and can perform a positioning procedure based on the above information.

[0058] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a wireless communication system comprising at least a transmitting entity, a receiving entity and a DCS entity; the transmitting entity is configured with a first ZC identity; the DCS entity is configured with a second ZC identity; the receiving entity is provided with a plurality of ZC identities; the transmitting entity is configured to generate a signal based on the first ZC identity, the signal being based on a ZC sequence determined by the first ZC identity; the DCS entity is configured to scatter an incident signal based on the second ZC identity, the incident signal comprising the signal generated by the transmitting entity based on the first ZC identity, and the scattered signal comprising a signal having a unique ZC sequence based on the first ZC identity and the second ZC identity; the receiving entity is configured to process the receiving signal based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences determined by the plurality of ZC identities, the receiving entity being provided with the plurality of ZC identities; the receiving entity is configured to determine, for each ZC sequence identified by the processing, that the identified ZC sequence is based on the first ZC identity or based on the first ZC identity and the second ZC identity.

[0059] In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the wireless communication system further comprises a control entity; the control entity is configured to provide the first ZC identity to the transmitting entity, to provide the second ZC identity to the DCS entity, and to provide the plurality of ZC identities to the receiving entity.

[0060] The wireless communication system can incorporate the advantages of the above-mentioned control entity of the first aspect, the DCS entity of the second aspect and the receiving entity of the third aspect.

[0061] A fifth aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for a wireless communication system, the method is performed by a control entity, and comprises: obtaining a first set of Zadoff-Chu (ZC) identities, the ZC identities of the first set being designed to be individually assigned to one or more transmitting entities in the wireless communication system; obtaining a second set of ZC identities, the ZC identities of the second set being designed to be individually assigned to one or more digitally controllable scattering (DCS) entities in the wireless communication system; obtaining a third set of ZC identities, each ZC identity of the third set being associated with a direct link different from direct links associated with other ZC identities of the third set, the direct link being a link from one transmitting entity of the one or more transmitting entities to a receiving entity in the wireless communication system; obtaining a fourth set of ZC identities, each ZC identity of the fourth set being associated with an indirect link different from indirect links associated with other ZC entities of the fourth set, the indirect link being a link from one transmitting entity of the one or more transmitting entities to the receiving entity through at least one DCS entity of the one or more DCS entities; the ZC identities of the third set being associated with the ZC identities of the first set according to a one-to-one correspondence function; each ZC identity being used to determine a unique ZC sequence; the third set and the fourth set having no common ZC identity.

[0062] The method of the fifth aspect can have other implementation manners corresponding to the implementation manners of the control entity of the first aspect respectively. The method of the fifth aspect and the implementation manners thereof achieve the same advantages of the control entity of the first aspect and the implementation manners thereof.

[0063] A sixth aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for a wireless communication system, the method is performed by a DCS entity, and comprises: scattering a signal incident to the DCS entity; the scattering being based on a unique ZC sequence determined by a ZC identity configured by the DCS entity.

[0064] The method of the sixth aspect can have other implementation manners corresponding to the implementation manners of the DCS entity of the second aspect respectively. The method of the sixth aspect and the implementation manners thereof achieve the same advantages of the DCS entity of the second aspect and the implementation manners thereof.

[0065] The seventh aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for a wireless communication system, the method is performed by a receiving entity, and comprises: obtaining a received signal comprising one or more ZC signals, the one or more ZC signals are respectively based on one or more transmission signals respectively originating from one or more transmitting entities and respectively scattered by zero or one or more DCS entities in the wireless communication system (i.e., in a propagation environment); processing the received signal based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences respectively determined by a plurality of ZC identities, the plurality of ZC identities are used to configure the receiving entity; determining one or more ZC sequences based on which the one or more ZC signals in the received signal are based on, based on a result of the processing.

[0066] The method of the seventh aspect can have other implementation manners respectively corresponding to the various implementation manners of the receiving entity of the third aspect. The method of the seventh aspect and the implementation manners thereof achieve the same advantages of the receiving entity of the third aspect and the implementation manners thereof.

[0067] The eighth aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for a wireless communication system, the wireless communication system at least comprising a transmitting entity, a receiving entity and a DCS entity; the transmitting entity is provided with a first ZC identity; the DCS entity is provided with a second ZC identity; the receiving entity is provided with a plurality of ZC identities; the method comprises: the transmitting entity generates a signal based on the first ZC identity, the signal is based on a unique ZC sequence determined by the first ZC identity; the DCS entity scatters an incident signal based on the second ZC identity, the incident signal comprises the signal generated by the transmitting entity based on the first ZC identity, and the scattered signal comprises a signal having a unique ZC sequence based on the first ZC identity and the second ZC identity; the receiving entity receives the signal generated by the transmitting entity and the scattered signal of the DCS entity as a received signal; the receiving entity processes the received signal based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences determined by the plurality of ZC identities, the receiving entity is provided with the plurality of ZC identities; the receiving entity determines, for each ZC sequence identified by the processing, that the identified ZC sequence is based on the first ZC identity or based on the first ZC identity and the second ZC identity.

[0068] The method of the eighth aspect can have other implementation manners respectively corresponding to the implementation manners of the wireless communication system of the fourth aspect. The method of the eighth aspect and the implementation manners thereof achieve the same advantages of the wireless communication system of the fourth aspect and the implementation manners thereof.

[0069] The ninth aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method according to any one of the fifth aspect to the eighth aspect.

[0070] In summary of the aspects and implementations described above, the present disclosure provides a receiving entity with the ability to identify the direct and indirect links (backscattered by one or more DCS entities) experienced by a transmission signal of a transmitting entity before reaching the receiving entity. The present disclosure is based on designing and assigning ZC identities among the transmitting entities, the DCS entities and the receiving entity to guarantee a unique ZC identity per transmitting entity and DCS entity and / or per considered direct and indirect link. This identification capability at the receiving entity can be used for different purposes and applications, e.g. measurements and positioning related to different reception paths (e.g. TA, SINR).

[0071] The approach of the present disclosure uses a distribution of ZC identities in the signal transmission at the transmitting entities and the DCS scattering, which enables to identify the contribution of the indirect link in case the indirect link is generated by more than one DCS entity (scattering) reflection.

