Relay control method and device

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a relay control method and device. The method includes the following: the network device instructs the relay device with at least one of the following information: a first beam, a forwarding time, an amplification gain, and an on-off control. Here, the first beam is an access-side beam of the relay device, the forwarding time is a time unit for forwarding the first signal, the amplification gain is an amplification factor or a forwarding power in the first signal, and the on-off control is a control related to enabling or disabling the amplification and forwarding function. The relay device forwards the first signal toward the network device and the terminal device based on the forwarding information to support communication between the network device and the terminal device. According to the method and device provided in the present disclosure, the interference with the signal when the relay device forwards the signal can be reduced to improve the transmission performance. In addition, based on the first information in the time unit granularity, the network device can more accurately manage the amplification and forwarding function of the relay device to further improve its transmission performance.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly, to a relay control method and apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202210461277.9, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Office on April 28, 2022, and entitled “Relay Control Method and Apparatus,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0003] In a scenario where a relay device supports communication between a network device and a terminal device, when the relay device forwards a signal, the amplifier circuit of the relay device generates noise on the signal. The noise of the relay device transmitted to the receiving end will cause noise interference at the receiving end, which will affect the transmission performance between the network device and the terminal device. Therefore, how to reduce interference on the signal when the relay device forwards the signal becomes an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a relay control method and apparatus for improving the performance of transmission between network equipment and terminal equipment.

[0005] According to a first aspect, a relay control method is provided. The method may be performed by a relay device, or may be performed by a component (such as a chip or circuit) of the relay device, which is not limited in the present application. For ease of explanation, an example in which a relay device performs the method is used below for explanation.

[0006] The method may include the following: the relay device receives first information from the network device, where the first information includes downlink control information, and the downlink control information includes at least one of the following information: an initial beam, a forwarding time, an amplification gain, and an on-off control, where the initial beam is an access side beam of the relay device, the forwarding time is a time unit for forwarding a signal, the amplification gain is an amplification factor or forwarding power of the signal, and the on-off control is a control regarding enabling or disabling of an amplify-and-forward function, the relay device receives an initial signal from the network device or terminal device, and the relay device forwards the initial signal based on the first information.

[0007] Based on the above solution, in a scenario where the relay assists communication between the network device and the terminal device, the amplify-and-forward function of the relay is directly managed by using the network device, such as the parameters of the first beam, the forwarding time, the amplification gain, and the on-off control are directly controlled, so that the interference to the signal can be reduced when the relay device forwards the signal, and the transmission performance is improved. In addition, based on the first information in the time unit granularity, the network device can more accurately manage the amplify-and-forward function of the relay device, and the transmission performance is further improved.

[0008] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first information further includes a radio resource control message, where the radio resource control message is used to determine a relay amplification forwarding time set and / or configuration information of the relay amplification forwarding time set, where the relay amplification forwarding time set includes a forwarding time.

[0009] Based on the above-mentioned solution, the merged indication of the radio resource control message and the downlink control information enables the network equipment to manage the relay equipment more flexibly, quickly and timely, and further improves the transmission performance.

[0010] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the radio resource control message includes at least two of the following: a first field, a second field, and a third field, where the first field indicates a slot configuration list included in the relay amplification-forwarding time set, the second field indicates a slot amplification-forwarding configuration, and the third field indicates a forwarding beam configuration list.

[0011] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the radio resource control message is further used to determine the duration of the relay amplification forwarding time set.

[0012] With respect to the first aspect, in some implementations thereof, the relay amplified forwarding time set further corresponds to a start time of the relay amplified forwarding time set, and the method further includes: the relay equipment determines the start time based on a time when the downlink control information is received and a valid time, where the valid time is a time interval between a time when the relay equipment receives the downlink control information and the start time.

[0013] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the relay device determines the valid time based on the capability information of the relay device; or the method further includes: the relay device transmits the capability information of the relay device to the network device, and the relay device receives the valid time from the network device.

[0014] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the relay device determining the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device includes: the relay device determining the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device and second information, where the second information includes at least one of a subcarrier spacing and a carrier frequency range.

[0015] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the first information includes downlink control information and a radio resource control message, the method further includes: the relay device determines a size of the downlink control information based on the duration and at least one of the second field and the third field.

[0016] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the configuration information of the amplification and forwarding time set takes effect periodically, and the time interval during which the configuration information of the amplification and forwarding time set takes effect is a duration.

[0017] With respect to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on an amplification gain within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on an amplification gain in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on an amplification gain and a first beam in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. , Transfer The first information indicates that a signal is forwarded based on the first beam in a time unit within the transmission time, or the first information indicates that the on-off control enables the amplify and forward function. , TransferThe first information indicates that the signal is forwarded based on the amplification gain in a time unit within the transmission time. Alternatively, the first information indicates that the on / off control enables the amplification and forwarding function. , Transfer It shows that in a time unit within the transmission time, the signal is transferred based on the initial beam and amplification gain.

[0018] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first information further indicates a transfer direction, where the transfer direction includes uplink transfer and / or downlink transfer.

[0019] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on a first beam within the transfer time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on an amplification gain within the transfer time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on a first beam and an amplification gain. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction in a time unit within the transfer time in which the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on an amplification gain in a time unit in which the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on a first beam and an amplification gain within the transfer time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on an amplification gain and a first beam in a time unit in which the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Alternatively, the first information is a time unit indicating that the on / off control enables the amplify and forward function. , Transfer The first information indicates that a signal corresponding to a forwarding direction is forwarded based on the first beam in a time unit within the forwarding time. Alternatively, the first information is a time unit indicating that the on / off control enables the amplify forwarding function. , Transfer The first information indicates that a signal corresponding to a transfer direction is transferred based on an amplification gain in a time unit within a transfer time. Alternatively, the first information is a time unit indicating that an on / off control enables an amplification and transfer function. , Transfer It indicates that in a time unit within the transmission time, a signal corresponding to the transmission direction is transmitted based on the initial beam and amplification gain.

[0020] According to a second aspect, a relay control method is provided. The method may be performed by a network device, or may be performed by a component (such as a chip or circuit) of the network device. This is not limited in the present application. For ease of explanation, an example in which the network device performs the method is used below for explanation.

[0021] The method may include the following: the network device transmits first information to the relay device, where the first information includes downlink control information, and the downlink control information includes at least one of the following information: an initial beam, a transmission time, an amplification gain, and an on-off control, where the initial beam is an access side beam of the relay device, the transmission time is a time unit for transmitting a signal, the amplification gain is an amplification factor or a transmission power of the signal, and the on-off control is a control regarding enabling or disabling of an amplify-and-forward function, and the network device transmits the initial signal to the relay device or the network device receives the initial signal from the relay device.

[0022] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information further includes a radio resource control message, where the radio resource control message is used to determine a relay amplification forwarding time set and / or configuration information of the relay amplification forwarding time set, where the relay amplification forwarding time set includes a forwarding time.

[0023] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the radio resource control message includes at least one of the following: a first field, a second field, and a third field, where the first field indicates a slot configuration list included in the relay amplification-forwarding time set, the second field indicates a slot amplification-forwarding configuration, and the third field indicates a forwarding beam configuration list.

[0024] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the radio resource control message is further used to determine the duration of the relay amplified forwarding time set.

[0025] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device receives relay device capability information from the relay device; the network device determines a valid time based on the relay device capability information, where the valid time is a time interval between a time when the relay device receives the first information and a start time of the relay amplified forwarding time set, and the network device transmits the valid time to the relay device.

[0026] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the network device determining the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device includes: the network device determining the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device and the second information, where the second information further includes at least one of a subcarrier spacing and a carrier frequency range.

[0027] With regard to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information further includes instruction information, where the instruction information indicates that the configuration information of the amplification transfer time set takes effect periodically, and the time interval during which the configuration information of the amplification transfer time set takes effect is a duration.

[0028] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on an amplification gain within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on an amplification gain in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on an amplification gain and a first beam in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain in a time unit within the forwarding time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. , Transfer The first information indicates that a signal is forwarded based on the first beam in a time unit within the transmission time, or the first information indicates that the on-off control enables the amplify and forward function. , Transfer The first information indicates that the signal is forwarded based on the amplification gain in a time unit within the transmission time. Alternatively, the first information indicates that the on / off control enables the amplification and forwarding function. , Transfer It shows that in a time unit within the transmission time, the signal is transferred based on the initial beam and amplification gain.

[0029] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information further indicates a transfer direction, where the transfer direction includes uplink transfer and / or downlink transfer.

[0030] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on a first beam within the transfer time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on an amplification gain within the transfer time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on a first beam and an amplification gain. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction in a time unit within the transfer time where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification transfer function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on an amplification gain in a time unit where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on a first beam and an amplification gain within the transfer time. Or, the first information indicates forwarding a signal corresponding to a transfer direction based on an amplification gain and a first beam in a time unit where the on-off control indicates enabling an amplification function. Alternatively, the first information is a time unit indicating that the on / off control enables the amplify and forward function. , Transfer The first information indicates that a signal corresponding to a forwarding direction is forwarded based on the first beam in a time unit within the forwarding time. Alternatively, the first information is a time unit indicating that the on / off control enables the amplify forwarding function. , Transfer The first information indicates that a signal corresponding to a transfer direction is transferred based on an amplification gain in a time unit within a transfer time. Alternatively, the first information is a time unit indicating that an on / off control enables an amplification and transfer function. , Transfer It shows that in a time unit within the transmission time, a signal corresponding to a transmission direction is forwarded based on an initial beam and an amplification gain. For the beneficial effects of the second aspect and possible implementations, please refer to the related description of the first aspect. Details will not be described again in this specification.

[0031] According to a third aspect, there is provided a relay control device, the device being configured to execute the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect. In particular, the device may include units and / or modules, such as a processing unit and / or a communication unit, configured to execute the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0032] In an implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a network device or a terminal device). When the device is a communication device, the communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface, and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0033] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a communications device (e.g., network device or terminal device, etc.) When the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a communications device, the communications unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, associated circuit, or the like on the chip, chip system, or circuit, and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, logic circuit, or the like.

[0034] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a relay control device, the device including at least one processor configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to perform the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect. Optionally, the device further includes a memory configured to store the computer program or instructions. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface, the processor reading the computer program or instructions stored in the memory via the communication interface.

[0035] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (eg, a network device or a terminal device).

[0036] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in communications equipment (such as network equipment or terminal equipment).

[0037] According to a fifth aspect, the present application provides a processor configured to perform a method as provided in the first or second aspect.

[0038] Operations such as transmitting and acquiring / receiving related to a processor may be understood as operations such as output and receiving or input of a processor, or operations such as transmitting and receiving performed by a radio frequency circuit and an antenna, unless otherwise specified or the operations are not inconsistent with the actual function or internal logic of the operations in the relevant description, which is not limited in this application.

[0039] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium storing program code for execution by a device, the program code being used to perform the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0040] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to carry out the method of the first or second aspect in any possible implementation.

[0041] According to an eighth aspect, there is provided a communication system including the network device and the relay device described above. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0042] [Figure 1(a)] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a terminal device. [Figure 1(b)] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a network device. [Figure 1(c)] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a relay device. [Figure 1(d)] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a terminal device. [Figure 2(a)] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a repeater amplifying and transmitting a signal. [Figure 2(b)] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a repeater amplifying and transmitting a signal. [Figure 3(a)] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a relay control method 100 for a network device according to the present application. [Figure 3(b)] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a relay control method 100 for a network device according to the present application. [Figure 3(c)] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a relay control method 100 for a network device according to the present application. [Figure 4(a)] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a time associated with the first information. [Figure 4(b)] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a time associated with the first information. [Figure 4(c)] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a time associated with the first information. [Figure 4(d)] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a time associated with the first information. [Figure 5(a)] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a valid time k and a duration T. [Figure 5(b)] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a valid time k and a duration T. [Figure 5(c)] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a valid time k and a duration T. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a valid time k and a duration T. [Figure 7(a)] A diagram showing that the first information indicates a beam index. [Figure 7(b)] A diagram showing that the first information indicates a beam index. [Figure 8(a)] A diagram showing that the first information indicates the beam index and transmission time. [Figure 8(b)] A diagram showing that the first information indicates the beam index and transmission time. [Figure 8(c)] A diagram showing that the first information indicates the beam index and transmission time. [Figure 8(d)] A diagram showing that the first information indicates the beam index and transmission time. [Figure 8(e)] A diagram showing that the first information indicates the beam index and transmission time. [Figure 8(f)] A diagram showing that the first information indicates the beam index and transmission time. [Figure 8(g)] A diagram showing that the first information indicates the beam index and transmission time. [Figure 8(h)] A diagram showing that the first information indicates the beam index and transmission time. [Figure 9(a)] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing that the first information indicates an amplification gain. [Figure 9(b)] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing that the first information indicates an amplification gain. [Figure 9(c)] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing that the first information indicates an amplification gain. [Figure 9(d)] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing that the first information indicates an amplification gain. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing that the first information instructs on / off control. [Figure 11(a)] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing that the first information indicates the beam and amplification gain. [Figure 11(b)] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing that the first information indicates the beam and amplification gain. [Figure 12(a)] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the coverage range of a beam. [Figure 12(b)] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the coverage range of a beam. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 illustrates a relay control device 200 according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 14] FIG. 3 illustrates another relay control device 300 according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 15] FIG. 4 illustrates a chip system 400 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0043] The technical solutions of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0044] The embodiments of the present application may be applied to a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a Wi-Fi system, or a future mobile communication system.

[0045] The base station or network equipment in the present application may be an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation base station (next generation NodeB (gNB)) in a 5G mobile communication system, a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access node in a Wi-Fi system, etc., or may be a module or unit implementing some functions of a base station.

[0046] A user equipment (UE) in this application is a device having a wireless transceiver function and may transmit signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A UE may also be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station, a mobile terminal, or the like. A terminal may be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, and smart city. A terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer having a wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a robot arm, a smart home device, or the like. The specific technology and the specific device form used by the terminal are not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0047] The repeater, or relay device, in this application has a signal forwarding function and can amplify a signal. The repeater may further shift the carrier frequency of the signal, demodulate the signal, re-modulate the signal after demodulation, and then forward the signal, or perform noise reduction on the signal for forwarding. Therefore, the repeater may be one of the following forms: amplify and forward, demodulate and forward, frequency shift and forward, and noise reduction and forward. In addition, the repeater may have another form called a reflector or reflecting surface, or have other possible names: intelligent reflecting surface, reflecting array, intelligent reflecting array, reflector, intelligent reflector, backscatter device, passive device, semi-active device, etc. active The relays are a relay control device (RCD) and an ambient signal device (AMD). The repeater may alternatively be regarded as a terminal device in a special form. If the function of controlling the repeater by the network side is considered, the repeater may be classified into a non-intelligent repeater and an intelligent repeater, or into an uncontrolled repeater and a network controlled repeater (NetConRepeater). The network equipment may control the intelligent repeater to perform more performance enhancing functions, such as relay transmission power control, relay amplification gain control, relay beam scanning control, and relay precoding control.

