Method and apparatus for forwarding access links

Abstract

A forwarding method and apparatus for a forwarder access link are provided, the method including: a receiving unit of the forwarder receiving a beam identifier of the access link from a network device; and a forwarding unit of the forwarder performing forwarding using a beam corresponding to the received beam identifier.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communications. [Background technology]

[0002] Compared with traditional 2G, 3G, and 4G systems, 5G systems can provide larger bandwidths and higher data rates, and can support more types of devices and vertical services. Therefore, the frequency band range / working bandwidth supported by 5G systems is significantly larger than that of 2G, 3G, and 4G systems, and 5G systems can support higher carrier frequencies. For example, 5G systems can be deployed in the millimeter wave band.

[0003] However, the higher the carrier frequency, the more severe the fading that the signal will encounter during the transmission process. Therefore, in the actual deployment of 5G systems, how to better enhance cell coverage remains an issue to be resolved, especially in the millimeter wave band.

[0004] It should be noted that the introduction of the above background art is intended to clearly and completely explain the technical solutions of the present invention and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art, and these technical solutions described in the background art of the present invention should not be construed as being known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] To better solve the coverage problem of cellular mobile communication systems in actual deployments, adopting an RF repeater to amplify and forward signals between devices is a commonly used deployment method. RF repeaters are widely used in the actual deployment of 2G, 3G, and 4G systems, with the advantages of low cost, easy deployment, and no excessive increase in latency. Generally speaking, a conventional RF repeater is a device that amplifies and forwards round-trip signals between devices in the RF domain. In other words, a conventional RF repeater is a non-regenerative relay node that only directly amplifies and forwards all received signals.

[0006] The RF repeater proposed in the Rel-17 3GPP study can enhance network coverage in 5G systems by forwarding transmissions between base stations and terminals. However, because the RF repeater is transparent to the base station and terminals and is not controlled by the base station, the RF repeater in Rel-17 can interfere with other devices, its energy consumption cannot be controlled, and it must always be in a state where it monitors transmissions.

[0007] The Rel-18 study proposed that a network-controlled repeater (NCR) can receive network-side control information. The NCR includes an NCR-MT (also known as a communication unit) and an NCR-Fwd (also known as a forwarding unit), among which the NCR-MT can communicate with a base station and control the forwarding of the NCR-Fwd based on the control information sent by the base station. The NCR-Fwd constitutes the part of the NCR that realizes forwarding between the base station and the terminal, and includes a backhaul link (BH-link) connecting the NCR to the base station and an access link (AC-link) on the terminal side.

[0008] To allow NCR to better enhance coverage, more accurately forward communications between the base station and the terminal, and reduce interference to other surrounding devices, the base station controls and instructs the backhaul link beam and the access link beam of the NCR-Fwd. For now, it has only been determined that a beam index can be used for access link beam management.

[0009] The inventors have discovered that the prior art does not provide a specific solution for determining a beam identifier and using the beam identifier to perform access link beam management, i.e., it does not have an effective access link beam management mechanism, so it is not possible to determine an NCR access link beam and to effectively utilize the beam identifier to complete transmission between a terminal and a base station.

[0010] In order to solve one or more of the above problems, an embodiment of the present invention provides a forwarding method and apparatus for a forwarder access link, that is, for one or more of the above problems, an embodiment of the present invention provides a corresponding solution. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a forwarding device for a forwarder access link, the device being installed in a forwarder, the device comprising: a first receiving unit for receiving a beam identifier of an access link from a network device; and A forwarding unit is included that performs forwarding using a beam corresponding to the received beam identifier.

[0012] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link, the apparatus being installed in a network device, the apparatus comprising: A first indicating unit is included for indicating a beam identifier of the access link to the forwarder.

[0013] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a transmitter, said transmitter comprising the apparatus according to the first aspect of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a network device, the network device including the apparatus according to the second aspect of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system, the communication system including a forwarder according to the third aspect of the present invention and / or a network device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, and a terminal device.

[0016] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for forwarding a forwarder access link, the method comprising: A receiving unit of the forwarder receives a beam identifier of the access link from the network device; and A forwarding unit of the forwarder performs forwarding using a beam corresponding to the received beam identifier.

[0017] According to a seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link, the method comprising: The network device indicates the beam identifier of the access link to the forwarder.

[0018] According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable program, which, when executed by a forwarding device or forwarder of a forwarder access link, causes the forwarding device or forwarder of the forwarder access link to perform the forwarding method of the forwarder access link described in the sixth aspect of the present invention.

