Communication method, apparatus, device, and storage medium

Abstract

A communication method, device and equipment and storage medium belong to the technical field of mobile communication. The method is executed by a first device, including: receiving first information (510), the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second device is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) device; and communicating (520) between the third device and the one or more second devices through the one or more second devices.

Description

Communication method, device, equipment and storage medium Technical Field

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

[0002] Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) is a technology that passively reflects incident wireless signals through signal reflection elements.

[0003] In related technologies, RIS technology can be used to expand the coverage of wireless signals, thereby improving the performance of wireless communication systems.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

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

[0006] In one aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is performed by a first device and includes:

[0007] Receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second devices are reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) devices;

[0008] Communication is performed with a third device via one or more of the second devices.

[0009] In one aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is performed by a second device and includes:

[0010] Sending first information to a first device, where the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second devices are reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) devices;

[0011] Communicate with the first device through one or more of the second devices.

[0012] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the device comprising:

[0013] A receiving module, configured to receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second devices are reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) devices;

[0014] The communication module is used to communicate with a third device through one or more of the second devices.

[0015] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the device comprising:

[0016] A sending module, configured to send first information to a first device, where the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second devices are reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) devices;

[0017] The communication module is used to communicate with the first device through one or more of the second devices.

[0018] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the communication device including a processor, a memory, and a transceiver;

[0019] The memory stores a computer program, and the processor executes the computer program to enable the communication device to implement the above communication method.

[0020] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. The computer program is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the above-mentioned communication method.

[0021] On the other hand, the present application also provides a chip, which includes an integrated circuit and firmware set in the integrated circuit, and the chip is used to run in a communication device so that the communication device executes the above-mentioned communication method.

[0022] In another aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, the computer program product including computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor of a communication device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the communication device to perform the above-mentioned communication method.

[0023] On the other hand, the present application provides a computer program, which is executed by a processor of a communication device to implement the above communication method.

[0024] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication solution in which a third device can indicate one or more RIS devices to a first device through first information, so that the first device can better utilize the RIS devices to communicate with the third device, thereby improving the communication effect between the two communication devices through the RIS devices and further improving the communication performance of the wireless system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of increasing network coverage through a RIS device involved in the present application;

[0027] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a method for resolving coverage holes by using a RIS device according to the present application;

[0028] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of implementing MIMO communication through a RIS device involved in the present application;

[0029] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG7 is a framework diagram of communication via a RIS device involved in this application;

[0032] FIG8 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG9 is a diagram of a communication architecture involved in this application;

[0034] FIG10 is another communication architecture diagram involved in this application;

[0035] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of two working modes of the RIS device involved in this application;

[0036] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of determining spatial information involved in this application;

[0037] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of an information indication method involved in this application;

[0038] FIG14 is a block diagram of a communication device provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG15 is a block diagram of a communication device provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The communication system includes a network device 110, a terminal device 120, and a RIS device 140, and / or the communication system includes a terminal device 120, a terminal device 130, and a RIS device 140, which is not limited in the present application.

[0042] The network device 110 in the present application provides wireless communication functions, and the network device 110 includes but is not limited to: Evolved Node B (eNB), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Home Base Station (e.g., Home Evolved Node B, or Home Node B, HNB), Baseband Unit (BBU), Access Point (AP) in Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, Wireless Relay Node, Wireless Backhaul Node, Transmission Point (TP) or Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), etc., and can also be the Next Generation Node B (NGNB) in the 5th Generation (5G) mobile communication system. The term "gNB" refers to a base station (B, gNB) or a transmission point (TRP or TP), or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU), or a base station in a Beyond Fifth Generation (B5G) or a 6th Generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a core network (CN), fronthaul, backhaul, radio access network (RAN), network slicing, or a serving cell, primary cell (PCell), primary secondary cell (PSCell), special cell (SpCell), secondary cell (SCell), or neighboring cell of a terminal device.

[0043] The terminal device 120 and / or terminal device 130 in this application are also called user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, and user device. The terminals include, but are not limited to, handheld devices, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, and Internet of Things devices, such as mobile phones, tablet computers, e-book readers, laptop computers, desktop computers, televisions, game consoles, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), augmented reality (AR) terminals, virtual reality (VR) terminals, and mixed reality (MR) terminals, wearable devices, handles, electronic tags, controllers, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical care, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loops (WLANs), and wireless terminals in industrial control. Loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDA), TV set-top boxes (STB), customer premises equipment (CPE), etc.

[0044] The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 communicate with each other via some air interface technology, such as a Uu interface.

[0045] Exemplarily, there are two communication scenarios between the network device 110 and the terminal device 120: an uplink communication scenario and a downlink communication scenario. Uplink communication refers to sending signals to the network device 110; downlink communication refers to sending signals to the terminal device 120.

[0046] The terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 communicate with each other via some air interface technology, such as a PC5 interface.

[0047] In some embodiments, there are two communication scenarios between the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130: a first sideline communication scenario and a second sideline communication scenario. The first sideline communication refers to sending signals to the terminal device 130; the second sideline communication refers to sending signals to the terminal device 120.

[0048] Terminal device 120 and terminal device 130 are both within the network coverage and located in the same cell, or terminal device 120 and terminal device 130 are both within the network coverage but located in different cells, or terminal device 120 is within the network coverage but terminal device 130 is outside the network coverage.

[0049] The RIS device 140 is also called a Large Intelligent Surface (LIS) device, a Smart Reflect Array (SRA) device, a Reconfigurable Reflect Array (RRA) device, an Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS) device, and the like.

[0050] In some embodiments, the RIS device 140 integrates a large number of reflective elements on a plane to intelligently reconfigure the wireless propagation environment, thereby significantly improving the performance of the wireless communication network. For example, different reflective elements of the RIS device can independently reflect incident signals by controlling amplitude and / or phase.

[0051] In some embodiments, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120, or the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130, can communicate through the RIS device 140. For example, the RIS device 140 can reflect wireless signals sent by the network device 110 to the terminal device 120, or reflect wireless signals sent by the terminal device 120 to the network device 110. For another example, the RIS device 140 can reflect wireless signals sent by the terminal device 120 to the terminal device 130, or reflect wireless signals sent by the terminal device 130 to the terminal device 120.

[0052] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, 5G mobile communication system, New Radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR on unlicensed spectrum (NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum) system. Unlicensed spectrum, NR-U) system, terrestrial communication network (Terrestrial Networks, TN) system, non-terrestrial communication network (Non-Terrestrial Networks, NTN) system, wireless local area network (Wireless Local Area Networks, WLAN), wireless fidelity (Wireless Fidelity, Wi-Fi), cellular Internet of Things system, cellular passive Internet of Things system, can also be applied to the subsequent evolution system of the 5G NR system, and can also be applied to B5G, 6G and subsequent evolution systems. In some embodiments of the present application, "NR" may also be referred to as a 5G NR system or a 5G system. Among them, the 5G mobile communication system may include non-standalone networking (NSA) and / or standalone networking (SA).

[0053] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to machine type communication (MTC), long term evolution technology for machine-to-machine communication (LTE-M), device-to-device (D2D) network, machine-to-machine (M2M) network, Internet of Things (IoT) network or other networks. Among them, the IoT network can include, for example, the Internet of Vehicles. Among them, the communication mode in the Internet of Vehicles system is collectively referred to as vehicle to other devices (Vehicle to X, V2X, X can represent anything), for example, the V2X can include: vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle to pedestrian communication (V2P) or vehicle to network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0054] 1) Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission scheme for multiple TRPs

[0055] In NR Release 16, PDSCHs from two TRPs scheduled by single-Downlink Control Information (s-DCI) can be distinguished by the transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state. One state of the TCI information field in the DCI can be mapped to up to two TCI states, and each TCI state corresponds to one of the PDSCHs transmitted using frequency division multiplexing (FDM) / space division multiplexing (SDM).

