Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device, and is suitable for a mobile communication scene based on HRRIS. The method comprises the steps that an RIS receives first information, the first information is used for indicating the first position of one or more RIS oscillator combinations, and at least one RIS oscillator combination comprises a plurality of RIS oscillators; and the RIS opens or closes one or more RIS arrays according to the first position. Since the first information indicates the first position of the RIS array combination, compared with a scheme of indicating the position of each RIS array in an open or closed state, the signaling indication overhead of the negotiation process of the position of the RIS array participating in phase regulation in the HRRIS can be reduced.

Description

Communication method and device Technical Field

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

[0002] Reconfigurable intelligent meta-surface (RIS)-assisted network technology, which controls channel characteristics through a reconfigurable intelligent meta-surface (RIS), is considered a key enabling technology for expanding wireless network coverage. Currently, a type of RIS, called a hybrid reflective RIS (HRRIS), uses only a subset of its arrays for phase control. In HRRIS, the positions of the RIS arrays involved in phase control are irregular and random, requiring negotiation between the base station and the RIS to determine which RIS arrays participate in phase control.

[0003] Currently, the negotiation process of the RIS array positions involved in phase control in HRRIS has a large signaling indication overhead, which needs to be optimized.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for reducing the signaling indication overhead in the negotiation process of the RIS array positions participating in phase control in HRRIS.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be implemented by a RIS or a RIS control device, or by a component of the RIS or a component of the RIS control device. The component may include, for example, at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, a transceiver, a processing unit, or a transceiver unit. The RIS may be an HRRIS. For example, the method can be implemented by the following steps: the RIS receives first information indicating a first position of one or more RIS array combinations, at least one of which includes multiple RIS arrays; and the RIS turns one or more RIS arrays on or off based on the first position.

[0007] Based on this method, the first position of the RIS array combination can be indicated by the first information, so that the RIS array is turned on or off according to the first position. Since the first information indicates the position of the RIS array combination, the indication overhead can be reduced compared to a solution that indicates the position of each RIS array in an on or off state.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the RIS may also receive a first instruction for instructing whether to turn on or off the RIS element in the first position. Therefore, the RIS element in the first position may be accurately determined based on the first instruction, thereby improving communication reliability.

[0009] In a possible implementation, there is an overlapping area at the first positions of the plurality of RIS array element combinations, and the RIS array elements corresponding to the overlapping area are processed using a preset rule.

[0010] Based on this implementation, when multiple RIS array combinations have overlapping areas, pre-set rules can be used to process the RIS arrays in the overlapping areas, enabling flexible indication of RIS array status. For example, according to the pre-set rules, the RIS arrays in the overlapping areas of any RIS array combination are treated as either open or closed RIS arrays. That is, the RIS arrays in the overlapping areas of a RIS array combination are treated the same as the RIS arrays in the non-overlapping areas, and conflicts between RIS array combinations are not considered.

[0011] For another example, according to a preset rule, the processing method of the RIS array in the overlapping area is determined according to the number of RIS array combinations that include the RIS array, that is, the situation where there is a conflict in the RIS array combinations is taken into account; for example, when only one RIS array combination includes the RIS array, that is, the RIS array is the RIS array in the non-overlapping area, and its on or off state is determined according to the first indication or default rule; for another example, when two RIS array combinations include the same RIS array, that is, the RIS array is the RIS array in the overlapping area, and the on or off state of the RIS array is opposite to or different from the RIS array in the non-overlapping area; for another example, when three RIS array combinations include the same RIS array, that is, the RIS array is the RIS array in the overlapping area, and the on or off state of the RIS array is the same as the RIS array in the non-overlapping area, and so on.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the RIS may further receive second information, or the RIS may send the second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate the RIS array combination.

[0013] Based on this implementation, the RIS array combination may be determined by a communication device (eg, a network device, a terminal device) or a RIS.

[0014] In a possible implementation, at least two of the RIS arrays have different combinations.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the RIS array combination including a plurality of RIS arrays consists of n rows and m columns of RIS arrays, where n and m are positive integers, and at least one of n and m is greater than 1.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the first information includes one or more bit strings, and the value of at least one bit in at least one of the bit strings is a first value, wherein the bit with the first value corresponds to the first position of one of the RIS array combinations; and / or, the first information includes position indexes of one or more of the RIS array combinations, and the position indexes correspond to the first position.

[0017] Based on this implementation, flexible indication of the first position of a RIS array combination can be achieved. The communication device can use a less-expensive indication method based on the number of RIS array combinations that can accommodate a certain pattern in the RIS panel and / or the pattern of the RIS array combination. For example, if the number of RIS array combinations that can accommodate a certain pattern in the RIS panel is small, or if the pattern of the RIS array combination contains a large number of RIS arrays, a bit string method can be used for indication. For another example, if the number of RIS array combinations that can accommodate a certain pattern in the RIS panel is large, or if the pattern of the RIS array combination contains a small number of RIS arrays, a position index method can be used for indication.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the first information is specifically used to indicate the first position of the one or more RIS array combinations in the first area of ​​the RIS panel of the RIS; the RIS turns on or off one or more RIS arrays according to the first position, including: the RIS turns on or off one or more RIS arrays in the first area according to the first position.

[0019] Based on this implementation method, the first information can be used to indicate whether the RIS array in some areas of the RIS panel is turned on or off. When only some areas of the RIS panel support flexible change of the on / off state of the RIS array, the indication of the on / off state of the RIS array can be achieved with less signaling overhead.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the RIS may further receive indication information of the first area, so as to establish an association between the first area and the first location.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the RIS receives third information, where the third information is used to indicate a second position of the one or more RIS array combinations in a second area of ​​the RIS panel; and the RIS turns on or off the one or more RIS arrays in the second area according to the second position.

[0022] Based on this implementation, the positions of the RIS array combinations in different areas can be indicated respectively by different information, so as to achieve flexible indication of the switch states of the RIS arrays in different areas.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the RIS receives indication information of the second area, so as to establish an association between the second area and the second location.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the first information is specifically used to indicate the first position of the one or more RIS array combinations in the first area and the second area in the RIS panel of the RIS; the RIS turns on or off one or more RIS arrays according to the first position, including: the RIS turns on or off one or more RIS arrays in the first area and the second area according to the first position.

[0025] Based on this implementation, the positions of the RIS array combinations in different areas can be indicated respectively by the first information, so as to achieve flexible indication of the switch states of the RIS arrays in different areas.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the RIS receives indication information of the first area and the second area, so as to establish an association between the first area, the second area, and the first location.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the RIS panel further includes a third area, and the position of at least one turned-on RIS array in the third area is fixed, and / or the position of at least one turned-off RIS array in the third area is fixed.

[0028] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be implemented by a communication device or a component of a communication device, where the component may include, for example, at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, a transceiver, a processing unit, or a transceiver unit. In this application, a communication device may be a network device or a terminal device. For example, in non-D2D communication, the communication device may be a network device, and in a D2D communication scenario, the communication device may be a terminal device or a network device. Furthermore, when a RIS is outside the coverage of a network device, the terminal device may serve as the communication device. For example, in the case where the execution subject is a communication device, the method may be implemented by the following steps: the communication device sends first information to the RIS, where the first information indicates the first position of one or more RIS array combinations, where at least one of the RIS array combinations includes multiple RIS arrays.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the communication device may further send a first instruction to the RIS, where the first instruction is used to instruct to turn on or off the RIS array at the first position.

[0030] In a possible implementation, there may be an overlapping area at the first positions of the plurality of RIS array element combinations, and the RIS array elements corresponding to the overlapping area are processed using a preset rule.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the communication device may further send second information to the RIS; or the communication device may further receive the second information from the RIS, wherein the second information is used to indicate the RIS array combination.

[0032] In a possible implementation, at least two of the RIS arrays have different combinations.

[0033] In a possible implementation, a RIS array comprising a plurality of RIS arrays may be composed of n rows and m columns of RIS arrays, where n and m are positive integers, and at least one of n and m is greater than 1.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the first information includes one or more bit strings, and the value of at least one bit in at least one of the bit strings is a first value, wherein the bit with the first value corresponds to the first position of one of the RIS array combinations; and / or, the first information includes position indexes of one or more of the RIS array combinations, and the position indexes correspond to the first position.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the first information may be specifically used to indicate the first position of the one or more RIS array combinations in a first area of ​​a RIS panel of the RIS.

[0036] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device may further send indication information of the first area to the RIS.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the communication device may further send third information to the RIS, where the third information is used to indicate a second position of the one or more RIS array element combinations in a second area of ​​the RIS panel.

[0038] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device may further send indication information of the second area to the RIS.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the first information may be specifically used to indicate the first positions of the one or more RIS array combinations in the first area and the second area of ​​the RIS panel of the RIS.

[0040] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device may further send indication information of the first area and the second area to the RIS.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the RIS panel may further include a third area, wherein the position of at least one turned-on RIS array in the third area is fixed, and / or the position of at least one turned-off RIS array in the third area is fixed.