[0048] In the embodiment of the present application, the functions of the base station may alternatively be performed by a module (e.g., a chip, etc.) in the base station, or may be performed by a control subsystem including the functions of the base station. The control subsystem of this specification including the functions of the base station may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios, such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may alternatively be performed by a module (e.g., a chip or a modem, etc.) in the terminal, or may be performed by a device including the functions of the terminal. The functions of the repeater may alternatively be performed by a module (e.g., a chip or a modem, etc.) in the repeater, or may be performed by a device including the functions of the repeater.

[0049] With reference to Fig. 1(a) to Fig. 1(c), the configurations of the terminal device, the network device, and the relay device are described separately below. Fig. 1(a), Fig. 1(b), and Fig. 1(c) are diagrams showing the hardware configurations of the terminal device, the network device, and the relay device, respectively. As shown in Fig. 1(a), the terminal device 10 includes a processor 101, a memory 102, and a transceiver 103. The transceiver 103 includes a transmitter 1031, a receiver 1032, and an antenna 1033. As shown in Fig. 1(b), the network device 20 includes a processor 201, a memory 202, and a transceiver 203. The transceiver 203 includes a transmitter 2031, a receiver 2032, and an antenna 2033. The receiver 1032 may be configured to receive transmission control information via the antenna 1033, and the transmitter 1031 may be configured to transmit transmission information to the network device 20 via the antenna 1033. The transmitter 2031 may be configured to transmit transmission control configuration information to the terminal equipment 10 via the antenna 2033, and the receiver 2032 may be configured to receive transmission information transmitted by the terminal equipment 10 via the antenna 2033. As shown in FIG. 1(c), the repeater 30 logically includes multiple components including one or more of signal transceiver units 303 and 304, a controller 301, a signal amplifier 302, and the like, and is configured to implement communication and signaling exchange with the network equipment and the terminal equipment, signal amplification, and the like. The signal transceiver unit 303 includes a transmitter 3031, a receiver 3032, and an antenna 3033. The signal transceiver unit 304 includes a transmitter 3041, a receiver 3042, and an antenna 3043. The controller of the relay equipment may also be called a mobile terminal (MT), terminal, or fixed terminal (FT), and the block diagram of the other components may be a radio unit (RU), distributed unit (DU), distributed radio unit (DRU), or the like.For example, during downlink communication, one signal transceiver unit is configured to receive a signal of the network equipment 20, and another signal transceiver unit is configured to forward the amplified received signal to the terminal equipment 10. In addition, the controller may further communicate with the network equipment 20 or the terminal equipment 10 via the signal transceiver unit 303 or 304. For example, the controller may be configured to communicate with a base station by using the signal transceiver unit to establish a communication link and beam alignment between the repeater and the base station, and may further be configured to receive configuration information / instruction information of the base station, so that the base station controls the operation time, operation state, operation manner, or the like of the repeater, or may be configured to receive a trigger signal of the terminal, so that the repeater enters a corresponding operation mode as required. As another example, the controller may further determine the operation state (e.g., amplification factor or phase, etc.) of the signal amplifier based on the instruction information of the base station or the measurement information of the controller. It should be understood that the quantity of each type of unit may be one or more. For example, there may be multiple signal amplifiers, each corresponding to a different polarization direction or relay radio frequency channel.

[0050] The network equipment and the UE may communicate with each other directly. However, because the path loss between the network equipment and the UE is high, the UE may not be able to communicate with the network equipment directly. A simple method is to use a repeater to support the communication between the base station and the UE. A relay method with low complexity is that the repeater directly amplifies the received signal and then forwards the signal. As shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 2, when the distance between the network equipment 101 and the terminal equipment 102 is long, a relay equipment 103 is added to the communication system, so that the relay equipment 103 supports the communication between the network equipment 101 and the terminal equipment 102. Generally, there are two antenna panels (or two antennas) on the relay equipment side. One antenna panel (or one antenna) is used by the relay equipment 103 to communicate with the network equipment 101 (here, the antenna panel is referred to as a backhaul-side antenna panel, or the antenna is referred to as a backhaul-side antenna), and the other antenna panel (or the other antenna) is used by the relay equipment 103 to communicate with the terminal equipment 102 (here, the antenna panel is referred to as an access-side antenna panel, or the antenna is referred to as an access-side antenna). Considering the beam function of the access-side antenna panel, the forwarding is further classified into single-beam forwarding ((a) in FIG. 2) and multi-beam forwarding ((b) in FIG. 2). As shown in (b) in FIG. 2, each antenna panel of the relay equipment may include multiple (including two or more) antennas, and a beam may be formed on a single antenna panel. After amplifying the signal from the network equipment 101 by using the backhaul-side beam of the relay equipment 103, the relay equipment forwards the amplified signal to the terminal equipment by using the access-side beam. When forwarding a signal by using the access side beam of the relay equipment 103, the relay equipment needs to align the beam with the terminal equipment 102 to obtain good transmission performance. When forwarding a signal, the relay equipment will amplify and forward the signal, thereby causing noise to the signal.When the noise generated by the repeater is transmitted to the receiving end, it will cause noise interference at the receiving end. In a network, if the repeater amplifies a signal by an excessively high factor, the output power for transmitting the signal by the repeater will be high, which may cause interference. In addition, the relay power amplifier may even enter the saturation region, and the transmitted signal will be distorted, so that the receiving end cannot demodulate the signal correctly.

[0051] For example, the terminal side is considered to have a beam function (e.g., a high-frequency terminal, etc.). As shown in FIG. 1(d), the terminal is considered to be capable of facing multiple directions. FIG. 1(d) is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a terminal in multiple directions. In the antenna 1033 module in FIG. 1(d), one block represents one digital channel, F in the block is a digital precoding weight, and one phase shifter (circle with a diagonal arrow) represents one analog channel and is connected to one element. In practice, one phase shifter may control multiple elements, or the phase shifter and the element are cross-connected. The radiation signal of antenna array 1 faces the first direction (i.e., corresponds to the first spatial filter), ..., the radiation signal of antenna array M faces the Mth direction (i.e., corresponds to the Mth spatial filter). In FIG. 1(d), it can be considered that there are M spatial filters, and the spatial filter m is the digital weight F in the figure. m =[F m,1 ;...;F m,K ], analog weight G m , or the hybrid modulus weight F m G m In another implementation, the spatial filters of any L antenna arrays may be considered to constitute a spatial filter. For example, M antenna arrays constitute a spatial filter, which may specifically refer to any one of the following: [F1;...;F M ], [G1;...;F M ], and [F1G1;...;F M G M ].

[0052] The diagram of the hardware configuration of the network devices and repeaters is the same as that shown in FIG. 1(d).

[0053] Currently, a network device can directly manage a terminal device. However, in a scenario where a network device communicates with a terminal device through a relay device, there is no solution that corresponds to how the network device directly manages the relay.

[0054] In order to facilitate understanding of this application, some technical terms in this application are explained below.

[0055] 1. Beam: A beam is a communication resource. A beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other kinds of beams. The technology for forming a beam can be a beamforming technology or another technical means. The beamforming technology can be specifically a digital beamforming technology, an analog beamforming technology, or a hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology. Various beams can be regarded as various resources. The same information or different information can be transmitted by using various beams. Optionally, multiple beams having the same or similar communication characteristics can be regarded as one beam. One beam can include one or more antenna ports configured for transmitting data channels, control channels, sounding signals, and the like. For example, a transmit beam can be a distribution of signal strength formed in various directions in space after a signal is transmitted through an antenna, and a receive beam can be a distribution of signal strength in various directions in space that is of a wireless signal received from an antenna. It can be understood that one or more antenna ports forming one beam can be regarded as an antenna port set.

[0056] When a low frequency band or an intermediate frequency band is used, the signal can be transmitted omnidirectionally or in a wide angle. When a high frequency band is used, due to the small carrier wavelength of the high frequency communication system, an antenna array formed by multiple antenna elements can be arranged at the transmitting end and the receiving end. The transmitting end transmits the signal with a specific beamforming weight to enable the transmitted signal to form a spatially directional beam, and the receiving end receives the signal using the antenna array with a specific beamforming weight, which can increase the received power of the signal at the receiving end and avoid path loss.

[0057] Beams are classified into transmit beams and receive beams: a transmit beam may be a distribution of signal strength formed in various directions in space after the signal is transmitted through an antenna, and a receive beam may be a distribution where an antenna array strengthens or weakens the reception of radio signals in various directions in space.

[0058] In the current NR protocol, a beam can be represented by an antenna port quasi-colocation (QCL) relationship. Specifically, there is a QCL relationship for spatial Rx parameters between signals of two identical beams, i.e., QCL-Type D: {Spatial Rx parameter}, specified in the protocol. Specifically, a beam can be represented by identifiers of various signals in the protocol, such as a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource index, a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block or SSB) index, a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource index, and a tracking reference signal (TRS) resource index.

[0059] Usually, a beam corresponds to a resource. For example, when beam measurement is performed, the radio access network equipment transmits different resources by using different beams, and the terminal feeds back the measured resource quality, so that the radio access network equipment knows the quality of the corresponding beam. During data transmission, the beam information is also indicated by the resource corresponding to the beam information. For example, the radio access network equipment indicates information about the beam used by the terminal to receive the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) by using a transmission configuration indication (TCI) field in the downlink control information (DCI).

[0060] 2. Quasi-Colocation (QCL): A quasi-colocation QCL relationship is used to indicate that multiple resources have one or more same or similar communication characteristics. For multiple resources with a quasi-colocation relationship, the same or similar communication settings may be used. Specifically, signals corresponding to antenna ports with a QCL relationship have the same parameters. Or, the parameters of an antenna port (which may also be referred to as QCL parameters) may be used to determine the parameters of another antenna port that has a QCL relationship to the antenna port. Or, the two antenna ports have the same parameters. Or, the parameter difference between the two antenna ports is less than a threshold. The parameters may include one or more of the following: delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average delay, average gain. (average gain) , and spatial Rx parameters, which are angle of arrival (AOA), average AOA, AOA spread, angle of departure (AOD), average angle of departure AOD, AOD spread, receive antenna spatial correlation parameters, transmit antenna spatial correlation parameters, transmit beam, receive beam, and resource identifier.

[0061] 3. Amplification Gain: Amplification gain can be applied to the repeater and can correspond to power control. For example, if the received power of the received signal is P_R (unit: decibel milliwatt (dBm)) and the amplification gain is G (unit: decibel (dB)), the output power (i.e., the transmission power) is P_T=G+P_R (unit: decibel milliwatt (dBm)). In a communication system associated with a reflective surface, the amplification gain can be the reflection loss accordingly.

[0062] 4. On-off control: On-off control is also called switch management or on-off control for controlling the repeater to enable or disable amplification and forwarding, and can be further divided into uplink on-off control and downlink on-off control.

[0063] 5. Time unit: A time unit refers to a unit of time. For example, a time unit in this application may include, but is not limited to, a subframe, a slot, a symbol, a physical slot, an available slot, a first symbol of a slot, a first symbol of a physical slot, a first symbol of an available slot, or the like. A symbol (e.g., a first symbol, etc.) may be a time domain symbol (e.g., an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, etc.), or the like.

[0064] Each of Figures 3(a)-3(c) is a schematic block diagram illustrating a relay control method 100 in accordance with the present application.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 3(a), the first information is used to manage the forwarding of uplink and downlink signals by the repeater.

[0066] S101: A network device transmits first information to a relay device, and in response, the relay device receives the first information from the network device, where the first information indicates at least one of the following information: beam, transmission time, amplification gain, on-off control, and transmission direction.

[0067] The beam indicated by the first information is a beam used when the relay device later forwards a signal. The forwarding time is one or more time units during which the relay device forwards a signal, and may be, for example, one or more slots or one or more OFDM symbols. The amplification gain is the amplification gain used when the relay device forwards a signal. The amplification gain in this specification may be the amplification factor or forwarding power of the signal. The on-off control may be understood as a control to enable or disable the amplify-and-forward function of the repeater. The forwarding direction includes uplink forwarding and / or downlink forwarding, and the network device may separately control the repeater to forward a downlink signal and / or an uplink signal by using the first information. The downlink forwarding means that the network device transmits a signal to the relay device, and the relay device forwards the signal to the terminal device. The uplink forwarding means that the terminal device transmits a signal to the relay device, and the relay device forwards the signal to the network device.

[0068] It should be understood that the forwarding direction of the first signal includes uplink forwarding and / or downlink forwarding. For example, if the forwarding direction of the first signal is downlink forwarding, see S102-a and S102-b. Or, if the forwarding direction of the first signal is uplink forwarding, see S103-a and S103-b.

[0069] It should be understood that the beam indicated by the first information may be an access side beam or a beam pair including a backhaul side beam and an access side beam. In general, the backhaul side beam is fixed. Specifically, the repeater may perform communication based on the fixed backhaul side beam in a long time period. There may be some cases, for example, the repeater has an online real-time isolation measurement function. In this case, matching between the optimal access side beam and the optimal backhaul side beam may be involved, and switching of both the access side beam and the backhaul side beam may be considered. If the backhaul side beam is fixed, the beam indicated by the first information is the access side beam. If the backhaul side beam is not fixed, the backhaul side beam is paired with the access side beam. The pairing information is agreed upon in advance between the repeater and the network equipment. In this case, the first information indicates both the backhaul side beam and the access side beam. In both cases, the instruction may be performed based on the access side beam. Therefore, in this embodiment of the present application, an example in which the first information indicates the access side beam is used for explanation.

[0070] Optionally, when the transmission time includes multiple time units, the information such as beam, amplification gain, on-off control, and transmission direction corresponding to various time units in the transmission time may be the same or different. In other words, the control performed by the network equipment on the repeater may be accurate to the level of one time unit.

[0071] For example, the first information in this specification may include indication information and / or configuration information. The indication information may be one or a combination of the following: media access control-control element (MAC-CE), downlink control information (DCI), radio resource control (RRC), and system information. The configuration information may be configured by the network device and distributed to the terminal device or the repeater. The configuration information may be carried on any one of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), remaining minimum system information (RMSI), system information block (SIB1), SIB2, SIB3, media access control-control element (MAC-CE), downlink control information (DCI), radio resource control (RRC), and system information.

[0072] S102-a: The network equipment transmits a downlink signal to the relay equipment, and in response, the relay equipment receives the downlink signal from the network equipment.

[0073] S102-b: The relay device forwards a downlink signal to the UE based on the first information, and in response, the UE receives the downlink signal from the relay device.

[0074] S103-a: The UE transmits an uplink signal to the relay equipment, and in response, the relay equipment receives the uplink signal from the UE.

[0075] S103-b: The relay device forwards the uplink signal to the network device based on the first information, and in response, the network device receives the uplink signal from the relay device.