[0019] According to a ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the computer-readable program causes a forwarding device or a forwarder of a forwarder access link to perform the forwarding method of a forwarder access link described in the sixth aspect of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] According to a tenth aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a computer-readable program is provided, which, when executed in a forwarding device or network equipment of a forwarder access link, causes the forwarding device or network equipment of the forwarder access link to perform the method of indicating a beam identifier of the forwarder access link described in the seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] According to an eleventh aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the computer-readable program causes a forwarding device or network equipment of a forwarder access link to perform the method of indicating a beam identifier of the forwarder access link described in the seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0022] The advantageous effects of an embodiment of the present invention are at least as follows: the forwarder performs forwarding on the access link using a beam corresponding to the beam identifier based on the beam identifier of the access link received from the network equipment, thereby enabling the network equipment to schedule the access link beam for forwarding by the forwarder, and enabling the forwarder to determine the access link beam for forwarding, so that the beam identifier can be effectively utilized to complete the forwarding between the terminal and the network equipment.

[0023] The following description and reference to the drawings disclose in detail particular embodiments of the present invention, illustrating ways in which the principles of the present invention may be employed, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various changes, modifications, and alternatives may be included within the scope of the appended claims.

[0024] Additionally, features described and / or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same or similar manner in one or more other embodiments, may be combined with features in the other embodiments, or may be substituted for features in the other embodiments.

[0025] It should be noted that terms such as "comprise / have" when used in this specification refer to the presence of a feature, element, step or assembly, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, steps or assemblies. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0026] The included drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, and these drawings constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention, and together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. Also, it is apparent that the drawings described below are only for illustrating some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can derive other drawings based on these drawings without any creative effort. [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a logic diagram of a forwarder in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a forwarding method for a forwarder access link according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a beam identifier according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between beams according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a MAC CE according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] A diagram showing a method for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an interaction diagram for implementing a forwarding method for a forwarder access link according to a second embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a forwarding device of a forwarder access link according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] A diagram showing an apparatus for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is another diagram showing an apparatus for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link according to Example 4 of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is another diagram showing an apparatus for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a transfer device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a network device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] The foregoing and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the accompanying drawings and the following description. While the specification and drawings disclose particular embodiments of the present invention, they illustrate only some of the embodiments which may employ the principles of the present invention, and it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, but rather includes all modifications, variations, and alternatives which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0028] In embodiments of the present invention, the term "communication network" or "wireless communication network" may refer to a network conforming to any communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), etc.

[0029] Additionally, communications between devices in a communications system may be performed according to any level of communications protocol, including, but not limited to, 1G (generation), 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G, New Radio (NR), and / or other conventional or future-developed communications protocols.

[0030] In an embodiment of the present invention, the term "network equipment" refers to, for example, a device in a communication system that connects a terminal device to a communication network and provides services to the terminal device. The network equipment may include, but is not limited to, a "node" and / or a "donor" in the IAB architecture, a base station (BS), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a broadcast transmitter, a mobile management entity (MME), a network gateway, a server, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), etc.

[0031] The base station may include, but is not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a 5G base station (gNB), etc., and may further include a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a relay, or a low-power node (e.g., femto, pico, etc.). The term "base station" may include some or all of these functions, and each base station can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area. For example, a 5G base station gNB may include one gNB CU and one or more gNB DUs, where a CU / DU is a logical node of the gNB that has some of the functions of the gNB. The term "cell" may refer to a base station and / or the area it covers, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0032] In the embodiments of the present invention, the term "user equipment" (UE) or "terminal equipment" (TE) refers to a device that accesses a communication network and receives services from the network, for example, via network equipment. The user equipment may be fixed or mobile, and may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), terminal, subscriber station (SS), access terminal (AT), station, etc. For example, it is a terminal equipment served by an IAB node or an IAB donor under the IAB architecture.

[0033] Among these, user equipment may include, but is not limited to, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modems, wireless communication devices, mobile devices, machine-type communication devices, laptop computers, cordless phones, smartphones, smart watches, digital cameras, etc.

[0034] Furthermore, for example, in a scenario such as the Internet of Things (IoT), the user equipment may also be a monitoring or measuring device or apparatus, for example, including but not limited to, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) terminal, an in-vehicle communication terminal, a Device to Device (D2D) terminal, a Machine to Machine (M2M) terminal, etc.

