Random access method and device, equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The invention discloses a random access method and device, equipment and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises: transmitting or receiving first information, the first information being used for indicating a correspondence relationship between at least one downlink beam reflected by a smart reflector and at least one random access resource (410). According to the method, under the condition that the intelligent reflecting surface is introduced into the communication system, the corresponding relation between the at least one downlink beam reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface and the at least one random access resource is established, so that the terminal equipment can determine the random access resource for the random access process according to the at least one downlink beam; normal execution of the random access process is ensured, and the communication stability is improved.

Description

Random access method, device, equipment and storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a random access method, apparatus, device, and storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Random access is a necessary process for establishing a wireless link between a terminal device and a network device. Only after random access is complete can data exchange between the terminal device and the network device proceed normally. Smart reflective surfaces, as low-cost reflective devices, are increasingly being used in communication systems due to their scalability and low energy consumption.

[0003] After the introduction of smart reflective surfaces in communication systems, the random access process needs further discussion and research.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a random access method, apparatus, device, and storage medium. The technical solution is as follows:

[0006] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a random access method is provided, the method being performed by a terminal device, the method including:

[0007] First information is received, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by a smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0008] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a random access method is provided. The method is performed by a smart reflecting surface, and the method includes:

[0009] Receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0010] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a random access method is provided, the method being performed by a network device, the method including:

[0011] Receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by a smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0012] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a random access apparatus is provided, the apparatus being provided in a terminal device, the apparatus comprising:

[0013] The receiving module is used to receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0014] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a random access device is provided, the device being arranged in a smart reflective surface, the device comprising:

[0015] The transceiver module is used to receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate the correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0016] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a random access apparatus is provided, the apparatus being arranged in a network device, the apparatus comprising:

[0017] The transceiver module is used to receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate the correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0018] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor executes the computer program to implement the random access method described above. Exemplarily, the communication device is a terminal device, a smart reflective surface, or a network device.

[0019] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program is stored. The computer program is configured to be executed by a processor to implement the above-mentioned random access method.

[0020] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a chip is provided, which includes a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions. When the chip is running, it is used to implement the above-mentioned random access method.

[0021] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor reads and executes the computer program from the computer-readable storage medium to implement the above-mentioned random access method.

[0022] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application may have the following beneficial effects:

[0023] When an intelligent reflecting surface is introduced into a communication system, a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface and at least one random access resource is established, so that the terminal device can determine the random access resource used for the random access process based on the at least one downlink beam, thereby ensuring the normal execution of the random access process and improving the stability of communication. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a smart reflective surface forwarding message provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a reflected beam provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] FIG4 is a flowchart of a random access method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a random access method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a random access method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a random access method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG8 is a block diagram of a random access device provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG9 is a block diagram of a random access device provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG10 is a block diagram of a random access apparatus provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of this application clearer, the implementation methods of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0037] Please refer to FIG1 , which shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture 100 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The network architecture 100 may include: a terminal device 10 , an access network device 20 , and a core network element 30 .

[0038] The terminal device 10 may refer to a UE (User Equipment), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus. In some embodiments, the terminal device 10 may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) phone, a WLL (Wireless Local Loop) station, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5GS (5th Generation System) or a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For ease of description, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as terminal devices. The number of terminal devices 10 is generally multiple, and one or more terminal devices 10 may be distributed in a cell managed by each access network device 20. The terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal or UE for short, and those skilled in the art will understand its meaning.

[0039] Access network equipment 20 is a device deployed in an access network to provide wireless communication capabilities for terminal devices 10. Access network equipment 20 may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, access points, and the like. In systems employing different wireless access technologies, the names of devices that provide access network equipment functions may vary. For example, in 5G NR systems, they are referred to as gNodeBs or gNBs. As communication technologies evolve, the term "access network equipment" may change. For ease of description, in the embodiments of this application, the aforementioned devices that provide wireless communication capabilities for terminal devices 10 are collectively referred to as access network equipment. In some embodiments, access network equipment 20 enables communication between terminal devices 10 and core network elements 30. For example, in an LTE (Long Term Evolution) system, access network equipment 20 may be an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or one or more eNodeBs within the EUTRAN. In a 5G NR system, access network equipment 20 may be a Radio Access Network (RAN) or one or more gNBs within the RAN. In the embodiment of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the "network device" refers to the access network device 20, such as a base station.

[0040] The core network element 30 is a network element deployed in the core network. The functions of the core network element 30 are mainly to provide user connection, user management, and service bearer, and to provide an interface to the external network as a bearer network. For example, the core network elements in the 5G NR system may include network elements such as the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) entity, the UPF (User Plane Function) entity, and the SMF (Session Management Function) entity.

[0041] In some embodiments, the access network device 20 and the core network element 30 communicate with each other via an air interface technology, such as the NG interface in the 5G NR system. The access network device 20 and the terminal device 10 communicate with each other via an air interface technology, such as the Uu interface.

[0042] The "5G NR system" in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a 5G system or an NR system, but those skilled in the art will understand its meaning. The technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present application may be applicable to LTE systems, 5G NR systems, and subsequent evolution systems of 5G NR systems (e.g., B5G (Beyond 5G) systems, 6G systems (6th Generation System, sixth generation mobile communication systems)), and other communication systems such as NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things) systems, which are not limited in this application.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device can provide services for a cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources) on the carrier used by the cell. The cell can be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here may include: metro cell, micro cell, pico cell, femto cell, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0044] Before introducing the technical solutions of this application, we first introduce and explain some of the relevant technical knowledge involved in this application. The following related technologies can be combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application as optional solutions, and they all fall within the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application. The embodiments of this application include at least part of the following contents.

[0045] 1. Intelligent reflective surface

[0046] IRS (Intelligent Reflecting Surface) is a revolutionary new technology that can significantly improve the performance of wireless communication networks by integrating a large number of low-cost passive reflective elements on a plane, intelligently reconfiguring the wireless propagation environment. Specifically, the different elements of the IRS can independently reflect the incident signal by controlling their amplitude and / or phase, thereby collaboratively achieving sophisticated three-dimensional (3D) passive beamforming for directional signal enhancement or nulling. In one case, the IRS reflects the incident signal, meaning that the IRS transparently forwards the incident signal without processing the incident signal. In another case, the IRS reflects the incident signal, meaning that the IRS processes the incident signal and forwards it. The IRS's processing of the incident signal can include reading, parsing, and writing the incident signal. In addition, the IRS can adjust the direction of the reflected signal by controlling the amplitude and / or phase of different elements to achieve the purpose of reflecting the signal in different directions, which is not limited to mirror reflection. The IRS can also forward the incident signal in the form of a beam. Even if the incident signal is not sent to the IRS in the form of a beam, the IRS can still forward the incident signal in the form of a beam.