[0042] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided. The device can implement the method described in any possible design of the first or second aspect. The device has the functions of the RIS or communication device described above. The device can be, for example, a terminal device, a functional module in a terminal device, a communication device, or a functional module in a communication device.

[0043] In an optional implementation, the device may include a module that performs the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect or the second aspect. The module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In an optional implementation, the device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a communication unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module, a communication module, etc.). The transceiver unit can implement a sending function and a receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it can be called a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is called a transceiver unit, and the functional module can implement a sending function and a receiving function; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

[0044] Exemplarily, when the apparatus is used to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect, the apparatus may include a communication unit and a processing unit.

[0045] Exemplarily, the device is a chip or a chip system.

[0046] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, comprising a processor for executing a computer program (or computer-executable instructions) stored in a memory. When the computer program (or computer-executable instructions) is executed, the device executes the method in the first aspect or the second aspect and its various possible implementations.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes the memory, and the processor and the memory may be integrated together;

[0048] In another possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication device.

[0049] The communication device also includes a communication interface, which is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices, such as sending or receiving data and / or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module or other type of communication interface.

[0050] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which is used to store computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, enables the method shown in the first aspect or the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0051] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the method shown in the first aspect or the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0052] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device for executing the methods in the above-mentioned first aspect or second aspect and various possible implementations thereof.

[0053] In an eighth aspect, a chip system is provided, which includes a logic circuit (or it can be understood that the chip system includes a processor, and the processor may include a logic circuit, etc.), and may also include an input and output interface. The input and output interface can be used to input messages or to output messages. The input and output interfaces may be the same interface, that is, the same interface can implement both the sending function (which can be called the output function) and the receiving function (which can be called the input function); or, the input and output interface includes an input interface and an output interface, the input interface is used to implement the receiving function, that is, for receiving messages (which can be called input messages); the output interface is used to implement the sending function, that is, for sending messages (which can be called output messages). The logic circuit can be used to perform operations other than the sending and receiving functions in the method shown in the first aspect or the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof; the logic circuit can also be used to transmit messages to the input and output interface, or receive messages from other communication devices from the input and output interface. The chip system can be used to implement the method shown in the first aspect or the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0054] Optionally, the chip system may further include a memory, which may be used to store instructions, and the logic circuit may call the instructions stored in the memory to implement corresponding functions.

[0055] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, which may include a RIS and a communication device, wherein the RIS may be used to implement the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, and the communication device may be used to implement the method in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0056] The technical effects brought about by the above second to ninth aspects can be found in the description of the above first aspect and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0057] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of a RIS provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another working principle of a RIS provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a panel structure of a HRRIS provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a RIS array assembly provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a first position indicated by a RIS array combination according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a first region, a second region, and a third region in a RIS panel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus. The method and apparatus are based on the same inventive concept. Since the method and apparatus solve similar problems, the implementation of the apparatus and method can refer to each other, and the repetitive parts will not be repeated.

[0069] The data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the fourth generation (4G) communication system, such as the long term evolution (LTE) communication system, and can also be applied to the fifth generation (5G) communication system, such as the 5G new radio (NR) communication system, and for example, applied to enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra reliable low latency communication (ultra reliable low latency communication, uRLLC) or massive machine type communication (mMTC) scenarios, or applied to various future communication systems, such as the sixth generation (6G) communication system. The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to a narrowband Internet of Things system (NB-IoT), a Bluetooth system, a wireless fidelity (Wifi) system, a long range radio (LoRa) system or a vehicle network system. The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to a satellite communication system, wherein the satellite communication system can be integrated with the above-mentioned communication system.

[0070] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the application scenarios used in the present application are described using the communication system architecture shown in Figure 1 as an example. Referring to Figure 1, a communication system 100 includes a network device 101 and a terminal device 102. The apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the network device 101 or to the terminal device 102. It will be understood that Figure 1 only illustrates one possible communication system architecture that can be applied in the embodiments of the present application. In other possible scenarios, the communication system architecture may also include other devices.

[0071] The network device 101 is a node in a radio access network (RAN), which may also be referred to as a base station or a RAN node (or device). Currently, some examples of radio access network devices include: a next-generation base station (gNodeB / gNB / NR-NB), a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a remote radio unit (RRU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), satellite equipment, or network equipment in a 5G communication system, or network equipment in a possible future communication system. The network device 101 may also be another device having network device functions. For example, the network device 101 may also be a device that functions as a network device in device-to-device (D2D) communication, Internet of Vehicles (IoV) communication, or machine communication. The network device 101 may also be a network device in a possible future communication system.

[0072] In this application, the BBU and RRU can be placed in different locations. For example, the RRU can be remotely located in a high-traffic area, while the BBU can be placed in a central computer room. The BBU and RRU can also be placed in the same computer room. The BBU and RRU can also be different components within the same rack.

[0073] In some deployments, a gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The gNB may also include a radio unit (RU). The CU implements some gNB functions, while the DU implements some gNB functions. For example, the CU implements radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer functions, while the DU implements radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layer functions. Because RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is converted from PHY layer information, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling or PDCP layer signaling, can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by both the DU and the RU. It is understood that a network device can be a CU node, a DU node, or a device that includes both a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into a network device in the access network RAN, and the CU can also be divided into a network device in the core network CN, which is not limited here.

[0074] Terminal device 102, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), or mobile terminal (MT), provides voice or data connectivity to users and may also be an IoT device. For example, terminal devices include handheld devices and vehicle-mounted devices with wireless connectivity. Currently, terminal devices can be: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, subscriber units, cellular phones, smart phones, wireless data cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modems, handsets, laptop computers, machine type communication (MTC) terminals, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices (such as smart watches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc.), vehicle-mounted devices (such as cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed railways, etc.), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, smart home devices (such as refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electricity meters, etc.), intelligent robots, workshop equipment, wireless terminals in unmanned driving, wireless terminals in remote surgery, smart grids, etc. The terminal device may be a wireless terminal in a wireless grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, or a wireless terminal in a smart home, or an aircraft device (e.g., an intelligent robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane). The terminal device may also be other devices with terminal functions. For example, the terminal device may also be a device that functions as a terminal in D2D communication. In this application, terminal devices with wireless transceiver functions and chips that can be provided in the aforementioned terminal devices are collectively referred to as terminal devices.

[0075] To facilitate understanding of the method provided in this application, the following explanations are first made.

[0076] First, the "sending" and "receiving" in the embodiments of the present application indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, as well as indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from XX" can be understood as the source of the information being XX, which can include direct receiving from XX through the air interface, as well as indirect receiving from XX through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be performed between devices or within a device, for example, between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device through a bus, trace, or interface. It is understandable that the information may undergo necessary processing, such as encoding, modulation, etc., between the source and destination of the information, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0077] Second, the "xx information" sent in the embodiment of the present application can be understood as the content information of "xx" itself. For example, the "location information" sent can be understood as the "location" being sent, or it can be understood as "xx's indication information" used to indicate "xx". For example, the "location information" sent can be understood as the indication information of "location" such as the location identifier being sent.

[0078] The following is an introduction to the technical terms that may be involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0079] (1) Codebook refers to a set of precoding matrices defined by the protocol. There are two ways for network devices to obtain the precoding matrix V:

[0080] Method 1: Network equipment estimates the downlink channel matrix H based on uplink sounding reference signal (SRS) measurements and the reciprocity of the uplink and downlink channels, thereby obtaining V. However, this method is applicable only in time division duplex (TDD) systems. Method 1 is also known as SRS-based precoding.

[0081] Method 2: The terminal device estimates the downlink channel matrix H based on downlink reference signal measurements, and then obtains V, which is then fed back to the network device. Method 2 is also known as precoding matrix indication (PMI)-based precoding.

[0082] For the second method, to reduce implementation complexity and feedback overhead, the current 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) protocol defines a finite number of quantized precoding matrices, V. This finite set of precoding matrices is called a codebook. The precoding matrices in the codebook are numbered, and the terminal device only needs to feedback the relevant codebook numbers or parameters to indicate the precoding matrix.

[0083] Table 1 shows the codebook for 2 antenna ports.

[0084] Table 1

[0085] From the transmitter's perspective, after layer mapping and antenna port mapping, the network device weights the data of each stream using the precoding matrix (also called weights or codebook weights) in the codebook. The orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal generator then forms a directional beam at the antenna port, thus achieving layer-to-beam domain conversion. That is, the data stream of each layer is carried on these beams and transmitted in space.

[0086] Taking Table 1 as an example, when the number of transmission layers is 1, the precoding matrix corresponding to index 0 is

[0087] (2) RIS is a digitally reconfigurable artificial electromagnetic surface, an artificial composite structure formed by a large number of subwavelength digitally reconfigurable artificial electromagnetic units arranged in a certain macroscopic manner (periodic or aperiodic). Depending on the specific materials of the reflective or transmissive elements, RIS can be divided into antenna array-based structures and metamaterial-based structures. By adjusting the phase shift of all reflective or transmissive elements, the reflected or transmitted signals can be configured to propagate in their desired direction.