[0072] The approach of the present disclosure is applicable to scenarios where there are multiple transmitting entities and multiple DCS entities in the propagation environment and / or wireless communication system, where the transmitted signal can go through different direct and indirect links to reach the receiving entity.

[0073] A direct link can be defined as the trajectory experienced by a transmission signal emitted from a transmitting entity to reach the end user without being reflected by any DCS entity. An indirect or backscattering link can be defined as the trajectory or trajectories experienced by a transmission signal emitted from a transmitting entity to reach the receiving entity after being reflected (scattered) by one or more DCS entities.

[0074] A DCS entity can comprise M scattering elements, each having a controllable phase shift. Since the scattering elements do not have to be connected to an RF chain, the DCS entity can be considered as a passive node, but the present disclosure does not make a specific limitation in this regard. This is in contrast to a transmitting entity, which can have an active RF chain and is therefore considered as an active node in the present disclosure.

[0075] It is noted that all devices, elements, units and means described in the present application can be implemented in software or hardware elements or any type of combination thereof. All steps described in the present application performed by the various entities as well as the functions described to be performed by the various entities are intended to mean that the respective entity is adapted to perform the respective steps and functions.

[0076] Although in the following description of specific embodiments, specific functions or steps performed by external entities are not reflected in the description of specific detailed elements of the entities performing the specific steps or functions, it will be clear to the skilled in the art that these methods and functions can be implemented by respective software or hardware elements or any combination thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0077] The foregoing aspects and implementations thereof can be better understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0078] Figure 1 A wireless communication system including a control entity according to the present disclosure is shown;

[0079] Figure 2 (a) in FIG. 1 shows a DCS entity according to the present disclosure; Figure 2 (b) in FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system including a receiving entity according to the present disclosure;

[0080] Figure 3 An exemplary allocation of ZC identities in a wireless communication system according to the present disclosure is shown;

[0081] Figure 4 A link between a transmitting entity, a DCS entity, and a receiving entity in a wireless communication system according to the present disclosure is shown;

[0082] Figure 5 An exemplary flowchart of a dynamic ZC identity set construction procedure is shown;

[0083] Figure 6 An example of a wireless communication system according to the present disclosure is shown;

[0084] Figure 7 A method for a control entity according to the present disclosure is shown;

[0085] Figure 8 A method for a DCS entity according to the present disclosure is shown;

[0086] Figure 9 A method for a receiving entity according to the present disclosure is shown;

[0087] Figure 10 A method for a wireless communication system according to the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] Figure 1A wireless communication system 100 according to the present disclosure is shown. As illustrated, the wireless communication system 100 comprises at least a control entity 110, a transmitting entity 120, a DCS entity 130 and a receiving entity 140. It should be noted that the wireless communication system 100 can comprise more than one transmitting entity 120, more than one DCS entity 130 and more than one receiving entity 140. The wireless communication system 100 can be a wireless network, e.g. a cellular network like a 4G or 5G network, a Wi-Fi network or an AdHoc network. The one or more transmitting entities 120 can be network devices like communication nodes or BSs, etc. The one or more receiving entities 140 can be communication nodes or end-user devices like mobile phones, terminal devices or other user equipment (UEs).

[0089] The control entity 110 is configured to obtain at least one of a first set 111 of ZC-identifications, a second set 112 of ZC-identifications, a third set 113 of ZC-identifications and a fourth set 114 of ZC-identifications. For example, the control entity 100 can be configured to design and / or build the first, second, third and fourth sets of ZC-identifications. Each ZC-identification of any of the sets 111, 112, 113, 114 is configured to determine a unique ZC-sequence. The ZC-identifications of the third set 113 are associated with the ZC-identifications of the first set 111 according to a one-to-one correspondence, and the third set 113 and the fourth set 114 have no common ZC-identifications.

[0090] The ZC-identifications of the first set 111 are obtained and designed to be provided individually to the one or more transmitting entities 120 in the wireless communication system 100, while the ZC-identifications of the second set 112 are obtained and designed to be provided individually to the one or more DCS entities 130 in the wireless communication system 100. For example, the control entity 100 can be configured to provide signaling 117 to the transmitting entity 120 in order to transmit one ZC-identification 123 from the first set 111 to the transmitting entity 120, or in general different ZC-identifications from the first set 111 to each of the one or more transmitting entities 120 in the wireless communication system 100. Alternatively, the control entity 110 can transmit the third set 113 instead of the first set 111 to the transmitting entity 120. For another example, the control entity 100 can be configured to provide signaling 115 to the DCS entity 130 in order to transmit one ZC-identification 202 from the second set 112 to the DCS entity 130, or in general different ZC-identifications from the second set 112 to each of the one or more DCS entities 130 in the wireless communication system 100. However, the transmitting entity 120 and the DCS entity 130 can also obtain the respective ZC-identifications in a different way, e.g. by configuration.

[0091] Each ZC identification of the third set 113 is associated with a direct link 121 different from the direct links associated with the other ZC identifications of the third set 113, the direct link being a link from one of the one or more transmitting entities 120 to the receiving entity 140 in the wireless communication system 100. For example, Figure 1 A direct link 121 between the illustrated transmitting entity 120 and the receiving entity 140 can exist and can be associated with one of the ZC identifications from the third set 113. Each ZC identification of the fourth set 114 is associated with an indirect link 122 different from the indirect links associated with the other ZC identifications of the fourth set 114, the indirect link being a link from one of the one or more transmitting entities 120 to the receiving entity 140 through at least one of the one or more DCS entities 130. For example, an indirect link 122 between the illustrated DCS entity 130 and the receiving entity 140 can exist and can be associated with one of the ZC identifications from the fourth set 114. Figure 1 The illustrated DCS entity 130 can be a DCS entity 130 of the wireless communication system 100. The DCS entity 130 can be configured with a ZC identification 202 from the fourth set 114. The DCS entity 130 can be configured to scatter an incident signal 201 based on a unique ZC sequence determined by the ZC identification 202. The DCS entity 130 can be configured to provide a scattered signal 201s to the receiving entity 140. The scattered signal 201s can be a signal 122 of the wireless communication system 100.