[0047] In stark contrast to existing transmitter / receiver wireless link adaptation techniques, IRS actively modifies the wireless channel between them through highly controllable and intelligent signal reflection. This provides new degrees of freedom to further improve the performance of wireless links and paves the way for the realization of intelligent programmable wireless environments. By properly adjusting the 3D passive beamforming, the signal reflected by the IRS can be constructively added with the signal from other paths to enhance the desired signal power at the receiver, or destructively cancel unwanted signals such as co-channel interference. Because the IRS eliminates the use of the transmit RF (Radio Frequency) chain and operates only over a short distance, it can be densely deployed with scalable cost and low energy consumption without the need for complex interference management between passive IRSs.

[0048] As shown in Figure 2, when there is no IRS, the beam h transmitted by the transmitter is d Directly received by the receiving end; in the presence of IRS, the beam h transmitted by the transmitting end A,n Reflected by IRS as h B,n , the receiver receives h reflected by IRS B,nIn some scenarios, such as building scenarios, where the transmitter is located on the rooftop and the receiver is located on a lower floor of the building, without an IRS, signals sent directly from the transmitter to the receiver are easily affected by obstacles such as walls, resulting in poor signal quality at the receiver. However, if an IRS is installed on the wall of an adjacent building and forwards the signal transmitted by the transmitter, the number of obstacles in the signal propagation path can be effectively reduced, resulting in higher signal quality at the receiver. The IRS replaces the transmit RF chain. Since IRSs only operate over short distances, dense deployment can be used to improve the transmitter's signal coverage. If the distance between the transmitter and receiver is long, multiple IRSs can forward the beam transmitted by the transmitter, eliminating the need for the transmitter to perform complex interference management on the IRSs. However, in long distances, the transmitter needs to manage the beam transmitted by the transmit RF chain, such as determining the transmit power of the beam, to ensure the signal quality of the beam received by the receiver.

[0049] 2. Random access with beamforming

[0050] When beamforming is applied, SSBs (Synchronization Signal and PBCH block, referred to as "synchronization signal blocks") facing different directions will be mapped with different random access resources (such as random access preambles and random access time-frequency domain resources). In this way, when the base station receives msg1 sent by the terminal device using a specific random access resource, it can know which SSB the terminal device measured has the strongest signal, and will use the beam bound to this SSB to continue sending msg2 and msg4. This setting is conducive to the terminal device performing random access under the application of beamforming.

[0051] In related technologies, when beamforming is applied, an access network device (such as a base station) transmits SSBs in different directions via at least one beam. SSBs in different directions are mapped to different random access resources. The terminal device performs downlink signal measurement on the SSBs sent by the access network device to determine the random access resource used for the random access process. The base station can determine the SSB used by the terminal device based on the binding relationship between SSBs in different directions and random access resources.

[0052] In an embodiment of the present application, an intelligent reflecting surface is used to reflect the SSB sent by the access network device (such as a base station) to different directions, and the SSBs in different directions are respectively bound to different random access resources. Taking four-step random access as an example, as shown in Figure 3, the intelligent reflecting surface can reflect the synchronization signal SSB1 received from the base station to different directions (such as SSB2, SSB3, SSB4), and the terminal device performs downlink signal measurement on the beam reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface (different downlink beams are used to send SSB2, SSB3, SSB4 respectively) to determine the random access resource used to send msg1. At this time, if the intelligent reflecting surface cannot know which SSB-bound random access resource the terminal device selects to send msg1, then after the intelligent reflecting surface receives msg2 and msg4 from the access network device, the intelligent reflecting surface will not be able to decide which downlink beam to send to the terminal device.

[0053] It should be noted that the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a four-step random access process as well as a two-step random access process.

[0054] Please refer to Figure 4, which shows a flow chart of a random access method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied in the network architecture shown in Figure 1. The method can include the following step 410.

[0055] Step 410: Send or receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0056] In some embodiments, the execution entity of step 410 may be at least one of an access network device, a core network element, an intelligent reflective surface, and a terminal device, and this application does not limit this.

[0057] Exemplarily, an access network device sends first information, such as a base station sends first information. Correspondingly, a terminal device receives the first information from the access network device, or the terminal device receives the first information forwarded by the smart reflective surface, or the smart reflective surface receives the first information from the access network device.

[0058] Exemplarily, a core network element sends the first information, such as an AMF sends the first information. Correspondingly, an access network device receives the first information from the core network element, or an intelligent reflection surface receives the first information from the core network element, or an intelligent reflection surface receives the first information forwarded by the access network device.

[0059] Exemplarily, the smart reflecting surface sends the first information. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first information from the smart reflecting surface, and / or the terminal device receives the first information from the smart reflecting surface.

[0060] The first information is used to indicate the correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource. In some embodiments, at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface is respectively bound to at least one random access resource, and the correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource refers to the binding relationship between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource. Exemplarily, downlink beam 1 of the smart reflecting surface is bound to random access resource 1, and downlink beam 2 of the smart reflecting surface is bound to random access resource 2.

[0061] In some embodiments, the random access resources include a random access preamble and random access time-frequency domain resources.

[0062] In some embodiments, the downlink beam of the smart reflective surface may be a downlink beam used to transmit any downlink information. For example, the downlink beam of the smart reflective surface may be used to transmit SSB, DCI (Downlink Control Information), etc. For example, different beams in the at least one downlink beam correspond to different SSBs.

[0063] In some embodiments, the above correspondence is determined by a network device.

[0064] In some embodiments, the above correspondence is indicated by the network device to the smart reflective surface and / or the terminal device.

[0065] In some embodiments, the above correspondence is determined by a network device and indicated to the smart reflective surface and / or the terminal device.

[0066] In some embodiments, the network device sends first information to the smart reflective surface and / or the terminal device to indicate the above-mentioned corresponding relationship.

[0067] In some embodiments, the network device may also send other information to the smart reflective surface and / or the terminal device to indicate the above correspondence. For example, the network device may indicate the above correspondence in a system broadcast message sent to the terminal device. For example, the smart reflective surface may obtain the above correspondence from the system broadcast message sent by the network device.