[0076] In a scenario in which the first information can be used to control a relay device to forward uplink and downlink signals, FIG. 3(a) is merely an example, and S102-a, S102-b , S103-a, and S103-b It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the case where it is necessary to execute S101, S102-a, and S102-b. Specifically, only S101, S103-a, and S103-b may be executed, or only S101, S103-a, and S103-b may be executed.

[0077] As shown in Fig. 3(b), the first information is used only to manage the forwarding of uplink signals by the repeater, only S101, S103-a, and S103-b in Fig. 3(a) are executed, and the forwarding direction indicated in the first information is uplink. As shown in Fig. 3(c), the first information is used to manage the forwarding of downlink signals by the repeater, only S101, S102-a, and S102-b in Fig. 3(a) are executed, and the forwarding direction indicated in the first information is downlink.

[0078] In this embodiment of the present application, in a scenario in which a relay assists communication between a network device and a terminal device, the amplifying and forwarding function of the relay is directly managed by using the network, so that interference with signals can be reduced when the relay device forwards signals, and transmission performance is improved.

[0079] By using specific examples, the first information in the method 100 from four aspects will be further described below.

[0080] First aspect: the first information includes downlink control information. Optionally, the first information further includes a radio resource control message, where the radio resource control message is used to determine a relay amplification forwarding time set and / or configuration information of the relay amplification forwarding time set, where the relay amplification forwarding time set includes a forwarding time. The downlink control information includes at least one of the following information: an initial beam, a forwarding time, an amplification gain, and an on-off control.

[0081] It should be understood that a relay amplification and forwarding time set is a set of one or more time units during which the relay amplifies and forwards the original signal. For example, the time set may correspond to a time window, or the time set may correspond to a time period, or the time set may include one or more discontinuous time units.

[0082] It should be understood that in the present application, a time unit may be a slot, for example, the duration of a slot may be 1 ms, 0.5 ms, 0.25 ms, 0.125 ms, or a similar value.

[0083] It should be understood that in the present application, a time unit may alternatively be one or more OFDM symbols.

[0084] In the present invention, the description is mainly based on the case where the transmission time is a slot, but in practice the transmission time can be replaced with any other time unit.

[0085] For example, a relay amplification and forwarding time set includes a forwarding time, and the signal that is amplified and forwarded by the relay device within the time set includes an initial signal.

[0086] The radio resource control message being used to determine the relay amplification forwarding time set may be understood as the radio resource control message being used to determine the duration of the relay amplification forwarding time set, or the relay device may determine the duration of the relay amplification forwarding time set based on the radio resource control message. The duration of the relay amplification forwarding time set may be understood as the number of time units included in the relay amplification forwarding time set.

[0087] For example, the radio resource control message includes at least two of the following: a first field, a second field, and a third field. Here, the first field indicates a slot configuration list included in the relay amplification forwarding time set, the second field indicates a slot amplification forwarding configuration, and the third field indicates a forwarding beam configuration list. For example, the duration of the relay amplification forwarding time set may be determined based on the first field and the third field, or may be determined based on the first field, the second field, and the third field, or may be determined based on the first field and the second field. For specific implementation, please refer to the following Examples 1 to 3 of (1) in "a. The first information indicates the duration of the relay amplification forwarding time set or the number of slots included in the relay amplification forwarding time set" in "1. How the first information indicates the relay amplification forwarding time set". Details will not be described in this specification.

[0088] Optionally, the relay amplification forwarding time set further corresponds to a start time of the relay amplification forwarding time set, and the start time of the relay amplification forwarding time set may be understood as a time corresponding to a first time unit in the relay amplification forwarding time set. For example, the repeater may determine the start time of the relay amplification forwarding time set in an existing manner, where the start time may be understood as a first time unit in the time set.

[0089] b. The radio resource control message being used to determine the configuration information of the relay amplification forwarding time set may be understood as the radio resource control message including the configuration information or being used to determine the configuration information, where the configuration information may be used to determine the relay amplification forwarding time set, or the relay device may determine the relay amplification forwarding time set based on the configuration information.

[0090] The repeater may determine the duration of the relay amplified forwarding time set based on the configuration information. For example, the configuration information may include a period for enabling and disabling amplification and forwarding by the repeater, and the period for enabling and disabling amplification and forwarding by the repeater may be used to determine the duration of the relay amplified forwarding time set. For a detailed explanation, see the example of (2) in "a. The first information indicates the duration of the relay amplified forwarding time set or the number of slots included in the relay amplified forwarding time set" in "1. How the first information indicates the relay amplified forwarding time set".

[0091] The relay amplification forwarding time set further corresponds to a start time of the relay amplification forwarding time set, and the relay may determine the start time of the relay amplification forwarding time set based on the configuration information. For example, the configuration information includes a time division duplex-uplink-downlink configuration period, and the time division duplex-uplink-downlink configuration period may be used to determine the start time of the relay amplification forwarding time set. For a detailed description, see the example of (3) in “b. The relay device determines the start point or start time of the relay amplification forwarding time set” in “1. How the first information indicates the relay amplification forwarding time set”. As another example, the configuration information includes a subcarrier spacing or a carrier frequency range, and the subcarrier spacing and / or the carrier frequency range may be used to determine the start time of the relay amplification forwarding time set. For a detailed description, see the examples of (5) and (6) in “b. The relay device determines the start point or start time of the relay amplification forwarding time set” in “1. How the first information indicates the relay amplification forwarding time set”.

[0092] Optionally, the start time of the relay amplified forwarding time set may be the first configurable forwarding time in the relay amplified forwarding time set accordingly. Specifically, multiple forwarding times may be configured in the relay amplified forwarding time set, with the minimum of the configurable forwarding times being the start time accordingly.

[0093] The first information includes downlink control information, where the downlink control information indicates at least one of the following information: an initial beam, a transmission time, an amplification gain, and an on-off control.

[0094] The relay amplified forwarding time set further corresponds to a start time of the relay amplified forwarding time set. The relay equipment may determine the start time based on the time when the downlink control information is received and the valid time, where the valid time is a time interval between the time when the relay equipment receives the downlink control information and the start time.

[0095] The present application provides below some examples on how to determine the effective time.

[0096] Example 1: The valid time is determined based on the capability information of the relay device. For example, the relay device determines the valid time based on the capability information of the relay device. As another example, the relay device transmits the capability information of the relay device to the network device, the network device determines the valid time based on the capability information of the relay device, and the network device transmits the valid time to the relay device. In response, the relay device receives the valid time from the network device. For a detailed description, see "1. How the first information indicates the relay amplification and forwarding time set" in " b Please refer to the example of (1) in "The relay device determines the starting point or starting time of the relay amplified transmission time set."

[0097] Example 2: The effective time is determined based on the capability information of the relay device and the second information. Here, the second information includes at least one of the following: a subcarrier interval and a carrier frequency range. The subcarrier interval may be configured by the network device, and the carrier frequency range may be implicitly determined by the relay device based on the information configured by the network device. For example, the relay device determines the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device and the second information. As another example, the relay device transmits the capability information of the relay device to the network device, the network device determines the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device and the second information, and the network device transmits the effective time to the relay device. In response, the relay device receives the effective time from the network device. For a detailed description, please refer to the example of (4) in "a. The relay device determines the starting point or starting time of the relay amplified forwarding time set" in "1. How the first information indicates the relay amplified forwarding time set".

[0098] Optionally, the radio resource control message is used to determine configuration information of a relay amplification forwarding time set, where the configuration information of the relay amplification forwarding time set includes the second information.

[0099] Second aspect: the first information further includes instruction information, the instruction information indicates that the configuration information of the amplification and forwarding time set is periodically effective, and the time interval during which the configuration information of the amplification and forwarding time set is effective is a duration. After receiving the instruction information, the relay device periodically forwards the signal based on the first information.

[0100] For details, see the example of (4) in "a. The first information indicates the duration of the relay amplification-transmission time set or the number of slots included in the relay amplification-transmission time set" in "1. How the first information indicates the relay amplification-transmission time set".

[0101] Third aspect: Size of the first information

[0102] When the first information includes downlink control information and a radio resource control message, the relay device determines a size of the downlink control information based on the duration and at least one of the second field and the third field.

[0103] For details, see the example in “8. Method for determining the size of the first information (eg, DCI, etc.)”.

[0104] Fourth aspect: how the first information indicates, in combination, at least two of the following information: initial beam, transfer time, amplification gain, and on / off control.

[0105] For example, the first information indicates that the first signal is to be transmitted based on the first beam within the transmission time. For details, see the following description corresponding to a and b in "2. How the first information indicates the beam".

[0106] For example, the first information indicates that the first signal is to be transferred based on the amplification gain during the transfer time. For details, see the following description corresponding to a and b in "3. How the first information indicates the amplification gain."

[0107] For example, the first information indicates forwarding a first signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain. For details, see the following description corresponding to a in “6. How the first information indicates at least two of the above-mentioned information 1 to 5 together.”

[0108] For example, the first information indicates that the on / off control enables the amplify and forward function and forwards the first signal in a time unit that is within the forwarding time. For details, see the following explanation corresponding to a in "4. How the first information indicates the on / off control".

[0109] For example, the first information indicates that a first signal is to be transferred based on a first beam in a time unit in which an on-off control indicates that an amplification function is enabled. For details, see the following explanation corresponding to “In the implementation” in Example 1 of (1) in “b. The first information further explicitly indicates information related to the transfer time” in “2. How the first information indicates the beam”.

[0110] For example, the first information indicates that the first signal is transferred based on the amplification gain in the time unit in which the on-off control indicates that the amplification function is enabled. For details, see the following explanation corresponding to "In the implementation" in Example 1 of (1) in "b. The first information further explicitly indicates information related to the transfer time" in "3. How the first information indicates the amplification gain".

[0111] For example, the first information indicates that a first signal is to be forwarded based on a first beam and an amplification gain in a forwarding time. For example, the first information indicates that a first signal is to be forwarded based on an amplification gain and a first beam in a time unit in which an on-off control indicates that an amplification function is enabled. For example, the first information indicates that a first signal is to be forwarded based on an amplification gain and a first beam in a time unit in which an on-off control indicates that an amplification forwarding function is enabled. , Transfer Indicating that a first signal is forwarded based on a first beam in a time unit within a transmission time. For example, the first information is a time unit indicating that an on-off control enables an amplify-and-forward function. , Transfer In a time unit within the transmission time, the first information indicates that a first signal is to be forwarded based on the amplification gain. For example, the first information is a time unit indicating that the on-off control enables the amplification and forwarding function. , Transfer It indicates that a first signal is transferred based on a first beam and an amplification gain in a time unit within a transmission time. For details of the above five examples, please refer to the following explanations corresponding to b, d, e, f, and c in “6. How the first information indicates at least two of the above information 1 to 5 together”.

[0112] In order to facilitate understanding of the implementation of configuring or directing a beam by using the first information in an embodiment of the present application, a process between the base station and the network, in which the beam index corresponds to an actual antenna, is described below.

[0113] 1. The base station and the repeater have prior knowledge of the beam on the repeater side. The information can be preconfigured or reported by the repeater.

[0114] (a) The pre-configured or reported information may include a beam index and a coverage area corresponding to the beam index.

[0115] 2. The base station indicates the beam index of the repeater. The base station first determines the coverage area that needs to be improved with the help of the repeater, and then can find the corresponding beam index based on the correspondence. The base station indicates the index. The advantage of this scheme is that the indication overhead is reduced (compared to direct configuration of the weight of the repeater).

[0116] 3. The repeater finds the corresponding weight based on the beam index, where the beam can radiate within the corresponding coverage area.

[0117] For example, the beam index only refers to the beam corresponding to the antenna at the relay access side (the side facing the UE), and the correspondence agreed by both parties can be shown in Table 1. The beam index and weight coefficient of the antenna element can be finally determined based on the multi-level correspondence. In the subsequent embodiment, it is described that the two-level index relationship between the RRC and the DCI corresponds to the index of the actual beam. In Table 1, not all information is required. Only one column may be stored, or multiple columns may be stored.

[0118] [Table 1]

[0119] In Table 2, we use an example in which the beam index corresponds to the beam corresponding to the antenna on both the relay backhaul side (facing the base station or upper level repeater) and the relay access side (facing the UE or lower level relay). The beam index and weight coefficient of the antenna element can be finally determined based on the multi-level correspondence.

[0120] [Table 2]

[0121] Note: The concepts of beams, antenna element weighting factors, and weights are equivalent and are accordingly designated as spatial filters in the protocol, e.g., a transmit beam is a spatial domain transmission filter and a receive beam is a spatial domain receiver filter.

[0122] The beam coverage range will be briefly described below with reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a two-dimensional coverage range of a beam or beam set according to an embodiment of the present application. (a) in FIG. 12 shows a diagram in which the coverage area is a rectangle, i.e., the coverage area of ​​a beam or beam set is two-dimensional. The blocks in (a) in FIG. 12 represent the coverage range of a beam set or beam. (a) in FIG. 12 shows only the coverage range of adjacent beams, and the coverage ranges of the beam set or beam may overlap. The coverage range of the access side beam of the relay equipment may approximately correspond to the area defined by both the horizontal and vertical directions in the array antenna shaping. For example, the x-axis corresponds to the horizontal direction, and the y-axis corresponds to the vertical direction. The coverage range of a beam or beam set may be defined as an angular area in a direction having an angular width of 3 dB (the angular width may alternatively be another value, e.g., 5 dB or 6 dB), i.e., a difference of 3 dB from the gain of the strongest beam. (b) in FIG. 12 shows the corresponding coverage area in the polar coordinate domain. The coverage area of ​​a beam or beam set is the area abcd, with the radius starting at

[0123]

number

[0124] and the end position of the radius is

[0125]

number

[0126] where the angle start position is θ1 and the angle end position is

[0127]

number

[0128] It is.

[0129] To implement the relay control method 100 provided in the present application, several possible implementations from the following eight aspects are further described below.

[0130] 1. How the first piece of information indicates the transfer time.

[0131] 2. How the first piece of information shows the beam.

[0132] 3. How the first piece of information indicates the amplification gain.

[0133] 4. How does the first piece of information indicate on-off control?

[0134] 5. How the primary information indicates the direction of transfer.

[0135] 6. How the first piece of information combines at least two of the above pieces of information 1 to 5.

[0136] 7. Method for determining that first information is used to control a relay device

[0137] 8. Method for determining size of first information (e.g., DCI)

[0138] Some of the above-mentioned aspects will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments and accompanying drawings.

[0139] 1. How the first information indicates the relay amplification forwarding time set.