[0035] In the embodiments of the present invention, the term "repeater" refers to a type of relay device, such as a relay device installed in a serving cell corresponding to a network device, which is used to forward transmission signals between the network device and a terminal device, and may also be called a repeater or a repeater node.

[0036] In an embodiment of the present invention, the forwarding of the forwarder includes uplink forwarding and / or downlink forwarding, where the uplink forwarding includes the forwarding of channels and / or signals transmitted from the terminal equipment to the network equipment, and the downlink forwarding includes the forwarding of channels and / or signals transmitted from the network equipment to the terminal equipment.

[0037] In an embodiment of the present invention, the forwarder has a communication function, i.e., the forwarder can receive information (including channels and / or signals), i.e., downlink transmissions, from the network equipment and / or transmit information (including channels and / or signals), i.e., uplink transmissions, to the network equipment.

[0038] Receiving the information (downlink transmission) includes at least one of the processes of sequence detection, demodulation, descrambling, decoding, information decryption, etc., and transmitting the information (uplink transmission) includes at least one of the processes of information generation, sequence generation, scrambling, coding, modulation, mapping to time-frequency resources, etc. The process of transferring the information (uplink transfer and / or downlink transfer) does not include the above-mentioned processes included in receiving the information (downlink transmission) and / or transmitting the information (uplink transmission).

[0039] In an embodiment of the present invention, communication between a forwarder and a network device is also referred to as forwarder transmission.

[0040] In an embodiment of the present invention, the repeater may be referred to as a network-controlled repeater (NCR), but it may have other names, and different names for the repeater do not limit the embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present invention, the forwarder may include a communication unit (NCR-MT, also referred to as an MT unit) and a forwarding unit (NCR-Fwd, also referred to as an RU module), where the communication unit is used to support communication functions (e.g., receiving and / or transmitting the information described above) between the forwarder and the network equipment, and the communication unit includes, for example, a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, and the forwarding unit is used to support the forwarding function of the forwarder.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present invention, the link between the network equipment and the communication module is a communication link or control link, which allows the communication unit or receiving unit of the forwarder to receive information from the network equipment, and which may be based on the existing Uu interface, and the communication unit or receiving unit of the forwarder can apply the information received from the network equipment to the forwarding unit through the internal operation of the forwarder.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present invention, a beam may be expressed as a lobe, a reference signal (RS), a transmission configuration indication (TCI), a spatial domain filter, etc., or may be expressed as a beam index, a lobe index, a reference signal index, a transmission configuration indication index, a spatial domain filter index, etc., and the above-mentioned reference signals are, for example, CSI-RS, SRS, an RS for a transmitter, an RS transmitted by a transmitter, etc., and the above-mentioned TCI may be expressed as a TCI state.

[0044] In the embodiment of the present invention, there is a beam correspondence relationship between the uplink beam and the downlink beam, that is, the uplink beam and the downlink beam are common.

[0045] The following examples will be used to explain the scenarios of the embodiments of the present invention and the problems that exist, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0046] 1 is a diagram illustrating a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 may include a network device 101, a terminal device 102, and a forwarder 103.

[0047] In an embodiment of the present invention, existing services (traffic / services) or future services may be performed between the network device 101 and the terminal device 102. For example, these services may include, but are not limited to, eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), mMTC (massive Machine Type Communication), URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication), etc.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 1 , the forwarder 103 receives a first RF signal from the network device 101, amplifies the first RF signal, and then obtains a first forwarding signal to transmit to the terminal device 102; and / or the forwarder 103 receives a second RF signal from the terminal device 102, amplifies the second RF signal, and then obtains a second forwarding signal to transmit to the network device 101.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 1, communication between the forwarder 103 and the network device 101 may further be performed via a communication link (Down C-link, Down Communication-link) and / or an uplink communication link (Up C-link, Up Communication-link).

[0050] 2 is a logic diagram of a forwarder in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the forwarder 103 includes an NCR-MT (also referred to as a communication unit) and an NCR-Fwd (also referred to as a forwarding unit), of which the NCR-MT communicates with the network device 101 and can control the forwarding of the NCR-Fwd according to control information sent by the network device 101. For example, the NCR-MT includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, the receiving unit receives control information from the network device 101, and the transmitting unit sends relevant information to the network device 101. The NCR-Fwd is a part that realizes forwarding between the network device 101 and the terminal device 102, and includes a backhaul link (BH-link) for connecting the forwarder 103 to the network device 101 and an access link (AC-link) for connecting the forwarder 103 to the terminal device 102.