[0088] Furthermore, due to the rapid development of metamaterials, the reflection or transmission coefficient of any element can be configured in real time to adapt to the dynamically fluctuating wireless propagation environment.

[0089] The following description takes the reflective element as an example.

[0090] Because the basic units and arrangements of RIS can be arbitrarily designed, they can overcome the limitations of traditional materials, which are difficult to precisely manipulate at the atomic or molecular level. This allows the construction of extraordinary media parameters unattainable with traditional materials and technologies, such as those with both positive and negative permittivity. Materials with extraordinary media parameters are referred to as metamaterials. Because they control electromagnetic waves by varying the spatial arrangement of digitally encoded units—that is, by altering the state distribution of the basic units, the properties of the electromagnetic field at a specific spatial location can be controlled—in some embodiments, metamaterials can also be referred to as digital electromagnetic metamaterials or electromagnetically coded metamaterials.

[0091] As shown in Figure 2, a RIS can be used to create a virtual line-of-sight (LoS) path between a communication source and a target, preventing interference from obstacles between them. In Figure 2, the source is a user equipment (UE) and the target is a network device. Figure 2 uses reflection as an example of how the RIS can create a LoS path. In practice, the RIS can support creating LoS paths through reflection and / or refraction. For example, the RIS can be installed on large surfaces, such as indoor walls or ceilings, or outdoor buildings or signs, to reflect radio frequency (RF) energy away from obstacles.

[0092] In addition, the present application can also be applied in D2D communication scenarios. For example, the network device shown in Figure 2 can also be replaced with UEs. Then, when there are obstacles between the UEs, RIS can be used to create a LoS propagation path between the UEs through reflection and / or refraction, thereby improving the communication performance of D2D communication between the UEs.

[0093] As an example, D2D communication scenarios may include integrated access and backhaul (IAB) scenarios. Among them, IAB technology builds a self-backhaul base station device. According to the operator's insights, wireless backhaul mainly appears in macro station blind spot scenarios. As a supplement to macro station coverage, it can solve 5G indoor weak coverage, urban densification pole stations, and urban deep weak coverage scenarios. At present, the IAB architecture is defined as a CU-DU split architecture. In the IAB scenario, the DU of the IAB node (IAB node) is deployed separately from the CU of the IAB host (donor), and the F1 interface is used in the middle. The host's CU can add resource management functions to centrally manage air interface resources, topology routing, etc. The IAB node is logically composed of MT and DU. MT is similar to a terminal and is used to transmit channels through the air interface. A backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) layer is added above the RLC layer of the IAB node MT / DU to map the DU internet protocol (IP) of the IAB node to a BAP identifier (ID) based on the BAP protocol to adapt to multi-hop and forwarding.

[0094] In addition, the D2D communication scenario may also include a network controlled repeater (NCR) scenario.

[0095] The NCR logically consists of the NCR mobile terminal (NCR-MT) and NCR forwarding (NCR-Fwd). The NCR-MT is defined as a functional entity that communicates with the gNB via a control link (C-link) and can be used to implement the transmission of control information. For example, the NCR-MT is used to exchange control information with the base station for controlling the NCR-Fwd. The C-link is an NR Uu-based interface. The NCR-Fwd is defined as a functional entity that amplifies and forwards uplink and / or downlink radio signals between the gNB and the UE via a backhaul link and an access link. The behavior of the NCR-Fwd is controlled by the side control information received by the NCR-MT from the gNB.

[0096] For example, see Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram illustrating the operating principle of the RIS module. As shown in Figure 3, the RIS module includes multiple RIS units, each connected via diodes such as PIN diodes and varactor diodes. In this application, a RIS unit may also be referred to as a RIS array. The RIS can reflect received radio waves. It should be understood that when radio waves propagate from one medium to another with a different refractive index, they undergo not only reflection but also refraction. Therefore, the RIS can change the reflection phase difference of the radio waves. It can also be understood that the RIS causes radio waves to follow the generalized Snell's law at reflective or refractive interfaces. In other words, the RIS can cause the reflection angle of a radio wave to differ from the incident angle. Compared to a traditional surface (where the reflection angle of a radio wave is reflection angle 1), the reflection angle of a radio wave can be changed to reflection angle 2. In other words, compared to traditional surfaces, the RIS has the ability to shape radio waves according to the generalized Snell's law.

[0097] Specifically, by controlling the RIS units to adjust the amplitude and / or phase of received signals, the reflection coefficient of any RIS unit can be controlled. Adjusting the amplitude and / or phase of a received signal by a RIS unit can also be considered adjusting the amplitude and / or phase of the RIS unit. It should be understood that if the reflection coefficients of any two RIS units differ, the reflection angles of the radio waves from these two RIS units will also differ. Alternatively, if the transmission coefficients of any two RIS units differ, the refraction angles of the radio waves from these two RIS units will also differ. Therefore, by controlling multiple RIS units to adjust the amplitude and / or phase of received signals, the reflection angle or refraction angle of the radio waves from these RIS units can be adjusted, thereby collaboratively achieving sophisticated three-dimensional (3D) passive beamforming for directional signal enhancement or nulling.

[0098] In some embodiments, the RIS unit can be controlled to adjust the amplitude and / or phase of a received signal by controlling the on / off state of a PIN diode connected to the RIS unit. Controlling the on / off state of the PIN diode refers to controlling the PIN diode to be either on or off, with the on state corresponding to the "on" state and the off state corresponding to the "off" state. For example, by applying different bias voltages to the PIN diode, the PIN diode is turned on or off, thereby also turning the RIS unit connected to the PIN diode on or off. The different states of the multiple RIS units within the RIS result in different amplitude and / or phase adjustments to the received signal, resulting in different reflection coefficients. Therefore, by controlling the states of the RIS units, the amplitude and / or phase adjustments of the received signal by the RIS module can be controlled. For example, the reflection phase of the RIS for radio waves differs by 180°, thereby controlling the reflection coefficient of the RIS, i.e., the phase and / or amplitude of the RIS. This allows the reflection angle of the RIS for radio waves to differ from the incident angle, thus achieving directional beamforming. This can improve wireless network coverage and system capacity, making the RIS widely applicable in communication systems. For example, in embodiments of the present application, RIS can be configured in the source node and / or the cooperating node to implement cooperative communication. Different RIS reflection coefficients result in different reflection angles for radio waves, leading to different beam directions. Therefore, the RIS reflection coefficient can be used to adjust the RIS beam direction. From this perspective, the RIS reflection coefficient can also be referred to as the RIS beamforming parameter (this example will be used below).

[0099] Optionally, RIS can use an intelligent controller such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) to control the on / off state of the PIN diode. Its workflow in a typical scenario can be as follows: the network device calculates the optimal reflection coefficient of the RIS and then sends it to the RIS controller via a dedicated feedback link. The design of the reflection coefficient depends on the channel state information (CSI), which is updated only when the CSI changes, and its duration is much longer than the data symbol duration. For example, each reflective element in the RIS panel (or array) is embedded with a PIN photodiode. By controlling the voltage on the bias line, the PIN photodiode can be switched between "on" and "off" modes, thereby achieving a phase shift difference of π radians.

[0100] By adjusting the phase shift of the RIS's reflective elements, the reflected signal can be superimposed with the signal from the direct path (or direct link, i.e., a path not reflected by the RIS) to enhance the desired signal power, or destructively combine to mitigate the harmful effects of multi-user interference. RIS thus provides an additional degree of freedom to further improve system performance, particularly for millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications. mmWave typically has high penetration losses, which cannot be easily addressed using large antenna arrays. RIS can also be deployed to create auxiliary transmission links when direct links are blocked.

[0101] It will be appreciated that the amplitude and / or phase of the RIS units can be adjusted based on instructions from the network device. For example, the RIS's adjustments to the signal's amplitude and / or phase can be mapped to multiple precoding matrices in the RIS's codebook. The network device can indicate the index of the precoding matrix in the codebook to the RIS. Based on the network device's instructions, the RIS can determine the precoding matrix with that index and use the amplitude and / or phase corresponding to that precoding matrix to control the reflection coefficients of the RIS units, so that the RIS units achieve signal reflection according to the network device's instructions. Similarly, the network device can indicate the index of the precoding matrix in the codebook to the RIS. Based on the network device's instructions, the RIS can determine the precoding matrix with that index and use the amplitude and / or phase corresponding to that precoding matrix to control the transmission coefficients (or refractive coefficients) of the RIS units, so that the RIS units achieve signal transmission according to the network device's instructions. The codebook can be pre-set or configured by the network device for the RIS. In this application, pre-set can refer to pre-defined, for example, pre-defined through factory configuration or defined by relevant protocols such as 3GPP. The network device configuration may be configured by the network device through messages or information such as RRC messages, MAC control element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI).

[0102] (3) HRRIS is a RIS that uses only a portion of the RIS arrays for phase control. For example, the HRRIS can use only a portion of the RIS arrays in the RIS panel for phase control. Each RIS array in the HRRIS that participates in phase control can support reflection and / or transmission. For example, any HRRIS can support pure reflection signals, pure refraction signals, or both reflection and refraction signals.