[0068] In some embodiments, the network device is an access network device or a core network element.

[0069] Taking the network device as an access network device as an example, the above correspondence is determined by the access network device. The access network device indicates the above correspondence to the smart reflecting surface and / or the terminal device. In one example, the access network device directly indicates the above correspondence to the smart reflecting surface and / or the terminal device. For example, the access network device directly sends the first information to the smart reflecting surface and / or the terminal device. In another example, the access network device forwards the above correspondence to the terminal device via the smart reflecting surface. For example, the access network device forwards the first information to the terminal device via the smart reflecting surface.

[0070] Taking the network device as a core network element as an example, the above correspondence is determined by the core network element, such as the AMF. The core network element indicates the above correspondence to at least one of the intelligent reflective surface, the terminal device, and the access network device.

[0071] In some embodiments, the core network element may indicate the above-mentioned correspondence directly to at least one of the intelligent reflecting surface, the terminal device, and the access network device, or may indicate the above-mentioned correspondence indirectly. Direct indication means that the core network element directly indicates the above-mentioned correspondence to the receiving end, while indirect indication means that the core network element indicates the above-mentioned correspondence to the receiving end through forwarding by an intermediate device. The receiving end includes at least one of the intelligent reflecting surface, the terminal device, and the access network device. The intermediate device may also include at least one of the intelligent reflecting surface, the terminal device, and the access network device. For example, the indirect indication may be that the AMF indicates the above-mentioned correspondence to the access network device, and then the access network device indicates the above-mentioned correspondence to the intelligent reflecting surface and / or the terminal device. For another example, the direct indication may be that the AMF directly indicates the above-mentioned correspondence to the intelligent reflecting surface, the terminal device, and the access network device.

[0072] In some embodiments, the above correspondence is determined by a smart reflective surface.

[0073] In some embodiments, the above correspondence is indicated to the terminal device and / or network device by the smart reflective surface.

[0074] In some embodiments, the above correspondence is determined by the intelligent reflective surface and indicated to the terminal device and / or network device.

[0075] Exemplarily, after determining the above correspondence, the intelligent reflecting surface indicates the above correspondence to the terminal device and / or the network device.

[0076] In some embodiments, the intelligent reflective surface sends first information to the network device and / or terminal device to indicate the aforementioned correspondence. In one example, the intelligent reflective surface sends the first information directly to the access network device and / or terminal device. In another example, the intelligent reflective surface forwards the first information to the core network element via the access network device.

[0077] In some embodiments, the intelligent reflection plane sends first information to the network device to indicate the above-mentioned correspondence. After receiving the first information, the network device forwards the first information to the terminal device to indicate the above-mentioned correspondence. In some embodiments, the intelligent reflection plane sends first information to the network device to indicate the above-mentioned correspondence. After receiving the first information, the network device sends a system broadcast message to the terminal device to indicate the above-mentioned correspondence.

[0078] In some embodiments, after the above step 410 , the method further includes at least one of the following steps 420 to 450 (not shown in FIG. 4 ).

[0079] Step 420: The intelligent reflecting surface receives a first message sent by the terminal device using a first random access resource.

[0080] In some embodiments, the terminal device performs downlink signal measurement on at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface, obtains measurement results corresponding to at least one downlink beam, and determines the first random access resource based on the measurement results corresponding to at least one downlink beam.

[0081] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines a first downlink beam in at least one downlink beam based on the measurement results corresponding to the at least one downlink beam, and determines the random access resource corresponding to the first downlink beam as the first random access resource based on the above correspondence.

[0082] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines the downlink beam with the best signal quality among the at least one downlink beam as the first downlink beam based on the measurement results corresponding to the at least one downlink beam.

[0083] This application does not limit the method for a terminal device to perform downlink signal measurement, and the indicators used by the terminal device to measure the signal quality of at least one downlink beam. For example, the terminal device may use SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio), SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio), RSRQ (Reference Signal Receiving Quality), signal energy, RSRP (Reference Signal Receiving Power), RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), etc. as indicators to measure the signal quality of at least one downlink beam.

[0084] In some embodiments, the first message is used to request the network device to perform random access. For example, the first message may be msg1 (message 1) in a four-step random access process, or msgA (message A) in a two-step random access process.

[0085] In some embodiments, the first message includes a random access preamble.

[0086] In some embodiments, the first message includes a PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) in addition to the random access preamble.

[0087] Step 430: The intelligent reflecting surface forwards the first message to the access network device.

[0088] Step 440: The intelligent reflecting surface receives a second message sent by the access network device.

[0089] In some embodiments, the second message is used to respond to the first message. For example, when the first message is msg1 in a four-step random access procedure, the second message may be msg2 (message 2) in the four-step random access procedure.

[0090] In some embodiments, the second message is further used to indicate the random access result to the terminal device. For example, when the first message is msgA in a two-step random access process, the second message may be msgB (message B) in the two-step random access process.

[0091] In step 450 , the intelligent reflecting surface uses the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource to send a second message to the terminal device.

[0092] In some embodiments, the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message is determined by the smart reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the smart reflecting surface by a network device.

[0093] In some embodiments, the smart reflecting surface determines a downlink beam used to send the second message based on the first random access resource.

[0094] In some embodiments, the smart reflecting surface determines a downlink beam used to send the second message according to a location of a random access resource receiving the first message (location of the first random access resource).

[0095] In some embodiments, the smart reflecting surface determines a downlink beam used to send the second message based on a random access preamble in a received first message.

[0096] In some embodiments, the network device determines the downlink beam used to send the second message based on the random access preamble in the first message, and indicates it to the smart reflecting surface.

[0097] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application introduces an intelligent reflecting surface in a communication system. By establishing a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface and at least one random access resource, the terminal device can determine the random access resource used for the random access process based on the at least one downlink beam, thereby ensuring the normal execution of the random access process and improving the stability of communication.

[0098] Next, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application will be introduced in detail by taking the execution entities of step 410 as an example, namely, a network device, an intelligent reflective surface, and a terminal device.

[0099] 1. The network device sends the first message

[0100] 1. Network equipment is access network equipment

[0101] 1.1. The above correspondence is determined by the network equipment

[0102] 1.1.1. The above correspondence is determined by the access network equipment

[0103] In some embodiments, the number of at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflective surface is configured by a network device, or configured by the smart reflective surface, or preconfigured. The preconfiguration may be preconfigured by the smart reflective surface based on its own implementation, or preconfigured by the network device, or predefined by a protocol, and this application does not limit this.