[0056] Due to the different spatial positions of different TRPs, the large-scale characteristics of the channels corresponding to each TRP are significantly different. Therefore, when multiple TRPs are transmitted jointly, it is necessary to indicate the quasi-colocation (QCL) information corresponding to each TRP separately. In R15, one state of the TCI information field in DCI only corresponds to one TCI state. In order to support transmission based on multiple TRPs, the Media Access Control (MAC)-Control Element (CE) signaling is enhanced in R16, that is, one state of the TCI information field in DCI can be mapped to up to two TCI states. If the TCI information field indicated in the DCI indicates two TCI states, the PDSCH associated with the first TCI state will use the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port indicated in the first code division multiplexing (CDM) group for transmission, and the PDSCH associated with the second TCI state will use the DMRS port indicated in the second CDM group for transmission. The beam direction of the PDSCH is the same as the beam direction of the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) corresponding to the TCI state.

[0057] The configuration and indication of TCI status includes three steps: Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration, MAC-CE activation, and DCI indication. The specific process is as follows:

[0058] 1) RRC configures a maximum of M TCI states for the terminal through PDSCH-Config, where the value of M is determined by the UE capability and the maximum value of M can be 128.

[0059] 2) The MAC-CE activates up to eight TCI state groups for mapping to the 3-bit TCI information field in the DCI. Each TCI state group activated by the MAC-CE can contain one or two TCI states. If higher-layer parameter configuration includes a TCI indication field in the DCI, DCI format 1_1 can indicate one TCI state group from the MAC-activated TCI state groups. If higher-layer parameter configuration does not include a TCI indication field in the DCI or data is scheduled using DCI format 1_0, the DCI will not contain a TCI state indication field.

[0060] Among them, a TCI state can include the following configurations:

[0061] TCI state ID, used to identify a TCI state;

[0062] QCL information 1;

[0063] QCL information 2.

[0064] Among them, a QCL information contains the following information:

[0065] QCL type configuration, which can be one of QCL type A, QCL type B, QCL type C, and QCL type D;

[0066] The QCL reference signal configuration includes the cell ID where the reference signal is located, the bandwidth part (Band Width Part, BWP) ID and the reference signal information (which can be the CSI-RS resource ID or SSB index).

[0067] The definitions of different QCL type configurations are as follows:

[0068] 'QCL-TypeA': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread};

[0069] 'QCL-TypeB': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread};

[0070] 'QCL-TypeC': {Doppler shift, average delay};

[0071] 'QCL-TypeD': {Spatial Rx parameter}.

[0072] 2) Intelligent reflective surface technology

[0073] Smart surfaces are an emerging technology. Several related terms refer to similar technologies or entities, including: Large Intelligent Surface (LIS), Smart Reflect Array (SRA), Reconfigurable Reflect Array (RRA), Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS), and Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS). For ease of description, RIS will be used in the following discussion.

[0074] Because they do not require RF and baseband processing circuits, smart surface devices have several advantages over traditional wireless communication transceivers:

[0075] (1) Lower cost and implementation complexity;

[0076] (2) Lower power consumption;

[0077] (3) No additional thermal noise will be introduced at the receiving end;

[0078] (4) Thin thickness and light weight enable flexible deployment.

[0079] RIS can be categorized as passive RIS, active RIS, and a combination of active and passive RIS. Passive RIS is a type of smart surface, as it is composed of a large number of passive device units and lacks RF and baseband processing capabilities. Since passive smart surfaces are composed of a large number of passive device units and lack RF and baseband processing capabilities, the passive device units themselves cannot receive, measure, or transmit signals. Therefore, the base station cannot obtain channel information from the base station to the smart surface and from the smart surface to the terminal. This type of smart surface, equipped with some active devices, has the ability to receive and even transmit signals, and is a combination of active and passive smart surfaces (active smart surfaces).

[0080] Several possible application scenarios of RIS include:

[0081] 1. It can increase coverage so that network devices and terminal devices can establish communication links, as shown in Figure 2, which shows a schematic diagram of increasing network coverage through RIS devices involved in this application;

[0082] 2. It can solve the coverage hole problem and forward information to the end users in the obscured geographical location. As shown in FIG3 , it shows a schematic diagram of solving the coverage hole problem by using the RIS device involved in this application;

[0083] 3. It can be used for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) communication to improve system performance. As shown in FIG4 , it shows a schematic diagram of implementing MIMO communication through a RIS device involved in this application.

[0084] As an emerging technology, when the link between a network device and a terminal device is poor, the two devices can use RIS devices to assist in transmission. However, RIS can be active or inactive within the system, and RIS can achieve different transmission effects by adjusting the parameters of each RIS unit. If a terminal device does not know the RIS parameter information, it will not achieve the expected transmission performance. Furthermore, how to indicate beam information based on the RIS parameter information is an unresolved issue. Subsequent embodiments of this application provide methods for configuring / indicating RIS parameter information and corresponding beam indication methods.

[0085] Please refer to FIG5 , which shows a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method may be performed by a first device, wherein the first device may be a terminal device. For example, the terminal device may be one of the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 . The method may include the following steps:

[0086] Step 510: Receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second device is a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) device.

[0087] In some embodiments, the third device may indicate one or more available RIS devices (ie, second devices) to the first device through the first information, so that the first device can subsequently communicate with the third device through the second device.

[0088] Among them, the above-mentioned second device can be the RIS device 140 in the network architecture shown in Figure 1; the above-mentioned third device can be the network device 110 shown in Figure 1, or it can also be another terminal device other than the first device among the terminal devices 120 and 130 shown in Figure 1.

[0089] Among them, the above-mentioned first information is used to indicate one or more second devices, and may include: the first information indicates that there are one or more second devices around; optionally, the first information can also indicate the parameters for the first device to communicate with the third device through one or more second devices, such as the number, identification, device type, application time, beam direction and other parameters of the second devices.

[0090] Step 520: Communicate with a third device through one or more second devices.

[0091] The communication between the first device and the third device through one or more second devices may include: a wireless signal sent by the first device is reflected by the second device and then reaches the third device.

[0092] And / or, the communication between the first device and the third device through one or more second devices may include: the first device receiving a wireless signal sent by the third device and reflected by the second device.

[0093] In summary, through the solution shown in the embodiment of the present application, the third device can indicate one or more RIS devices to the first device through the first information, so that the first device can better utilize the RIS devices to communicate with the third device, thereby improving the effect of communication between the two communication devices through the RIS devices, and further improving the communication performance of the wireless system.

[0094] Please refer to FIG6 , which shows a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method may be performed by a third device. The third device may be a network device, for example, the third device may be the network device 110 shown in FIG1 . Alternatively, the third device may be a terminal device, for example, the third device may be one of the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 . The method may include the following steps:

[0095] Step 610: Send first information to a first device, where the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second device is a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) device.

[0096] Step 620: Communicate with the first device through one or more second devices.

[0097] In summary, through the solution shown in the embodiment of the present application, the third device can indicate one or more RIS devices to the first device through the first information, so that the first device can better utilize the RIS devices to communicate with the third device, thereby improving the effect of communication between the two communication devices through the RIS devices, and further improving the communication performance of the wireless system.

[0098] Based on any one or more of the solutions shown in Figures 5 and 6 above, please refer to Figure 7, which shows a framework diagram of communication via RIS devices involved in this application. As shown in Figure 7, network device 710 (corresponding to the third device) first indicates at least one RIS device 730 (Figure 7 shows one RIS device) to terminal device 720 (corresponding to the first device) (step S1). Subsequently, network device 710 and terminal device 720 can communicate using the signal reflection function of RIS device 730. For example, taking the example of network device 710 sending a wireless signal to terminal device 720, network device 710 sends a wireless signal (step S2). After the wireless signal reaches RIS device 730, RIS device 730 reflects the wireless signal and sends it back to terminal device 720. In response, terminal 720 receives the wireless signal reflected by RIS device 730 (step S3).