[0051] Various implementations of the embodiments of the present invention will be described below in conjunction with the drawings, which are merely examples and do not limit the present invention. [Example]

[0052] In the embodiment of the present invention, a forwarding method for a forwarder access link is provided, which is applied to a forwarder, for example, the forwarder 103 in FIG. 1 and FIG.

[0053] 3 is a diagram illustrating a forwarding method for a forwarder access link according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the method includes: Step 301: A receiving unit of a forwarder receives a beam identifier of an access link from a network device; and Step 302: A forwarding unit of the forwarder performs forwarding using the beam corresponding to the received beam identifier.

[0054] In this way, by the forwarder performing forwarding on the access link using a beam corresponding to the beam identifier based on the beam identifier of the access link received from the network equipment, the network equipment can schedule the access link beam for forwarding by the forwarder, and the forwarder can determine the access link beam for forwarding, so that the beam identifier can be effectively used to complete the forwarding between the terminal and the network equipment.

[0055] In some embodiments, the forwarder is a network controlled forwarder, or NCR.

[0056] In some embodiments, the receiving unit of the forwarder is an NCR-MT or part of an NCR-MT, and the forwarding unit of the forwarder is an NCR-Fwd. For example, see the related configuration in FIG.

[0057] In some embodiments, a beam index is obtained by numbering the beams of the access link (AC-link), and the network equipment indicates the beam index to be used by the forwarder.

[0058] The beam identifier may also be expressed as a beam index, a beam number, or a beam sequence number.

[0059] 4 is a diagram showing beam identifiers according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the beams of the forwarder access links are numbered, among which the beam identifiers include beam #1, beam #2, and beam #3. The beam identifiers may also be expressed in other formats, and the present embodiment does not limit the display format of the beam identifiers.

[0060] In some embodiments, the beam identifier received by the forwarder is indicated by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

[0061] The physical layer signaling may be, for example, DCI or other physical layer signaling.

[0062] In this way, by indicating the beam identifier of the access link using physical layer signaling, the signaling overhead and transmission delay for indicating the beam identifier can be reduced, and the system utilization efficiency can be improved.

[0063] In some embodiments, the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network equipment, i.e., the network equipment determines the beam identifier of the access link and indicates at least one of the determined beam identifiers to the forwarder.

[0064] For example, suppose the beam identifiers of the access links set by the network equipment are beam #1, beam #2, beam #3, etc., and when the forwarder needs to perform forwarding on the access links, the beam identifier that the network equipment instructs the forwarder (i.e., the beam identifier received by the forwarder) is at least one of beam #1, beam #2, beam #3, etc. set by the network equipment, and the forwarder performs forwarding on the access links using the beam corresponding to the received beam identifier, wherein the correspondence between the beam identifiers set by the network equipment and the beams is determined by the implementation of the forwarder.

[0065] In some embodiments, alternatively, the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder, i.e., the forwarder determines and reports the beam identifier of the access link, and the network equipment instructs the forwarder of at least one of the beam identifiers reported by the forwarder.

[0066] For example, a forwarder reports beam identifiers beam #1, beam #2, beam #3, etc. to a network device. When the forwarder needs to perform forwarding on an access link, the beam identifier instructed by the network device to the forwarder (i.e., the beam identifier received by the forwarder) is at least one of beam #1, beam #2, beam #3, etc. reported by the forwarder, and the forwarder performs forwarding on the access link using the beam corresponding to the received beam identifier, wherein the correspondence between the beam identifier instructed by the network device and the beam is determined by the implementation of the forwarder.

[0067] For example, if the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link set by the network equipment, the beam identifier is set by the network equipment based on information reported by the forwarder.

[0068] In some embodiments, the information reported by the forwarder includes at least one of information on the number of beams supported by the access link, the relationship between the beams of the access link, and whether simultaneous forwarding is supported on different beams of the access link.

[0069] In some embodiments, the information on the number of beams supported by the access link includes at least one of the following: the total number of beams supported by the access link, the total number of forwarding beams supported by the access link, the total number of beams for simultaneous forwarding supported by the access link, and the number of beams of different types.

[0070] In some embodiments, the different types of beams are beams of different directions, or beams of different widths, or beams of different precision (definition).

[0071] The relationship between the beams and the direction and width of the beams will be explained in detail below.

[0072] In some embodiments, supporting simultaneous transmission on different beams of the access link includes at least one of supporting the number of beams for simultaneous transmission, supporting the beam accuracy for simultaneous transmission being the same or different, and supporting the relationship between beams for simultaneous transmission.