[0104] In one example, the number of the at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface is configured by the network device.

[0105] For example, the number of at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface is configured by the access network device. That is, in addition to configuring the aforementioned correspondence, the access network device also configures the number of at least one downlink beam. In this case, after configuring the aforementioned correspondence, the access network device sends first information to the smart reflecting surface and / or the terminal device, indicating the aforementioned correspondence to the smart reflecting surface and / or the terminal device via this first information.

[0106] In some embodiments, the access network device sends the first information to the smart reflecting surface and the terminal device separately. For example, the access network device sends the first information directly to the smart reflecting surface. For another example, the access network device sends the first information directly to the terminal device. For another example, the access network device sends the first information to the terminal device via forwarding via the smart reflecting surface.

[0107] In some embodiments, the access network device forwards the first information to the terminal device via the smart reflecting surface, and the smart reflecting surface obtains the correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource based on the first information.

[0108] In some embodiments, the access network device sends the first information to the terminal device by broadcasting.

[0109] For example, the number of at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflective surface is configured by a core network element. In this case, before the access network device configures the above correspondence, the core network element indicates the number of at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflective surface to the access network device.

[0110] In some embodiments, a network device indicates the number of at least one downlink beam to a smart reflecting surface. The information indicating the number of at least one downlink beam may be included in a first message sent by the network device to the smart reflecting surface, or may be sent separately to the smart reflecting surface. Sending the information separately means that the information is not included in the first message.

[0111] In some embodiments, the network device does not indicate the number of the at least one downlink beam to the smart reflecting surface, and the smart reflecting surface determines the number of the at least one downlink beam according to the corresponding relationship indicated in the first information.

[0112] In another example, the number of the at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface is configured by the smart reflecting surface.

[0113] In this case, before the access network device configures the above-mentioned correspondence, the intelligent reflector indicates the number of at least one downlink beam to the access network device. After the access network device completes the configuration of the above-mentioned correspondence, the first information is sent to the intelligent reflector and / or the terminal device, indicating the above-mentioned correspondence to the intelligent reflector and / or the terminal device via the first information.

[0114] For example, Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of a random access method provided by an embodiment of the present application, in which the corresponding relationship is determined by the access network device. The method may include at least one of the following steps 1 to 3.

[0115] Step 1: The access network device determines a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0116] Step 2: The access network device sends first information to the smart reflecting surface, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0117] Step 3: The intelligent reflecting surface receives the first information from the access network device and forwards the first information to the terminal device.

[0118] 1.1.2. The above correspondence is determined by the core network element

[0119] Taking the 5G communication system as an example, the core network element can be AMF or other core network elements. Of course, in other communication systems, the core network element can have different names.

[0120] In some embodiments, the core network element directly sends the first information to at least one of the access network device, the smart reflecting surface, and the terminal device. In this case, the access network device, the smart reflecting surface, and the terminal device respectively receive the first information sent by the core network element.

[0121] In some embodiments, the core network element forwards the first information to the terminal device via the intelligent reflection surface.

[0122] In some embodiments, the core network element sends the first information to the access network device. After receiving the first information from the core network element, the access network device sends the first information to the smart reflective surface and / or the terminal device.

[0123] For example, Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of a random access method provided by an embodiment of the present application, in which the corresponding relationship is determined by a core network element. The method may include at least one of the following steps 1 to 4.

[0124] Step 1: A core network element determines a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by a smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0125] Step 2: The core network element sends first information to the access network device, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0126] Step 3: The access network device sends first information to the smart reflective surface.

[0127] Step 4: The intelligent reflecting surface receives the first information from the access network device and forwards the first information to the terminal device.

[0128] 1.2. The above correspondence is determined by the intelligent reflective surface

[0129] In some embodiments, after determining the above correspondence, the smart reflecting surface sends the first information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first information from the smart reflecting surface.

[0130] In some embodiments, after determining the above correspondence, the smart reflective surface sends the first information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the smart reflective surface.

[0131] In some embodiments, after receiving the first information from the smart reflecting surface, the access network device indicates to the terminal device by broadcasting the correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0132] For example, Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of a random access method provided by an embodiment of the present application, in which the corresponding relationship is determined by a smart reflective surface. The method may include at least one of the following steps 1 to 3.

[0133] Step 1: The smart reflecting surface determines a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0134] Step 2: The intelligent reflecting surface sends first information to the access network device, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0135] Step 3: The intelligent reflection surface sends the first information to the terminal device.

[0136] 2. Smart reflective surface sends the first message

[0137] 2.1. The above correspondence is determined by the network equipment

[0138] In some embodiments, after determining the above correspondence, the network device indicates the above correspondence to the smart reflective surface. The smart reflective surface sends the first information to the terminal device based on the above correspondence. For example, reference may be made to the random access method shown in Figures 5 and 6.

[0139] 2.2. The above correspondence is determined by the intelligent reflective surface

[0140] In some embodiments, after determining the above correspondence, the smart reflective surface sends the first information to the network device and / or the terminal device respectively. For example, reference may be made to the random access method shown in FIG7 .

[0141] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be combined with each other to obtain new embodiments, and this application will not describe them one by one here.

[0142] Through the above method, the above correspondence is determined by the network device and by the intelligent reflecting surface. After the terminal device determines the random access resources for the random access process, the intelligent reflecting surface can also obtain the downlink beam for the random access process accordingly, thereby ensuring the normal execution of the random access process and improving the stability of communication.

[0143] In some embodiments, the terminal device performs downlink signal measurement on at least one downlink beam reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface to obtain measurement results corresponding to at least one downlink beam; determines a first downlink beam based on the measurement results corresponding to at least one downlink beam; and determines that the random access resource corresponding to the first downlink beam is the first random access resource based on the above correspondence.

[0144] In some embodiments, the above correspondence is expressed in a one-to-one correspondence between downlink beam identification information and random access resource identification information. Different downlink beams have different identification information, and the downlink beam identification information is used to distinguish different downlink beams. Different random access resources have different identification information, and the random access resource identification information is used to distinguish different random access resources.

[0145] In some embodiments, the downlink beam is used to transmit SSB, and the identification information of the downlink beam can be represented by the identification information of the SSB. For example, the identification information of the downlink beam can be represented by the SSB ID of the SSB transmitted by the downlink beam.