[0092] Figure 2 The DCS entity 130 of (a) in FIG. 1 is shown in more detail in FIG. 2 according to the present disclosure. The DCS entity 130 is generally configured to scatter an incident signal 201. If the DCS entity 130 is a DCS entity 130 of the wireless communication system 100, the incident signal 201 can be a transmission signal 204 of a transmitting entity 120. However, Figure 1 If the DCS entity 130 is a DCS entity 130 of the wireless communication system 100, the incident signal 201 can be a transmission signal 204 of a transmitting entity 120. However, Figure 2 The DCS entity 130 of (a) in FIG. 1 can also be another DCS entity 130 in the wireless communication system 100, and the incident signal 201 can come from another DCS entity 130 in the wireless communication system 100. After scattering, the signal 201 is denoted as a scattered signal 201s. The signal 201 and the scattered signal 201s can be respectively Figure 2 The signal 201 and the scattered signal 201s can be respectively Figure 1 The signal 122 in FIG. 1.

[0093] The DCS entity 130 is configured to scatter the incident signal 201 based on a unique ZC sequence determined by a ZC identification 202 configured to the DCS entity 130. This will generate the scattered signal 201s. For example, the DCS entity can have received a signaling 115 from the control entity 110, the signaling 115 including the ZC identification 202.

[0094] Figure 2 (b) 140 shows the receiving entity 140 according to this disclosure in more detail. The receiving entity 140 may be... Figure 1 The receiving entity is shown. Receiving entity 140 is used to acquire received signal 205, which includes one or more ZC signals 203, 204, and 207. The ZC signals are respectively based on signals originating from one or more transmitting entities 120 (…). Figure 2 One or more transmitted signals 204, 207 of the two transmitting entities 120 in (b) are scattered by zero or one or more DCS entities 130 in the wireless communication system 100 (in Figure 2 In (b) of the diagram, a DCS entity 130 scatters the transmission signal 204 of one of the two transmitting entities 120. That is, transmission signals 204 and 207 are ZC signals because they are transmitted based on corresponding unique ZC identifiers at the transmitting entity 120. The scattered signal 203 based on transmission signal 204 is also a ZC signal (because it is scattered based on the unique ZC identifier 202 configured at the DCS entity 130). That is, transmission signal 204 can be received by the receiving entity 140 as scattered signal 203. Furthermore, transmission signal 204 can be received by the receiving entity 140 without being scattered at the DCS entity 130. The other transmission signal 207 can be received by the receiving entity 140 from the other transmitting entity 120, as... Figure 2 As shown in (b) of the diagram.

[0095] In any case, receiving entity 140 is used to process received signal 205 based on multiple unique ZC sequences determined by multiple ZC identifiers 206, each of which is provided with multiple ZC identifiers (e.g., ZC identifiers of a third set 113 and a fourth set 114, or ZC identifiers of a first set 111 and a second set 112). Receiving entity 140 is also used to determine, based on the processing results, one or more ZC sequences on which one or more ZC signals 203, 204, 207 in received signal 205 are based.

[0096] Figure 1 The wireless communication system 100 may include Figure 2 Sending entity 120 in (b) Figure 2 The DCS entity in (a) and Figure 2 At least one of the receiving entities 140 in (b) of the above. Figure 1 As shown, the sending entity 120 may be provided with or configured with a ZC identifier 123, the DCS entity 130 may be provided with or configured with a ZC identifier 202, and the receiving entity 140 may be provided with or configured with multiple ZC identifiers 206.

[0097] The transmitting entity 120 is configured to generate a transmission signal 204 based on the first ZC identification 123, in particular, the transmission signal 204 is based on a unique ZC sequence determined by the ZC identification 123. The DCS entity 130 is configured to scatter an incident signal based on the ZC identification 202, the incident signal comprising the transmission signal 204 generated by the transmitting entity 120. The scattering is based on the ZC identification 202. Thus, the scattered signal 203 comprises a signal having a unique ZC sequence based on the ZC identification 123 and the ZC identification 202. The receiving entity 140 is configured to receive the transmission signal 204 generated by the transmitting entity 120 via the direct link 121 when a gain of the direct link 121 is greater than a certain threshold, and to receive the scattered signal 203 of the DCS entity 130 via the indirect link 122 when a gain of the indirect link 122 is greater than a certain threshold, the two signals together constituting a received signal 205.

[0098] Then, the receiving entity 140 is configured to process the received signal 205 based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences determined by a plurality of ZC identifications 206, and for each ZC sequence identified by the processing, to determine whether the identified ZC sequence is based on the ZC identification 123 or on the ZC identification 123 and the ZC identification 202. In this way, the receiving entity 140 can identify the entity 120 participating in the signal transmission and the DCS entity 130 participating in the signal scattering, and / or the link via which the transmission signal is received, including links with zero, one or multiple reflections.

[0099] Entities 120, 130, and 140 may each include a processor or processing circuitry (not shown) for performing, conducting, or initiating various operations of the respective entities 120, 130, and 140 described herein. The processing circuitry may include hardware and / or may be software-controlled. The hardware may include analog or digital circuitry, or both. The digital circuitry may include components such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or multi-purpose processors. Entities 120, 130, and 140 may also include memory circuitry for storing one or more instructions that can be executed by the processor or processing circuitry (specifically, under software control). For example, the memory circuitry may include a non-transitory storage medium storing executable software code that, when executed by the processor or processing circuitry, causes the respective entities 120, 130, and 140 to perform various operations. In one embodiment, the processing circuitry system includes one or more processors and non-transitory memory connected to the one or more processors. Non-transient memory may carry executable program code that, when executed by one or more processors, causes the corresponding entities 120, 130, 140 to perform, conduct, or initiate the operations or methods described herein.

[0100] Figure 3 It shows the basis Figure 1 The wireless communication system 100 shown is an example of a wireless communication system 100. Identical elements are labeled with the same reference numerals and can serve a similar purpose. Figure 3 In this context, the control unit 110 is referred to as the "ZC distributor," the transmitting entity 120 as the "i-th transmitter," the DCS entity 130 as the "j-th DCS," and the receiving entity 140 as the "receiver." Specifically, Figure 3 The following steps, which can be implemented in the wireless communication system 100, are visualized.