[0140] First, referring to Fig. 4(a) to Fig. 4(d), the time associated with the first information will be described. t0 is the time when the relay device receives the first information, t0 is the nth time unit, and t1 is the effective time of the first information or the start time of the relay amplification and forwarding time set. The interval between t0 and t1 is equal to or greater than k time units. In other words, t1 may be the (n+k)th slot / OFDM symbol, or the relay amplification and forwarding time set may take effect starting from one or more slots after the (n+k)th slot / OFDM symbol. The duration of the relay amplification and forwarding time set is T time units, where both k and T are positive integers. As shown in Fig. 4(a), t0 is slot 0, k=3, and t1 is slot 3. As shown in FIG. 4(b), t0 is the nth OFDM symbol, the interval between t0 and t1 is k OFDM symbols, and t1 is the (n+k)th OFDM symbol. As shown in FIG. 4(c), t0 is slot 0, k=3, t1 is slot 5, the (n+k)th slot is slot 3, t1 is the xth slot after slot 3, and x is a positive integer. For example, x=2, and t1 is slot 5. As shown in FIG. 4(d), t0 is slot 0, k=3, the (n+k)th slot is slot 3, and t1 is the xth OFDM symbol after slot 3, and x is a positive integer.

[0141] The scheme for indicating a forwarding time may be understood as indicating a duration (for details, see the description of a below) and a starting point (for details, see the description of b below) that are of a relay amplified forwarding time set. A forwarding time is one or more units of time within a relay amplified forwarding time set.

[0142] It should be noted that in Fig. 4(a) to Fig. 4(d), an example is used in which k time units are three slots and T time units are five slots for explanation. However, this is not limited in the present application. In addition, the number of slots in other accompanying drawings in this application is also an example, and the present application is not limited thereto. In this embodiment of the present application, an example in which one time unit is one slot is used for explanation.

[0143] a. The first information indicates the duration of the relay amplification and forwarding time set, or the number of slots included in the relay amplification and forwarding time set.

[0144] For example, the first information is DCI, which indicates T time units, i.e., relay amplification and transmission time sets, and the relay transmits signals in T slots based on the DCI.

[0145] (1) For example, the relay determines the quantity T of time units based on configuration information (e.g., RRC, etc.).

[0146] Example 1: The configuration information indicates a first field and a second field, and the relay terminal determines T based on the first field and the second field. The first field indicates a slot configuration list included in the relay amplification and forwarding time set, the length of the first field is K, the second field indicates a slot amplification and forwarding configuration, and the maximum value set in the second field that can be used is n0.

[0147]

number

[0148] (Equation 1), where:

[0149]

number

[0150] For example, if the length of the first field is 10 and the length of the configuration information for each slot is

[0151]

number

[0152] If

[0153]

number

[0154] Here, there are a total of five slots, from slot 3 to slot 7 in FIG.

[0155] Example 2: The configuration information indicates a first field and a third field. The first field indicates a slot configuration list included in the relay amplified transmission time set. The third field indicates a transmission beam configuration list. The maximum value of the third field is n1, where n1 indicates the maximum number of beams supported by the relay, or n1 indicates the number of beams (or the number of activated beams, or the number of enabled beams) that can be used by the relay equipment in the configuration. The relay terminal determines T based on the first field and the third field.

[0156]

number

[0157] (Equation 2).

[0158] Example 3: The configuration information indicates a first field, a second field, and a third field. The first field indicates a slot configuration list included in the relay amplify-and-forward time set, the third field indicates a forward beam configuration list, and the second field indicates a slot amplify-and-forward configuration. The maximum value configured in the second field and that can be used is n0. The maximum value of the third field is n1, where n1 indicates the maximum number of beams supported by the relay, or n1 indicates the maximum number of beams that can be used by the relay during the amplify-and-forward configuration. The relay terminal determines T based on the first field, the second field, and the third field.

[0159]

number

[0160] (Equation 3).

[0161] For example, the first field is slotRepeatingList, the second field is slotRepeatingIndication, and the third field is slotBeamList. A specific configuration is as follows: It should be noted that the examples provided for the fields (e.g., the first field and the second field, etc.) in this application do not constitute limitations to this application. These fields may alternatively be other fields having similar functions. These fields may be in the same configuration information or in different configuration information. This is not limited in this application. NetworkControlCombinations::=SEQUENCE { / / Relay control combinations subcarrierSpacing SubcarrierSpacing, / / Subcarrier spacing OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameters controlledRepeating SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrof ControlledRepeatingPerSet)) OF repeatingComb / / Slot amplified transmission configuration set OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameters positionInDCI / / Position in DCI INTEGER (0..maxRepeater-DCI-PayloadSize-1) / / Controls the maximum DCI load of the repeater, e.g. 128 bits. OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter ..., } repeatingComb::=SEQUENCE { / / Amplification and forwarding configuration combination repeatingCombId RepeatingCombId, / / Index of the amplification and forwarding configuration combination slotRepeatingList / / Slot repeating list SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofSlotRepeating)) OF slotRepeating OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter repeatingPeriod INTEGER (0..A-1) / / Time period information OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter slotRepeating::=SEQUENCE { / / Slot Repeating configuration parameters slotRepeatingIndication INTEGER (0..n0-1) / / Slot repeating indication (also called slot repeating index) OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter slotOffset INTEGER (0..A-1) / / Indicates the slot for the configuration OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter slotBeamList / / Candidate beam set (Note: if the number of beams in the set is greater than 1, the beams are further specified by DCI) SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofSlotBeams)) OF INTEGER (0..n1-1) OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameters ..., }

[0162] maxNrofControlledRepeatingPerSet is the maximum number of network controlled relay forwarding configuration sets.

[0163] repeatingComb indicates an amplify-and-forward configuration combination including an index repeatingCombId and a slot amplify-and-forward configuration list slotRepeatingList. Here, slotRepeatingList may be used to configure an amplify-and-forward configuration for multiple slots. maxNrofSlotRepeating is the maximum number of configurable slots in the configuration set (actually, the number of time units included in the relay amplify-and-forward time set may be less than the maximum number, i.e., T≦the maximum number of configurable slots). repeatingPeriod indicates time period information corresponding to the amplify-and-forward configuration combination. For example, the time period information may be used to determine the duration of the relay amplify-and-forward time set or the length (or width) of the relay amplify-and-forward time window. Furthermore, the time period information may be further used to determine the start time of the relay amplify-and-forward time set (or time window).

[0164] slotRepeating indicates a forwarding scheme configuration parameter. slotRepeatingIndication indicates a slot amplify forwarding configuration indication. n0 indicates the maximum value that can be used for each slotRepeating setting (the maximum quantity that can be set). Optionally, slotRepeatingIndication is used to determine at least one of the following: the amplify forwarding scheme of the slot, and the amplify gain (or amplify forwarding power) corresponding to the slot.

[0165] The slotBeamList represents a forwarding beam configuration, or a set of candidate beams in a slot. The maxNrofSlotBeams is the number of beams that can be configured in a slot. The n1 represents the maximum value that can be used for each slotBeamList configuration. For example, the n1 in this specification may be the maximum number of beams supported by the repeater. Alternatively, the n1 in this specification is the maximum number of beams that can be used by the repeater during amplification and forwarding in the configuration. For example, if the value of the field in the configuration information is 0, the maximum number of beams that can be used during amplification and forwarding is 3, i.e., n1=3. If the value of the field is 2, the maximum number of beams that can be used during amplification and forwarding is 1, i.e., n1=1. Assuming that the field maxNrofSlotBeams is 1, or assuming that only one beam is configured in the slotBeamList, the formula 3 can be used.

[0166] Furthermore, the configuration information can be advanced if some of the configuration information can be used for all forwarding times in the relay amplified forwarding time set (or all forwarding times in the relay amplified forwarding time set correspond to the same configuration information). For example, in a relay amplified forwarding time set, the candidate beam set slotBeamList for all forwarding times is the same, i.e., the candidate beams corresponding to all forwarding times come from the same set. NetworkControlCombinations::=SEQUENCE { / / Relay control combinations subcarrierSpacing SubcarrierSpacing, / / Subcarrier spacing OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter controlledRepeating SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrof ControlledRepeatingPerSet)) OF repeatingComb / / Slot amplified transmission configuration set OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameters positionInDCI / / Position in DCI INTEGER (0..maxRepeater-DCI-PayloadSize-1) / / Controls the maximum DCI load of the repeater. For example, 128 bits. OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter slotBeamList / / Candidate beam set (Note: if the number of beams in the set is greater than 1, the beams are further specified by DCI) SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofSlotBeams)) OF INTEGER (0..n1-1) OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameters ..., } repeatingComb::=SEQUENCE { / / Amplification and forwarding configuration combination repeatingCombId RepeatingCombId, / / Index of the amplification and forwarding configuration combination slotRepeatingList / / Slot repeating list SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofSlotRepeating)) OF slotRepeating OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter repeatingPeriod INTEGER (0..A-1) / / Time period information OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter slotRepeating::=SEQUENCE { / / Slot Repeating configuration parameters slotRepeatingIndication INTEGER (0..n0-1) / / Slot repeating indication (also called slot repeating index) OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter slotOffset INTEGER (0..A-1) / / Indicates the slot to configure OPTIONAL, / / Optional parameter ..., }

[0167] Optionally, using n0=4 as an example, the values ​​indicated by the field slotRepeatingIndication and the corresponding indication information may be shown in Table 3.

[0168] Optionally, using n0=4 as an example, the values ​​indicated by the field slotRepeatingIndication and the corresponding indication information may be shown in Table 4.

[0169] [Table 3]

[0170] [Table 4]

[0171] G0, G1, and G2 are integers.

[0172] Optionally, using n0=4 as an example, the values ​​indicated by the field slotRepeatingIndication and the corresponding indication information may be shown in Table 5.

[0173] [Table 5]

[0174] P0, P1, and P2 are integers. Optionally, the transmit power herein is the corresponding power of a single resource element (energy per resource element, EPRE).

[0175] Optionally, the configuration information of the field slotRepeatingIndication is used only in the following scenarios: the repeater is instructed to perform amplify-and-forward based on the DCI.

[0176] For example, as described above, the size of the DCI may be determined based on T indicated by the configuration information, and the number of time units included in the time actually used for amplifying and forwarding may be equal to or less than T. In this application, the time actually used for amplifying and forwarding is referred to as the actual relay amplifying and forwarding time set. For example, the configuration information includes a fourth field, and the fourth field indicates the actual relay amplifying and forwarding time set. For example, the fourth field is slotOffset, T=5, and the relay amplifying and forwarding time set is slot 0 to slot 4 shown in FIG. 8(e), and the values ​​of slotOffset are 0, 1, and 3, respectively. slotOffset=0 indicates slot 0, slotOffset=1 indicates slot 1, and slotOffset=3 indicates slot 3. Therefore, the actual relay amplifying and forwarding time set is slot 0, slot 1, and slot 3 shown in FIG. 8(e). Specifically, in FIG. 8(e), the size of the DCI is 9 bits. Please refer to Equation 4, Equation 5, or Equation 6 for the manner of determining the size of the DCI.

[0177] (2) The value of T can be determined based on repeater on / off information.

[0178] Specifically, if the period for enabling and disabling the amplify-and-forward function of the repeater is T', it may be determined that the duration of T is the number of slots for enabling amplify-and-forward in the time period T'. Amplify-and-forward in T slots may be set separately by using configuration information. For example, the configuration information may be repeatingComb, which includes T slotRepeating fields. In this case, it may be determined that the number of fields is T. As another example, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the configuration information indicates when the amplify-and-forward function is enabled or disabled in slots in T'. ON indicates that the amplify-and-forward function is enabled in the slot, and OFF indicates that the amplify-and-forward function is disabled in the slot. T'=6 and T=3, i.e., T is three slots in which amplify-and-forward is enabled (ON) in T'. T' may be indicated by the network device or may be preconfigured in the repeater.

[0179] (3) The value of T may be determined based on the repeater's time division duplex-uplink-downlink configuration (TDD-UL-DL-Config).

[0180] In other words, the value of T is the duration of a slot period corresponding to the TDD-UL-DL-Config.

[0181] Example 1: Corresponding to the scenario shown in FIG. 3(a), T may be used by a repeater to forward uplink and downlink signals.

[0182] Example 2: Corresponding to the scenario shown in Fig. 3(b), the value of T is the duration of an uplink slot within the slot period corresponding to the TDD-UL-DL-Config. In this case, the control information is only used to control the uplink amplification and forwarding performed by the repeater.

[0183] Example 3: Corresponding to the scenario shown in Fig. 3(c), the value of T is the duration of a downlink slot in a slot period corresponding to the TDD-UL-DL-Config. In this case, the control information is only used to control the downlink amplification and forwarding performed by the repeater. For example, as shown in Fig. 5(b), the downlink slots are identified by downlink (downlink, DL) and the uplink slots are identified by uplink (uplink, UL), T" is the duration of a downlink slot in a slot period corresponding to the TDD-UL-DL-Config, T" = 7 and T = 4, i.e., 4 downlink slots in the TDD-UL-DL-Config period.

[0184] Optionally, in Examples 2 and 3, the first information further comprises: indication information indicating a forwarding direction. In Example 2, the indication information indicates an uplink. In Example 3, the indication information indicates a downlink.

[0185] The T slots may be contiguous or non-contiguous, for example, the T slots may be equally spaced every two adjacent slots, as in FIG. 5(a), or may be non-equally spaced every two adjacent slots, as in FIG. 5(b).

[0186] (4) The first information takes effect periodically, that is, after the repeater receives the first information, the first information takes effect periodically and repeatedly thereafter.

[0187] As shown in Fig. 5(c), x is the number of periods during which the first information is repeatedly effective. After the first information starts to be effective from t1, the first information is continuously effective for x+1 periods, and the total effective duration is T(x+1) slots. In other words, the total effective duration can be understood as the total duration during which the repeater forwards a signal based on the first information, and beyond this time period, the repeater may not forward a signal based on the first information.

[0188] For example, the number of valid periods (or the total valid duration) may be determined based on a timer. The start time of the timer may be determined based on the reception time or the valid time of the first information. As another example, the preset duration of the timer may be determined based on the configuration information. In other words, the number of valid periods (or the total valid duration) may be determined based on the configuration information. For example, the number of valid periods or the preset duration may be directly indicated by the configuration information.

[0189] As another example, the quantity of the valid cycles may be indicated by the network device, for example, the first information further includes indication information, where the indication information indicates the quantity of the valid cycles.

[0190] b. The relay device determines the starting point or start time of the relay amplified forwarding time set.

[0191] The starting point or start time may also be referred to as the effective time in this application, or the interval between the time the DCI is received and the start time of the relay amplified forwarding time set (e.g., k slots in Figures 4(a) to 4(d)).

[0192] (1) Determine k based on the relay capability.

[0193] For example, relay capabilities in this application may include downlink data processing capability categories and downlink control information processing capabilities, which are uniformly described in this specification.

[0194] For example, a relay with strong capability may use a small value of k, i.e., the effective time is closer to the time when the DCI is received. For example, Tables 6 and 7 show the correspondence between relay capability and k.

[0195] Example 1: A relay device determines k based on the capabilities of the relay device.