[0103] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of the RIS panel of the HRRIS. RIS arrays are represented by 1x1 black and white rectangles. The black rectangles represent RIS arrays that are not phase-modulated and are turned off, while the white rectangles represent RIS arrays that are phase-modulated and participating in beamforming (i.e., turned on). In this application, nxm represents a rectangle consisting of n rows and m columns of arrays; 1x1 designates a single RIS array.

[0104] Due to the uncertainty of the positions of the RIS elements involved in phase control in the HRRIS, network equipment must indicate these positions to the HRRIS. Currently, one method uses a single bit of information for each RIS element position, indicating whether the RIS element is on or off. However, as the number of elements increases, this method leads to excessive overhead. A more efficient method is needed to reduce the overhead of indicating the positions of the RIS elements involved in phase control.

[0105] This application provides a communication method that can reduce the signaling overhead associated with negotiating the positions of transducers involved in phase control within a HRRIS. In this method, a communication device can indicate the first position of one or more RIS transducer combinations to the RIS, enabling the RIS to activate or deactivate one or more RIS transducers based on the first position. Because it eliminates the need to activate or deactivate individual RIS transducers, this application uses position indication at the granularity of RIS transducer combinations to reduce signaling overhead.

[0106] In the present application, a communication device may be a network device or a terminal device. As an example, in a scenario where a base station communicates with a UE, the base station may serve as the communication device in the present application to perform RIS-related indications and / or configurations. The present application also does not exclude the case where a terminal device serves as a communication device in a scenario where a base station communicates with a UE. For example, when the RIS is outside the coverage of the network device, the terminal device serves as a communication device. In addition, in a D2D communication scenario, optionally, when the RIS is within the coverage of the network device, the network device may serve as a communication device to execute the method described in the present application. In addition, a terminal device in the D2D scenario may serve as a communication device to perform RIS-related configurations.

[0107] The RIS device can be a RIS or a RIS controller, such as a chip management device. Specifically, methods related to communications devices can be applied to terminal devices and network devices, or to chips, chip systems, processors, transceivers, processing units, or transceiver units in terminal devices and network devices. RIS-related methods can be applied to a RIS or a chip, chip system, processor, transceiver, processing unit, or transceiver unit in a RIS.

[0108] In addition, in a D2D scenario, the communication device may also be an IAB node in an IAB scenario, an NCR in an NCR scenario, or another RIS.

[0109] The communication method described in this application is described below using a network device and a RIS as the execution entities. The actions performed by the network device in the following description can also be replaced by actions performed by a communication device, a terminal device IAB node, an NCR, or another RIS, and the actions performed by the RIS can also be performed by the RIS's control device.

[0110] In various embodiments involved in the communication method, the RIS may be a HRRIS, or may be other RIS that requires the network device to indicate the positions of the RIS elements involved in phase control.

[0111] For example, the RIS may include one or more RIS elements, at least one of which can be used to reflect and / or transmit signals. In other words, at least one RIS element can participate in phase control. The position of the RIS element participating in phase control is determined based on the indication method described in this application.

[0112] It can be understood that in downlink communication, the network device sends a signal to at least one terminal device via the RIS, and in uplink communication, at least one terminal device may send a signal to the network device via the RIS.

[0113] As shown in FIG5 , the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following steps:

[0114] S101: A network device sends first information to a RIS, where the first information is used to indicate a first position of one or more RIS array combinations.

[0115] Correspondingly, the RIS receives the first information.

[0116] In this application, a RIS array combination may include one or more RIS arrays, or refer to a combination of one or more RIS arrays. In this application, a RIS array combination may also be referred to as a pattern or a combination of patterns.

[0117] Hereinafter, the shape and indication method of the RIS array will be described in conjunction with embodiments.

[0118] The first information may include one or more pieces of position information, any of which may be used to indicate the first position of a RIS element combination. It is understood that one or more RIS element combinations are combinations of enabled or disabled RIS elements in the RIS panel. Therefore, the first information can be used to indicate the position of the RIS elements involved in phase control. The RIS elements involved in phase control are enabled RIS elements.

[0119] In this application, the position of a RIS array assembly refers to the position of the RIS array assembly within the RIS panel. The information indicating the RIS array assembly can be a number or index of the position of the RIS array assembly within the RIS panel, or can be information such as bits indicating the position. The manner in which the first information indicates the first position of the RIS array assembly will be described below with examples and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0120] It is understood that when the number of RIS array combinations to be turned on or off is 1, the first position is the first position of the RIS array combination. When the number of RIS array combinations to be turned on or off is greater than 1, the first position includes the first positions of multiple RIS array combinations.

[0121] S102: The RIS turns on or off one or more RIS elements according to the first position.

[0122] In S102, the RIS may turn on or off one or more RIS arrays at the first position. For example, the first information indicates a RIS array combination at the first position, and accordingly, the RIS may turn on or off one or more RIS arrays included in the RIS array combination.

[0123] Optionally, if the first information indicates the first position of the closed RIS array combination, in S102, the RIS array may close the RIS array in the first position based on the open RIS arrays before receiving the first information, and the remaining open RIS arrays will be the open RIS arrays for the next time period. Furthermore, if the first information indicates the first position of the closed RIS array combination, the RIS array may close the RIS array in the first position based on all the open RIS arrays, and the remaining open RIS arrays will be the open RIS arrays for the next time period.

[0124] Furthermore, if the first information indicates the first position of the combination of activated RIS elements, in S102, the RIS may activate the RIS elements in the first position based on the RIS elements that were activated before receiving the first information, and the remaining activated RIS elements will be the activated RIS elements for the next time period. Alternatively, if the first information indicates the first position of the combination of activated RIS elements, the RIS may activate only the RIS elements in the first position of all RIS elements.

[0125] Based on the process in Figure 5, the RIS can open or close the RIS array in the first position according to the first information. Since the first position indicated by the first information is the position of the RIS array combination, the indication overhead can be reduced compared to the solution of indicating the position of each RIS array in the open or closed state.

[0126] The following is an explanation of the RIS array combination.

[0127] A RIS array combination may include a pattern composed of one or more RIS arrays. Different RIS arrays may have different patterns. For example, when the first information indicates the first positions of multiple RIS array combinations, the multiple RIS array combinations are different, that is, the multiple RIS array combinations may have different patterns.

[0128] In this application, a pattern is a combination of shape and size. Shapes include rectangles, circles, triangles, and so on, while size refers to, for example, the number of rows and columns or the number of RIS arrays. Therefore, two RIS array combinations with the same pattern mean that both the shape and size of the two RIS array combinations are the same; and two RIS array combinations with different patterns mean that at least one of the shape and size of the two RIS array combinations differs.

[0129] For example, any RIS array combination can consist of n rows and m columns of RIS arrays, where n and m are positive integers. This means that the RIS array can be rectangular, strip-shaped (e.g., a 1*m pattern or an n*1 pattern), or dot-shaped (e.g., a 1*1 pattern). Taking Figure 6 as an example, a RIS array combination can include 4*4, 2*2, 2*1, or 1*1 patterns. It's understandable that a 4*4 pattern and a 2*2 pattern have different dimensions, so they are considered different patterns. Similarly, a 2*2 pattern and a 2*1 pattern are also considered different patterns due to their different shapes.

[0130] For example, a RIS array combination can be a circular, triangular, or fan-shaped pattern. Furthermore, depending on actual communication needs, a RIS array combination can also have an irregular shape. For example, an irregular shape can be formed by combining multiple discontinuous RIS arrays into an irregular pattern, or it can be formed by combining multiple regular shapes such as rectangles, circles, and triangles.

[0131] It will be understood that the RIS array combinations to be enabled or disabled in the RIS panel may include one or more RIS array combinations with the same or different patterns. Accordingly, the one or more RIS array combinations referred to in the first information may include one or more RIS array combinations with the same or different patterns. For example, as shown in Figure 7, the RIS array combinations to be enabled in the RIS panel may include one RIS array combination with a 4*4 pattern, five RIS array combinations with a 2*2 pattern, and four RIS array combinations with a 1*1 pattern. The 1*1 pattern in the upper right corner of the RIS panel overlaps with the 2*2 pattern. Based on Figure 7, the first information may indicate the first position of one RIS array combination with a 4*4 pattern, the first position of five RIS array combinations with a 2*2 pattern, and the first position of four array combinations with a 1*1 pattern.

[0132] Optionally, the one or more RIS array combinations involved in the first information may be included in a set or list of RIS array combinations. For example, the set of RIS array combinations includes the four RIS array combinations shown in FIG6 : 4*4 pattern, 2*2 pattern, 1*1 pattern, and 1*2 pattern. The RIS array combinations involved in the first information include some or all of these RIS array combinations.

[0133] In the present application, the RIS array combinations in the RIS array combination set or list may be pre-configured or pre-set. When the first location is indicated by the first information, the network device and the RIS may also determine one or more RIS array combinations through negotiation or based on pre-configured or pre-set settings, so as to avoid misjudging the RIS array combinations when the locations of the one or more RIS array combinations are indicated by the first information.