[0101] The first step involves control entity 110. Control entity 110 can design and assign ZC identifier sets 111, 112, 113, 114 and parameters. In this first step, the following items can be jointly determined by control entity 110:

[0102] ● The length of one or more ZC sequences.

[0103] ● : Can be assigned to direct link 121 a set of ZC-identifiers (third set 113). This can be equivalent to designing a set (first set 111) comprising ZC-identifiers that can be assigned to the transmitting entity 120. This equivalence is achieved due to the one-to-one relationship between and .

[0104] • : specifies ZC-identifiers (of the second set 112) that can be assigned to the DCS entity 130.

[0105] • : specifies ZC-identifiers (subset of the fourth set 114) that can be assigned to the indirect link 122 with DCS reflections.

[0106] • : specifies ZC-identifiers (of the fourth set 114) that can be assigned to the entire indirect link 122, where

[0107] Equation 1

[0108] Thus, the parameter represents the maximum number of DCS reflections that the indirect link 122 can comprise while still being uniquely identifiable.

[0109] The second step involves the transmitting entity 120 for generating a ZC-sequence based on its ZC-identifier and transmitting the corresponding one or more modulation symbols as a transmission signal.

[0110] The third step involves the DCS entity 130 and the design of the DCS phase configuration vector of the scattering elements of the DCS entity 130, where

[0111]

[0112] This vector corresponds to a phase shift configuration comprising two phase shift configuration parts. The first part is called the DCS common phasor . Based on the assigned ZC-identifier, it is designed to transform the ZC-based incoming signal into another ZC-sequence with a new identifier so that it can be identified by the receiving entity 140. The second part is called the DCS element-specific phasor , which is a free degree of freedom available that can be used to achieve different goals.

[0113] The fourth step involves the receiving entity 140, e.g. an end-user device, which can make the overall received signal 205 identifiable with the corresponding The pre-generated correlation signals of all ZC sequences in are correlated in order to identify the existing direct links 121 and indirect links 122. The detected peaks can be post-processed by one or more different post-processing procedures depending on the desired target and / or application, e.g. measurements (e.g. TA, SINR) and positioning.

[0114] The proposed scheme of the present disclosure can solve the following problem: for each of the multiple receive links 121, 122 perceived by any one of the multiple receive entities 140, identify all active transmit entities 120 and passive DCS entities 130 participating as contributors to create the path defining the link 121, 122. The links 121, 122 can be represented by the sequence of their active contributors (transmit entities 120) or active and passive contributors (transmit entities 120 and DCS entities 130). There can be several representations in the links 121, 122, which correspond to different orders of the sequence, i.e. reflections at the DCS entities 130, where the sequence here is the sequence of their active contributors or active and passive contributors.

[0115] The scheme of the present disclosure comprises a joint design of one or more transmit signals 204, 207 based on ZC sequences and DCS common phasors. The transmit signals 204, 207 transmitted by each transmit entity 120 are based on ZC sequences, and the DCS common phasors of each DCS entity 130 are also based on ZC sequences, such that when the transmit signals 204, 207 are scattered by the DCS entities 130, the resulting scattered signals 203 are also ZC-based signals (ZC signals). The constructed ZC sequences can be based on a hierarchical ZC sequence design, such that each considered direct link 121 and indirect link 122 has a unique ZC identification.

[0116] The ZC sequences are designed by a control entity 110 (e.g. a physical or logical entity, and / or a localized or distributed entity).

[0117] At the receive entity 140, the received signals 205 can be processed to extract the ZC identifications of the existing direct links 121 and indirect links 122. The identified links 121, 122 can be optionally further post-processed for different applications (e.g. TA estimation, etc.).

[0118] The construction of the ZC sequences can be acquired by prior information, which can be fixed or learned. The process of ZC sequence construction can also be dynamic.

[0119] Advantages of the approach of the present disclosure include the ability of the receiving entity 140 to identify surrounding active transmitting entities 120 and passive DCS entities 130. In addition, the ability of the receiving entity 140 to track and / or map transmitted signal trajectories. Furthermore, the approach enables to maintain the orthogonality of two or more transmitted signals, even after these transmitted signals experience one or more DCS reflections, e.g., the respective scattered signals have zero or low correlation between each other. The approach enables a systematic code construction approach, which is easy to extend. In addition, post-processing for deriving SINR and / or TA estimates is supported.

[0120] Figure 4 An example of a wireless communication system 100 is shown, in which different direct links 121 and indirect links 122 are formed between a transmitting entity 120 ("TX", e.g., a BS) and a receiving entity 140 ("RX", e.g., a mobile or terminal device) through zero or one or more DCS entities 130.

[0121] It can be seen that each DCS entity 130 comprises a plurality of scattering elements, each having a controllable phase shift. Each DCS entity 130 can comprise a DCS controller for controlling scattering of a respective signal incident to the DCS entity 130 by setting a phase shift configuration for the plurality of scattering elements based on a ZC identity configured at the respective DCS entity 130. As detailed below, the phase shift configuration can comprise a first phase shift configuration part and a second phase shift configuration part. In this case, the DCS controller can be configured to set the first phase shift configuration part as a function of the ZC identity configured at the respective DCS entity 130 and to set the second phase shift configuration part independently of the ZC identity.

[0122] In the following, more details and exemplary embodiments of the above four steps are described.

[0123] In a first step, a set of ZC identities 、 may be designed, which specifies the ZC identities that can be assigned to the transmitting entity 120, the direct link 121, the DCS entity 130 and the indirect link 122, respectively. Different examples are given in the following.

[0124] In a first example, the design and assignment process is based on some common used properties and conditions, which can be listed as follows. The length of the ZC sequence is equal to the number of ZC identities shared between the direct link 121 and the backscattering link 122:

[0125] Equation 2

[0126] Different methods can be used to determine these parameters For example, based on the available ZC sequence length identified by the transmitting entity 120 and the target number of ZC identifications, it can be determined that the required length of the ZC sequence is .