[0196] Example 2: A relay capability may be reported by a relay to a base station, and the base station determines, based on the relay capability, a time or k for controlling DCI to enable the relay to perform scheduling. For example, the base station determines k based on the relay capability and sends indication information to the relay device. Here, the indication information indicates the value of k. In response, the relay device determines the value of k based on the indication information. For example, the first information may include the indication information.

[0197] The advantage of Example 2 is that the effective time is determined by the base station, thereby reducing the cases where the repeater cannot support signal transmission between the base station and the terminal because the base station's scheduling does not match the transfer time.

[0198] (2) Determine k based on the service requirements when the relay supports communication between the network device and the UE.

[0199] For example, a small value of k may be used to accommodate bursty or delay-sensitive services. As another example, a large value of k may be used to accommodate delay-insensitive services. For example, Tables 6 and 7 show the correspondence between relay capabilities and k.

[0200] (3) Determine k based on the configuration information.

[0201] For example, the valid time is related to a time division duplex-uplink-downlink configuration period (TDD-UL-DL-Config). Specifically, the valid time may be the nearest start slot for receiving the first information and of the next time division duplex-uplink-downlink configuration period. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, slot 4 and slot 9 are uplink slots, and the remaining slots are downlink slots. For example, the first information is DCI, and slot 5 is the nearest start slot for receiving DCI and of the next time division duplex-uplink-downlink configuration period.

[0202] (4)k ref Based on this, k is determined.

[0203] Example 1: ref The value of corresponds to the relay capability. For example, k ref is the minimum value of k. Specifically, the repeater ref A repeater having multiple capabilities needs to take effect at a time corresponding to k, i.e., multiple corresponding minimum values ​​k ref For example, the relay type and k ref The correspondence between values ​​of may be shown in Table 6, where k0, k1, etc. are integers.

[0204] [Table 6]

[0205] k ref may be reported to the base station by the relay or may be preset. For example, k ref is the minimum value of k required by the repeater to receive the DCI and execute the instructions in the DCI, i.e., the effective time k ≥ k ref It is.

[0206] Example 2: ref The value of corresponds to relay capability and subcarrier spacing. For example, the correspondence may be shown in Table 7. The relay type in Table 7 may alternatively be relay capability, and the subcarrier spacing index μ may alternatively be carrier spacing SCS, and the correspondence between the subcarrier spacing index and the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is SCS=15×2 μwhere μ=0, 1, 2, etc. k′0, k′1, etc., l0, l1, etc. are integers. The subcarrier spacing may be determined based on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) corresponding to the DCI. For example, for a downlink slot or OFDM symbol, the subcarrier spacing herein may be understood as being directly determined based on the subcarrier spacing of (the corresponding PDCCH) of the DCI. For an uplink slot or OFDM symbol, the subcarrier spacing herein may be understood as being directly determined based on the subcarrier spacing of (the corresponding PDCCH) of the DCI and / or the subcarrier spacing of the uplink transport data.

[0207] [Table 7]

[0208] Example 3: ref The value of k′0, k′1, k′2, etc. is related to a carrier frequency range (FR). For example, the corresponding relationship may be shown in Table 8. K′0, k′1, k′2, etc. are integers.

[0209] [Table 8]

[0210] (5)k ref and k offset Based on this, k is determined.

[0211] For example, k=mk ref +nk offset where m and n are coefficients. In particular, if n=0, see (4) above. And if n=m=1, then k=k ref +k offset It is.

[0212] For example, k refcan be determined in the manner described in (4). offset is determined based on the base station configuration information or the indication information in the DCI, or k offset is a predefined value or k offset The value of is the subcarrier spacing index μ μ (or subcarrier spacing SCS) or k offset The value of is related to the carrier frequency range.

[0213] Subcarrier spacing index μ μ (or subcarrier spacing SCS) based on k offset For the method of determining, see Example 2 in (4). And, k ref is k offset Optionally, k offset and k ref The subcarrier spacing index used to determine k may vary. Similarly, k may be determined based on the FR. offset For the method of determining k, see Example 3 in (4). ref is k offset Optionally, k offset and k ref The FR used to determine may vary.

[0214] (6) Determine k based on the subcarrier spacing.

[0215] In a practical system, different subcarrier spacings may be used for multiple uplink slots and multiple downlink slots, and even for different channels and different frequency bands simultaneously, so the scheme for determining the effective time in (6) is accurate to the granularity of a time unit (i.e., the duration of a slot, or the duration of an OFDM symbol).

[0216] For example, the downlink slot or OFDM symbol k is directly determined based on the subcarrier spacing of the DCI (corresponding PDCCH). As another example, the uplink slot or OFDM symbol k is directly determined based on the subcarrier spacing of the DCI (corresponding PDCCH) and / or the subcarrier spacing of the uplink forwarding data. For example, the DCI in this specification may be a DCI used to convey indication information of the network device to the relay device.

[0217] As another example, the duration of the downlink slot or OFDM symbol k is determined based on the indication information in the DCI. For example, the base station configures multiple reference values, and the DCI indicates one of these reference values. As another example, the time for the downlink and the time for the uplink are different. In this case, the time for the uplink and the time for the downlink may be determined based on different subcarrier spacings, respectively.

[0218] (7) The network device sends an instruction to the relay device, where the instruction directly indicates the value of k.

[0219] For example, the base station and the relay equipment may pre-configure the mapping relationship shown in Table 9. The base station indicates any item in the first column of Table 9 to the relay equipment, and the relay equipment determines the corresponding value of k, where k1, k2, k3, and k4 are integers.

[0220] [Table 9]

[0221] The first information format and signaling design, that is, items 2 to 7 below, are described in detail below.

[0222] 2. How the first piece of information shows the beam.

[0223] The first information includes a beam index. After receiving the first information, the relay device determines, based on the beam index, a beam to be used to forward the signal.

[0224] For example, the beam index included in the first information may be indicated by using the transmission time as granularity. For example, the first information may indicate the beam index for the slot granularity / OFDM symbol granularity by indicating the related information of the transmission time and the beam index. For the purpose of explanation, an example in which the transmission time is a slot is used below. However, this is not limited in the present application and is uniformly described in this specification.

[0225] In addition to the beam index included in the first information, cases in which the first information may further implicitly or explicitly indicate related information of the transfer time will be described below.

[0226] a. The first information also implicitly indicates information related to the transfer time

[0227] For example, there is a correspondence between the beam index indicated by the first information and the slot index of the transmission time.

[0228] The network device configures a beam in T slots for the relay device, and the relay AC beams may be used. In this case,

[0229]

number

[0230] bits may be used to respectively indicate the beams in the slot. AC is the number of active beams of the repeater. For example, N AC= 8, and the first information is DCI. The manner of indication is shown in Figure 7 (a). The related information of the transmission time can be determined implicitly. Specifically, the first field (bits 0 to 2) indicates beam #k0 and corresponds to the (n+k)th slot, the second field (bits 3 to 5) indicates beam #k1 and corresponds to the (n+k+1)th slot, and so on. n is the DCI receiving slot, and the manner of determining k can be seen from the above description.

[0231] Optionally, N AC may be determined based on determined higher layer parameters (e.g., RRC, etc.). For example, N AC is determined based on a fifth field, which indicates the beam sets that may be indicated for use in the slot, N AC In one example, the fifth field is a slotBeamList indicating the set of beams that may be indicated for use in a slot, N AC is the number of beams configured in the slotBeamList field. Specifically, the maximum number of beams that can be used by a repeater in a slot is N Beams (For example, N Beams =maxNrofSlotBeams, etc.), and slotBeamList is the beam set

[0232]

number

[0233] Here,

[0234]

number

[0235] It is.

[0236] Optionally, #k0 corresponds to the #k0th beam (or beam index) in beam set l, #k1 corresponds to the #k1th beam (or beam index) in set l, and so on.

[0237] In the example, N Beams = 16, N AC =8, and I={0,2,4,6,8,10,12,14}, indicating that the repeater has a maximum of 16 beams, and the 8 beams that may be used in a slot are configured by higher layers as 0, 2, 4, ..., and 14. #k0=2 indicates beam 4, #k1=0 indicates beam 0, and so on.

[0238] Optionally, by using RRC, AC After setting up the beams, the network equipment can assign the N AC The beams can then be refreshed (or updated). In other words, new N AC The beam is reactivated by using the MAC-CE. For example, the network device reactivates the beam set in slotBeamList configured at the first time.

[0239]

number

[0240] The network device sets the beam set at the second time by using the MAC-CE.

[0241]

number

[0242] For example, the network device may refresh one or more beams in the set. In this manner, the overhead and cost for updating the configuration information may be reduced.

[0243] Optionally, in slot N AC In the case of the DCI, the number of beams is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 181, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 2010, 201

[0244] Optionally, N AC <2 m where m is an integer. In this case, the beam index in the DCI is N AC The field values ​​0, 1, ..., N indicate that only one of the indexes is required, and the remaining index or indexes may indicate other information. For example, one of the index or indexes may indicate that the repeater disables amplification and forwarding. For example, the field values ​​0, 1, ..., N AC -1 indicates the beam index, and the value of the field N AC indicates that the repeater disables amplification and forwarding.

[0245] Optionally, considering that relay beam switching takes time in practical cases, the T slots may alternatively take effect at intervals. For example, the beam index corresponds only to slots whose slot index is an odd number after slot n+k. As another example, the beam index corresponds only to some OFDM symbols in the slots after slot n+k. For example, the some OFDM symbols may be the first N OFDM symbols in the slots after slot n+k or the last N OFDM symbols in the slots after slot n+k. For example, N=13.

[0246] Optionally, there may be one or more slots in the T slots. In each of the one or more slots, the network device needs to indicate multiple beams. In this case, multiple fields are needed to respectively indicate multiple beams in the slot. For example, N AC = 8, and the first information is DCI. The network device needs to indicate two beams in slot 3, and the indication manner is shown in FIG. 7(b). The fourth field (bits 9 to 11) and the fifth field (bits 12 to 14) indicate beam #k3 and beam #k4 corresponding to slot 3, respectively. For example, whether multiple beams are indicated by using multiple fields in a slot can be determined based on the configuration information in a in "1. How the first information indicates the transmission time" described above.

[0247] b. The first information further explicitly indicates information related to the transfer time.

[0248] The relevant information for the transfer time may be the specific time in T time units at which each beam acts.

[0249] (1) DCI explicitly indicates relevant information about transmission time.

[0250] Example 1: The network device configures a beam in T slots for the relay device, and the relayAC beams may be used. In this case,

[0251]

number

[0252] Each bit can indicate a beam in a slot. AC is the number of active beams of the repeater. Bits 0 to T-1 in the DCI indicate the transmission time. Bit T or Bit

[0253]

number

[0254] In

[0255]

number

[0256] Each bit indicates the beam index corresponding to the slot. For example, for T=5, N AC = 8, the first information is DCI. The indication format is shown in Figure 8(a). Bits 0 to 4 indicate the transmission time. Using the bitmap format as an example, the transmission time is 11111 starting from the kth slot, i.e. slot 0 to slot 4 starting from the kth slot. Bits 5 to 7 indicate beam #k0, corresponding to slot 0, bits 8 to 10 indicate beam #k1, corresponding to slot 1, and so on.

[0257] In implementation, in FIG. 8(a), if a bit in bits 0 to 4 indicates that amplification and forwarding is disabled, the beam information indicated by the field corresponding to that bit is not effective, in other words, the beam indicated by the beam information indicated by the field corresponding to that bit is not used. For example, the beam corresponding to the i-th bit in bits 0 to 4 is indicated by bits 5+3i to 7+3i. If bit i=1 indicates that amplification and forwarding is disabled accordingly, the beam indicated by the corresponding bits 8 to 10 is not effective, and the repeater does not forward the beam indicated by bits 8 to 10 in the slot (or does not use the beam indicated by bits 8 to 10). It should be understood that the indication of a bit to disable amplification and forwarding may be understood as the time indication information corresponding to that bit may indirectly or implicitly indicate that amplification and forwarding is disabled by using that bit. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the second bit and the fourth bit in bits 0 to 4 indicate that amplification and forwarding is disabled in slot 1 and slot 3, respectively. For details, see the corresponding description of Fig. 10. Also, this implementation can be understood as the first information indicating the beam and the on-off control together.

[0258] Optionally, the repeater may determine the transmission time indicated by the DCI based on the priority of the time indication information and the beam indication information. For example, the priority of the beam indication information is higher than the priority of the time indication information. For details, see the example above with reference to FIG. 10. As another example, the priority of the time indication information is higher than the priority of the beam indication information. Using FIG. 8(a) as an example. If bits 0 to 4 indicate 11111, the beam needs to be transmitted in all of slots 0 to 4, but bits 11 to 13 do not indicate the beam, and the first signal is not transmitted in slot 2.

[0259] Example 2: The slots of T=5 may alternatively be configured to be discontinuous, i.e., there are intervals between the slots included in the transmission time. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the field of the time indication information of bits 0 to 4 is 10100, and the time indication information indicates the slot in which the beam is effective. The first field (bits 5 to 7) indicates beam #k0 and corresponds to the slot corresponding to the first 1 in 10100. The second field (bits 8 to 10) indicates beam #k2 and corresponds to the slot corresponding to the second 1 in bits 10100.

[0260] Example 3: As shown in Fig. 8(c), the field of the time indication information of bits 0 to 4 is 10100, and the time indication information indicates the time period during which the beam is effective. In other words, the first field (bits 5 to 7) indicates beam #k0 and corresponds to the time period between the slot corresponding to the first 1 of 10100 and the next slot corresponding to the second 1, i.e., between slot 1 and slot 2. The second field (bits 8 to 10) indicates beam #k2 and corresponds to slot 3, slot 4, and slot 5.

[0261] Example 4: The beam indicated by using DCI is related to higher layer signaling. The higher layer signaling may be configured by using RRC message, or may be activated by using MAC-CE after being configured by using RRC. For example, FIG. 8(d) shows a pattern of beam set configured by using RRC. Beam ki is from {kia, kib, kic, kid}, where i=0, 1, 3, 4, and ki, kia, kib, kic, and kid are beam indexes of relays. Specifically, the difference between Example 4 and Example 1 herein is that in this example, the beam is indicated by the beam set. In another possible implementation, based on Example 4, the pattern of beam set configured by using RRC in Example 4 is replaced by a pattern that does not have differentiated slots. In other words, T slots use a common pattern.

[0262] As another example, the time information may further indicate the spacing between adjacent beams, or the time period during which the corresponding beam is in effect. For example, if the beam indicated by using the DCI is located within a time period whose duration is T, then up to

[0263]

number

[0264] bits may be further used to indicate one time interval. If the time period indicates that there are n beams, then the total

[0265]

number

[0266] This bit may be used to indicate the spacing between adjacent beams.