[0134] For example, a network device may send second information to the RIS to indicate one or more RIS array combinations. For example, the second information may indicate one or more RIS array combinations from a plurality of RIS array combinations (e.g., candidate RIS array combinations). Accordingly, the first information may indicate the first positions of the one or more RIS array combinations, so that the RIS determines which RIS array to enable or disable based on the first positions and patterns of the one or more RIS array combinations.

[0135] For another example, the second information may be sent by the RIS to the network device.

[0136] In any of the above implementations, the second information may include the indexes of one or more RIS array combinations in a set or list of RIS array combinations. For example, in the set of RIS array combinations, the indexes of the four RIS array combinations (4*4 pattern, 2*2 pattern, 1*1 pattern, and 1*2 pattern) are array combination 1, array combination 2, array combination 3, and array combination 4, respectively. The second information may include the array combination indices 1, 2, and 3 to indicate that the first information refers to the RIS array combinations 1, 2, and 3.

[0137] Alternatively, the second information may include an index to a set or list of RIS array combinations. For example, if set 1 of RIS array combinations includes RIS array combinations with a 4*4 pattern, a 2*2 pattern, and a 1*1 pattern, and set 2 of RIS array combinations includes RIS array combinations with a 4*4 pattern, a 2*2 pattern, and a 1*2 pattern, the second information may include set index 1 or 2 to indicate that the RIS array combination involved in the first information is a RIS array combination in set 1 or set 2 of RIS array combinations.

[0138] In addition, the second information may also be used to indicate the graphics of one or more RIS array sub-combinations. For example, the second information indicates information such as n and m of each RIS array sub-combination.

[0139] Furthermore, the one or more RIS array combinations referred to in the first information may also be pre-defined. For example, if one or more RIS array combination patterns are pre-defined via a protocol, the first information may be used to indicate the position of each RIS array combination. Alternatively, it can be understood that a set or list of RIS array combinations is determined in a pre-defined manner, and the first information defaults to indicating the position of each RIS array combination in the set or list of RIS array combinations. In other words, the first position includes the position of each RIS array combination in the set or list of RIS array combinations.

[0140] It can be understood that when a pattern with a relatively regular shape, such as a rectangle, is used as the RIS array combination, the number of potential positions of the RIS array combination in the RIS panel is smaller and the RIS array combination is more likely to cover all RIS arrays in the RIS array surface. Therefore, indicating the position of the pattern with a relatively regular shape through the first information can further reduce the indication overhead.

[0141] The following describes how the first information indicates the position of the RIS array combination.

[0142] It can be understood that the first information can be used to indicate one or more positions of each RIS array combination in the RIS panel.

[0143] In one possible embodiment, the first information may carry one or more bit strings, each of which may correspond to a RIS array combination and be used to indicate the position of the RIS array combination. In this embodiment, for a RIS array combination, k possible positions of the array combination in the RIS panel may be determined based on the RIS panel graphics and the RIS array combination graphics. A bit string containing at most k bits is used to indicate one or more of the k positions as the first position of the RIS array combination, where k is a positive integer.

[0144] Taking the example of an RIS array plane containing 8*8 RIS array elements and using RIS array element combinations of 4*4 patterns, 2*2 patterns, and 1*1 patterns, as shown in Figure 7, the RIS array plane is composed of at most 4 RIS array element combinations of 4*4 patterns. Therefore, a bit string with a length of 4 can be used to indicate whether the possible positions of each RIS array element combination of 4*4 patterns are indicated. For example, the bit string 0001 indicates that the 4th position is indicated. In addition, the RIS array plane is composed of at most 16 RIS array element combinations of 2*2 patterns. Therefore, a bit string with a length of 16 can be used to indicate whether the possible positions of each RIS array element combination of 2*2 patterns are indicated. For example, the 16-bit bit string 1001001001001000 indicates that the positions of 5 2*2 patterns in Figure 7 are indicated.

[0145] It can be understood that when the number of RIS array combinations of a certain graphic included in or capable of being accommodated in the RIS panel is small, or in other words, when the RIS array combination includes a large number of RIS arrays, the method of this embodiment can be used to indicate the position of the RIS array combination to further reduce the indication overhead.

[0146] In another possible embodiment, one or more location indexes may be carried, each location index corresponding to a RIS array combination. In this embodiment, the first information may include multiple location information corresponding to the RIS array combination, and the decimal value of each location information may be used to indicate a location of the RIS array combination.

[0147] Still using Figure 7 as an example, when the RIS array is combined into a 4*4 pattern, the four possible positions of the 4*4 pattern can be numbered 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Therefore, any of these four positions can be indicated using 2 bits of information. Therefore, if only one 4*4 array in the RIS array needs to be indicated, the first position of the 4*4 array can be indicated using 2 bits.

[0148] Furthermore, for a 1*1 RIS array combination, since the RIS array shown in Figure 7 consists of a maximum of 64 1*1 RIS arrays, the 64 possible positions of this RIS array combination can be numbered, and thus represented by 6-bit numbers 0-63. For example, the position index of the RIS array combination at position 1 is 7, and position 1 can be represented by the 6-bit binary bit string 000111. Similarly, if the RIS panel contains four RIS array combinations that need to be indicated, the positions of the four RIS array combinations can be indicated using four 6-bit bits, for a total of 24 bits.

[0149] Alternatively, the position number of one or more RIS array combinations in the RIS array plane can be configured by a preset method or by a network device. Accordingly, the first information can be a position index of the RIS array combination. For example, if the position indexes of the four 1*1 array combinations in the center are 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively, the first information can carry an index of 0, 1, 2, or 4 to indicate one of the 1*1 array combinations.

[0150] It can be understood that when the RIS panel includes a large number of RIS array combinations in a certain graphic, or the RIS array combination includes a small number of RIS arrays, the method of this embodiment can be used to indicate the position of the RIS array combination to further reduce the indication overhead.

[0151] In one possible embodiment, the RIS can also report its own capability information to the network device. For example, the RIS sends the RIS capability information to the network device when it first accesses the network. In this application, the RIS capability information may include information about the RIS array combinations supported by the RIS. For example, the RIS can provide the network device with the RIS array combinations it supports, allowing the network device to select an appropriate RIS array combination based on communication requirements. For example, the RIS can send the network device second information indicating the range of selectable RIS array combinations. The network device can also indicate the first position of the selected RIS array combination via the first information, and the RIS can accordingly activate the RIS array based on the first position. Furthermore, the RIS can also provide the network device with its own fixed RIS array combination, such as by sending the network device a graphic or number of the fixed RIS array combination. Optionally, the network device can obtain the RIS capability information from the RIS equipment vendor or other core network equipment, or the RIS capability information can be configured or stored in the network device as RIS configuration information.

[0152] In this application, RIS capability information may also include the number of RIS elements and their arrangement. For example, N and M may be reported to indicate that the RIS elements are arranged in N rows and M columns, where M and N are both positive integers. For example, RIS capability information may also include the phase shift capability of the RIS elements. In this application, the phase shift capability may indicate whether the RIS elements support phase adjustment and, if so, the phase shift capability may indicate the accuracy of the phase adjustment.

[0153] In addition, the capability information of the RIS may also include information of the first area. If the RIS matrix includes other areas of the RIS matrix where the switch state can be changed, such as the second area, the capability information of the RIS may also include information of the second area.

[0154] Optionally, the network device may further send a first indication to the RIS, indicating whether the RIS element in the first position indicated by the first information is to be turned on or off, so that the RIS element in the first position is accurately turned on or off. If the first indication indicates turning on, then the RIS element in the first position indicated by the first indication is turned on; if the first indication indicates turning off, then the RIS element in the first position indicated by the first indication is turned off. For example, the first indication may include a single bit to indicate turning on or off, e.g., 0 indicates turning on and 1 indicates turning off; or, alternatively, 0 indicates turning off and 1 indicates turning on. For another example, the first indication may use a 0 / 1 flipping scheme to indicate turning on or off. For example, among multiple received first indications, when the value of the first indication flips from 0 to 1, it indicates turning on; when the value of the first indication flips from 0 to 1, it indicates turning off; or alternatively, when the value of the first indication flips from 0 to 1, it indicates turning off; and when the value of the first indication flips from 0 to 1, it indicates turning on.

[0155] Therefore, an indication of opening and / or closing can be implemented based on the first indication. For example, when the first information indicates opening a RIS array combination, the RIS arrays in the RIS array combination are opened, and the RIS arrays outside the RIS array combination are closed. For another example, when the first information indicates closing a RIS array combination, the RIS arrays in the RIS array combination are closed, and the RIS arrays outside the RIS array combination are opened.

[0156] Optionally, the first indication may correspond to multiple RIS array combinations. For example, a 1-bit first indication is valid for multiple RIS array combinations.