[0127] In order for the backscatter link 122 and the direct link 121 to be uniquely identified, their corresponding ZC identification sets 113, 114 should not have any common elements. Therefore, the design process of the ZC identification sets 113, 114 should guarantee the following two conditions:

[0128] C. 1

[0129] C. 2

[0130] The number of identifiable indirect links 122 is related to the number of DCS entities considered and the maximum number of DCS reflections supported , where

[0131] Equation 3

[0132] The DCS reflection process is equivalent to a multiplication process in the time domain, where the time domain incident signal 201 (e.g., the transmission signal 204 based on a ZC sequence) is multiplied by the DCS time-varying phase shift configuration .

[0133] Two ZC sequences with identifications and are multiplied to obtain another ZC sequence with identification (the modulo of the identifications of the two multiplied ZC sequences, i.e., ).

[0134] For the case of , an example of the design of the identification set is provided below.

[0135] The elements of the third set 113 are designed such that the modulo distance between any two adjacent elements is the same (e.g., if = 100, choose where ). The modulo distance between two elements is defined as the number of elements located within the set 113 between the two considered elements.

[0136] The number of ZC identifications to be assigned to the DCS entities is equal to the design fixed modulus distance between any two adjacent elements of the set 113. (For example, if , then ).

[0137] the set (the second set 112) is designed to be:

[0138] i. the elements are consecutive: this means that the modulus distance between any two adjacent elements of the set is equal to zero, i.e. .

[0139] ii. the first element of the set is the same as the first element of the set (for example, if and , then .

[0140] iii. the resulting set of backscattered links is the set additive (called Minkowski addition) of and , where the resulting will satisfy condition C. 1 (for example, if , and , then .

[0141] A second example is seen in Figure 5 . This is an example of the dynamic construction process of a ZC identification set, where the exploration and development phase is used to identify the structure of the current links 121, 122 and their contribution to the optimal sequence construction. The specific process is as follows:

[0142] At 501, the process is initiated. At 502, the ZC identification for each transmitting entity 120 is set (e.g., the ZC length and code are set) and used to transmit the corresponding ZC signal. At 503, the link order (e.g., multipath profile, delay spread) is estimated for each transmitting entity ZC code observed received signal 205. At 504, the depth is set to 1, i.e. only single DCS reflections are considered. At 505, the ZC identities of the transmitting entities 120 and the DCS entity 130 are set (e.g. based on the estimated link orders to update the ZC length and code). At 506, the link orders of the received signal of each transmitting entity ZC code and each transmitting entity to one or more DCS entity ZC codes are estimated. At this point, the update request or condition set at 507 can be considered. If at least one of the estimated link orders shows a decreasing trend, the DCS reflection tree is updated, otherwise the process ends. After updating the DCS reflection tree, at 509, the depth of the DCS reflection tree is set based on the link orders estimated at 506 and the process returns to 505.

[0143] In a second step, the transmitting entity 120 constructs its assigned ZC sequence and modulates it into a baseband waveform to be transmitted later. The th sample of a ZC sequence with identity and length may be represented as follows:

[0144]

[0145] The transmitting entity 120 can use different baseband modulation techniques, if the baseband transmitted signal is able to preserve the ZC properties (i.e. a ZC sequence with some scaling factor and / or frequency shift that can be applied). Two examples of such modulation techniques that guarantee the preservation of the ZC properties of the baseband modulated ZC sequence are the OFDM waveform and the CP-OFDM waveform as described above.

[0146] The third step is the configuration of the DCS phasor, which is represented as a function of two independent phasors:

[0147]

[0148] The DCS common phasor is designed to transform the ZC-based incoming signal into another ZC sequence with a new ZC identity, so that it can be recognized by the receiving entity 140. The DCS common phasor should be configured accordingly to the transmission technique employed by the transmitting entity 120. Different configuration examples are given below, corresponding to the different transmission techniques mentioned in the third step above.

[0149] a. OFDM incoming waveform: the DCS common phasor is designed to mimic a ZC sequence with identity and length .

[0150]

[0151] b. CP-OFDM incoming waveform: the DCS common phasor is designed to mimic a ZC sequence with identity and the total length is equal to a cyclic prefix ZC sequence.

[0152]

[0153] DCS element-specific phasors can be designed to achieve different objectives, and are independent of the common phasors based on ZC sequences that are also applied by the DCS. The DCS element-specific phasors One design example of the DCS element-specific phasors is to maximize the received signal power at the end user.

[0154] In a fourth step, the receiving entity 140 correlates the entire received signal 205 with different correlation signals in order to identify the existing direct link 121 and backscatter link 122.

[0155] The correlation signals generated at the receiving entity 140 should take into account the frequency shift that the transmitted ZC sequence undergoes due to the OFDM generation process at the transmitting entity 120, and should also take into account the DCS time-varying phase vector that modifies the phase of the scattered signal (modulated phase). Thus, there are two main forms of the received ZC sequence that can be distinguished depending on whether the received ZC sequence is through the direct link 121 or the backscatter link 122.

[0156] First, the frequency-shifted ZC sequence that arrives through the direct link 121 path has the following form:

[0157] Equation 4

[0158] where .

[0159] Second, the frequency-shifted ZC sequence that arrives through the backscatter link 122 has the following form:

[0160] Equation 5

[0161] where , .

[0162] The receiving entity 140 can generate two sets of correlation signals.

[0163] First, the direct link correlation signals based on Equation (Equation 4) encompass all possible identifications . This results in correlation signals.

[0164] Second, for each , the backscatter link correlation signals based on Equation (Equation 5) encompass all possible Identifying This results in a number of correlation signals. The total number of correlation signals generated at the end user equals .

[0165] The received signal 205 at the receiving entity 140 can comprise different ZC sequences from different transmitting entities 120, which arrive after zero, one or multiple reflections at the DCS entity 130. In order to identify the received direct link 121 and backscatter link 122, the receiving entity 140 correlates the entire received signal 205 with all pre-generated correlation signals. For each correlation signal applied to the received signal 205 at the receiving 140, the output of the correlation process will achieve a power peak when the considered correlation signal matches one of the received direct or backscatter link ZC identification and frequency shift.

[0166] In order for the correlation process to work and for the receiving entity 140 to generate the required direct and backscatter link correlation signals, it is advantageous to provide the receiving entity 140 with a priori information about the set of identifications 111, 112, 113 and / or 114.

[0167] In the following, different examples are provided based on different levels of available information at the receiving entity 140.