[0146] In some embodiments, the identification information of the random access resource may be a unique identifier assigned to the random access resource, such as a unique code; it may also be the random access preamble of the random access resource, or it may be the time-frequency domain position of the random access resource, which is not limited in this application. Exemplarily, different random access resources have different random access preambles, and the random access preamble of the random access resource may be used as the identification information of the random access resource. Exemplarily, different random access resources have different time-frequency domain positions, and the time-frequency domain position of the random access resource may be used as the identification information of the random access resource. Exemplarily, different random access resources may be assigned unique codes respectively as the identification information of different random access resources.

[0147] In some embodiments, different downlink beams are used to transmit their own identification information in addition to downlink information. For example, a downlink beam is used to transmit an SSB, and the downlink beam is also used to transmit the SSB ID of the SSB transmitted by the downlink beam.

[0148] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines the first random access resource based on identification information of the first downlink beam.

[0149] In some embodiments, the terminal device searches for the first random access resource in the corresponding relationship indicated by the first information based on the identification information of the first downlink beam. For example, if the identification information of the first downlink beam is the SSB ID of the first SSB transmitted by the first downlink beam, the terminal device can find the identification information of the first random access resource corresponding to the SSB ID of the first SSB in the corresponding relationship, and thus determine the first random access resource.

[0150] In some embodiments, different downlink beams are used to transmit identification information of random access resources bound to them in addition to downlink information.

[0151] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines the first random access resource based on the identification information of the random access resource carried by the first downlink beam, and uses the first random access resource to send a first message to the access network device.

[0152] In some embodiments, if different downlink beams carry the time-frequency domain configuration of their own bound random access resources and the random access preamble corresponding to the random access resource, the terminal device does not need to obtain the above correspondence. In this case, the access network device and / or the intelligent reflection surface can determine the downlink beam used for the random access process based on the random access preamble carried in the first message and the above correspondence.

[0153] Through the above method, the terminal device can determine the random access resources used for the random access process according to different downlink beams.

[0154] Next, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application will be introduced in detail by taking the two-step random access process and the four-step random access process as examples.

[0155] 1. Two-step random access process

[0156] After the terminal device determines the first random access resource, it starts the random access process. The two-step random access process may include at least one of the following steps 1 and 2.

[0157] Step 1: The terminal device uses a first random access resource to send a first message to the access network device.

[0158] In some embodiments, the first message includes a random access preamble.

[0159] In some embodiments, the first message is used to request the access network device to initiate a random access procedure and to send uplink information required for the random access procedure to the access network device. For example, the first message may be msgA in a two-step random access procedure. msgA is used to indicate to the access network device the random access preamble and scheduled PUSCH transmission.

[0160] In some embodiments, the first message is forwarded to the access network device via the smart reflecting surface. Exemplarily, the smart reflecting surface receives the first message sent by the terminal device using the first random access resource, and forwards the first message to the access network device.

[0161] In some embodiments, the access network device and / or the smart reflecting surface determines the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource based on the random access preamble code carried in the first message and the above correspondence.

[0162] In some embodiments, the downlink beam (the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource) used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message is determined by the smart reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the smart reflecting surface by the network device.

[0163] In one example, the access network device determines the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource based on the random access preamble code carried in the first message and the above correspondence, and then indicates the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource to the smart reflecting surface.

[0164] In another example, the smart reflecting surface determines the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource according to the random access preamble code carried in the first message and the above correspondence.

[0165] In some embodiments, the first message may carry identification information of the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource. In this case, the access network device and / or the smart reflecting surface may determine the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message based on the identification information of the downlink beam carried in the first message. If the smart reflecting surface does not have the ability to read the first message, the access network device determines the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message and indicates it to the smart reflecting surface. If the smart reflecting surface has the ability to read the first message, the smart reflecting surface directly determines the downlink beam used to send the second message.

[0166] Step 2: The access network device sends a second message to the terminal device.

[0167] In some embodiments, the second message is used to respond to the first message and indicate the random access result to the terminal device. Exemplarily, the second message may be msgB in a two-step random access process. msgB is used to indicate the random access response and the random access result to the terminal device.

[0168] In some embodiments, the second message is forwarded to the terminal device via the smart reflecting surface. Exemplarily, the smart reflecting surface receives the second message sent by the access network device and uses a downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource to send the second message to the terminal device.

[0169] In some embodiments, the access network device sends the second message to the terminal device in a unicast manner.

[0170] Through the above method, the intelligent reflecting surface can obtain the downlink beam used for the random access process, thereby ensuring the normal execution of the random access process and improving the stability of communication.

[0171] 2. Four-step random access process

[0172] After the terminal device determines the first random access resource, the random access process begins. The four-step random access process may include at least one of the following steps 1 to 4.

[0173] Step 1: The terminal device uses a first random access resource to send a first message to the access network device.

[0174] In some embodiments, the first message is used to request the access network device to initiate a random access procedure. For example, the first message may be msg1 in a four-step random access procedure. For example, the first message is used to send a Random Access Preamble to the access network device.

[0175] In some embodiments, the first message is forwarded to the access network device via the smart reflecting surface. Exemplarily, the smart reflecting surface receives the first message sent by the terminal device using the first random access resource, and forwards the first message to the access network device.

[0176] In some embodiments, the access network device (and / or the smart reflecting surface) determines the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource based on the random access preamble code carried in the first message and the above correspondence.

[0177] In some embodiments, the downlink beam (the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource) used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message is determined by the smart reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the smart reflecting surface by the network device.

[0178] In one example, the access network device determines the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource based on the random access preamble code carried in the first message and the above correspondence, and then indicates the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource to the smart reflecting surface.

[0179] In another example, the smart reflecting surface determines the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource according to the random access preamble code carried in the first message and the above correspondence.

[0180] In some embodiments, the first message may carry identification information of the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource. In this case, the access network device and / or the smart reflecting surface may determine the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message based on the identification information of the downlink beam carried in the first message. If the smart reflecting surface does not have the ability to read the first message, the access network device determines the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message and indicates it to the smart reflecting surface. If the smart reflecting surface has the ability to read the first message, the smart reflecting surface directly determines the downlink beam used to send the second message.

[0181] Step 2: The access network device sends a second message to the terminal device.

[0182] In some embodiments, the second message is used to respond to the first message. For example, the second message may be msg2 in a four-step random access process. msg2 is used to respond to the first message. For example, the second message may be a Random Access Response.

[0183] In some embodiments, the second message is forwarded to the terminal device via the smart reflecting surface. Exemplarily, the smart reflecting surface receives the second message sent by the access network device and uses a downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource to send the second message to the terminal device.