[0099] Please refer to FIG8 , which shows a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method can be interactively executed by a first device and a third device. The first device can be a terminal device, for example, the terminal device can be one of the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 in the network architecture shown in FIG1 ; the third device can be a network device, for example, the third device can be the network device 110 shown in FIG1 ; or the third device can be a terminal device, for example, the third device can be the other of the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 shown in FIG1 , except the first device. The method can include the following steps:

[0100] Step 810: The third device sends first information to the first device; accordingly, the first device receives the first information; the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second device is a RIS device.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first information is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0102] parameter configuration of the second device; and a working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other.

[0103] In the embodiment of the present application, the parameter configuration of the second device may refer to a parameter configuration related to the second device that the first device needs to know when the first device and the third device communicate through the second device. For example, the parameter configuration may indicate which RIS the second device includes, the type of the second device, whether the second device is available, when the second device is available, etc.

[0104] The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other may be information indicating a receiver and a sender in communication between the first device and the third device through the second device.

[0105] In some embodiments, the parameter configuration of the second device includes one or more of the following information:

[0106] 1) Type indication information of the second device, used to indicate the device type of the second device; the device type of the second device may include but is not limited to: transmissive RIS, reflective RIS, refractive RIS, etc.;

[0107] 2) identification information of the second device;

[0108] 3) Activation indication information of the second device, used to indicate whether the second device is activated; wherein the activation indication information of each second device can be indicated by a single-bit information field; for example, when the value of the activation indication information is 0, it indicates that the corresponding second device is not activated, and when the value of the activation indication information is 1, it indicates that the corresponding second device is activated; for another example, when the value of the activation indication information is 1, it indicates that the corresponding second device is not activated, and when the value of the activation indication information is 0, it indicates that the corresponding second device is activated; for another example, when the activation indication information is configured, it indicates that the corresponding second device is activated, and when the activation indication information is not configured, it indicates that the corresponding second device is not activated; optionally, when there are multiple second devices, each second device has its own activation indication information configuration; optionally, multiple second devices can also share one activation indication information, that is, the above-mentioned multiple second devices are activated / inactivated at the same time;

[0109] 4) application time indication information of the second device, used to indicate the time of the second device application; wherein the second device application time may refer to the time during which the first device is allowed to communicate with the third device through the second device. Optionally, in the case where there are multiple second devices, different second devices may correspond to the same application time indication information, or different second devices may correspond to different application time indication information;

[0110] 5) The number of the one or more second devices.

[0111] In some embodiments, the type indication information is associated with one or more of the following information:

[0112] 1) The beam direction of the reflected signal or refracted signal of the second device;

[0113] 2) a beamforming pattern of the reflected or refracted signal of the second device;

[0114] 3) the polarization of the reflected or refracted signal from the second device;

[0115] 4) The phase of each RIS unit in the second device.

[0116] In the embodiments of the present application, different types of RIS devices may be associated with different beam directions of reflected or refracted signals, beamforming modes of reflected or refracted signals, polarization modes of reflected or refracted signals, and phases of each RIS unit. In other words, configuration of at least one of the following information, namely, the beam direction of the reflected or refracted signal, the beamforming mode of the reflected or refracted signal, the polarization mode of the reflected or refracted signal, and the phases of each RIS unit, may be implemented for the RIS device simply by configuring the type indication information of the first information. This simplifies the configuration of the above information and improves configuration efficiency.

[0117] In some embodiments, the type indication information includes a type adjustment pattern of the second device;

[0118] The type adjustment pattern is used to indicate the device type of the second device within one or more time units.

[0119] In the embodiment of the present application, the RIS device can be implemented as different device types in different time units, thereby providing flexible services for the first device and the third device. The third device can adjust the mode by indicating the type of the second device through the first device to indicate the device type of the second device in each time unit to the first device. This allows the first device and the second device to communicate more flexibly using the second device, thereby improving the efficiency and flexibility of communication.

[0120] In some embodiments, the time unit is:

[0121] timeslot, radio frame, symbol, minislot, or absolute time period.

[0122] In an embodiment of the present application, the second device can change the device type according to the granularity of time slots, radio frames, symbols, mini-time slots, or absolute time periods, thereby providing flexible services for the first device and the third device, thereby improving the efficiency and flexibility of communication.

[0123] In some embodiments, the identification information of the second device includes an index of the second device.

[0124] The index of the second device may refer to the RIS index of the second device.

[0125] Optionally, the identification information of the second device may also include other information besides the index of the second device, such as the serial number of the second device, the hardware address of the second device, etc.

[0126] In some embodiments, the application time indication information of the second device includes one or more of the following:

[0127] a configuration period of the second device; and an application time period of the second device.

[0128] In an embodiment of the present application, the application time of the second device can be periodically configured for the first device and the third device. In this case, the third device can indicate the configuration period of the second device to the first device through the first information, where the configuration period indicates multiple periodically occurring application time periods. For example, the configuration period can include the period length, the length of the application time period in each period, and the offset of the starting point of the application time period relative to the starting point of the period.

[0129] In an embodiment of the present application, the application time of the second device can also be configured to the first device and the third device in the form of an absolute time period. At this time, the third device can indicate the application time period of the second device to the first device through the first information, for example, indicating the starting point and length of the above-mentioned application time period.

[0130] In some embodiments, the above working method includes one or more of the following:

[0131] The first device sends the second information to the third device. In this working mode, the first device acts as the sender and directly sends the information to the third device.

[0132] The first device sends the second information to the third device through one or more second devices. In this working mode, the first device acts as the sender and sends information to the third device only through the second device.

[0133] The first device sends the second information to the third device through one or more second devices, and the first device sends the second information directly to the third device. In this working mode, the first device acts as the sender and, when sending information to the third device through the second device, also sends information directly to the third device, thereby implementing MIMO communication based on the second device.

[0134] The first device receives the second information sent by the third device; in this working mode, the first device acts as a receiver and receives the information directly sent by the third device;

[0135] The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more second devices. In this working mode, the first device acts as a receiver and only receives the information sent by the third device through the second device.

[0136] In addition, the first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more second devices, and the first device directly receives the second information sent by the third device; in this working mode, the first device acts as a receiver, and when receiving the information sent by the third device through the second device, it also receives the information directly sent by the third device, thereby realizing MIMO communication based on the second device.

[0137] In an embodiment of the present application, the third device can indicate to the first device the sender and receiver of the communication between the two, whether communication is performed only through the second device, whether MIMO communication is performed through the second device, etc.

[0138] In some embodiments, the second information includes one or more of the following:

[0139] Control information, data, reference signals.

[0140] In the embodiment of the present application, any type of information such as control information, data, and reference signals can be transmitted between the first device and the third device through the second device.

[0141] In some embodiments, the first information is carried by one or more of the following information:

[0142] System Information Block (SIB), RRC signaling, MAC signaling, and DCI signaling.

[0143] In an embodiment of the present application, the third device can carry the above-mentioned first information through one of SIB, RRC signaling, MAC signaling, and DCI signaling, or through a combination of multiple signalings among SIB, RRC signaling, MAC signaling, and DCI signaling, to ensure the applicable scenario of the transmission of the first information.

[0144] Step 820: The third device sends third information to the first device; accordingly, the first device receives the third information; the third information is used to indicate one or more spatial information, and the spatial information is used to indicate the beam direction.