[0073] In the above example, if the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link set by the network equipment, the network equipment sets the beam identifier of the access link based on the information reported by the forwarder. Also, for example, the beam identifier of the access link is set by the network equipment, that is, the network equipment independently determines the beam identifier of the access link without requiring the forwarder to report the information.

[0074] When the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access links configured by the network equipment, the method may further include the forwarder receiving, from the network equipment, relationship information between the beams corresponding to the beam identifier, i.e., the network equipment further instructs the forwarder on the relationship information between the beams corresponding to the beam identifier of the access link.

[0075] If the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access links reported by the forwarder, the method may further include the forwarder reporting to the network equipment relationship information between beams corresponding to the beam identifier.

[0076] In some embodiments, the network device makes the instruction based on the beam identifier of the access link reported by the forwarder, i.e., the network device does not need to process the beam identifier of the access link.

[0077] Alternatively, the network device may process the beam identifiers of the access links reported by the forwarder and then instruct the forwarder to use the beam identifiers. For example, the network device may renumber the beam identifiers of the access links reported by the forwarder based on a reference value, for example, numbering the beam identifiers as 0, 1, 2, 3 from beam #4 reported by the forwarder.

[0078] The relationship between the beams will be explained in detail below.

[0079] In some embodiments, the relationship between the beams may be referred to as a Quasi-Colocation (QCL) relationship between the beams or a spatial relation of the beams.

[0080] In some embodiments, the relationship between beams is a relationship between beams corresponding to different beam identifiers.

[0081] For example, the relationship between the beams includes at least that beams corresponding to different beam identifiers have different directions, or that beams corresponding to different beam identifiers have the same direction but different widths.

[0082] In some embodiments, the width of the beam may be expressed as the precision (definition) of the beam or the type of the beam.

[0083] 5 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between beams according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the beam corresponding to beam identifier beam #1 is a beam in the same direction as the beams corresponding to beam #4, beam #5, and beam #6, respectively, the beam corresponding to beam #2 is a beam in the same direction as the beams corresponding to beam #7, beam #8, and beam #9, respectively, and the beam corresponding to beam #3 is a beam in the same direction as the beams corresponding to beam #10, beam #11, and beam #12, respectively.

[0084] Furthermore, the beams corresponding to beam identifiers beam #1, beam #2, and beam #3 are beams in different directions, the beams corresponding to beam #4, beam #5, and beam #6 are beams in different directions, the beams corresponding to beam #7, beam #8, and beam #9 are beams in different directions, and the beams corresponding to beam #10, beam #11, and beam #12 are beams in different directions.

[0085] In some embodiments, the relationship between beams may include type 1 and type 2, where type 1 refers to two beams having different directions, for example, the beam corresponding to beam #1 and the beam corresponding to beam #2 in FIG. 5, the beam corresponding to beam #4 and the beam corresponding to beam #3, the beam corresponding to beam #5 and the beam corresponding to beam #8, and the beam corresponding to beam #11 and the beam corresponding to beam #12, and type 2 refers to two beams having the same direction but different widths (different precision or types), for example, the beam corresponding to beam #1 and the beam corresponding to beam #4 in FIG. 5, and the beam corresponding to beam #2 and the beam corresponding to beam #9.

[0086] As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the network equipment may determine the relationship between the beams of the access link, i.e., the relationship between the beams corresponding to different beam identifiers, and instruct the forwarder.

[0087] For example, a network device uses one bit to indicate whether the relationship between beams corresponding to beam #1 and beam #2 is type 1 or type 2. For example, if the bit indicates "0", it indicates that the beams corresponding to beam #1 and beam #2 have a type 1 relationship, and if the bit indicates "1", it indicates that the beams corresponding to beam #1 and beam #2 have a type 2 relationship.

[0088] Also, for example, the network device indicates that beams corresponding to beam identifiers in the same set have the same direction but different widths (different precision or types), for example, set 1 is {beam #1, beam #4, beam #5, beam #6} and set 2 is {beam #2, beam #7, beam #8}.

[0089] Also, for example, the network device indicates beams in a set that have the same width (or accuracy or type), for example, set 1 is {beam #1, beam #2, beam #3} and set 2 is {beam #5, beam #6, beam #7}.

[0090] As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the forwarder may determine and report to the network equipment the relationship between the beams of the access link, i.e., the relationship between the beams corresponding to different beam identifiers.