[0184] In some embodiments, the access network device sends the second message to the terminal device in a unicast manner.

[0185] Step 3: The terminal device sends a third message to the access network device.

[0186] In some embodiments, the third message is used to send uplink information required for the random access procedure to the access network device. Exemplarily, the third message may be message 3 (msg3) in the four-step random access procedure. Msg3 is used to send a scheduled PUSCH transmission to the access network device. Exemplarily, the third message may be a scheduled transmission.

[0187] For the transmission of the third message, reference may be made to the transmission of the first message described above, and this application will not go into details here.

[0188] Step 4: The access network device sends a fourth message to the terminal device.

[0189] In some embodiments, the fourth message is used to indicate the random access result to the terminal device. Exemplarily, the fourth message may be message 4 in a four-step random access procedure. Message 4 is used to indicate the contention result of the random access procedure. Exemplarily, the fourth message may be contention resolution.

[0190] For the transmission of the fourth message, reference may be made to the transmission of the second message described above, and this application will not go into details here.

[0191] Through the above method, the intelligent reflecting surface can obtain the downlink beam used for the random access process, thereby ensuring the normal execution of the random access process and improving the stability of communication.

[0192] An embodiment of the present application provides a random access method, which is executed by a terminal device and includes at least one of the following steps 1 to 3.

[0193] Step 1: The terminal device receives first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0194] In some embodiments, the correspondence is determined by a network device.

[0195] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is indicated by the network device to the smart reflective surface and / or the terminal device.

[0196] In some embodiments, the network device sends first information to the smart reflective surface and / or the terminal device to indicate the corresponding relationship.

[0197] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0198] In some embodiments, the network device is an access network device or a core network element. In the case where the network device is an access network device, the terminal device receives the first information from the access network device; in the case where the network device is a core network element, the terminal device receives the first information from the core network element.

[0199] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is determined by a smart reflective surface.

[0200] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is indicated to the terminal device and / or the network device by the smart reflective surface.

[0201] In some embodiments, the intelligent reflection surface sends first information to the network device and / or the terminal device to indicate the corresponding relationship.

[0202] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the smart reflective surface.

[0203] In some embodiments, different beams in at least one downlink beam correspond to different SSBs.

[0204] In some embodiments, the number of at least one downlink beam is configured by a network device, or configured by a smart reflective surface, or pre-configured.

[0205] Step 2: The terminal device uses the first random access resource to send a first message, and the first message is forwarded to the access network device by the intelligent reflecting surface.

[0206] Correspondingly, the intelligent reflecting surface forwards the first message from the terminal device to the access network device; the access network device receives the first message forwarded by the intelligent reflecting surface.

[0207] Step 3: The terminal device receives a second message from the access network device that is forwarded to the terminal device by the intelligent reflecting surface using a downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource.

[0208] Correspondingly, the access network device uses the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource to send the second message, and the second message is forwarded to the terminal device by the intelligent reflecting surface.

[0209] In some embodiments, the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message and / or the fourth message is determined by the smart reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the smart reflecting surface by the network device; wherein the second message is msgB in the two-step random access process or msg2 in the four-step random access process, and the fourth message is msg4 in the four-step random access process.

[0210] An embodiment of the present application further provides a random access method, which is performed by a smart reflecting surface and includes at least one of the following steps 1 to 6.

[0211] Step 1: The smart reflecting surface receives and / or sends first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0212] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is determined by a network device. Exemplarily, the smart reflective surface receives the first information from the network device. Correspondingly, the network device sends the first information to the smart reflective surface.

[0213] In some embodiments, after step 1, step 2 is further included, in which the intelligent reflection surface sends the first information to the terminal device.

[0214] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is determined by a smart reflective surface.

[0215] Exemplarily, the intelligent reflective surface sends the first information to the terminal device and / or the network device. Correspondingly, the terminal device and / or the network device receives the first information from the intelligent reflective surface.

[0216] In some embodiments, different beams in at least one downlink beam correspond to different SSBs.

[0217] In some embodiments, the number of at least one downlink beam is configured by a network device, or configured by a smart reflective surface, or pre-configured.

[0218] Step 3: The intelligent reflecting surface receives a first message sent by the terminal device using a first random access resource.

[0219] Step 4: The intelligent reflection device forwards the first message to the access network device.

[0220] Step 5: The intelligent reflecting surface receives the second message sent by the access network device.

[0221] Step 6: The intelligent reflecting surface adopts the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource to forward the second message to the terminal device.

[0222] In some embodiments, the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message and / or the fourth message is determined by the smart reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the smart reflecting surface by the network device; wherein the second message is msgB in the two-step random access process or msg2 in the four-step random access process, and the fourth message is msg4 in the four-step random access process.

[0223] The embodiment of the present application further provides a random access method, which is performed by a network device, which is an access network device or a core network element. The method includes at least one of the following steps 1 to 3.

[0224] Step 1: The network device receives and / or sends first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0225] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is determined by a network device. Exemplarily, the network device sends the first information to the smart reflecting surface and / or the terminal device. Correspondingly, the smart reflecting surface and / or the terminal device receives the first information.

[0226] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is determined by the smart reflective surface. Exemplarily, the network device receives the first information from the smart reflective surface. In some embodiments, the smart reflective surface further sends the first information to the terminal device.

[0227] In some embodiments, different beams in at least one downlink beam correspond to different SSBs.

[0228] In some embodiments, the number of at least one downlink beam is configured by a network device, or configured by a smart reflective surface, or pre-configured.

[0229] Step 2: The network device receives a first message sent by the terminal device using a first random access resource.

[0230] In some embodiments, the network device is an access network device, and the first message is forwarded to the access network device by the smart reflecting surface.

[0231] Step 3: The network device sends a second message, and the second message is forwarded to the terminal device by the intelligent reflecting surface using a downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource.

[0232] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second message from the access network device forwarded to the terminal device by the intelligent reflecting surface using the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource.

[0233] In some embodiments, the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message and / or the fourth message is determined by the smart reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the smart reflecting surface by the network device; wherein the second message is msgB in the two-step random access process or msg2 in the four-step random access process, and the fourth message is msg4 in the four-step random access process.

[0234] It should be noted that for details not specifically described in the random access methods on the terminal device side, the intelligent reflective surface side, and the network device side, please refer to the above method embodiments and will not be elaborated on here. In the above method embodiments, the steps performed by the terminal device can be implemented as the random access method on the terminal device side; the steps performed by the intelligent reflective surface can be implemented as the random access method on the intelligent reflective surface side; and the steps performed by the network device can be implemented as the random access method on the network device side.