[0157] Furthermore, the first indication may also correspond to a single RIS array combination. For example, when the first information involves multiple RIS array combinations, multiple first indications can be used to indicate whether each of the multiple RIS array combinations corresponds to an on or off state. For example, the first indication is adjacent to a field, bit, bit string, or information element indicating the first position of the RIS array combination, and is used to indicate whether the RIS array combination corresponds to an on or off RIS array. Furthermore, when a RIS array combination corresponds to a RIS array combination that has both an on and off state, the RIS array combination may correspond to two first indications: one first indication indicating on and corresponding to the position information of the on RIS array combination, and another first indication indicating off and corresponding to the position information of the off RIS array combination. In this case, the first information includes the position information of both the on and off RIS array combinations.

[0158] The following describes a possible implementation of the first indication with reference to FIG7 .

[0159] For example, according to the description in this application, when the RIS arrays are arranged in a 4*4 pattern, 2 bits can be used to indicate the first position of the 4*4 pattern in FIG7 . Furthermore, 1 bit can be added as the first indication corresponding to the 4*4 pattern to indicate whether the RIS array in the first position corresponding to the 4*4 pattern is on or off. Therefore, 3 bits can be used to indicate whether the RIS array in the first position corresponding to the 4*4 pattern is on or off. Similarly, in this application, 16 bits can be used to indicate whether the RIS arrays in the five 2*2 pattern positions in FIG7 are on or off. Furthermore, 1 bit can be added as the first indication corresponding to the 2*2 pattern to indicate whether the RIS arrays are on or off. Furthermore, 24 bits can be used to indicate whether the RIS arrays in the four 1*1 pattern positions in FIG7 are on or off. Furthermore, 2 bits can be added as the first indication corresponding to the four 1*1 patterns, with 1 bit used to indicate an on pattern and 1 bit used to indicate an off pattern.

[0160] As shown in Figure 7, the 1*1 graphic in the upper right corner of the RIS panel overlaps with the 2*2 graphic. This allows the switch state corresponding to the 1*1 graphic to be different from the switch state of the 2*2 graphic. This means that the value of the first indication corresponding to the 1*1 graphic can be different from the value of the first indication corresponding to the 2*2 graphic. Furthermore, the value of the first indication corresponding to the 1*1 graphic in the upper right corner of the RIS panel can be different from the values ​​of the first indications corresponding to the other 1*1 graphics. Therefore, two bits are required as the first indications corresponding to the four 1*1 graphics, and the values ​​of these two bits are different. For example, assuming that the value of the first indication is 0 for closed and 1 for open, and the RIS arrays in the 4*4 graphic and the RIS arrays in the 2*2 graphic in the RIS panel are both open RIS arrays, the first indication and position indication of the 1*1 graphic in the upper right corner of the RIS template are: 0000111, where the first 0 is the first indication indicating closed, and 000111 represents the position information of the closed 1*1 graphic; the first indication and position indication of other 1*1 graphics are: 1……, where the first 1 is the first indication indicating open, and the length of “……” can be 18 bits, which is used to represent the position information of the other 3 open 1*1 graphics.

[0161] Alternatively, the RIS array in the first position may be determined to be closed or open according to a default rule, in which case the first instruction may not be present. For example, if the RIS defaults to the first position indicated by the first information as the open position of the RIS array, the RIS may open the RIS array in the first position according to the first information. Alternatively, if the RIS defaults to the first position indicated by the first information as the closed position of the RIS array, the RIS may close the RIS array in the first position according to the first information.

[0162] As an example, the first information and the first indication may be carried in the same message, information, or signaling. Furthermore, the first indication may also be sent in a preconfigured manner. For example, the network device may use an RRC message to send the first indication, indicating that the RIS may enable or disable a RIS array in a first position based on the first information for a longer period of time. Optionally, the network device may send one or more first information via control signaling such as MAC CE or DCI, each of which may indicate a combination of RIS arrays enabled or disabled for a shorter period of time within the longer period.

[0163] Optionally, if the multiple RIS array combinations indicated by the first indication have overlapping areas, the RIS can use pre-set rules to process the RIS arrays in the overlapping areas. For example, the 1*1 graphic and the 2*2 graphic in the upper right corner of the RIS panel shown in Figure 7 overlap, meaning the 1*1 graphic in the upper right corner is the overlapping area and / or the RIS arrays within the overlapping area. Therefore, to account for the potential for indication conflicts when the overlapping area is indicated multiple times, the RIS arrays within the overlapping area can be processed according to the following pre-set rules.

[0164] In one possible embodiment, the preset rule may not consider conflicts between RIS array combinations. That is, if there is at least one RIS array combination containing a RIS array, then the RIS array is determined to be the indicated RIS array. The indicated RIS array refers to the RIS array included in the RIS array combination indicated by the first information that has the same status as that determined by the first indication or the default rule. For example, when the first indication indicates on, the indicated RIS array is the on RIS array in the first position, and the indicated RIS array is the off RIS array in the first position. For example, according to the preset rule, when the first indication indicates on, if two or more RIS array combinations have an overlapping area, all RIS arrays in the overlapping area can be considered to be on. When the first indication indicates off, if two or more RIS array combinations have an overlapping area, all RIS arrays in the overlapping area can be considered to be off.

[0165] Based on the preset rules in the example above, it's assumed that there won't be any conflicts between multiple RIS array combinations. If multiple RIS array combinations repeatedly indicate the same area, additional processing is performed without considering the overlapping area. That is, the RIS array states in the overlapping area are the same as those in the non-overlapping area: either on or off. Consequently, RIS doesn't need to perform additional processing on the RIS array states in the overlapping area, reducing processing overhead.

[0166] In another possible embodiment, the preset rules may take into account conflicts between RIS array combinations. Specifically, the status of RIS arrays in overlapping regions may differ from that in non-overlapping regions, thereby enabling more flexible RIS array indication. The handling of RIS arrays in overlapping regions is determined based on the number of RIS array combinations containing the RIS array. For example, if the RIS array and / or overlapping region is included in an odd number of RIS array combinations indicated by the first information, the RIS array is determined to be an unindicated RIS array. Otherwise, if the overlapping region is included in an even number of RIS array combinations indicated by the first information, the RIS array is determined to be an unindicated RIS array. For example, when the RIS array in the first position is an open RIS array, if one, three, or other odd-numbered RIS array combinations among the multiple RIS array combinations indicated by the first information include a RIS array in the same position, then the RIS array can be an open RIS array; if two, four, or other odd-numbered RIS array combinations among the multiple RIS array combinations indicated by the first information include a RIS array in the same position, then the RIS array is a closed RIS array.

[0167] Furthermore, the preset rule can also be understood as determining the processing method for the RIS array based on the first indication corresponding to the RIS array combination. Still using Figure 7 as an example, if the first indication corresponding to the 2*2 pattern in the upper right corner and the first indication corresponding to the 1*1 pattern represent the same on / off state, then no distinction is made between the two patterns, and therefore only the RIS array in the 2*2 pattern in the upper right corner needs to be turned on or off. If the first indication corresponding to the 2*2 pattern in the upper right corner and the first indication corresponding to the 1*1 pattern represent different on / off states, then the RIS array in the overlapping area needs to be treated differently from the other arrays in the 2*2 pattern. For example, when the RIS array in the 1*1 pattern that overlaps with the 2*2 pattern is turned on, the remaining RIS arrays in the 2*2 pattern except for that RIS array are turned off. Alternatively, when the RIS array in the 1*1 pattern that overlaps with the 2*2 pattern is turned off, the remaining RIS arrays in the 2*2 pattern except for that RIS array are turned on.

[0168] In addition, it can also be considered that the instructions of the network devices will not conflict. Accordingly, once there is an overlapping area between multiple RIS array combinations indicated by the first information, the RIS will determine that the first information indicates an error and can discard or not process the first information accordingly.

[0169] Optionally, in S101, the first information may be used to specifically indicate a first position of a RIS array element combination within a first region of the RIS panel. Accordingly, the RIS may enable or disable one or more RIS array elements within the first region based on the first information. Thus, the information may be used to determine which RIS array elements are enabled or disabled within a portion of the RIS panel. This allows for indicating the RIS array on / off status with minimal signaling overhead when only a portion of the RIS panel supports flexible RIS array on / off status changes.

[0170] As shown in Figure 8, the first region can be a portion of the RIS panel. The RIS panel may also include at least one region other than the first region containing RIS elements whose on / off states can be changed, such as the second region. Furthermore, the RIS panel may also include a third region, which may contain one or more RIS elements whose on / off states are fixed.

[0171] The first area may be an area of ​​the RIS panel that supports changing the on / off state of RIS elements. For example, in some RISs, the on / off state (hereinafter referred to as the on / off state) of some RIS elements is fixed, or in other words, only elements within certain areas can change their on / off state. For example, the RIS panel may include areas such as the first and second areas where RIS elements can change their on / off state; in addition, the RIS panel may also include a third area where RIS elements cannot change their on / off state. In other words, the position of at least one open RIS element in the third area is fixed, and / or the position of at least one closed RIS element in the third area is fixed.

[0172] Therefore, in the present application, the network device may indicate the location of the turned-on or turned-off RIS array combination in the first area to the RIS through the first information.

[0173] Further, optionally, if the RIS panel includes both the first and second areas, the RIS may also receive third information sent by the network device. For the third information, reference may be made to the description of the first information in this application. Specifically, the third information may be used to indicate the second position of the RIS array element combination within the second area. Accordingly, the RIS may also refer to the description in S102 to enable or disable one or more RIS array elements based on the second position.