[0091] For example, the transmitter uses one bit to report whether the relationship between the beam corresponding to beam #1 and the beam corresponding to beam #2 is type 1 or type 2. For example, if the bit indicates "0", it indicates that the beam corresponding to beam #1 and the beam corresponding to beam #2 have a type 1 relationship, and if the bit indicates "1", it indicates that the beam corresponding to beam #1 and the beam corresponding to beam #2 have a type 2 relationship.

[0092] Also, for example, the transmitter reports a beam identifier, and the beams corresponding to the beam identifier in the same set are beams of different widths (different precision or type) in the same direction, for example, set 1 is {beam #1, beam #4, beam #5, beam #6}, set 2 is {beam #2, beam #7, beam #8}.

[0093] Also, for example, the transmitter reports beams in a set that have the same width (or precision or type), e.g., set 1 is {beam #1, beam #2, beam #3}, set 2 is {beam #5, beam #6, beam #7}.

[0094] In some embodiments, a forwarder may support one of the reporting methods in the above examples, or a forwarder may simultaneously support multiple of the reporting methods in the above examples.

[0095] Additionally, in some embodiments, relationships between beams corresponding to different beam identifiers may be defined by default.

[0096] For example, the beam relationship corresponding to the beam identifier is defined as type 1 or type 2.

[0097] Also, for example, it is defined that beams corresponding to some beam identifiers are beams of different widths (different precisions or types) in the same direction.

[0098] Also, for example, it is defined that beams corresponding to some beam identifiers are beams of the same width (same precision or type) in different directions.

[0099] As mentioned above, the beam identifier of the access link received by the forwarder is set by the network equipment or reported by the forwarder.

[0100] Also, in some embodiments, the beam information of the forwarder access link is defined by default.

[0101] For example, the number of access link beams supported by the forwarder may be specified to be at most M, eg, 8 or 4, by default.

[0102] Also, for example, it is specified by default that the forwarder simultaneously transmits on M' access link beams.

[0103] Also, for example, the relationship between beams of the forwarder access links is defined by default.

[0104] In some embodiments, the beam identifier received by the forwarder indicates the corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits.

[0105] For example, the first number is determined by the total number of beam identifiers of the access link, or the first number is determined by the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, or the first number is determined by the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder. For example, a beam identifier indicates a corresponding identifier number by log2M bits, where M is the first number.

[0106] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the beam identifiers received by the forwarder indicate corresponding beam identifiers in the form of a bitmap.

[0107] For example, the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers of the access link, or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

[0108] In some embodiments, the network equipment indicates that the beam identifier may employ multiple schemes.

[0109] For example, Method 1: The beam identifier received by the forwarder (i.e., the beam identifier indicated by the network equipment) is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder, or the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link set by the network equipment.

[0110] That is, the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one (all or part) of the beam identifiers of the access links reported by the forwarder, or the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one (all or part) of the beam identifiers of the access links configured by the network equipment.

[0111] For example, method 2: The network equipment configures, by RRC signaling, at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network equipment or at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder, that is, when the network equipment configures a beam identifier of the access link, at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network equipment is configured by RRC signaling, and when the forwarder reports a beam identifier of the access link, at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder is configured by RRC signaling, and also activates a first part of beam identifiers by MAC CE and indicates a second part of beam identifiers by a field of physical layer signaling, wherein the first part of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers configured by the RRC signaling, the second part of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the first part of beam identifiers, and the beam identifier received by the forwarder is the second part of beam identifiers. Among them, the physical layer signaling is, for example, DCI.

[0112] The following will explain this using specific examples.

[0113] The forwarder is configured with up to M1 beam identifiers by RRC signaling, and these M1 beam identifiers are used to forward transmissions of terminal devices in a designated serving cell via the access link. For example, M1 is determined by the forwarder's ability to support the number of beams on the access link, and M1 is a positive integer, for example, 128. Each beam identifier corresponds to a beam on the forwarder's access link, and the correspondence is determined by the implementation of the forwarder.

[0114] For example, in order for the forwarder to forward downlink and uplink transmissions between the terminal equipment and the network equipment, the forwarder is configured with a list of up to 128 beam identifiers, which is configured in RRC signaling.

[0115] The forwarder receives an activation command in the MAC CE for mapping up to M2 beam identifiers, each beam identifier corresponding to a beam for uplink or downlink forwarding of the forwarder access link, where M2 is a positive integer and M2 is less than or equal to M1.