[0168] 1. Available information:

[0169] a. Based on this knowledge, the receiving entity 140 can correctly generate direct and backscatter link correlation signals.

[0170] b. This enables the receiving entity 140 to identify the direct and backscatter links 121, 122 present within its received signal 205.

[0171] c. The receiving entity 140 will be able to distinguish between detected direct links 121 and detected backscatter links 122.

[0172] d. The receiving entity 140 cannot distinguish between backscatter links 122 with different number of DCS reflections.

[0173] 2. Available information:

[0174] a. Same as steps a, b and c of the above example.

[0175] b. knowledge of the set of parameters enables the receiving entity 140 to see how to construct This knowledge enables the receiving entity 140 to distinguish backscatter links 122 that have different numbers of DCS reflections.

[0176] Figure 6 An exemplary embodiment of a wireless communication system 100 according to this disclosure is shown. A signaling example is provided, the first... The sending entity 120 and the first Each of the 130 DCS entities was allocated and ZC identifier. Each entity uses the ZC identifier to construct its ZC sequence in a synchronous manner so as to generate a ZC-based signal with a new ZC identifier at the receiving entity 140. The receiving entity 140 can extract the ZC identifier through correlation and use it in subsequent processing.

[0177] Figure 7 A method 700 performed by a control entity 110 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Method 700 includes one or more of the steps 701, 702, 703, and 704. In step 701, a first set 111 of ZC identifiers is obtained, the ZC identifiers of the first set 111 being designed to be individually assigned to one or more transmitting entities 120 in a wireless communication system 100. In step 702, a second set 112 of ZC identifiers is obtained, the ZC identifiers of the second set 112 being designed to be individually assigned to one or more DCS entities 130 in the wireless communication system 100. In step 703, a third set 113 of ZC identifiers is obtained, each ZC identifier of the third set 113 being associated with a direct link 121 different from the direct links associated with the other ZC identifiers of the third set 113, the direct link being a link in the wireless communication system 100 from one of the one or more transmitting entities 120 to a receiving entity 140. In step 704, a fourth set 114 of ZC identifiers is obtained. Each ZC identifier in the fourth set 114 is associated with an indirect link 122 that is different from the indirect links associated with other ZC entities in the fourth set 114. The indirect links are links from one of the sending entities 120 to the receiving entity 140 via at least one of the DCS entities 130. The ZC identifiers of the third set 113 are associated with the ZC identifiers of the first set 111 according to a one-to-one correspondence function. For example, the ZC identifiers of the first set 111 may be the respective inverses of the ZC identifiers of the third set 113. Each ZC identifier is used to determine a unique ZC sequence, that is, two ZC identifiers associated with two different ZC sequences. The third set 113 and the fourth set 114 do not have any common ZC identifiers.

[0178] Figure 8A method 800 performed by a DCS entity 130 according to the present disclosure is shown. The method 800 comprises a step 801 of scattering a signal 201 incident to the DCS entity 130. The scattering step 801 is based on a unique ZC sequence determined by a ZC identity 202 configured to the DCS entity 130.

[0179] Figure 9 A method 900 performed by a receiving entity 140 according to the present disclosure is shown. The method 900 comprises a step 901 of obtaining a received signal 205 comprising one or more ZC signals 203, 204, 207, the one or more ZC signals being based on one or more transmission signals respectively originating from one or more transmitting entities 120 and respectively scattered by zero or one or more DCS entities 130 in the wireless communication system 100. Further, the method 900 comprises a step 902 of processing the received signal 205 based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences respectively determined by a plurality of ZC identities 206, the receiving entity 140 being configured with the plurality of ZC identities 206. Then, the method 900 comprises a step 903 of determining, based on a result of the processing, one or more ZC sequences on which the one or more ZC signals 203, 204, 207 in the received signal 205 are based.

[0180] Figure 10 A method 1000 performed by a wireless communication system 100 according to the present disclosure is shown. The wireless communication system 100 comprises at least a transmitting entity 120, a receiving entity 140 and a DCS entity 130 performing the method 1000. The transmitting entity 120 has a first ZC identity 123; the DCS entity 130 has a second ZC identity 202; and the receiving entity 140 has a plurality of ZC identities 206. The method 1000 comprises a step 1001 of the transmitting entity 120 generating a signal 204 based on the first ZC identity 123, the signal being based on a unique ZC sequence determined by the first ZC identity 123. The method 1000 further comprises a step 1002 of the DCS entity 130 scattering an incident signal 201, the incident signal 201 comprising the signal 204 generated by the transmitting entity 120 based on the first ZC identity 123, and the scattered signal 201s, 203 comprising a signal having a unique ZC sequence based on the first ZC identity 123 and the second ZC identity 202.

[0181] The method 1000 further comprises a step 1003 of receiving, by the receiving entity 140, the signal 204 generated by the transmitting entity 120 and the scattered signal 203 of the DCS entity 130 as a received signal 205. Then, the method 1000 comprises a step 1004 of processing, by the receiving entity 140, the received signal 205 based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences determined by a plurality of ZC identifications 206, the receiving entity 140 being provided with the plurality of ZC identifications. Finally, the method 1000 comprises a step 1005 of determining, by the receiving entity 140 for each ZC sequence identified by the processing, whether the identified ZC sequence is based on the first ZC identification (123) or on the first ZC identification 123 and the second ZC identification 202.

[0182] The present disclosure has been described in relation to various embodiments, which are intended to be examples and implementations. However, other variants can be understood and implemented by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed subject matter from a study of the drawings, the present disclosure, and the independent claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit can fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Claims

1. A control entity (110) for a wireless communication system (100), characterized in that, The control entity (110) is used for: Obtain a first set (111) of Zadoff-Chu (ZC) identifiers, wherein the ZC identifiers in the first set (111) are designed to be individually assigned to one or more transmitting entities (120) in the wireless communication system (100); and / or Acquire a second set (112) of ZC identifiers, wherein the ZC identifiers in the second set (112) are designed to be individually assigned to one or more digitally controllable scattering (DCS) entities (130) in the wireless communication system (100); and / or Obtain a third set (113) of ZC identifiers, each ZC identifier in the third set (113) being associated with a direct link (121) that is different from the direct links associated with the other ZC identifiers in the third set (113), the direct link being a link in the wireless communication system (100) from one of the one or more transmitting entities (120) to a receiving entity (140); and / or Obtain a fourth set (114) of ZC identifiers, each ZC identifier in the fourth set (114) being associated with an indirect link (122) that is different from the indirect link associated with the other ZC entities in the fourth set (114), the indirect link being a link from one of the one or more sending entities (120) to the receiving entity (140) through at least one of the DCS entities (130); The ZC identifier of the third set (113) is associated with the ZC identifier of the first set (111) according to a one-to-one correspondence function; Each ZC identifier is used to identify a unique ZC sequence; The third set (113) and the fourth set (114) do not share a common ZC identifier.