[0145] In an embodiment of the present application, the one or more pieces of spatial information may be used to indicate a beam direction used by the first device for transmission. Transmission may refer to the first device receiving or sending a signal; that is, the third information indicates the beam direction used by the first device for receiving or sending information.

[0146] In some embodiments, the first information and the third information may be different information. For example, the first information and the third information may be different information carried in the same wireless signal / wireless signaling, or the first information and the third information may be different information carried in different wireless signals / wireless signaling.

[0147] In some embodiments, the first information and the third information may also be the same information.

[0148] In some embodiments, the spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the first information.

[0149] In the solution shown in the embodiment of the present application, the third device can select one or more spatial information indications from the spatial information set associated with the first information and indicate them to the first device, so that the first device and the third device can subsequently communicate through the second device, while ensuring the accuracy of the spatial information indication and improving the indication efficiency of the spatial information.

[0150] In some embodiments, the spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the type indication information of the second device included in the first information.

[0151] In an embodiment of the present application, an associated spatial information set can be set corresponding to the device type of the second device. That is, different device types of the second device can correspond to different spatial information sets. Through the above-mentioned third information, the third device can configure the spatial information matching the device type of the second device to the first device, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the spatial information indication and further ensuring the subsequent communication effect.

[0152] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned spatial information includes one or more of the following information: transmission configuration indication TCI status, unified TCI status, beam direction, beam index, downlink spatial relationship filter, uplink spatial relationship filter, reference signal resource, quasi-co-site QCL relationship.

[0153] In some embodiments, the spatial information states in the spatial information sets associated with different type indication information are not completely the same.

[0154] That is to say, the spatial information in the spatial information sets associated with different types of indication information (such as TCI status, unified TCI status, beam direction, beam index, downlink spatial relationship filter, uplink spatial relationship filter, reference signal resources, or quasi-co-site QCL relationship) may be completely different; or, the spatial information in the spatial information sets associated with different types of indication information may be partially the same and partially different.

[0155] In some embodiments, when the first information indicates multiple second devices, the spatial information set associated with the type indication information of the multiple second devices is a subset of the same spatial information set.

[0156] In an embodiment of the present application, for multiple second devices indicated by the same first information, the spatial information set associated with the device type indication information of the multiple second devices can come from the same large spatial information set. For example, the spatial information set associated with the device type indication information of the multiple second devices can come from the same TCI state set, thereby ensuring the matching and correlation between the spatial information of the multiple second devices during a communication process performed between the first device and the third device through the multiple second devices, thereby ensuring the effect of communication between the first device and the third device through the multiple second devices.

[0157] In some embodiments, the spatial information field included in the third information is associated with the working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other; the parameters in the above-mentioned spatial information field are used to indicate the spatial information.

[0158] In some embodiments, the working method when communicating between the first device and the third device includes the first device sending second information to the third device through one or more second devices, and / or the first device receiving second information sent by the third device through one or more second devices, and the third information includes a first spatial information field, and the first spatial information field is used to indicate the beam direction corresponding to the one or more second devices.

[0159] In some embodiments, the working method when communicating between the first device and the third device includes the first device sending second information to the third device, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device, the third information includes a second information field, and the second spatial information field is used to indicate the beam direction corresponding to the third device.

[0160] For example, when the first device and the third device communicate only through the second device, the above-mentioned third information may include the first spatial information domain, but not the second spatial information domain; when the first device and the third device communicate directly, not through the second device, the above-mentioned third information may include the second spatial information domain, but not the first spatial information domain; when the first device and the third device realize MIMO communication through the second device, that is, communicate both directly and through the second device, the above-mentioned third information may include both the first spatial information domain and the second spatial information domain.

[0161] Step 830: The first device receives or transmits in a beam direction corresponding to one or more second devices according to one or more pieces of spatial information to achieve communication with the third device.

[0162] In an embodiment of the present application, the first device may send a wireless signal in the direction of the second device based on one or more pieces of spatial information.

[0163] Alternatively, the third device may send a wireless signal in the direction of the second device, and correspondingly, the first device may receive a wireless signal from the direction of the second device based on one or more pieces of spatial information.

[0164] The embodiments shown in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 , or FIG. 8 of the present application provide a solution for communicating via a RIS device, which may include the following:

[0165] 1) A first device receives first information sent by a third device, and the first device transmits first transmission information based on the first information. The first information is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0166] Working mode indication information of the first device, type indication information of the second device (RIS device), identification information of the second device, activation indication information of the second device, application time indication information of the second device, and the number of second devices.

[0167] 2) The operating mode of the first device includes at least one of the first mode, the second mode, and the third mode:

[0168] First mode: the first device receives downlink information sent by the third device, or sends uplink information to the third device;

[0169] Second mode: the first device receives downlink information sent by the third device through the second device, or the first device sends uplink information to the third device through the second device;

[0170] The third mode: the first device receives downlink information sent by the third device, and also receives downlink information sent by the third device through the second device; the first device sends uplink information to the third device, and also sends uplink information to the third device through the second device.

[0171] 3) The type indication information of the second device is associated with at least one of the following:

[0172] Beam pointing of reflected or refracted signals from RIS or relays;

[0173] The beamforming pattern of the reflected or refracted signal from the RIS or relay;

[0174] The polarization of the reflected or refracted signal from the RIS or relay;

[0175] The phase of each RIS unit.

[0176] 4) The identification information of the second device includes a second device index (RIS index).

[0177] 5) Before the first device receives downlink information or sends uplink information according to the first information, the method further includes: the first device receives second information sent by the third device. The second information is used to indicate one or more spatial information.

[0178] 6) The spatial information set to which one or more spatial information belongs is associated with the first information.

[0179] 7) The first information indicates different contents, and the corresponding spatial information sets are different sets.

[0180] 8) Determine the number of information fields in the second information used to indicate spatial information according to the working mode of the first device indicated by the first information.

[0181] The above solution is described below with two embodiments.

[0182] Example 1:

[0183] The first device receives first information sent by the third device, and transmits first transmission information based on the first information. The first transmission information may be an uplink channel or signal, or a downlink channel or signal. The transmission may be receiving a downlink channel or signal, or sending an uplink channel or signal.

[0184] The third device may be: a base station, a transmission reception point (TRP), or an access point (AP).

[0185] The first device may be: a terminal device served by the third device.

[0186] The second device is a RIS device.

[0187] The first information is used to indicate one or more of the following: information indicating the operating mode of the first device, information indicating the type of the second device, identification information of the second device, information indicating the activation of the second device, information indicating the application time of the second device, and the number of second devices. For ease of description, the first information is used as a general term, and each item included can be indicated separately through different high-layer signaling or physical layer signaling. The first information is used to notify the first device of parameters and configuration information of the second device.

[0188] The working mode of the first device includes at least one of a first mode, a second mode, and a third mode.

[0189] First mode: The first device receives downlink information sent by the third device, or sends uplink information to the third device. The first mode is optional and is the default mode. If the second mode or the third mode is not indicated, the first mode can be used.

[0190] Second mode: the first device receives downlink information sent by the third device through the second device, or the first device sends uplink information to the third device through the second device.

[0191] The second method can be applied in combination with the number of second devices described below. If the number of second devices is two, the two second devices are applied simultaneously. Please refer to Figure 9, which shows a communication architecture diagram involved in this application. As shown in Figure 9, this communication method can enhance signal coverage, improve cell edge throughput, and increase system capacity.

[0192] Third mode: The first device receives downlink information sent by the third device and also receives downlink information sent by the third device through the second device; the first device sends uplink information to the third device and also sends uplink information to the third device through the second device. Please refer to Figure 10, which shows another communication architecture diagram involved in this application. As shown in Figure 10, this communication mode can enhance signal coverage, improve cell edge throughput, and increase system capacity.