[0267] Furthermore, if multiple beams in one slot (not necessarily all) need to be indicated, the corresponding slot includes two fields. Whether multiple fields (indicating multiple time periods) are included can be determined based on the configuration information in the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0268] (2) Configuration information (e.g., RRC, etc.) indicates information related to transmission time.

[0269] The fourth field in the configuration information replaces the time indication information in the DCI in the example in (1) to indicate an actual transmission time, or the fourth field can be understood to indicate a relative time, i.e., a relative time within a relay amplified transmission time set (or a relay amplified transmission time window).

[0270] For example, the fourth field is slotOffset, and the values ​​of slotOffset are 0, 1, and 3, corresponding to slot 0, slot 1, and slot 3, respectively. As shown in FIG. 8(e), bits 0 to 2 correspond to slotOffset=0, bits 0 to 2 indicate beam #k0, and the repeater may decide to forward beam #k0 in slot 0 based on DCI and configuration information. Similarly, the repeater decides to forward beam #k1 in slot #1 and beam #k3 in slot 3. Optionally, slot 0 is the start time of the relay amplified forwarding time set.

[0271] It should be noted that the sequence of fields in the DCI in this application may be predefined. The figure is just an example. This is not limited in this application. The quantity of fields in the DCI may be predefined or may be determined by using RRC configuration information. The figure is just an example. For example, Figure 8 The number of fields in the beam instruction information in (b) and (c) of FIG. 8 is not limited to 2. This is uniformly described in this specification.

[0272] c. The beam corresponding to the slot where no beam is configured and / or indicated may be a preset beam. In other words, if no beam is configured for a slot in the forwarding time, the relay forwarding beam corresponding to the slot is set as the beam.

[0273] For example, a slot where a beam is not configured may be understood as a slot where a beam is not configured by using RRC and a beam is indicated by using DCI. A slot where a beam is not indicated may be understood as a slot where a beam is configured by using RRC and a beam is not indicated by using DCI. Specifically, the slotBeamList field may not be configured for the slotRepeating field.

[0274] For example, the preset beam used for the relay forwarding beam in a slot is the relay forwarding beam corresponding to the synchronization / broadcast signal block, or the beam used by the repeater to forward SSB.

[0275] For example, the preset beam used for the relay forwarding beam in a slot is the relay forwarding beam corresponding to the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or the beam used by the relay to forward the CSI-RS.

[0276] For example, the preset beam used for the relay forwarding beam in a slot is the relay forwarding beam corresponding to a physical random access channel (PRACH) signal or the beam used by the repeater to forward the PRACH.

[0277] For example, the preset beam used for the relay forwarding beam in a slot is the relay forwarding beam corresponding to a sounding reference signal (SRS) or the beam used by the repeater to forward the beam SRS.

[0278] For example, the preset beam used for the downlink relay forwarding beam may be different from the preset beam used for the uplink relay forwarding beam.

[0279] It should be appreciated that selecting a beam for a slot in which no beam is configured can reduce resource waste, and determining a beam corresponding to a slot in which no beam is configured in a pre-configured manner helps to reduce signaling overhead, reduce detection performed by the repeater on control signaling, and reduce implementation and operation costs of the repeater.

[0280] d. For slots where no beam is configured and / or indicated, amplification and forwarding is disabled by default, in other words the repeater does not forward signals in the slot.

[0281] For example, this implementation takes effect if the following cases are true: At least two candidate beams are configured for the repeater in a slot, but the DCI does not indicate beam information for the slot.

[0282] For example, this implementation takes effect when the following cases are true: Only one candidate beam is configured for the repeater and the DCI does not indicate power information for the slot.

[0283] For example, this implementation takes effect when the following cases are true: only one candidate beam is configured for the repeater, and the DCI does not indicate uplink / downlink information for the slot, or the DCI does not indicate that the slot is used for uplink / downlink transmission.

[0284] In another implementation, whether the amplify-and-forward function of the slot where the beam is not configured is enabled is determined based on instruction information sent by the network device, or based on pre-configured information. For example, if the instruction / configuration information is 1, the repeater enables amplify and forward by default. Or, if the instruction / configuration information is 0, the repeater disables amplify and forward by default. Optionally, this implementation takes effect only for c or d in 2 above.

[0285] In the implementation, one slot is indicated by multiple types of configuration information separately. If the information indicated by the multiple types of configuration information is completely the same, the repeater may randomly select one type of information for execution. If the instructions of the multiple types of configuration information are different, it is necessary to define how to use the multiple fragments in the instruction information. For example, one slot includes 14 OFDM symbols, and the slot is indicated by both the first information #1 and the first information #2. In this case, the repeater may determine the parameters (beam, on / off, power, or the like) for amplification and forwarding according to a preset rule or an indicated rule.

[0286] Example 1: The first information #1 indicates that all OFDM symbols in a slot are amplified and forwarded based on beam #k0, and the first information #2 indicates that symbols 10 to 13 in the slot are amplified and forwarded by using beam #k1, where #k0 is different from #k1. Furthermore, the repeater may determine the following rule: the first information #2 indicates periodic amplifying and forwarding, and the first information #1 indicates dynamic amplifying and forwarding. In this case, the repeater preferentially performs periodic amplifying and forwarding (i.e., first information #2). In this case, the repeater may perform amplifying and forwarding for symbols 0 to 9 by using beam #k0, and the repeater may perform amplifying and forwarding for symbols 10 to 13 by using beam #k1. For a specific case, FIG. 8(f) may be used as an example.

[0287] In another implementation, the transmission method may be further determined based on the priority of the signal to be transmitted. For example, if the priority of the corresponding transmission signal (or the corresponding transmission beam) is high at the time (e.g., symbols 10 to 13, etc.) indicated by the first information #2, the transmission is preferentially performed at the time based on the first information #2. For example, the high priority signal is SSB, PRACH, or SIB1 (or the corresponding transmission beam), the medium priority signal is a periodic signal or periodic scheduling (e.g., configured by using RRC), and the low priority signal is the transmission indicated by DCI.

[0288] In another implementation, the priority of the amplify-and-forward configurations corresponding to the first information #1 and the first information #2 may be determined based on the configuration information of the base station. For example, the first information #2 further indicates the priority corresponding to the information. If the priority is configured as a first value, at the time indicated by the first information #2, the configuration corresponding to the first information #2 is preferentially used to perform amplify-and-forward. Otherwise, the configuration corresponding to the first information #1 is used to perform amplify-and-forward.

[0289] As another example, when beam switching is performed (or there are multiple different beams to transmit) within one slot, there may be a guard time (or switching time) during switching between beams. For example, in example 1, symbols 0 to 9 are amplified and transmitted by using beam #k0, and symbols 10 to 13 are amplified and transmitted by using beam #k1, where #k0 is different from #k1. In this case, there may be a guard time between the time to transmit by using beam #k0 and the time to transmit by using beam #k1. Figure 8(g) is used as an example. Symbol 9 is disabled (no signal is transmitted), i.e., guard time. Or, symbol 10 may be disabled (no signal is transmitted), i.e., guard time.

[0290] Furthermore, within the slots, no beams are constructed and / or shown. Rena For OFDM symbols not included in the slot, amplify and forward is disabled by default. In other words, within a slot, the repeater does not forward signals except for the OFDM symbols that it is configured to forward. For example, within a slot, only symbols 10 to 13 are indicated or configured by the first information #2 to perform amplify and forward, and for symbols 0 to 9, amplify and forward is disabled. Details can be seen in FIG. 8(h).

[0291] 3. How the first information indicates the amplification gain (or power information, such as EPRE as discussed above).

[0292] The first information includes an index of an amplification gain. After receiving the first information, the relay device determines an amplification gain of the first signal based on the index of the amplification gain.

[0293] For example, the index of the amplification gain included in the first information may be indicated at slot granularity. For example, the first information may indicate the amplification gain at slot granularity by indicating the associated information of the transmission time and the index of the amplification gain.

[0294] In addition to the index of the amplification gain contained in the first information, cases are described below in which the first information may further implicitly or explicitly indicate related information of the transfer time, such as k and T as mentioned above.

[0295] a. The first information further implicitly indicates information related to the transfer time.

[0296] b. The first information further explicitly indicates information related to the transfer time.

[0297] The above a and b can be implemented separately in multiple ways.

[0298] In the first implementation, the indication of the amplification gain in this specification can be a relative gain, i.e., a difference Δ that is added based on the amplification gain G of the signal. For example, see a and b in 2. How the first information indicates the beam. The indication of the beam is replaced by the indication of the amplification gain. Beam #k0 is replaced by gain G+Δ0, beam #k1 is replaced by gain G+Δ0, and so on.

[0299] In the second implementation, the power indication information in this specification may refer to a power adjustment, i.e., a difference Δ added based on the transmission power P of the signal. For example, see a and b in 2. How the first information indicates a beam. The indication information of the beam is replaced with an indication information of the amplification gain. Beam #k0 is replaced with power P+Δ0, beam #k1 is replaced with power P+Δ1, and so on.

[0300] The first implementation is used below as an example for explanation. The second implementation is similar to the first implementation, the difference being that the relative gain is replaced by power adjustment and the amplification gain is replaced by transmission power.

[0301] Optionally, the indication schemes of the amplification gain (or power information) of the downlink amplify-and-forward and the uplink amplify-and-forward are different. For example, the downlink amplification gain (or power) is fixed or configured by using RRC, and the uplink amplification gain (or power) is dynamically indicated by using DCI. In other words, the DCI only indicates the amplification gain of the uplink slot. Because the downlink received power is stable, based on this scheme, the indication overhead can be reduced (i.e., less or no indication information of the downlink amplification gain is required).

[0302] c. The implementation does not configure and / or indicate amplification gain. Rena The amplification gain of the new slot may be determined based on a preset gain, which may be an amplification gain corresponding to a predefined time (or signal), or the preset gain may be a most recently configured gain value.

[0303] For example, a slot in which no amplification gain is configured may be understood as a slot in which the amplification gain is indicated by using DCI without the amplification gain being configured by using RRC, and a slot in which no amplification gain is indicated may be understood as a slot in which the amplification gain is configured by using RRC and no amplification gain is indicated by using DCI.

[0304] For example, if no amplification gain information is configured for a slot in the DCI, the preset gain is used as the actual amplification gain of the slot.

[0305] For example, the preset gain used for amplification and forwarding in a slot is the gain used when the synchronization / broadcast signal block is amplified and forwarded, or the amplification gain at the time the SSB is amplified and forwarded. Optionally, the beam in the slot is the same as the relay forwarding beam corresponding to the SSB.

[0306] For example, the preset gain used for amplifying and forwarding in a slot is the gain used when CSI-RS is amplified and forwarded, or the amplification gain at the time when CSI-RS is amplified and forwarded. Optionally, the beam at that time and the relay forwarding beam corresponding to the CSI-RS are the same or have the same QCL information.

[0307] For example, the preset gain used for amplification and forwarding in a slot is the gain used when the PRACH signal is amplified and forwarded, or the amplification gain at the time when the PRACH is amplified and forwarded. Optionally, the beam at that time and the relay forwarding beam corresponding to the PRACH are the same or have the same QCL information.

[0308] For example, the preset gain used for amplifying and forwarding in a slot is the gain used when the SRS is amplified and forwarded, or the amplification gain at the time the SRS is amplified and forwarded. Optionally, the beam at that time and the relay forwarding beam corresponding to the SRS are the same or have the same QCL information.

[0309] For example, the preset gain used during downlink amplification and forwarding may be different from the preset gain used during uplink amplification and forwarding. Specifically, the difference between the gain G0 used during downlink amplification and forwarding and the gain G1 used during uplink amplification and forwarding may be Δ2, i.e., G0=G1+Δ2. If Δ2 is less than 0 (i.e., a larger gain is used for the uplink), the uplink coverage capability is improved.

[0310] It should be appreciated that the pre-configured scheme helps to reduce signaling overhead, reduce detection performed by the repeater during control signaling, and reduce implementation and operation costs of the repeater.

[0311] d. In one implementation, the DCI includes only an amplification gain field.

[0312] For example, the amplification gain is a gain for T slots that is configured by using DCI. As shown in Fig. 9(a), the T slots include downlink slots and uplink slots. The DCI includes only one field indicating the amplification gain, and the configuration is applicable to the uplink slots and downlink slots in the T slots.

[0313] As another example, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the amplification gain is for uplink slots within T slots that are configured by using DCI.

[0314] As another example, as shown in FIG. 9(c), the amplification gain is for downlink slots within T slots that are configured by using DCI.

[0315] It should be noted that s, 3, 4, and 6 in Figures 9(a), 9(b), and 9(c) are used only as an example, which is not limiting in this application.

[0316] e. In one implementation, two gains are implemented by using DCI for downlink and uplink slots, respectively, within the T slots.

[0317] The amplification gains of the downlink slots in the T slots are the same, and the amplification gains of the uplink slots in the T slots are the same, but as shown in Figure 9(d), the amplification gains of the uplink slots and the amplification gains of the downlink slots are different.

[0318] It should be understood that if the power configuration information is an amplification transmission power, the amplification gain corresponding to the slot can be determined based on the transmission power and a pathloss reference signal. For example, if the transmission power is P (whose unit is decibel dBm) and the received power of the pathloss reference signal is reference signal received power (RSRP) (whose unit is decibel dBm), the amplification gain G satisfies G=P-RSPP. Optionally, the pathloss reference signal can be specified by using network configuration information, which may be, for example, a DCI message or an RRC message. Alternatively, the pathloss reference signal corresponds to a beam index, and the pathloss reference signal is determined based on the beam index.

[0319] 4. How does the first piece of information indicate on-off control?

[0320] A. Explicit instructions

[0321] In one implementation, T=5 is used as an example, and the field (bits 0 to 4) indicates the on / off information of T slots. A bitmap format is used as an example, that is, one bit corresponds to the on / off (ON or OFF) of one slot. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the on / off information of the DCI is 10101. In this case, the corresponding slots 0, 2, and 4 are in the relay enabled state (i.e., the received signal is amplified and forwarded), and the other slots are in the disabled state (i.e., the signal is not forwarded). In other words, when the first information indicates a forwarding time and further explicitly indicates the on / off information of the time units within the forwarding time, the time units in which the amplify-and-forward function is enabled are used to forward signals, and the time units in which the amplify-and-forward function is disabled are not used to forward signals.

[0322] b. Implicit Instructions

[0323] In another implementation, the on / off information is implicitly indicated (or indirectly indicated) by using configuration information other than DCI. For example, if parameter information such as beam and amplification gain is configured for a repeater in a time period, the repeater may be in an "on" state for this time period to amplify and forward signals. Otherwise, the repeater is in an "off" state for this time period, and the repeater does not forward signals (or is disabled). Furthermore, a default relay mode is determined based on the instruction information or pre-configured information of the network equipment. For example, if the information is 0, the repeater enables amplification and forwarding by default, or if the information is 1, the repeater disables amplification and forwarding by default. Furthermore, this embodiment takes effect only for the examples in c or d.