2. The control entity (110) according to claim 1, characterized in that, Used for: Obtain one or more subsets of ZC identifiers, the union of which is a subset of the fourth set (114); The ZC identifier of the corresponding subset is associated with an indirect link (122), which is a link from one of the one or more sending entities (120) to the receiving entity (140) through a corresponding number of the one or more DCS entities (130), the corresponding number being 1 or greater and different for the subset.

3. The control entity (110) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, It is also used to construct all the aforementioned sets of ZC identifiers (111, 112, 113, 114).

4. The control entity (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Also used for: Send (117) different ZC identifiers from the first set (111) or the third set (113) to each of the one or more sending entities (120); Send (115) different ZC identifiers of the ZC identifiers from the second set (112) to each of the one or more DCS entities (130).

5. The control entity (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Also used for: Send (116) the first set (111) or the third set (113) to the receiving entity (140). Send (116) the second set (112) or the fourth set (114) to the receiving entity (140).

6. The control entity (110) according to claim 5, characterized in that, Used for: Send (116) to the receiving entity (140) several subsets and / or the number of subsets in the fourth set (114).

7. The control entity (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Also used for: The ZC sequence length is sent to the receiving entity (140) (116), and the ZC sequence length is the same for each unique ZC sequence.

8. A DCS entity (130) for a wireless communication system (100), characterized in that, The DCS entity (130) is used for: The signals (201, 204) incident on the DCS entity (130) are scattered; The scattering of the DCS entity (130) is based on a unique ZC sequence determined by the ZC identifier (202) configured by the DCS entity (130).

9. The DCS entity (130) according to claim 8, characterized in that: The signals (201, 204) incident on the DCS entity (130) include one or more ZC signals (204), which are based on one or more transmission signals respectively originating from one or more transmitting entities (120) and respectively scattered by zero or one or more other DCS entities (130) in the wireless communication system (100); The one or more ZC signals (204) include one or more ZC sequences.

10. The DCS entity (130) according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, include: Multiple scattering elements, each with a controllable phase shift; A DCS controller is configured to control the scattering of the signal (201) incident on the DCS entity (130) by setting a phase shift configuration for the plurality of scattering elements based on the ZC identifier (202).

11. The DCS entity (130) according to claim 10, characterized in that: The phase shift configuration includes a first phase shift configuration portion and a second phase shift configuration portion; The DCS controller is configured to set the first phase shift configuration portion as a function of the ZC identifier (202), and to set the second phase shift configuration portion as independent of the ZC identifier (202).

12. The DCS entity (130) according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that, Also used for: Receive signaling (115) from the control entity (110); The signaling (115) includes the ZC identifier (202).

13. The DCS entity (130) according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that: The scattered signals (201s, 203) generated by scattering the signals (201, 204) incident to the DCS entity (130) are based on one or more ZC sequences included in the one or more incident ZC signals (201, 204), and further based on the unique ZC sequence determined by the ZC identifier (202) configured by the DCS entity (130), the ZC identifier being included in the second set (112).

14. A receiving entity (140) for a wireless communication system (100), characterized in that, The receiving entity (140) is used for: Acquire a received signal (205) comprising one or more ZC signals (203, 204, 207), the one or more ZC signals (203, 204, 207) being based on one or more transmitted signals respectively originating from one or more transmitting entities (120) and respectively scattered by zero or one or more DCS entities (130) in the wireless communication system (100); The received signal (205) is processed based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences determined by a plurality of ZC identifiers (206), and the receiving entity (140) is configured with the plurality of ZC identifiers (206). Based on the result of the processing, one or more ZC sequences on which the one or more ZC signals (203, 204, 207) in the received signal (205) are based are determined.

15. The receiving entity (140) according to claim 14, characterized in that, In order to process the received signal (205), the receiving entity (140) is used to: The received signal (205) is associated with each of a plurality of associated signals, each associated signal being based on one of the unique ZC sequences determined by one of the ZC identifiers (206), the receiving entity (140) being configured with the ZC identifiers (206).

16. The receiving device (140) according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, Also used for: For each of the determined ZC sequences, based on the one or more ZC identifiers associated with the determined ZC sequences, the sending entity (120) from which the determined ZC sequence originates and / or the zero or more DCS entities (130) through which the determined ZC sequence is propagated are determined.

17. The receiving entity (140) according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that, Also used for: The plurality of related signals are generated based on the plurality of ZC identifiers (206), and the receiving entity (140) is configured with the plurality of ZC identifiers.

18. The receiving entity (140) according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that: The plurality of ZC identifiers (206) configured in the receiving entity (140) include: A first set (111) of ZC identifiers, wherein each of the one or more sending entities (120) is configured with one of the ZC identifiers in the first set (111); and / or A second set (112) of ZC identifiers, wherein each of the one or more DCS entities (130) is configured with one of the ZC identifiers in the second set (112); and / or The plurality of ZC identifiers (206) configured in the receiving entity (140) include: A third set (113) of ZC identifiers, wherein each direct link (121) from one of the one or more sending entities (120) to the receiving entity (140) is associated with a ZC identifier of the third set (113); and / or A fourth set (114) of ZC identifiers is associated with a ZC identifier of the fourth set (114) through at least one of the one or more DCS entities (130), and through each indirect link (122) from one of the one or more sending entities (120) to the receiving entity (140).

19. The receiving entity (140) according to claim 18, characterized in that, Used for: Receive signaling (116) from the control entity (110) of the wireless communication system (100); The signaling (116) includes the first set (111) or the third set (113). The signaling (116) includes the second set (112) or the fourth set (114).