[0174] To distinguish the first information from the third information, the network device may send the first information and the information of the first region to the RIS, so that the RIS learns that the first information indicates the RIS array combination in the first region. Alternatively, the network device may send the third information and the information of the second region to the RIS, so that the RIS learns that the third information indicates the RIS array combination in the second region. As an example, the network device may carry the first information and the information of the first region in one DCI (or another field), and carry the third information and the information of the second region in another DCI (or another field).

[0175] As another example, the first information can also indicate the combination of RIS elements in both the first and second areas, eliminating the need for separate indications for the first and second areas. Optionally, the network device can send the first information, along with information about the first and second areas, to the RIS. Furthermore, the RIS can default to receiving the first information as being for all areas of the RIS elements that can change their switch state. That is, the first information corresponds to the first and second areas, and may also correspond to other areas of the RIS elements that can change their switch state.

[0176] As an example, the RIS can report the area information of its RIS arrays that can change their on / off states. For example, it can report the location information of the first area, so that the network device knows that the on / off states of the RIS arrays in the first area of ​​the RIS target can be changed. As an example, this information can be included in the capability information reported by the RIS to the network device. The location information of the first area can include coordinates, the number and / or layout of the RIS arrays included, etc.

[0177] In addition, if the RIS matrix includes other regions other than the first region where the switch state of the RIS matrix can be changed, such as the second region, the RIS capability information may also include information about the second region. Optionally, the RIS capability information may also include information about the third region.

[0178] The communication method provided by the present application is described below with reference to Examples 1, 2, and 3. In Example 1, all RIS elements of the RIS are changeable, and the RIS element combinations can be configured by a network device. In Example 2, the RIS element combinations supported by the RIS are fixed, representing a fixed configuration of the RIS. In Example 3, the switch states of the RIS elements in some areas of the RIS are changeable, while the switch states of the RIS elements in other areas are fixed and cannot be changed.

[0179] The configuration process of the RIS array in Example 1, Example 2 and Example 3 is introduced below respectively.

[0180] In Example 1, when all RIS elements of the RIS are RIS elements capable of changing their on / off states, the network device may determine one or more RIS element combinations based on the positions of the RIS elements that are turned on or off, and indicate the first positions of the one or more RIS element combinations to the RIS via first information. Accordingly, the RIS may turn one or more RIS elements on or off based on the first positions indicated by the first information.

[0181] In Example 1, the RIS can report capability information to the network device. This capability information may include the number of RIS elements, their arrangement, and / or their phase shifting capabilities. Optionally, the RIS can also report to the network device its supported or recommended flexible RIS element combinations, allowing the network device to determine the RIS element combination. It is understood that this information can be used as an example of the second information indicating the RIS element combination.

[0182] The network device can design the positions of the enabled RIS elements in the RIS based on the capability information reported by the RIS, so that the RIS signal modulation effect meets communication requirements. The network device can determine the RIS element combination and determine the first information based on the RIS element combination. For example, based on the positions of the enabled or disabled RIS elements required, the network device can determine a RIS element combination that accurately and efficiently indicates the positions of the RIS elements.

[0183] Optionally, if the capability information provided by the RIS includes RIS array combinations supported or recommended by the RIS, the network device may determine the RIS array combination by reference to the RIS array combinations supported or recommended by the RIS. For example, the network device may prioritize the RIS array combination supported or recommended by the RIS. If the RIS array combination supported or recommended by the RIS cannot reasonably and cost-effectively indicate the location of the RIS array to be enabled or disabled in the RIS panel, the network device may use another RIS array combination other than the RIS array combination supported or recommended by the RIS.

[0184] The network device may also determine a RIS array combination. For example, the network device may determine one or more RIS array combinations from a plurality of candidate RIS array combinations, and use these one or more RIS array combinations to indicate which RIS arrays are enabled or disabled in the RIS panel. Optionally, the network device may also send second information to the RIS, indicating the one or more RIS array combinations from the plurality of candidate RIS array combinations. For example, the second information may be an RRC message, or may be carried in an RRC message.

[0185] Furthermore, the network device can also design first information based on the RIS array combination pattern to reduce indication overhead. Taking the RIS array combination shown in Figure 7 as an example, the first information may include 46 bits, of which 3 bits can be used to indicate whether the RIS array in the first position corresponding to the 4*4 pattern is on or off. For example, 1 bit can be used to indicate on or off, and 4 bits are used to indicate the first position corresponding to the 4*4 pattern. 17 bits can be used to indicate whether the RIS array in the positions of the five 2*2 patterns in Figure 7 is on or off. For example, 1 bit can be used to indicate on or off, and 16 bits are used to indicate the first position corresponding to the 2*2 pattern. 26 bits can be used to indicate the first position of the 1*1 pattern that is on and the first position of the 1*1 pattern that is off.

[0186] In Example 2, when the RIS array combination of the RIS is fixed, the RIS can report the RIS array combinations it supports to the network device. The network device then determines one or more RIS array combinations based on the positions of the RIS arrays that are turned on or off, and indicates the first positions of the one or more RIS array combinations to the RIS via first information. Accordingly, the RIS can turn one or more RIS arrays on or off according to the first positions indicated by the first information.

[0187] In Example 2, the capability information reported by the RIS may include the number of RIS elements, their arrangement, and / or their phase shift capabilities. Furthermore, the RIS may also report information about its fixed RIS element combinations to the network device, such as the index or number of the RIS element combination within the set of RIS element combinations, and / or the selection and / or size of the RIS element combination. This allows the network device to determine one or more RIS element combinations from the fixed RIS element combinations and to indicate which RIS elements are enabled or disabled based on the selected RIS element combinations.

[0188] In addition, the network device can also obtain information about RIS array combinations supported by RIS from the RIS equipment vendor or core network element, such as a set or list of RIS array combinations.

[0189] As an example of Example 2, assuming that the RIS array combinations supported by the RIS are the 4*4 pattern, 2*2 pattern, 1*1 pattern, and 1*2 pattern shown in Figure 6, the network device can select one or more RIS array combinations from these patterns and indicate the first position based on the selected RIS array combination using the first information. The method for indicating the first position can refer to the description in Example 1 and will not be repeated here.

[0190] In addition, in embodiment 1, the network device may further indicate the codebook of the RIS to the RIS. Optionally, the indication information of the codebook of the RIS and the first information are carried in the same DCI.

[0191] It can be seen that the difference between Example 1 and Example 2 is that in Example 1, the network device can independently select which RIS array combinations to adopt, while in Example 2, the RIS array combinations supported by RIS are fixed and the network device can only select from the RIS array combinations supported by RIS.

[0192] In Example 3, the on / off states of the RIS elements in some areas of the RIS (e.g., the first and second areas) are changeable, while the on / off states of the RIS elements in some areas (e.g., the third area) are fixed and cannot be changed. It can be understood that the RIS elements determined to be turned on or off based on Example 1 or Example 2 are the RIS elements in the first and / or second areas of the RIS in Example 3.

[0193] In Example 3, the capability information reported by the RIS to the network device may include the number of RIS elements, their arrangement, and / or their phase shifting capabilities. Furthermore, the RIS may also report to the network device the location information of each area where the RIS element's on / off state can be changed, and / or the location information of a third area. Furthermore, the RIS may also report to the network device the on / off state of the RIS elements in the third area.

[0194] It is understood that the network device may also obtain one or more of the following: the location information of each RIS area where the RIS element can be switched on / off, the location information of the third area, and the switch status information of the RIS element in the third area from the RIS equipment vendor or the core network element. The core network element may obtain the above information from the RIS equipment vendor.

[0195] In addition, referring to the description in Example 2, if the RIS array combinations supported by the RIS in any area where the on / off state of the RIS array can be changed are fixed, then the RIS also needs to report information about the RIS array combinations supported in the area to the network device, such as reporting area information and the index or number of the RIS array combination supported by the area in the RIS array combination set, and / or reporting the selection and / or size of the RIS array combination; for example, if the RIS array combinations supported by all areas where the on / off state of the RIS array can be changed are fixed, then only the information about the RIS array combinations supported by the RIS may be reported.

[0196] In Example 3, the network device can determine the switch status of all RIS arrays in the RIS panel according to communication requirements, and then indicate the first position of the RIS array combination in the area where the switch status of the RIS array can be changed one by one through at least the first information. The implementation method can refer to the description in this application and will not be repeated here.

[0197] In addition, in Embodiments 1 to 3, the network device may further indicate the RIS codebook to the RIS. Optionally, the indication information of the RIS codebook and the first information are carried in the same DCI.

[0198] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device. The communication device may include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the functions shown in the above method. Those skilled in the art should easily appreciate that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0199] Figures 9 to 11 are schematic diagrams of the structure of a possible communication device provided in embodiments of the present application. This communication device can be used to implement the functions of the RIS and / or communication device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned method embodiments. In one possible implementation, the communication device can be the communication device shown in Figure 1. For relevant details and effects, please refer to the description of the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0200] As shown in Figure 9, communication device 900 includes a processing unit 910 and a communication unit 920. Communication unit 920 can implement corresponding communication functions, and processing unit 910 is used to process data. Communication unit 920 can also be a transceiver unit or an input / output interface. Communication device 900 can be used to implement the functions of the RIS and / or communication device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5.