[0324] Different channels / signals have different on / off control mechanisms.

[0325] In one implementation, different channels / signals have different on-off control mechanisms. For example, broadcast channels / signals (such as SSB, SIB1, and PRACH) and the like may be implicitly determined based on RRC configuration information, and user-dedicated (unicast) channels / signals may be determined based on RRC and DCI indication information. RRC may be used to determine amplify-and-forward to be enabled periodically to reduce indication overhead.

[0326] In one implementation, the time at which the relay forwards the SSB is fixed to enable amplification and forwarding. Correspondingly, the reception / transmission times of SIB1 and PRACH corresponding to the SSB are also fixed to enable amplification and forwarding. In NR, the time at which the SSB is transmitted may be determined based on a time index of the SSB and a transmission period of the SSB. The position at which the SIB1 corresponding to the SSB may be transmitted may also be determined based on a time index of the SSB, and the transmission period of the SIB1 may be determined based on the indication information of the base station. The PRACH associated with the SSB may also be determined based on the quantity of SSBs to be transmitted and PRACH resource configuration information. Thus, the network device may instruct the relay device to forward at least one of the SSB time index (or SSB index), the transmission period of the SSB, the transmission period of the SIB1, the PRACH configuration information, and the like, and the relay device may accordingly determine the time for forwarding the SSB, SIB1, and PRACH. Correspondingly, the on / off control of the relay device may be designed for channels other than the SSB, SIB1, and PRACH. For example, on / off control (eg, terminal-specific PDSCH, PUSCH, SRS, and CSI-RS) is designed only for unicast channels of the terminal device.

[0327] In one implementation, the on-off control is implemented in conjunction with at least one of beam information, power information, uplink and downlink forwarding direction control information, and the like. Alternatively, at a time of a slot or OFDM symbol, the relay enables or disables the amplify-and-forward function based on the beam indication information or power indication information at that time. For example, if relay-forwarding beam information is configured at that time, the relay-forwarding function is enabled. Otherwise, the relay-forwarding function is disabled. As another example, if relay-forwarding power information is configured at that time, the relay-forwarding function is enabled. Otherwise, the relay-forwarding function is disabled. As another example, if relay-uplink or downlink forwarding information is configured at that time, the relay-forwarding function is enabled. Otherwise, the relay-forwarding function is disabled. In this manner, the indication overhead can be reduced.

[0328] 5. How the first information indicates the forwarding direction, i.e., how the first information indicates to forward a downlink signal and / or is used to forward an uplink signal.

[0329] For example, the first information is a DCI, which includes indication information indicating that the DCI is only used to transfer uplink signals or is only used to transfer downlink signals.

[0330] In addition, for combinations of transfer direction and above 1 to 4, see (3) in a in 1, (7) in b in 1, and c in 3, respectively. It should be noted that in above solutions 1 to 5, the order and adjacent order in the fields are not limited in this application. In practice, the fields may be arranged in a predefined order. For example, transfer time, amplification gain, and beam index are arranged in order. As another example, transfer time, beam index, and amplification time are arranged in order. As another example, beam index, amplification gain, and transfer time are arranged in order. Amplification gain ,Transfer time, and Beam Index may alternatively appear in an interleaved manner, for example as described in the solution below.

[0331] 6. How the first information combines at least two of the above information 1 to 5.

[0332] The first information may indicate both the beam and the amplification gain.

[0333] Example 1: In an example where the first information is DCI, the number of bits for indicating beam information in each field and the number of bits for indicating amplification gain information are determined separately based on configuration information, and the total number of the two quantities is predefined. As shown in Figure 11(a), each field indicates the beam and amplification gain of one slot together. Optionally, it is used as an example that each field includes 4 bits. In each field, two fixed bits indicate beam information and two fixed bits indicate amplification gain information.

[0334] In Example 1, the bits in the DCI that indicate the beams and the amplification gains in each slot are fixed, in other words, the total number of bits in the DCI that indicate the beams and the amplification gains in each slot is also fixed.

[0335] Example 2: The total number of bits indicating beams and amplification gains in each slot in DCI is also fixed, but the number of bits indicating beam information and the number of bits indicating amplification gain information are different in different slots. For example, the number of bits indicating beam information and the number of bits indicating amplification gain information can be adaptively changed based on the number of beams in different slots. More specifically, for example, the total number of bits in each slot is 4, and the number of beams that can be indicated in slot 0 is 3. In this case, 2 bits indicate beams and the remaining 2 bits indicate gains. If the number of beams that can be indicated in slot 1 is 2, 1 bit indicates beams and the remaining 3 bits indicate gains.

[0336] In addition, another example may alternatively be a combination of 2 and 3 above, which will not be described again in detail.

[0337] b. The first information may indicate all of the beam, the amplification gain, and the transmission time. The specific manner may be a combination of 1, 2, and 3 described above, and the details will not be described again.

[0338] c. The first information indicates all of the beam, the amplification gain, the transfer time, and the on-off control. The specific method may be a combination of the above 1, 2, 3, and 4, and the details will not be described again.

[0339] d. The first information indicates all of the beam, the amplification gain, and the on-off control. The specific method may be a combination of the above 2, 3, and 4, and the details will not be described again.

[0340] e. The first information indicates all of the beam, transmission time, and on / off control. The specific method may be a combination of 1, 2, and 4 described above, and the details will not be described again.

[0341] f. The first information indicates all of the amplification gain, the transfer time, and the on-off control. The specific method may be a combination of 1, 2, and 4 described above, and the details will not be described again.

[0342] The above a to f are merely examples, and the present application is not limited to only the above-mentioned combinations. Using g as an example, the implementation in which DCI and RRC jointly indicate the above-mentioned functions is described below.

[0343] The function or functions indicated in the g.DCI (beam, amplification gain, on-off control, transmission time, and transmission direction) are related to higher layer signaling, which is configured by using RRC messages or configured by using RRC and then activated by the MAC-CE.

[0344] For example, when RRC is used to configure the pattern used to enable the repeater and the pattern of the beam set, the DCI is designed for these patterns, as shown in FIG. 11(b). Referring to the case where the amplify-and-forward function corresponding to slot 2 in the RRC configuration is disabled, the beam and gain information of slots 0, 1, 3, and 4 are respectively configured in four fields in the DCI. Four bits are configured in each field in the DCI to indicate the beam information and gain information. The number of bits indicating the beam information and gain information may be determined with reference to the scheme in a. The beam information indicated by using the DCI may be indicated based on the pattern of the beam set in the RRI configuration. For a detailed description, please refer to the description corresponding to FIG. 8(d).

[0345] In another possible implementation, the beam sets configured in slots 0 to 4 in Fig. 11(b) are the same. In other words, the RRC configuration information does not need to indicate the beam set for each slot.

[0346] 7. Method for determining that first information is used to control a relay device

[0347] For example, the DCI for controlling the repeater may be scrambled by using a dedicated radio network temporary identifier (RNTI).

[0348] For example, the scrambling code may reuse the slot format indicator (SFI), i.e., the DCI for controlling the repeater is transmitted by using the SFI-RNTI. As another example, the scrambling code may alternatively be based on an RNTI configured by the network equipment, e.g., an amplify and forwarding-RNTI (AF-RNTI). The AF-RNTI is dedicated to controlling the DCI of the repeater. Optionally, the network equipment may configure multiple AF-RNTIs for the repeater. For example, an AF-RNTI is configured to forward uplink signals and another AF-RNTI is configured to forward downlink signals. Another example is a network controlled repeater-RNTI (NCR-RNTI).

[0349] 8. Method for determining size of first information (e.g., DCI)

[0350] The relay device determines the size of the DCI based on configuration information (e.g., RRC, etc.) and then receives the DCI.

[0351] In a possible implementation, the relay device determines the value of T based on the configuration information, and then determines the size of the DCI based on the value of T and another field indicated by the configuration information.

[0352] Example 1: The configuration information indicates a second field, and the relay device determines the size of the DCI based on the second field and T. The second field indicates a slotted amplify-and-forward configuration, and the maximum value configured in the second field that can be used is n0. For example,

[0353]

number

[0354] (Equation 4), where D is the size of the DCI.

[0355] Example 2: The configuration information indicates a third field, and the relay device determines the size of the DCI based on the third field and T. The maximum value of the third field is n1, where n1 indicates the maximum number of beams supported by the relay device, or n1 indicates the number of beams (or the number of activated beams, or the number of enabled beams) that can be used by the relay device in the configuration. For example,

[0356]

number

[0357] (Equation 5), where D is the size of the DCI.

[0358] Example 3: The configuration information indicates a second field and a third field, and the relay device determines the size of the DCI based on the second field, the third field, and T. For the description of the second field and the third field, please refer to Example 1 and Example 2, respectively. For example,

[0359]

number

[0360] (Equation 6), where D is the size of the DCI.

[0361] For example, for specific examples of the second and third fields in Examples 1 to 3, please refer to the explanation of (1) in 1a above.

[0362] 13 is a diagram illustrating a relay control device 200 according to an embodiment of the present application. The device 200 includes a transceiver unit 210, which may be configured to implement a corresponding communication function. The transceiver unit 210 may alternatively be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0363] Optionally, the apparatus 200 may further include a processing unit 220, which may be configured to perform data processing.

[0364] Optionally, the apparatus 200 further includes a storage unit, which may be configured to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 220 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit, so that the apparatus implements the actions performed by the communication device (such as a relay device or a network device) in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0365] The apparatus 200 may be configured to perform actions performed by a communication device (e.g., a relay device or a network device, etc.) in the above-mentioned method embodiments. In this case, the apparatus 200 may be a component of the communication device (e.g., a relay device or a network device, etc.). The transceiver unit 210 is configured to perform operations related to reception and transmission on the communication device (e.g., a relay device or a network device, etc.) side in the above-mentioned method embodiments. The processing unit 220 is configured to perform operations related to processing on the communication device (e.g., a relay device or a network device, etc.) side in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0366] In one design, the apparatus 200 is configured to perform the actions performed by the relay device in the method embodiments described above.

[0367] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 210 is configured to receive first information from a network device, where the first information includes downlink control information, and the downlink control information indicates at least one of the following information: an initial beam, a forwarding time, an amplification gain, and an on-off control. The initial beam is an access side beam of the relay device, the forwarding time is a time unit for forwarding a signal, the amplification gain is an amplification factor or forwarding power of the signal, and the on-off control is a control for enabling or disabling an amplify-and-forward function. The transceiver unit 210 is further configured to receive an initial signal from the network device or terminal device. The transceiver unit 210 is further configured to forward the initial signal based on the first information.

[0368] For example, the first information further includes a radio resource control message, where the radio resource control message is used to determine a relay amplification forwarding time set and / or configuration information of the relay amplification forwarding time set, where the relay amplification forwarding time set includes a forwarding time.

[0369] For example, the radio resource control message includes at least two of the following: a first field, a second field, and a third field, where the first field indicates a slot configuration list included in the relay amplification-forwarding time set, the second field indicates a slot amplification-forwarding configuration, and the third field indicates a forwarding beam configuration list.

[0370] For example, the radio resource control message is further used to determine the duration of the relay amplified forwarding time set.

[0371] Optionally, the relay amplified forwarding time set further corresponds to a start time of the relay amplified forwarding time set, and the apparatus further includes a processing unit 220. The processing unit 220 is configured to determine a start time and an effective time based on a time when the downlink control information is received, where the effective time is a time interval between a time when the relay equipment receives the downlink control information and the start time.

[0372] Optionally, the processing unit 220 is further configured to determine the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device. Or, the transceiver unit 210 is further configured to send the capability information of the relay device to the network device. And, the transceiver unit 210 is further configured to receive the effective time from the network device.

[0373] Optionally, the processing unit 220 is specifically configured to determine the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device and second information, where the second information includes at least one of a subcarrier spacing and a carrier frequency range.

[0374] Optionally, when the first information includes downlink control information and a radio resource control message, the processing unit 220 is further configured to determine a size of the downlink control information based on the duration and at least one of the second field and the third field.

[0375] For example, the configuration information of the amplify-and-transfer-time-set takes effect periodically, and the time interval for which the configuration information of the amplify-and-transfer-time-set takes effect is the duration.

[0376] For example, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on a first beam within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on an amplification gain within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal in a time unit within the forwarding time, where the on-off control indicates to enable an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on a first beam in a time unit within the forwarding time, where the on-off control indicates to enable an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on an amplification gain in a time unit within the forwarding time, where the on-off control indicates to enable an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on an amplification gain and a first beam in a time unit within the forwarding time, where the on-off control indicates to enable an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on a time unit within the forwarding time, where the on-off control indicates to enable an amplification function. , Transfer The first information indicates that a signal is forwarded based on the first beam in a time unit within the transmission time, or the first information indicates that the on-off control enables the amplify and forward function. , Transfer The first information indicates that the signal is forwarded based on the amplification gain in a time unit within the transmission time. Alternatively, the first information indicates that the on / off control enables the amplification and forwarding function. , Transfer It shows that in a time unit within the transmission time, the signal is transferred based on the initial beam and amplification gain.

[0377] The apparatus 200 may implement the corresponding steps or procedures performed by the relay device in the embodiment of the method according to the embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 200 may include a unit configured to execute the method performed by the relay device in the embodiment shown in Figure 3(a), Figure 3(b), or Figure 3(c).

[0378] It should be understood that in the above-mentioned method embodiments, the specific processes in which the units perform the above-mentioned corresponding steps are described in detail, and for the sake of brevity, the details will not be described again herein.

[0379] In another design, apparatus 200 may be configured to perform the actions performed by network equipment in the method embodiments described above.

[0380] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 210 is configured to send first information to the relay equipment, where the first information includes downlink control information, which indicates at least one of the following information: an initial beam, a transmission time, an amplification gain, and an on-off control. The initial beam is an access side beam of the relay equipment, the transmission time is a time unit for transmitting a signal, the amplification gain is an amplification factor or a transmission power of the signal, and the on-off control is a control for enabling or disabling an amplify-and-forward function. The transceiver unit 210 is further configured to send the initial signal to the relay equipment, or the network equipment receives the initial signal from the relay equipment.

[0381] For example, the first information includes a radio resource control message, which is used to determine a relay amplification forwarding time set and / or configuration information of the relay amplification forwarding time set, where the relay amplification forwarding time set includes a forwarding time.

[0382] For example, the radio resource control message includes at least two of a first field, a second field, and a third field, where the first field indicates a slot configuration list included in the relay amplification-forwarding time set, the second field indicates a slot amplification-forwarding configuration, and the third field indicates a forwarding beam configuration list.

[0383] For example, the radio resource control message is further used to determine the duration of the relay amplified forwarding time set.

[0384] Optionally, the transceiver unit 210 is further configured to receive relay equipment capability information from the relay equipment.

[0385] The apparatus further includes a processing unit 220, which is configured to determine a valid time based on the capability information of the relay device, where the valid time is a time interval between the time the relay device receives the first information and a start time of the relay amplified forwarding time set.