20. The receiving entity (140) according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that, It is also used to determine timing advance based on the following: The received signal (205) is based on one or more ZC signals (203, 204, 207) based on the determined one or more ZC sequences; or Information regarding which one or more ZC signals (203, 204, 207) in the received signal (205) are based on which one or more of the one or more transmission signals of the one or more transmission entities (120), and information regarding which one or more transmission signals are scattered by the zero or one or more DCS entities (130).

21. The receiving entity (140) according to claim 20, characterized in that, Also used for: Determine a timing advance for each of the one or more direct links (121) and / or one or more indirect links (122) from one of the one or more sending entities (120) to the receiving entity (140); Generate a one-to-one relationship between the one or more time advances and the one or more links (121, 122).

22. A wireless communication system (100), characterized in that, It includes at least a sending entity (120), a receiving entity (140), and a DCS entity (130). The sending entity (120) is configured with a first ZC identifier (123); The DCS entity (130) is configured with a second ZC identifier (202); The receiving entity (140) is provided with a plurality of ZC identifiers (206); The sending entity (120) is used to generate a signal (204) based on the first ZC identifier (123), the signal being based on a ZC sequence determined by the first ZC identifier (123); The DCS entity (130) is used to scatter incident signals (201, 204) based on the second ZC identifier (202), the incident signals (201, 204) including the signal (204) generated by the transmitting entity (120) based on the first ZC identifier (123), and the scattered signal (203) including a signal having a unique ZC sequence based on the first ZC identifier (123) and the second ZC identifier (202); The receiving entity (140) is used to process the received signal (205) based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences determined by the plurality of ZC identifiers (206), the receiving entity (140) being provided with the plurality of ZC identifiers (206). The receiving entity (140) is used to determine, for each ZC sequence identified by processing, the identified ZC sequence based on the first ZC identifier (123) or based on the first ZC identifier (123) and the second ZC identifier (202).

23. The wireless communication system (100) according to claim 22, characterized in that, It also includes the control entity (110); The control entity (110) is used to provide the first ZC identifier (123) to the sending entity (120), the second ZC identifier (202) to the DCS entity (130), and the plurality of ZC identifiers (206) to the receiving entity (140).

24. A method (700) for a wireless communication system (100), characterized in that, The method (700) is executed by the control entity (110) and includes: Acquire (701) a first set (111) of Zadoff-Chu (ZC) identifiers, wherein the ZC identifiers in the first set (111) are designed to be individually assigned to one or more transmitting entities (120) in the wireless communication system (100); and / or Acquire (702) a second set (112) of ZC identifiers, wherein the ZC identifiers of the second set (112) are designed to be individually assigned to one or more digitally controllable scattering (DCS) entities (130) in the wireless communication system (100); and / or Obtain (703) a third set (113) of ZC identifiers, each ZC identifier in the third set (113) being associated with a direct link (121) that is different from the direct links associated with the other ZC identifiers in the third set (113), the direct link being a link in the wireless communication system (100) from one of the one or more transmitting entities (120) to a receiving entity (140); and / or Obtain (704) a fourth set (114) of ZC identifiers, each ZC identifier in the fourth set (114) being associated with an indirect link (122) that is different from the indirect link associated with the other ZC entities in the fourth set (114), the indirect link being a link from one of the sending entities (120) to the receiving entity (140) through at least one of the DCS entities (130); The ZC identifier of the third set (113) is associated with the ZC identifier of the first set (111) according to a one-to-one correspondence function; Each ZC identifier is used to identify a unique ZC sequence; The third set (113) and the fourth set (114) do not share a common ZC identifier.

25. A method (800) for a wireless communication system (100), characterized in that, The method (800) is performed by the DCS entity (130) and includes: The signals (201, 204) incident on the DCS entity (130) are scattered (802). The scattering (802) is based on a unique ZC sequence determined by the ZC identifier (202) configured by the DCS entity (130).

26. A method (900) for a wireless communication system (100), characterized in that, The method (900) is performed by the receiving entity (140) and includes: Acquire (901) a received signal (205) comprising one or more ZC signals (203, 204, 207), the one or more ZC signals (203, 204, 207) being based on one or more transmitted signals respectively originating from one or more transmitting entities (120) and respectively scattered by zero or one or more DCS entities (130) in the wireless communication system (100); The received signal (205) is processed (902) based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences determined by a plurality of ZC identifiers (206), and the receiving entity (140) is configured with the plurality of ZC identifiers (206). Based on the result of the processing, determine (903) the one or more ZC signals (203, 204, 207) in the received signal (205) on which one or more ZC signals are based, and determine one or more of the ZC sequences.

27. A method (1000) for a wireless communication system (100), characterized in that, It includes at least a sending entity (120), a receiving entity (140), and a DCS entity (130). The sending entity (120) is provided with a first ZC identifier (123); The DCS entity (130) is provided with a second ZC identifier (202); The receiving entity (140) is provided with a plurality of ZC identifiers (206); The method (1000) includes: The sending entity (120) generates (1001) signal (204) based on the first ZC identifier (123), the signal being based on a unique ZC sequence determined by the first ZC identifier (123); The DCS entity (130) scatters (1002) incident signals (201, 204) based on the second ZC identifier (202), the incident signals (201, 204) including the signal (204) generated by the transmitting entity (120) based on the first ZC identifier (123), and the scattered signal (203) including a signal having a unique ZC sequence based on the first ZC identifier (123) and the second ZC identifier (202); The receiving entity (140) receives (1003) the signal generated by the sending entity (120) and the scattered signal (203) of the DCS entity (130) as a receiving signal (205). The receiving entity (140) processes (1004) the received signal (205) based on a plurality of unique ZC sequences determined by the plurality of ZC identifiers (206), wherein the receiving entity (140) is provided with the plurality of ZC identifiers (206). The receiving entity (140) determines (1005) for each ZC sequence identified by processing that the identified ZC sequence is based on the first ZC identifier (123) or based on the first ZC identifier (123) and the second ZC identifier (202).

28. A computer program comprising instructions, characterized in that, When the program is executed by a computer, the instructions cause the computer to perform the method (700, 800, 900, 1000) according to any one of claims 24 to 27.

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