[0116] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a MAC CE according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Note that the MAC CE shown in Fig. 6 is merely an example, and various other structures may be adopted for the MAC CE of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0117] For example, when a beam identifier is set in RRC signaling, the MAC CE i indicates the activation or deactivation state of beam identifier i (beam #i), otherwise, the area T i is ignored. As shown in Figure 6, the area T i When set to 1, it indicates that beam identifier i (beam #i) is activated and is mapped to a codeword indicating the transmission beam identifier of the access link in the DCI, and i When set to 0, it indicates that beam identifier i (beam #i) is deactivated and is not mapped to a codeword indicating the transport beam identifier of the access link in the DCI.

[0118] When the activation command is mapped to a codeword in the DCI, the forwarder forwards downlink and uplink transmissions between the terminal equipment and the network equipment using the beam identifier indicated by the codeword in the DCI. The codeword for mapping the beam identifier in the DCI is T i are determined in ascending order of being set to 1, i.e., the first Ti is mapped to a codeword of 0 in the DCI, and the second T is set to 1. i is mapped to one codeword in the DCI, and the others can be inferred based on this. The number of activated beam identifiers is at most M2. The codewords for mapping beam identifiers in the DCI indicate at most N beam identifiers, and there are Nlog2M2 codewords indicating beam identifier fields in the DCI, where N is a positive integer and is less than or equal to M2.

[0119] For example, the maximum number of activated beam identifiers is 8. In this case, if the DCI indicates that the beam identifier is disabled, the codeword in the DCI is 0 bits, and if not, it indicates that one beam identifier is 3 bits.

[0120] For example, the MAC CE activates the ranges T4, T20, and T22. In this case, when the DCI indicates 0, it represents beam #4, when it indicates 1, it represents beam #20, and when it indicates 2, it represents beam #22.

[0121] Also, for example, the DCI indicates that the codeword of the beam identifier indicates two beam identifiers, in which case the codeword in the DCI is six bits.

[0122] In some embodiments, the beam identifiers received by the forwarder include a first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment, configured by the network equipment, or reported by the forwarder, and a second beam identifier configured by the network equipment using RRC signaling, activated by a MAC CE, and indicated in the field of physical layer signaling. That is, the beam identifiers received by the forwarder are the first beam identifier and the second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to the above-mentioned Scheme 1 and Scheme 2.

[0123] In some embodiments, based on the type of signal being transmitted, the network equipment can determine, according to method 1 or method 2 described above, to indicate that the beam transmitting the signal corresponds to the first beam identifier or the second beam identifier.

[0124] For example, the beam through which the forwarder forwards the broadcast signal corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to the above-mentioned method 1, and the beam through which the forwarder forwards the terminal-specific signal corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to the above-mentioned method 2.

[0125] In some embodiments, further, based on whether the received beam setting is a semi-static beam setting or a dynamic beam setting, the network equipment can determine, according to method 1 or method 2 described above, to indicate that the beam receiving the beam setting corresponds to the first beam identifier or the second beam identifier.

[0126] For example, the beam from which the forwarder receives semi-static beam configuration corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to method 1 described above, and the beam from which the forwarder receives dynamic beam configuration corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to method 2 described above.

[0127] In some embodiments, further, based on the width, type, or accuracy of the beam of the access link, the network equipment can decide to indicate a first beam identifier corresponding to the beam according to the above-mentioned method 1, or to indicate a second beam identifier corresponding to the beam according to method 2.

[0128] For example, the wide beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to the above-mentioned method 1, and the narrow beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to the above-mentioned method 2. That is, the low-precision beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to the above-mentioned method 1, and the high-precision beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to the above-mentioned method 2.

[0129] As can be seen from the above embodiments, the forwarder performs forwarding on the access link using a beam corresponding to the beam identifier based on the beam identifier of the access link received from the network equipment, thereby allowing the network equipment to schedule the access link beam for forwarding by the forwarder and allowing the forwarder to determine the access link beam for forwarding, so that the beam identifier can be effectively used to complete the forwarding between the terminal and the network equipment. [Example]

[0130] In a second embodiment of the present invention, a method for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link is further provided, and the method is applied to a network device side. The method corresponds to the forwarding method of the forwarder access link on the forwarder side in the first embodiment, and the duplicated description of the same content will be omitted here. For example, the method is applied to the network device 101 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

[0131] 7 is a diagram illustrating a method for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the method includes: Step 701: The network device indicates the beam identifier of the access link to the forwarder.

[0132] In some embodiments, the network device indicates the beam identifier of the access link by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

[0133] In some embodiments, the network equipment indicates to the forwarder at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network equipment, or the network equipment indicates to the forwarder at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder.