[0193] Likewise, the third method can be applied in combination with the number of second devices described below. If the number of second devices is 2, two second devices are applied simultaneously.

[0194] Please refer to Figure 11, which shows a schematic diagram of two operating modes of the RIS device involved in this application. The type indication information of the second device is associated with at least one of the following items. It can be understood that different configurations of the following items correspond to different RIS types:

[0195] 1) The beam direction of the reflected signal or the refracted signal of the second device; for example, different operating modes correspond to different beam directions of the reflected signal, or different operating modes correspond to different beam directions of the refracted signal;

[0196] 2) a beamforming pattern of the reflected or refracted signal of the second device; for example, the beamforming pattern of the RIS is obtained by adjusting the on or off states of diodes associated with the RIS units, i.e., different patterns of diode on or off states correspond to different beamforming patterns of the RIS reflected or refracted signal, and thus correspond to different RIS operating modes;

[0197] 3) The polarization mode of the reflected signal or the refracted signal of the second device, where the polarization mode includes: horizontal polarization or vertical polarization; for example, different operating modes correspond to different polarization modes.

[0198] 4) The phase of each RIS unit of the second device.

[0199] When the working mode of the first device is the second mode or the third mode, the first information needs to indicate the type of the second device.

[0200] As an example, the type of the second device includes a transmissive RIS; a reflective RIS; a refractive RIS; and a RIS type that can be processed by a RIS unit in a partitioned manner:

[0201] An example of configuring the type indication information of the second device is as follows:

[0202] The type indication information of the second device is configured through cell-specific signaling or UE-specific signaling or a combination of the two. Since for a service UE, the second device can only work in one type at a time point, too frequent type adjustment will increase the signaling overhead and increase the complexity of RIS implementation, increasing the cost of RIS implementation. Therefore, considering the predefined type adjustment pattern of the second device can avoid the above problems. The type adjustment pattern of the second device in the first time interval is configured through SIB or RRC signaling. The unit of the first time interval can be time slot, radio frame, symbol, mini time slot, or absolute time. Taking time slot as an example, it is shown in Table 1 below:

[0203] Table 1

[0204] The identification information of the second device includes a second device index (RIS index). The RIS index associated with the third device, the RIS index associated with the first device, or the RIS index associated with both the third device and the first device. Because multiple second devices may be deployed within a certain range, and one or more of them may serve a particular UE, the second device indexes corresponding to different UEs may be different.

[0205] Whether the second device is activated: The second device can be used to enhance the coverage of the third device, that is, to resolve coverage blind spots, or to increase network capacity to achieve diversity gain. If these requirements are met, the second device can be activated. If these requirements are not met or if energy conservation is a concern, the second device can be inactivated. This bit can be used in conjunction with the second device's identification information to indicate whether the second device corresponding to the second device's identification information is activated. For example, a single bit can be used to indicate both active and inactive states. If not configured, the default is inactive.

[0206] The application time during which the second device is activated includes one or more of the following: a configuration period for the second device, and an application time period for the second device. The second device may be periodically configured, or may operate during an application time period within a period. The application time period for the second device may be configured using a timer, and upon expiration of the timer, the second device's status is switched to inactive. The start time of the timer may be any time within the configuration period.

[0207] Number of second devices: In this embodiment, one or more second devices may be activated to assist in transmission, thereby increasing system capacity and throughput.

[0208] The first information may be carried in one or a combination of SIB, RRC signaling, MAC signaling, and DCI signaling. The content of the first information may be carried in the same signaling or in multiple signalings without limitation.

[0209] Example 2:

[0210] Before the first device receives downlink information or sends uplink information according to the first information, the method further includes: the first device receives second information sent by the third device.

[0211] The second information is used to indicate one or more pieces of spatial information. The second information is associated with the first information.

[0212] In one embodiment: the spatial information set to which one or more spatial information belongs is associated with the first information (such as the type of the second device indicated by the first information (i.e., the device type)). Since there can be multiple types of second devices, different types of second devices can form different beams by regulating various parameters of the RIS unit. Therefore, the spatial information sets corresponding to different types of second devices are different sets. The second device is a device introduced into the network to solve problems such as coverage holes and coverage enhancement. For a newly added communication link, if a common set of spatial parameters is used, a new transmit beam or receive beam will be added. By matching different types of second devices to different spatial information sets, the load of beam maintenance can be reduced. The spatial information can be TCI state, unified TCI state, beam direction, beam index, downlink spatial relationship filter, uplink spatial relationship filter, reference signal resource (SSB resource, CSI-RS resource, SRS resource), etc., quasi co-location (QCL) relationship. Please refer to Figure 12, which shows a schematic diagram of spatial information determination involved in this application. The following takes the spatial information as TCI state / unified TCI state as an example to illustrate the above embodiment according to Figure 12.

[0213] Step 1: Configure the spatial information set corresponding to each second device type, that is, the TCI state list, through RRC parameters. Specifically, the joint TCI state set or the downlink TCI state set can be configured in the PDSCH configuration information (PDSCH-config) or in the configuration information of the dedicated downlink BWP (BWP-DownlinkDedicated). For the uplink TCI state set, it can be configured in the physical uplink shared channel (Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH) configuration information (PUSCH-config) or in the configuration information of the dedicated uplink BWP (BWP-UplinkDedicated). Different types of TCI structures have the same maximum number of TCI states, and the same or different numbers. The RRC signaling examples are as follows:

[0214] Example 1:

[0215] Uplink TCI state set-type 1 SEQUENCE {

[0216] ul-TCI-ToAddModList SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maximum number of TCI states))OF TCI-UL-State

[0217] ul-TCI-ToReleaseList SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maximum number of TCI states))OF TCI-UL-State-Id

[0218] }

[0219] Example 2:

[0220] Joint or Downlink TCI State Set - Type 1 SEQUENCE {

[0221] dl-OrJoint-TCI-State-ToAddModList SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxUL-TCI-r17))OF TCI-UL-State

[0222] dl-OrJoint-TCI-State-ToReleaseList SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxUL-TCI))OF TCI-UL-State-Id

[0223] }

[0224] Step 2: The first device receives the first message. The TCI state set is matched to the type of the second device in the first message. For example, if the first message indicates type 2, the TCI state set mapped to the joint or downlink TCI state set - type 2 or uplink TCI state set - type 2 is applied.

[0225] Step 3: The first device receives the second information. The spatial information indicated by the second information is combined with the TCI state set matched by the first information to determine one or more spatial information. The second information can carry a combination of one or more of RRC signaling, MAC signaling, and DCI signaling. For example, if the second information is 2 bits, it can indicate one of the four TCI states included in the downlink TCI state set - type 2 or the uplink TCI state set - type 2.

[0226] In the example above, the spatial parameter sets are configured separately via RRC signaling. The second information can be RRC signaling, MAC CE, or DCI signaling. In another example, RRC signaling configures a spatial information set, which is the full set. A subset of the spatial information associated with the first information is indicated via MAC CE, and the second information is carried in DCI.

[0227] Note: The TCI states in the spatial information set corresponding to each second device type may be the same or different, for example, the TCI state indexes may be the same or different. The spatial information set corresponding to each second device type may be a subset of a certain TCI state set.

[0228] Another embodiment: One or more spatial information sets are associated with first information. The first information is used to indicate the working mode of the first device and the type of the second device. Please refer to Figure 13, which shows a schematic diagram of the information indication method involved in this application. As shown in Figure 13:

[0229] If the first device operates in the second mode, the second information includes only one first information field for indicating spatial information. If there are multiple second devices of the same type, this information field can be used to indicate multiple spatial information for transmissions corresponding to the second devices. In this case, the second information field may be absent.