[0235] The following are device embodiments of the present application, which can be used to implement the method embodiments of the present application. For details not disclosed in the device embodiments of the present application, please refer to the method embodiments of the present application.

[0236] Please refer to Figure 8, which shows a block diagram of a random access device provided by one embodiment of the present application. This device has the functionality to implement the random access method described above. This functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. This device can be the terminal device described above, or it can be provided within a terminal device. As shown in Figure 8, the device 800 may include a receiving module 810.

[0237] The receiving module 810 is used to receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0238] In some embodiments, the correspondence is determined by a network device.

[0239] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is indicated by the network device to the smart reflecting surface and / or the terminal device.

[0240] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is determined by the smart reflective surface.

[0241] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is indicated to the terminal device and / or network device by the smart reflective surface.

[0242] In some embodiments, different beams in the at least one downlink beam correspond to different SSBs.

[0243] In some embodiments, the number of the at least one downlink beam is configured by a network device, or configured by the smart reflective surface, or pre-configured.

[0244] In some embodiments, the apparatus 800 further includes a sending module (not shown in FIG8 ). The sending module is configured to send a first message using a first random access resource, wherein the first message is forwarded by the smart reflecting surface to the access network device;

[0245] The receiving module 810 is further configured to receive a second message from the access network device that is forwarded by the smart reflecting surface to the terminal device using a downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource.

[0246] In some embodiments, the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message and / or the fourth message is determined by the smart reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the smart reflecting surface by the network device; wherein, the second message is msgB in the two-step random access process or msg2 in the four-step random access process, and the fourth message is msg4 in the four-step random access process.

[0247] In some embodiments, the network device is an access network device or a core network element.

[0248] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application introduces an intelligent reflecting surface in a communication system. By establishing a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface and at least one random access resource, the terminal device can determine the random access resource used for the random access process based on the at least one downlink beam, thereby ensuring the normal execution of the random access process and improving the stability of communication.

[0249] Please refer to Figure 9, which shows a block diagram of a random access device provided by another embodiment of the present application. This device has the functionality to implement the random access method described above. This functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. This device can be the smart reflective surface described above, or it can be incorporated into a smart reflective surface. As shown in Figure 9, this device 900 may include a transceiver module 910.

[0250] The transceiver module 910 is used to receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate the correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0251] In some embodiments, the correspondence is determined by a network device.

[0252] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 910 is configured to receive the first information from the network device.

[0253] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 910 is further configured to send the first information to a terminal device.

[0254] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is determined by the smart reflective surface.

[0255] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 910 is used to send the first information to a terminal device and / or a network device.

[0256] In some embodiments, different beams in the at least one downlink beam correspond to different SSBs.

[0257] In some embodiments, the number of the at least one downlink beam is configured by a network device, or configured by the smart reflective surface, or pre-configured.

[0258] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 910 is further configured to receive a first message sent by a terminal device using a first random access resource;

[0259] Forwarding the first message to the access network device;

[0260] receiving a second message sent by the access network device;

[0261] Use the downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource to forward the second message to the terminal device.

[0262] In some embodiments, the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message and / or the fourth message is determined by the smart reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the smart reflecting surface by the network device; wherein, the second message is msgB in the two-step random access process or msg2 in the four-step random access process, and the fourth message is msg4 in the four-step random access process.

[0263] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application introduces an intelligent reflecting surface in a communication system. By establishing a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface and at least one random access resource, the terminal device can determine the random access resource used for the random access process based on the at least one downlink beam, thereby ensuring the normal execution of the random access process and improving the stability of communication.

[0264] Please refer to Figure 10, which shows a block diagram of a random access device provided in another embodiment of the present application. This device has the functionality to implement the random access method described above. This functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. This device can be the network device described above, or it can be provided within a network device. As shown in Figure 10, the device 1000 may include a transceiver module 1010.

[0265] The transceiver module 1010 is used to receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0266] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is determined by the network device.

[0267] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1010 is configured to send the first information to the smart reflective surface and / or the terminal device.

[0268] In some embodiments, the corresponding relationship is determined by the smart reflective surface.

[0269] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1010 is used to receive the first information from the smart reflective surface.

[0270] In some embodiments, different beams in the at least one downlink beam correspond to different SSBs.

[0271] In some embodiments, the number of the at least one downlink beam is configured by the network device, or configured by the smart reflecting surface, or pre-configured.

[0272] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1010 is further configured to receive a first message sent by a terminal device using a first random access resource;

[0273] The transceiver module 1010 is further configured to send a second message, which is forwarded to the terminal device by the smart reflecting surface using a downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource.

[0274] In some embodiments, the downlink beam used by the smart reflecting surface to send the second message and / or the fourth message is determined by the smart reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the smart reflecting surface by the network device; wherein, the second message is msgB in the two-step random access process or msg2 in the four-step random access process, and the fourth message is msg4 in the four-step random access process.

[0275] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application introduces an intelligent reflecting surface in a communication system. By establishing a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface and at least one random access resource, the terminal device can determine the random access resource used for the random access process based on the at least one downlink beam, thereby ensuring the normal execution of the random access process and improving the stability of communication.

[0276] It should be noted that, when the device provided in the above embodiment realizes its function, it only uses the division of the above-mentioned functional modules as an example. In actual application, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules according to actual needs, that is, the content structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0277] Regarding the device in the above embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the embodiment of the method, and will not be elaborated here. For details not described in detail in the embodiment of the device, reference can be made to the above method embodiment.

[0278] Please refer to Figure 11, which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by one embodiment of the present application. The communication device can be the aforementioned terminal device, the aforementioned network device, or the aforementioned smart reflective surface. The communication device 1100 may include: a processor 1101, a transceiver 1102, and a memory 1103. The transceiver 1102 is configured to implement the functions of at least one of the aforementioned receiving module 810, transmitting module, transceiver module 910, and transceiver module 1010. The processor 1101 may be configured to implement other processing functions or control transmission and / or reception.

[0279] The processor 1101 includes one or more processing cores. The processor 1101 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

[0280] The transceiver 1102 may include a receiver and a transmitter. For example, the receiver and the transmitter may be implemented as the same wireless communication component, which may include a wireless communication chip and a radio frequency antenna.

[0281] The memory 1103 may be connected to the processor 1101 and the transceiver 1102 .

[0282] The memory 1103 may be used to store a computer program executed by the processor, and the processor 1101 is used to execute the computer program to implement each step in the above method embodiment.