[0386] The transceiver unit 210 is further configured to transmit the valid time to the relay device.

[0387] The processing unit 220 is specifically configured to determine the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device and second information, where the second information further includes at least one of a subcarrier spacing and a carrier frequency range.

[0388] For example, the first information further includes instruction information indicating that the configuration information of the amplification and transfer time set takes effect periodically, and the time interval for the configuration information of the amplification and transfer time set takes effect is a duration.

[0389] For example, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on a first beam within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on an amplification gain within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal in a time unit within the forwarding time, where the on-off control indicates to enable an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on a first beam in a time unit within the forwarding time, where the on-off control indicates to enable an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on an amplification gain in a time unit within the forwarding time, where the on-off control indicates to enable an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on a first beam and an amplification gain within the forwarding time. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on an amplification gain and a first beam in a time unit within the forwarding time, where the on-off control indicates to enable an amplification function. Or, the first information indicates to forward a signal based on a time unit within the forwarding time, where the on-off control indicates to enable an amplification function. , Transfer The first information indicates that a signal is forwarded based on the first beam in a time unit within the transmission time, or the first information indicates that the on-off control enables the amplify and forward function. , Transfer The first information indicates that the signal is forwarded based on the amplification gain in a time unit within the transmission time. Alternatively, the first information indicates that the on / off control enables the amplification and forwarding function. , Transfer It shows that in a time unit within the transmission time, the signal is transferred based on the initial beam and amplification gain.

[0390] The apparatus 200 may implement corresponding steps or procedures performed by a network device in the embodiment of the method according to the embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 200 may include a unit configured to execute the method performed by the network in the embodiment shown in Figure 3(a), Figure 3(b), or Figure 3(c).

[0391] It should be understood that in the above-mentioned method embodiments, the specific processes in which the units perform the above-mentioned corresponding steps are described in detail, and for the sake of brevity, the details will not be described again herein.

[0392] It should be further understood that the device 200 herein is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" herein may refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group processor, etc.) configured to execute one or more software or firmware programs, a memory, a merged logic circuit, and / or another suitable component supporting the described functions. In an optional example, a person skilled in the art may understand that the device 200 may specifically be a relay device in the above-mentioned embodiment and configured to execute procedures and / or steps corresponding to the relay device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, or the device 200 may specifically be a network device in the above-mentioned embodiment and configured to execute procedures and / or steps corresponding to the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. To avoid repetition, details will not be described again in this specification.

[0393] The device 200 in the above-mentioned solution has a function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the relay device in the above-mentioned method. Or, the device 200 in the above-mentioned solution has a function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the network device in the above-mentioned method. This function may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. For example, a transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver (e.g., a transmitting unit in the transceiver unit may be replaced by a transmitter, and a receiving unit in the transceiver unit may be replaced by a receiver), and another unit, e.g., a processing unit, may be replaced by a processor to perform the transmitting operation and the receiving operation, and the associated processing operation in the embodiment of the method, respectively.

[0394] In addition, the transceiver unit 210 may alternatively be a transceiver circuit (eg, may include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit) and the processing unit may be a processing circuit.

[0395] It should be noted that the apparatus in FIG. 13 may be a network element or device in the above-mentioned embodiments, or may be a chip or a chip system, such as a system-on-chip (SoC). The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit is a processor, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit integrated on a chip. This is not limited in the present specification.

[0396] 14 is a diagram illustrating another relay control device 300 according to an embodiment of the present application. The device 300 includes a processor 310. The processor 310 is coupled to a memory 320, which is configured to store computer programs or instructions and / or data, and the processor 310 is configured to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 320, or to read the data stored in the memory 320 and perform the method in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0397] Optionally, there are one or more processors 310 .

[0398] Optionally, there are one or more processors 320 .

[0399] Optionally, the memory 320 and the processor 310 are integrated or disposed separately.

[0400] Optionally, as shown in Figure 14, the apparatus 300 further includes a transceiver 1030. The transceiver 1030 is configured to receive and / or transmit signals. For example, the processor 310 is configured to control the transceiver 1030 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0401] In one solution, the apparatus 300 is configured to implement the operations performed by the relay device in the method embodiments described above.

[0402] For example, the processor 310 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 320 to implement relevant operations of the relay device in the method embodiments described above, such as the methods performed by the relay device in the embodiments shown in FIG. 3(a), FIG. 3(b), or FIG. 3(c).

[0403] In one solution, the apparatus 300 is configured to implement the operations performed by the network equipment in the method embodiments described above.

[0404] For example, the processor 310 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 320 to implement relevant operations of the network device in the method embodiments described above, such as the methods performed by the network device in the embodiments shown in Figure 3(a), Figure 3(b), or Figure 3(c).

[0405] It should be understood that the processor referred to in the embodiments of this application may be a central processing unit (CPU) or may be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or the like. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

[0406] It should be further understood that the memory referred to in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM). For example, the RAM may be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes multiple forms such as static random access memory (static RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (dynamic RAM, DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchlink dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM), and direct rambus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM).

[0407] It should be noted that where the processor is a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) may be incorporated into the processor.

[0408] It should be further noted that memory as described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0409] 15 is a diagram illustrating a chip system 400 according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip system 400 (also sometimes referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 410 and an input / output interface 420.

[0410] The logic circuit 410 may be a processing circuit in the chip system 400. The logic circuit 410 may be coupled to a storage unit and invoke instructions in the storage unit, which enables the chip system 400 to implement the methods and functions in the embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface 420 may be an input / output circuit in the chip system 400, which outputs information processed by the chip system 400 or inputs data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 400 for processing.

[0411] Specifically, for example, when the chip system 400 is installed in a relay device, the logic circuit 410 is coupled to the input / output interface 420, and the logic circuit 410 may send a message to the network device through the input / output interface 420. The message may be generated by the logic circuit 410. Alternatively, the input / output interface 420 may input a first piece of information from the network device to the logic circuit 410 for processing. As another example, for example, when the chip system 400 is installed in a network device, the logic circuit 410 is coupled to the input / output interface 420, and the logic circuit 410 may send a first piece of information to the relay device through the input / output interface 420. The first piece of information may be generated by the logic circuit 410. Alternatively, the input / output interface 420 may input a message from the relay device to the logic circuit 410 for processing.

[0412] In one solution, the chip system 400 is configured to implement the operations performed by the relay device in the method embodiments described above.

[0413] For example, logic circuitry 410 is configured to implement processing-related operations performed by the relay device in the method embodiments described above, e.g., the embodiments shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), 3(a)-3(c), or 4(a)-4(d). Input / output interface 420 is configured to implement transmission and / or reception-related operations performed by the relay device in the method embodiments described above, e.g., the embodiments shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), 3(a)-3(c), or 4(a)-4(d).

[0414] In another solution, the chip system 400 is configured to implement the operations performed by the network equipment in the method embodiments described above.

[0415] For example, logic circuitry 410 is configured to implement operations related to processing performed by the network equipment in the method embodiments described above, such as operations related to processing performed by the network equipment in the embodiments shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), 3(a)-3(c), or 4(a)-4(d). Input / output interface 420 is configured to implement operations related to transmission and / or reception performed by the network equipment in the method embodiments described above, such as operations related to transmission and / or reception performed by the network equipment in the embodiments shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), 3(a)-3(c), or 4(a)-4(d).

[0416] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions used for implementing the method performed by the relay device or the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0417] For example, the computer program, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the methods performed by the relay device or the network device in the method embodiments described above.

[0418] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions, which when executed by a computer, implement the method performed by the relay device or the network device in the method embodiment described above.

[0419] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes the relay device and the network device in the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the system includes the relay device and the network device in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3(a), FIG. 3(b), or FIG. 3(c).

[0420] For the description of the relevant contents and advantageous effects of any one of the devices provided above, please refer to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0421] In some embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely an example. For example, the division into units is merely a logical function division, and there may be other divisions in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system. Or, some functions may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the indicated or described mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces. Indirect couplings or communication connections between apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

[0422] All or part of the above-described embodiments may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. For example, the computer may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from a computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)), or the like. For example, the available medium may include, but is not limited to, any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0423] The above description is merely a specific implementation in this application, but is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any variation or replacement that can be easily thought of by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method for controlling a relay, comprising: receiving, by a relay device, first information from a network device, the first information including downlink control information, the downlink control information indicating at least one of information of an initial beam, a transmission time, an amplification gain, and an on-off control, the initial beam being an access side beam of the relay device, the transmission time being a time unit for transmitting a signal, the amplification gain being an amplification factor or a transmission power of a signal, and the on-off control being a control related to enabling or disabling an amplification and forwarding function; receiving, by the relay device, an initial signal from the network device and a terminal device; forwarding, by the relay device, the initial signal based on the first information; A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information further comprises a radio resource control message, the radio resource control message being used to determine a relay amplification and forwarding time set and / or configuration information of the relay amplification and forwarding time set, the relay amplification and forwarding time set including the forwarding time.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the radio resource control message includes at least two of a first field, a second field, and a third field, the first field indicating a slot configuration list included in the relay amplify and forward time set, the second field indicating a slot amplify and forward configuration, and the third field indicating a forward beam configuration.

4. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein the radio resource control message is further used to determine a duration of the relay amplification and forwarding time set.

5. The relay amplification and forwarding time set further corresponds to a start time of the relay amplification and forwarding time set, and the method further comprises: By the relay device, determining the start time based on a time at which the downlink control information is received and a valid time, the valid time being a time interval between a time at which the relay device receives the downlink control information and the start time; The method of any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising:

6. The method further comprises the step of determining, by the relay device, the effective time based on capability information of the relay device; or The method further comprises the step of transmitting, by the relay device, capability information of the relay device to the network device. The method according to claim 5.

7. The step of determining the effective time by the relay device based on the capability information of the relay device includes: determining, by the relay device, the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device and second information, the second information including at least one of a subcarrier spacing and a carrier frequency range; The method of claim 6, comprising:

8. 8. The method of claim 4, wherein the first information includes the downlink control information and the radio resource control message, the method further comprising: determining, by the relay device, a size of the downlink control information based on the duration and at least one of the second field and the third field.

9. 9. The method of claim 2, wherein the configuration information of the amplification and forwarding time set takes effect periodically, and the time interval during which the configuration information of the amplification and forwarding time set takes effect is the duration.

10. the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on the first beam within the forwarding time; or the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on the amplification gain during the forwarding time; or the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on the initial beam and the amplification gain; or the first information indicates that the on / off control activates the amplification and forwarding function and forwards a signal during a time unit that is within the forwarding time; or the first information indicates to forward a signal based on the first beam during a time unit during which the on-off control indicates that the amplification gain is enabled; or the first information indicates to forward a signal based on the amplification gain during a time unit during which the on / off control indicates that the amplification gain is enabled; or the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on the first beam and the amplification gain within the forwarding time; or the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on the amplification gain and the first beam during a time unit that indicates that the on / off control enables an amplification function; or the first information indicates that the on / off control enables the amplify and forward function and forwards a signal based on the first beam during a time unit that is within the forwarding time; or the first information indicates that the on / off control activates the amplify and forward function and forwards a signal based on the amplification gain during a time unit within the forwarding time; or the first information indicates a time unit indicating that the on / off control enables the amplify and forward function, and indicates forwarding a signal based on the first beam and the amplification gain during a time unit that is within the forwarding time; 10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. 1. A method for controlling a relay, comprising: A step of transmitting first information to a relay device by a network device, the first information including downlink control information, the downlink control information indicating at least one of information of an initial beam, a transmission time, an amplification gain, and an on-off control, the initial beam being an access side beam of the relay device, the transmission time being a time unit for transmitting a signal, the amplification gain being an amplification factor or a transmission power of a signal, and the on-off control being a control related to enabling or disabling an amplification and forwarding function; transmitting, by said network device, an initial signal to said relay device, or receiving, by said network device, an initial signal from said relay device; A method comprising:

12. The first information further includes a radio resource control message; 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the radio resource control message is used to determine a relay amplification and forwarding time set and / or configuration information of the relay amplification and forwarding time set, the relay amplification and forwarding time set including the forwarding time.

13. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the radio resource control message includes at least two of a first field, a second field, and a third field, the first field indicating a slot configuration list included in the relay amplify-and-forward time set, the second field indicating a slot amplify-and-forward configuration, and the third field indicating a forwarding beam configuration.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the radio resource control message is further used to determine the duration of the relay amplification and forwarding time set.

15. The method comprises: receiving, by the network device, capability information of the relay device from the relay device; determining, by the network device, a validity time based on capability information of the relay device, the validity time being a time interval between a time when the relay device receives the first information and a start time of the relay amplification and forwarding time set; transmitting, by the network device, the validity time to the relay device; 15. The method of any one of claims 12 to 14, further comprising:

16. The step of determining the effective time by the network device based on capability information of the relay device includes: determining, by the network device, the effective time based on the capability information of the relay device and second information, the second information including at least one of a subcarrier spacing and a carrier frequency range; 16. The method of claim 15, comprising:

17. 16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein the first information further includes instruction information indicating that the configuration information of the amplification and forwarding time set takes effect periodically, and the time interval during which the configuration information of the amplification and forwarding time set takes effect is the duration.

18. the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on the first beam within the forwarding time; or the first information indicates to transmit a signal based on the amplification gain during the transmission time; or the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on the initial beam and the amplification gain; or the first information indicates that the on / off control activates the amplification and forwarding function and forwards a signal during a time unit that is within the forwarding time; or the first information indicates to forward a signal based on the first beam during a time unit during which the on-off control indicates that the amplification gain is enabled; or the first information indicates to forward a signal based on the amplification gain during a time unit during which the on / off control indicates that the amplification gain is enabled; or the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on the first beam and the amplification gain within the forwarding time; or the first information indicates forwarding a signal based on the amplification gain and the first beam during a time unit that indicates that the on / off control enables an amplification function; or the first information indicates that the on / off control enables the amplify and forward function and forwards a signal based on the first beam during a time unit that is within the forwarding time; or the first information indicates that the on / off control activates the amplify and forward function and forwards a signal based on the amplification gain during a time unit within the forwarding time; or the first information indicates a time unit indicating that the on / off control enables the amplify and forward function, and indicates forwarding a signal based on the first beam and the amplification gain during a time unit that is within the forwarding time; 18. A method according to any one of claims 11 to 17.

19. 1. A communication device, comprising: a processor configured to execute a computer program stored in a memory; Thereby, the communication device executes a method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or a method according to any one of claims 11 to 18. Communications equipment.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, the computer program being executed on a computer to enable the computer to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or any one of claims 11 to 18.

21. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising instructions used to carry out a method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or the computer program product being used to carry out a method according to any one of claims 11 to 18.

22. A communication system comprising a terminal device and a network device, the terminal device being configured to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or the network device being configured to perform a method according to any one of claims 11 to 18.

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