[0230] If the first device operates in mode 3, the second information includes two information fields for indicating spatial information: a first information field and a second information field. Both the first information field and the second information field are present. If there are multiple second devices of the same type, this information field can be used to indicate multiple pieces of spatial information, each for transmission to the corresponding second devices. The spatial information indicated by the first and second information fields belongs to different spatial information sets.

[0231] The above embodiment can reduce the load of beam keeping while providing a method for determining the number of information fields used to indicate spatial information.

[0232] Please refer to Figure 14, which shows a block diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device has the function of implementing the method shown in any of Figures 5, 6, or 8 above, performed by the first device. As shown in Figure 14, the device may include:

[0233] The receiving module 1401 is configured to receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second devices are reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) devices;

[0234] The communication module 1402 is configured to communicate with a third device via one or more of the second devices.

[0235] In some embodiments, the first information is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0236] parameter configuration of the second device;

[0237] The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other.

[0238] In some embodiments, the parameter configuration of the second device includes one or more of the following information:

[0239] The type indication information of the second device is used to indicate the device type of the second device;

[0240] identification information of the second device;

[0241] activation indication information of the second device, used to indicate whether the second device is activated;

[0242] The application time indication information of the second device is used to indicate the application time of the second device;

[0243] The number of the one or more second devices.

[0244] In some embodiments, the type indication information is associated with one or more of the following information:

[0245] a beam direction of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device;

[0246] a beamforming pattern of the reflected signal or the refracted signal of the second device;

[0247] a polarization mode of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device;

[0248] The phase of each RIS unit in the second device.

[0249] In some embodiments, the type indication information includes a type adjustment pattern of the second device;

[0250] The type adjustment pattern is used to indicate the device type of the second device within one or more time units.

[0251] In some embodiments, the time unit is:

[0252] timeslot, radio frame, symbol, minislot, or absolute time period.

[0253] In some embodiments, the identification information of the second device includes an index of the second device.

[0254] In some embodiments, the application time indication information of the second device includes one or more of the following:

[0255] a configuration period of the second device; and an application time period of the second device.

[0256] In some embodiments, the working method includes one or more of the following:

[0257] The first device sends second information to the third device;

[0258] The first device sends second information to the third device through one or more second devices;

[0259] The first device sends the second information to the third device through one or more second devices, and the first device sends the second information directly to the third device;

[0260] The first device receives the second information sent by the third device;

[0261] The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more second devices;

[0262] The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more second devices, and the first device directly receives the second information sent by the third device.

[0263] In some embodiments, the second information includes one or more of the following:

[0264] Control information, data, reference signals.

[0265] In some embodiments, the first information is carried by one or more of the following information:

[0266] SIB, RRC signaling, MAC signaling, DCI signaling.

[0267] In some embodiments, the receiving module is further configured to receive third information, where the third information is configured to indicate one or more pieces of spatial information, and the spatial information is configured to indicate a beam direction;

[0268] The communication module is configured to receive or send in a beam direction corresponding to one or more second devices according to the one or more pieces of spatial information, so as to achieve communication with the third device.

[0269] In some embodiments, the spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the first information.

[0270] In some embodiments, the spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the type indication information of the second device included in the first information.

[0271] In some embodiments, the spatial information includes one or more of the following information:

[0272] The transmission configuration indicates TCI status, unified TCI status, beam direction, beam index, downlink spatial relationship filter, uplink spatial relationship filter, reference signal resources, and quasi-co-site QCL relationship.

[0273] In some embodiments, the spatial information in the spatial information sets associated with different type indication information is not completely the same.

[0274] In some embodiments, when the first information indicates a plurality of the second devices, the spatial information set associated with the type indication information of the plurality of the second devices is a subset of the same spatial information set.

[0275] In some embodiments, the spatial information field included in the third information is associated with a working mode during communication between the first device and the third device; and the parameters in the spatial information field are used to indicate the spatial information.

[0276] In some embodiments, the working mode when communicating between the first device and the third device includes the first device sending second information to the third device through one or more second devices, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device through one or more second devices.

[0277] The third information includes a first spatial information field, where the first spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to one or more second devices.

[0278] In some embodiments, the working mode when the communication between the first device and the third device includes the first device sending second information to the third device, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device.

[0279] The third information includes a second information field, and the second spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to the third device.

[0280] Please refer to Figure 15, which shows a block diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device has the function of implementing the method shown in any of Figures 5, 6, or 8 above, which is performed by the third device. As shown in Figure 15, the device may include:

[0281] A sending module 1501 is configured to send first information to a first device, where the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second devices are reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) devices;

[0282] The communication module 1502 is configured to communicate with the first device through one or more of the second devices.

[0283] In some embodiments, the first information is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0284] parameter configuration of the second device;

[0285] The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other.

[0286] In some embodiments, the parameter configuration of the second device includes one or more of the following information:

[0287] The type indication information of the second device is used to indicate the device type of the second device;

[0288] identification information of the second device;

[0289] activation indication information of the second device, used to indicate whether the second device is activated;

[0290] The application time indication information of the second device is used to indicate the application time of the second device;

[0291] The number of the one or more second devices.

[0292] In some embodiments, the type indication information is associated with one or more of the following information:

[0293] a beam direction of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device;

[0294] a beamforming pattern of the reflected signal or the refracted signal of the second device;

[0295] a polarization mode of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device;

[0296] The phase of each RIS unit in the second device.

[0297] In some embodiments, the type indication information includes a type adjustment pattern of the second device;

[0298] The type adjustment pattern is used to indicate the device type of the second device within one or more time units.

[0299] In some embodiments, the time unit is:

[0300] timeslot, radio frame, symbol, minislot, or absolute time period.

[0301] In some embodiments, the identification information of the second device includes an index of the second device.

[0302] In some embodiments, the application time indication information of the second device includes one or more of the following:

[0303] a configuration period of the second device; and an application time period of the second device.

[0304] In some embodiments, the working method includes one or more of the following:

[0305] The first device sends second information to the third device;

[0306] The first device sends second information to the third device through one or more second devices;

[0307] The first device sends the second information to the third device through one or more second devices, and the first device sends the second information directly to the third device;

[0308] The first device receives the second information sent by the third device;

[0309] The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more second devices;

[0310] The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more second devices, and the first device directly receives the second information sent by the third device.

[0311] In some embodiments, the second information includes one or more of the following:

[0312] Control information, data, reference signals.

[0313] In some embodiments, the first information is carried by one or more of the following information:

[0314] SIB, RRC signaling, MAC signaling, DCI signaling.

[0315] In some embodiments, the sending module is also used to send third information to the first device, where the third information is used to indicate one or more spatial information, and the spatial information is used to indicate a beam direction; the one or more spatial information are used for the first device to receive or send in a beam direction corresponding to one or more of the second devices, so as to achieve communication with the third device.

[0316] In some embodiments, the spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the first information.

[0317] In some embodiments, the spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the type indication information of the second device included in the first information.

[0318] In some embodiments, the spatial information includes one or more of the following information:

[0319] TCI status, unified TCI status, beam direction, beam index, downlink spatial relationship filter, uplink spatial relationship filter, reference signal resources, quasi-co-site QCL relationship.

[0320] In some embodiments, the spatial information in the spatial information sets associated with different type indication information is not completely the same.

[0321] In some embodiments, when the first information indicates a plurality of the second devices, the spatial information set associated with the type indication information of the plurality of the second devices is a subset of the same spatial information set.

[0322] In some embodiments, the spatial information field included in the third information is associated with a working mode during communication between the first device and the third device; and the parameters in the spatial information field are used to indicate the spatial information.

[0323] In some embodiments, the working mode when communicating between the first device and the third device includes the first device sending second information to the third device through one or more second devices, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device through one or more second devices.

[0324] The third information includes a first spatial information field, where the first spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to one or more second devices.