[0283] In an exemplary embodiment, when the communication device is a terminal device, the transceiver 1102 is used to receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0284] In an exemplary embodiment, when the communication device is a smart reflecting surface, the transceiver 1102 is used to receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0285] In an exemplary embodiment, when the communication device is a network device, the transceiver 1102 is used to receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

[0286] For details not described in detail in this embodiment, please refer to the above embodiments and will not be described in detail here.

[0287] In addition, the memory can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: magnetic or optical disks, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, static access memory, read-only memory, magnetic memory, flash memory, and programmable read-only memory.

[0288] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, and the computer program is used to be executed by a processor to implement the random access method on the terminal device side, or to implement the random access method on the smart reflective surface side, or to implement the random access method on the network device side. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may include: ROM (Read-Only Memory), RAM (Random-Access Memory), SSD (Solid State Drives) or optical disks, etc. Among them, the random access memory may include ReRAM (Resistance Random Access Memory) and DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0289] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, which includes a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions. When the chip is running, it is used to implement the random access method on the above-mentioned terminal device side, or to implement the random access method on the above-mentioned intelligent reflective surface side, or to implement the random access method on the above-mentioned network device side.

[0290] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, which is stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor reads and executes the computer program from the computer-readable storage medium to implement the random access method on the above-mentioned terminal device side, or implements the random access method on the above-mentioned smart reflective surface side, or implements the random access method on the above-mentioned network device side.

[0291] It should be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can be obtained through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained through C; it can also mean that there is an association between A and B.

[0292] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0293] In some embodiments of the present application, "predefined" may be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., including a terminal device and a network device), and the present application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, predefined may refer to information defined in a protocol.

[0294] In some embodiments of the present application, the "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, for example, it may include an LTE protocol, a NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and this application does not limit this.

[0295] In this document, "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes a relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the associated objects.

[0296] The term “greater than or equal to” mentioned herein may mean greater than or equal to, or greater than, and the term “less than or equal to” may mean less than or equal to, or less than.

[0297] In addition, the step numbers described in this document only illustrate a possible execution order between the steps. In some other embodiments, the above steps may not be executed in the order of the numbers, such as two steps with different numbers are executed at the same time, or two steps with different numbers are executed in the opposite order of the diagram. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0298] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any media that facilitates the transmission of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0299] The above description is merely an exemplary embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A random access method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a terminal device, and the method includes: First information is received, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by a smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined by the network device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is indicated by the network device to the smart reflective surface and / or the terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The corresponding relationship is determined by the smart reflecting surface.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is indicated to the terminal device and / or network device by the intelligent reflecting surface.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Different beams in the at least one downlink beam correspond to different synchronization signal blocks SSB.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The number of the at least one downlink beam is configured by the network device, or configured by the smart reflective surface, or pre-configured.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Using a first random access resource to send a first message, the first message being forwarded by the smart reflective surface to an access network device; Receive a second message from the access network device that is forwarded to the terminal device by the smart reflecting surface using a downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The downlink beam used by the intelligent reflecting surface to send the second message and / or the fourth message is determined by the intelligent reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the intelligent reflecting surface by the network device; wherein the second message is msgB in the two-step random access process or msg2 in the four-step random access process, and the fourth message is msg4 in the four-step random access process.

10. The method according to claim 2, 3, 5, 7 or 9, characterized in that The network device is an access network device or a core network element.

11. A random access method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a smart reflective surface, and the method comprises: Receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined by the network device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The receiving and / or sending of the first information comprises: The first information is received from the network device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that After receiving the first information from the network device, the method further includes: Send the first information to the terminal device.

15. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined by the smart reflecting surface.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The receiving and / or sending of the first information comprises: The first information is sent to a terminal device and / or a network device.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that: Different beams in the at least one downlink beam correspond to different synchronization signal blocks SSB.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 17, characterized in that The number of the at least one downlink beam is configured by the network device, or configured by the smart reflective surface, or pre-configured.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving a first message sent by a terminal device using a first random access resource; Forwarding the first message to the access network device; Receiving a second message sent by the access network device; The second message is forwarded to the terminal device using a downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 19, characterized in that The downlink beam used by the intelligent reflecting surface to send the second message and / or the fourth message is determined by the intelligent reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the intelligent reflecting surface by the network device; wherein the second message is msgB in the two-step random access process or msg2 in the four-step random access process, and the fourth message is msg4 in the four-step random access process.

21. A random access method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a network device, and the method includes: Receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate a correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by a smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined by the network device.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that The receiving and / or sending of the first information comprises: The first information is sent to the smart reflecting surface and / or the terminal device.

24. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined by the smart reflecting surface.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The receiving and / or sending of the first information comprises: The first information is received from the smart reflective surface.

26. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 25, characterized in that Different beams in the at least one downlink beam correspond to different synchronization signal blocks SSB.

27. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 26, characterized in that The number of the at least one downlink beam is configured by the network device, or configured by the smart reflective surface, or pre-configured.

28. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 27, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving a first message sent by a terminal device using a first random access resource; A second message is sent, and the second message is forwarded to the terminal device by the intelligent reflecting surface using a downlink beam corresponding to the first random access resource.

29. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 28, characterized in that The downlink beam used by the intelligent reflecting surface to send the second message and / or the fourth message is determined by the intelligent reflecting surface itself, or is indicated to the intelligent reflecting surface by the network device; wherein the second message is msgB in the two-step random access process or msg2 in the four-step random access process, and the fourth message is msg4 in the four-step random access process.

30. A random access device, characterized in that: The device is arranged in a terminal device, and comprises: The receiving module is used to receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate the correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

31. A random access device, characterized in that: The device is arranged in the intelligent reflecting surface, and comprises: The transceiver module is used to receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate the correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflection surface and at least one random access resource.

32. A random access device, characterized in that: The device is arranged in a network device, and comprises: The transceiver module is used to receive and / or send first information, where the first information is used to indicate the correspondence between at least one downlink beam reflected by the smart reflecting surface and at least one random access resource.

33. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a processor and a memory, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and the processor executes the computer program to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 21 to 29.

34. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program, which is used to be executed by a processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 21 to 29.

35. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions, and when the chip is running, it is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or to implement the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 20, or to implement the method as described in any one of claims 21 to 29.

36. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes computer instructions, which are stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor reads and executes the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20, or the method according to any one of claims 21 to 29.

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