[0201] For example, when implementing the RIS function, the communication unit 920 may be configured to receive first information, and the processing unit 910 may be configured to enable or disable one or more RIS elements according to the first position.

[0202] For another example, when implementing the function of the communication device, the communication unit 920 may be configured to send first information, and the processing unit 910 may be configured to generate the first information.

[0203] The meanings and specific implementations of the above technologies can be found in the description of the method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0204] It is understood that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0205] As shown in Figure 10, a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application is used to implement the communication method provided in the present application. The communication device 1000 can be a communication device that applies the communication method, or a component in a communication device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a communication device. The communication device 1000 can be a communication device and / or a RIS. Specifically, the communication device 1000 can be a chip system or a chip. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. The communication device 1000 includes at least one processor 1020 for implementing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1000 can also include an input / output interface 1010, which can include an input interface and / or an output interface. In the embodiment of the present application, the input / output interface 1010 can be used to communicate with other devices via a transmission medium, and its functions can include sending and / or receiving. For example, when the communication device 1000 is a chip, it transmits to other chips or devices via the input / output interface 1010. The processor 1020 can be used to implement the method shown in the method embodiment of Figure 5.

[0206] Exemplarily, the processor 1020 may be used to execute actions executed by the processing unit 910 , and the input / output interface 1010 may be used to execute actions executed by the communication unit 920 , which will not be described in detail.

[0207] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include at least one memory 1030 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 1030 is coupled to the processor 1020. Coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 1020 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1030. The processor 1020 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 1030. At least one of the at least one memory may be integrated with the processor.

[0208] In an embodiment of the present application, the memory 1030 may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). A memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device that can implement a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0209] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor 1020 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0210] As shown in Figure 11, a communication device 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application is used to implement the communication method provided in the present application. The communication device 1100 can be a communication device that applies the communication method shown in the embodiment of the present application, or it can be a component in a communication device, or it can be a device that can be used in combination with a communication device. The communication device 1100 can be a RIS and / or a communication device. Among them, the communication device 1100 can be a chip system or a chip. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. Part or all of the communication methods provided in the above embodiments can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the communication device 1100 may include: an input interface circuit 1101, a logic circuit 1102, and an output interface circuit 1103.

[0211] Optionally, taking the device being used to implement the function of the receiving end as an example, the input interface circuit 1101 can be used to execute the above-mentioned receiving action performed by the communication unit 920, the output interface circuit 1103 can be used to execute the above-mentioned sending action performed by the communication unit 920, and the logic circuit 1102 can be used to execute the above-mentioned action performed by the processing unit 910, which will not be repeated.

[0212] Optionally, the communication device 1100 may be a chip or an integrated circuit in a specific implementation.

[0213] Part or all of the operations and functions performed by the communication device described in the above method embodiments of the present application can be completed using a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0214] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program includes instructions for executing the above method embodiment.

[0215] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above method embodiment.

[0216] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a communication device and a RIS, for implementing the method shown in FIG5 .

[0217] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0218] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, an SSD).

[0219] Note: A portion of this patent application contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner reserves all rights reserved except for copies of the materials in the patent file or patent record in the Patent Office.

[0220] The communication devices in the aforementioned apparatus embodiments and the RIS in the method embodiments correspond to communication devices, with corresponding modules or units performing corresponding steps. For example, the communication unit (transceiver) performs the receiving or sending steps in the method embodiments, while all other steps besides sending and receiving can be performed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific units can be found in the corresponding method embodiments. There can be one or more processors.

[0221] As used in this specification, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are used to refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and a computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside in a process and / or an execution thread, and a component can be located on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can be executed from various computer-readable media having various data structures stored thereon. Components can communicate, for example, via local and / or remote processes based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component across a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network, such as the Internet interacting with other systems via signals).

[0222] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented using electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0223] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0224] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0225] Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0226] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0227] The above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

[0228] In the description of this application, words such as "first" and "second" are used solely for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or order. It should be noted that this application does not limit the order of appearance of "first," "second," etc. For example, "second" may appear before "first," and this is not a limitation in this application.

[0229] In the description of this application, "at least one (kind)" refers to one (kind) or more (kinds), and more (kinds) refers to two (kinds) or more than two (kinds). "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple. In the description of this application, " / " means "or", for example, a / b means a or b.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The reconfigurable smart surface RIS receives first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first position of one or more RIS array combinations, at least one of the RIS array combinations includes a plurality of RIS arrays; The RIS turns on or off one or more RIS elements according to the first position.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: The RIS receives a first instruction, where the first instruction is used to instruct to turn on or off the RIS array at the first position.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that There is an overlapping area at the first positions of the plurality of RIS array combinations, and the RIS arrays corresponding to the overlapping area are processed using a preset rule.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The RIS receives second information; or, The RIS sends the second information, The second information is used to indicate the RIS array combination.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: At least two of the RIS arrays have different combinations.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The RIS array combination including a plurality of RIS arrays is composed of n rows and m columns of RIS arrays, where n and m are positive integers, and at least one of n and m is greater than 1.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first information includes one or more bit strings, at least one bit in at least one of the bit strings has a value of a first value, wherein the bit having the first value corresponds to the first position of one of the RIS array element combinations; and / or, The first information includes a position index of one or more RIS array element combinations, and the position index corresponds to the first position.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The first information is specifically used to indicate the first position of the one or more RIS array combinations in the first area of ​​the RIS panel of the RIS; The RIS turns on or off one or more RIS elements according to the first position, including: The RIS turns on or off one or more RIS arrays in the first area according to the first position.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: The RIS receives indication information of the first area.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: The RIS receives third information, wherein the third information is used to indicate a second position of the one or more RIS array combinations in a second area of ​​the RIS panel; The RIS turns on or off one or more RIS arrays in the second area according to the second position.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: The RIS receives indication information of the second area.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The first information is specifically used to indicate the first position of the one or more RIS array combinations in the first area and the second area of ​​the RIS panel of the RIS; The RIS turns on or off one or more RIS elements according to the first position, including: The RIS turns on or off one or more RIS arrays in the first area and the second area according to the first position.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: The RIS receives indication information of the first area and the second area.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that: The RIS panel further includes a third region, in which the position of at least one opened RIS array in the third region is fixed, and / or the position of at least one closed RIS array in the third region is fixed.

15. A communication method, characterized in that: include: First information is sent to a reconfigurable smart surface RIS, where the first information is used to indicate a first position of one or more RIS array element combinations, and at least one of the RIS array element combinations includes a plurality of RIS array elements.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: A first instruction is sent to the RIS, where the first instruction is used to instruct to turn on or off the RIS array at the first position.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that There is an overlapping area at the first positions of the plurality of RIS array combinations, and the RIS arrays corresponding to the overlapping area are processed using a preset rule.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that: The method further comprises: sending second information to the RIS; or, receiving the second information from the RIS, The second information is used to indicate the RIS array combination.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that: At least two of the RIS arrays have different combinations.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, characterized in that: The RIS array combination including a plurality of RIS arrays is composed of n rows and m columns of RIS arrays, where n and m are positive integers, and at least one of n and m is greater than 1.

21. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, characterized in that: The first information includes one or more bit strings, at least one bit in at least one of the bit strings has a value of a first value, wherein the bit having the first value corresponds to the first position of one of the RIS array element combinations; and / or, The first information includes a position index of one or more RIS array element combinations, and the position index corresponds to the first position.

22. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, characterized in that: The first information is specifically used to indicate the first position of the one or more RIS array combinations in a first area in a RIS panel of the RIS.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein: The method further comprises: Send indication information of the first area to the RIS.

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that The method further comprises: Third information is sent to the RIS, where the third information is used to indicate a second position of the one or more RIS array combinations in a second area of ​​the RIS panel.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein: The method further comprises: Send indication information of the second area to the RIS.

26. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, characterized in that: The first information is specifically used to indicate the first position of the one or more RIS array combinations in the first area and the second area of ​​the RIS panel of the RIS.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein: The method further comprises: Send indication information of the first area and the second area to the RIS.

28. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 27, characterized in that: The RIS panel further includes a third region, in which the position of at least one opened RIS array in the third region is fixed, and / or the position of at least one closed RIS array in the third region is fixed.

29. A processing device, characterized in that The method comprises a processor configured to execute a computer program or an instruction to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28.

30. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The device further comprises a memory and / or a transceiver, wherein the memory is used to store the computer program or instructions, and the transceiver is used for the device to communicate.

31. The device according to claim 29 or 30, characterized in that The device is a chip or a chip system.

32. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising modules for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-28.

33. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28 is implemented.

34. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises a computer program or an instruction, which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28.

35. A communication system, characterized in that: The invention comprises a communication device for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, and a communication device for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 28.

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