[0325] In some embodiments, the working mode when the communication between the first device and the third device includes the first device sending second information to the third device, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device.

[0326] The third information includes a second information field, and the second spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to the third device.

[0327] It should be noted that the device provided in the above embodiment only uses the division of the above-mentioned functional modules as an example to implement its functions. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules according to actual needs, that is, the content structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0328] Regarding the apparatus in the above embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the embodiment of the method, and will not be elaborated here.

[0329] Please refer to FIG16 , which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1600 provided in one embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1600 may include: a processor 1601 , a receiver 1602 , a transmitter 1603 , a memory 1604 , and a bus 1605 .

[0330] The processor 1601 includes one or more processing cores. The processor 1601 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

[0331] Receiver 1602 and transmitter 1603 can be implemented as a communication component, which can be a communication chip. This communication chip can also be called a transceiver. Memory 1604 is connected to processor 1601 via bus 1605. Memory 1604 can be used to store computer programs, and processor 1601 is used to execute the computer programs to implement the various steps in the above method embodiments.

[0332] In addition, memory 1604 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: magnetic disk or optical disk, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, static random access memory, read-only memory, magnetic memory, flash memory, and programmable read-only memory.

[0333] In an exemplary embodiment, when the communication device 1600 is implemented as the above-mentioned first device, the receiver 1602 and the processor 1601 execute the computer program so that the communication device implements the various steps performed by the first device in any of the methods shown in Figures 5, 6 or 8.

[0334] In an exemplary embodiment, when the communication device 1600 is implemented as the above-mentioned third device, the transmitter 1603 and the processor 1601 execute the computer program so that the communication device implements the various steps performed by the third device in any of the methods shown in Figures 5, 6 or 8.

[0335] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program is loaded and executed by a processor to implement all or part of the steps performed by the first device or the third device in the method shown in any of Figures 5, 6 or 8 above.

[0336] The present application also provides a chip, which includes an integrated circuit and firmware set in the integrated circuit. The chip is used to run in a communication device so that the communication device executes all or part of the steps performed by the first device or the third device in any of the methods shown in any of Figures 5, 6 or 8 above.

[0337] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor of a communication device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the communication device to perform all or part of the steps performed by the first device or the third device in any of the methods shown in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 , or FIG. 8 .

[0338] The present application also provides a computer program, which is executed by a processor of a communication device to implement all or part of the steps performed by the first device or the third device in the method shown in any of Figures 5, 6 or 8 above.

[0339] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any media that facilitates the transmission of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0340] The above description is merely an exemplary embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a first device, and includes: Receive first information, where the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second device is a reconfigurable smart surface RIS device; Communication is performed with a third device via one or more of the second devices.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate one or more of the following: parameter configuration of the second device; The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The parameter configuration of the second device includes one or more of the following information; The type indication information of the second device is used to indicate the device type of the second device; identification information of the second device; activation indication information of the second device, used to indicate whether the second device is activated; The application time indication information of the second device is used to indicate the application time of the second device; The number of the one or more second devices.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The type indication information is associated with one or more of the following information: a beam direction of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; a beamforming pattern of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; a polarization mode of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; The phase of each RIS unit in the second device.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The type indication information includes a type adjustment style of the second device; The type adjustment pattern is used to indicate the device type of the second device within one or more time units.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The time unit is: A timeslot, a radio frame, a symbol, a minislot, or an absolute time period.

7. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that: The identification information of the second device includes an index of the second device.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The application time indication information of the second device includes one or more of the following: a configuration period of the second device; and an application time period of the second device.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that: The working method includes one or more of the following: The first device sends second information to the third device; The first device sends second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices; The first device sends the second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices, and the first device sends the second information to the third device; The first device receives second information sent by the third device; The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices; The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices, and the first device receives the second information sent by the third device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The second information includes one or more of the following: Control information, data, reference signals.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The first information is carried by one or more of the following information: SIB, RRC signaling, MAC signaling, DCI signaling.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving third information, where the third information is used to indicate one or more pieces of spatial information, where the spatial information is used to indicate a beam direction; The communicating with a third device through one or more of the second devices includes: Receiving or transmitting in a beam direction corresponding to one or more of the second devices is performed according to the one or more pieces of spatial information to achieve communication with the third device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the first information.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the type indication information of the second device contained in the first information.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The spatial information includes one or more of the following information: The transmission configuration indicates TCI status, unified TCI status, beam direction, beam index, downlink spatial relationship filter, uplink spatial relationship filter, reference signal resources, and quasi-co-site QCL relationship.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The spatial information in the spatial information sets associated with different type indication information is not completely the same.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that In the case where the first information indicates a plurality of the second devices, the spatial information set associated with the type indication information of the plurality of the second devices is a subset of the same spatial information set.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that: The spatial information domain included in the third information is associated with the working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other; the parameters in the spatial information domain are used to indicate the spatial information.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate includes the first device sending second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices. The third information includes a first spatial information field, where the first spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to one or more of the second devices.

20. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other includes the first device sending second information to the third device, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device. The third information includes a second information field, and the second spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to the third device.

21. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a third device, and includes: Sending first information to a first device, where the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second device is a reconfigurable smart surface RIS device; The first device communicates with the second device through one or more of the second devices.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate one or more of the following: parameter configuration of the second device; The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that The parameter configuration of the second device includes one or more of the following information; The type indication information of the second device is used to indicate the device type of the second device; identification information of the second device; activation indication information of the second device, used to indicate whether the second device is activated; The application time indication information of the second device is used to indicate the application time of the second device; The number of the one or more second devices.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The type indication information is associated with one or more of the following information: a beam direction of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; a beamforming pattern of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; a polarization mode of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; The phase of each RIS unit in the second device.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The type indication information includes a type adjustment style of the second device; The type adjustment pattern is used to indicate the device type of the second device within one or more time units.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The time unit is: A timeslot, a radio frame, a symbol, a minislot, or an absolute time period.

27. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 26, characterized in that: The identification information of the second device includes an index of the second device.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that The application time indication information of the second device includes one or more of the following: a configuration period of the second device; and an application time period of the second device.

29. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 28, characterized in that: The working method includes one or more of the following: The first device sends second information to the third device; The first device sends second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices; The first device sends the second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices, and the first device sends the second information to the third device; The first device receives second information sent by the third device; The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices; The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices, and the first device receives the second information sent by the third device.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that The second information includes one or more of the following: Control information, data, reference signals.

31. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 30, characterized in that: The first information is carried by one or more of the following information: SIB, RRC signaling, MAC signaling, DCI signaling.

32. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 31, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Send third information to the first device, where the third information is used to indicate one or more spatial information, and the spatial information is used to indicate a beam direction; the one or more spatial information is used for the first device to receive or send in a beam direction corresponding to one or more of the second devices, so as to achieve communication with the third device.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that The spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the first information.

34. The method according to claim 33, characterized in that The spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the type indication information of the second device contained in the first information.

35. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that The spatial information includes one or more of the following information: TCI status, unified TCI status, beam direction, beam index, downlink spatial relationship filter, uplink spatial relationship filter, reference signal resources, quasi-co-site QCL relationship.

36. The method according to claim 35, characterized in that The spatial information in the spatial information sets associated with different type indication information is not completely the same.

37. The method according to claim 35 or 36, characterized in that In the case where the first information indicates a plurality of the second devices, the spatial information set associated with the type indication information of the plurality of the second devices is a subset of the same spatial information set.

38. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 37, characterized in that: The spatial information domain included in the third information is associated with the working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other; the parameters in the spatial information domain are used to indicate the spatial information.

39. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate includes the first device sending second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices. The third information includes a first spatial information field, where the first spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to one or more of the second devices.

40. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other includes the first device sending second information to the third device, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device. The third information includes a second information field, and the second spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to the third device.

41. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A receiving module, configured to receive first information, wherein the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second device is a reconfigurable intelligent surface RIS device; The communication module is used to communicate with a third device through one or more of the second devices.

42. The device according to claim 41, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate one or more of the following: parameter configuration of the second device; The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other.

43. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that The parameter configuration of the second device includes one or more of the following information; The type indication information of the second device is used to indicate the device type of the second device; identification information of the second device; activation indication information of the second device, used to indicate whether the second device is activated; The application time indication information of the second device is used to indicate the application time of the second device; The number of the one or more second devices.

44. The device according to claim 43, characterized in that The type indication information is associated with one or more of the following information: a beam direction of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; a beamforming pattern of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; a polarization mode of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; The phase of each RIS unit in the second device.

45. The device according to claim 43 or 44, characterized in that The type indication information includes a type adjustment style of the second device; The type adjustment pattern is used to indicate the device type of the second device within one or more time units.

46. ​​The device according to claim 45, characterized in that The time unit is: A timeslot, a radio frame, a symbol, a minislot, or an absolute time period.

47. The device according to any one of claims 43 to 46, characterized in that The identification information of the second device includes an index of the second device.

48. The device according to claim 47, characterized in that The application time indication information of the second device includes one or more of the following: a configuration period of the second device; and an application time period of the second device.

49. The device according to any one of claims 42 to 48, characterized in that The working method includes one or more of the following: The first device sends second information to the third device; The first device sends second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices; The first device sends the second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices, and the first device sends the second information to the third device; The first device receives second information sent by the third device; The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices; The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices, and the first device receives the second information sent by the third device.

50. The device according to claim 49, characterized in that The second information includes one or more of the following: Control information, data, reference signals.

51. The device according to any one of claims 41 to 50, characterized in that The first information is carried by one or more of the following information: SIB, RRC signaling, MAC signaling, DCI signaling.

52. The device according to any one of claims 41 to 51, characterized in that The receiving module is further used to receive third information, where the third information is used to indicate one or more pieces of spatial information, and the spatial information is used to indicate a beam direction; The communication module is used to receive or send in a beam direction corresponding to one or more second devices according to the one or more spatial information, so as to realize communication with the third device.

53. The device according to claim 52, characterized in that The spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the first information.

54. The device according to claim 53, characterized in that The spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the type indication information of the second device contained in the first information.

55. The device according to claim 54, characterized in that The spatial information includes one or more of the following information: The transmission configuration indicates TCI status, unified TCI status, beam direction, beam index, downlink spatial relationship filter, uplink spatial relationship filter, reference signal resources, and quasi-co-site QCL relationship.

56. The device according to claim 55, characterized in that The spatial information in the spatial information sets associated with different type indication information is not completely the same.

57. The device according to claim 55 or 56, characterized in that In the case where the first information indicates a plurality of the second devices, the spatial information set associated with the type indication information of the plurality of the second devices is a subset of the same spatial information set.

58. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 57, characterized in that The spatial information domain included in the third information is associated with the working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other; the parameters in the spatial information domain are used to indicate the spatial information.

59. The device according to claim 58, characterized in that The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate includes the first device sending second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices. The third information includes a first spatial information field, where the first spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to one or more of the second devices.

60. The device according to claim 58, characterized in that The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other includes the first device sending second information to the third device, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device. The third information includes a second information field, and the second spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to the third device.

61. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A sending module, configured to send first information to a first device, wherein the first information is used to indicate one or more second devices; the second device is a reconfigurable intelligent surface RIS device; A communication module is used to communicate with the first device through one or more of the second devices.

62. The device according to claim 61, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate one or more of the following: parameter configuration of the second device; The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other.

63. The device according to claim 62, characterized in that The parameter configuration of the second device includes one or more of the following information; The type indication information of the second device is used to indicate the device type of the second device; identification information of the second device; activation indication information of the second device, used to indicate whether the second device is activated; The application time indication information of the second device is used to indicate the application time of the second device; The number of the one or more second devices.

64. The device according to claim 63, characterized in that The type indication information is associated with one or more of the following information: a beam direction of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; a beamforming pattern of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; a polarization mode of a reflected signal or a refracted signal of the second device; The phase of each RIS unit in the second device.

65. The device according to claim 63 or 64, characterized in that The type indication information includes a type adjustment style of the second device; The type adjustment pattern is used to indicate the device type of the second device within one or more time units.

66. The device according to claim 65, characterized in that The time unit is: A timeslot, a radio frame, a symbol, a minislot, or an absolute time period.

67. The device according to any one of claims 63 to 66, characterized in that The identification information of the second device includes an index of the second device.

68. The device according to claim 67, characterized in that The application time indication information of the second device includes one or more of the following: a configuration period of the second device; and an application time period of the second device.

69. The device according to any one of claims 62 to 68, characterized in that The working method includes one or more of the following: The first device sends second information to the third device; The first device sends second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices; The first device sends the second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices, and the first device sends the second information to the third device; The first device receives second information sent by the third device; The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices; The first device receives the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices, and the first device receives the second information sent by the third device.

70. The device according to claim 69, characterized in that The second information includes one or more of the following: Control information, data, reference signals.

71. The device according to any one of claims 61 to 70, characterized in that The first information is carried by one or more of the following information: SIB, RRC signaling, MAC signaling, DCI signaling.

72. The device according to any one of claims 61 to 71, characterized in that The sending module is also used to send third information to the first device, where the third information is used to indicate one or more spatial information, and the spatial information is used to indicate a beam direction; the one or more spatial information is used for the first device to receive or send in a beam direction corresponding to one or more of the second devices, so as to achieve communication with the third device.

73. The device according to claim 72, characterized in that The spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the first information.

74. The device according to claim 73, characterized in that The spatial information set to which the one or more spatial information belong is associated with the type indication information of the second device contained in the first information.

75. The device according to claim 74, characterized in that The spatial information includes one or more of the following information: TCI status, unified TCI status, beam direction, beam index, downlink spatial relationship filter, uplink spatial relationship filter, reference signal resources, quasi-co-site QCL relationship.

76. The device according to claim 75, characterized in that The spatial information in the spatial information sets associated with different type indication information is not completely the same.

77. The device according to claim 75 or 76, characterized in that In the case where the first information indicates a plurality of the second devices, the spatial information set associated with the type indication information of the plurality of the second devices is a subset of the same spatial information set.

78. The device according to any one of claims 72 to 77, characterized in that The spatial information domain included in the third information is associated with the working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other; the parameters in the spatial information domain are used to indicate the spatial information.

79. The device according to claim 78, characterized in that The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate includes the first device sending second information to the third device through one or more of the second devices, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device through one or more of the second devices. The third information includes a first spatial information field, where the first spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to one or more of the second devices.

80. The device according to claim 78, characterized in that The working mode when the first device and the third device communicate with each other includes the first device sending second information to the third device, and / or the first device receiving the second information sent by the third device. The third information includes a second information field, and the second spatial information field is used to indicate a beam direction corresponding to the third device.

81. A communication device, characterized in that: The terminal device includes a processor, a memory and a transceiver; The memory stores a computer program, and the processor executes the computer program so that the network device implements the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 40 above.

82. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to be executed by a processor of a communication device so that the communication device implements the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 40.

83. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes an integrated circuit and firmware set in the integrated circuit, and the chip is used to run in a communication device so that the communication device executes the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 40.

84. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes computer instructions, which are stored in a computer-readable storage medium; the processor of the communication device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, so that the communication device performs the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 40.

85. A computer program, characterized in that The computer program is executed by a processor of a communication device, so that the communication device implements the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 40.

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