[0134] In some embodiments, the method further includes the network device receiving information reported by the forwarder; and the network device setting a beam identifier of the access link based on the information reported by the forwarder.

[0135] In some embodiments, the information reported by the forwarder includes at least one of information on the number of beams supported by the access link, the relationship between the beams of the access link, and whether simultaneous forwarding is supported on different beams of the access link.

[0136] In some embodiments, the information on the number of beams supported by the access link includes at least one of the following: the total number of beams supported by the access link, the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, the total number of beams for simultaneous transmission supported by the access link, and the number of beams of different types.

[0137] In some embodiments, the method further includes the network device configuring a beam identifier for the access link.

[0138] In some embodiments, when the network equipment indicates to the forwarder at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link set by the network equipment, the method further includes the network equipment indicating to the forwarder inter-beam relationship information corresponding to the beam identifier of the access link, and when the network equipment indicates to the forwarder at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder, the method further includes the network equipment receiving the beam identifier of the access link reported by the forwarder; and the network equipment receiving inter-beam relationship information corresponding to the beam identifier of the access link reported by the forwarder.

[0139] In some embodiments, the network equipment indicates to the forwarder at least one of the beam identifiers of the access links reported by the forwarder, or the network equipment indicates to the forwarder at least one of the beam identifiers of the access links configured by the network equipment.

[0140] In some embodiments, the network equipment configures at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network equipment or at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder through RRC signaling, the network equipment activates a first portion of beam identifiers through MAC CE, and the network equipment indicates a second portion of beam identifiers through physical layer signaling, where the first portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers configured by the RRC signaling, and the second portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the first portion of beam identifiers. The beam identifiers that the network equipment indicates to the forwarder are the second portion of beam identifiers.

[0141] In some embodiments, the relationship between beams refers to the relationship between beams corresponding to different beam identifiers.

[0142] In some embodiments, the relationship between the beams includes two beams having different directions, or two beams having the same direction but different widths.

[0143] In some embodiments, the beam identifier that the network device indicates to the forwarder indicates the corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits, or the beam identifier that the network device indicates to the forwarder indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap.

[0144] In some embodiments, when the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits, the first number is determined by the total number of beam identifiers of the access link, or the first number is determined by the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, or the first number is determined by the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

[0145] In some embodiments, when the beam identifier indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap, the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers of the access link, or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

[0146] Figure 8 is an interaction diagram for implementing a forwarding method for a forwarder access link according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in Figure 8, the method includes: Step 801: The network device indicates the beam identifier of the access link to the forwarder; and Step 802: A forwarding unit of the forwarder performs forwarding using a beam corresponding to the received beam identifier.

[0147] Note that the specific implementation methods of the above steps in FIGS. 7 and 8 can be found in the description of the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0148] As can be seen from the above embodiments, the forwarder performs forwarding on the access link using a beam corresponding to the beam identifier based on the beam identifier of the access link received from the network equipment, thereby allowing the network equipment to schedule the access link beam for forwarding by the forwarder and allowing the forwarder to determine the access link beam for forwarding, so that the beam identifier can be effectively used to complete the forwarding between the terminal and the network equipment. [Example]

[0149] In the third embodiment of the present invention, a forwarding device for a forwarder access link is provided, and the device is installed in the forwarder. The principle of the device to solve the problem is the same as that of the method of the first embodiment, so that the specific implementation can refer to the implementation of the method of the first embodiment, and the duplicated description of the same or related content will be omitted here.

[0150] 9 is a diagram illustrating a forwarding device of a forwarder access link according to a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the forwarding device 900 of a forwarder access link includes: A receiving unit 901: receives a beam identifier of an access link from a network device; and A forwarding unit 902: performs forwarding using the beam corresponding to the received beam identifier.

[0151] In some embodiments, the receiving unit 901 is an NCR-MT or part of an NCR-MT, and the forwarding unit 902 is an NCR-Fwd.

[0152] In some embodiments, the beam identifier received by the forwarder is indicated by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

[0153] In some embodiments, the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network equipment, or the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder.

[0154] In some embodiments, when the beam identifier is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network equipment, the beam identifier is configured by the network equipment based on information reported by the forwarder.

[0155] In some embodiments, the information reported by the forwarder is at least one of information on the number of beams supported by the access link, the relationship between the beams of the access link, and whether simultaneous forwarding is supported on different beams of the access link.

[0156] In some embodiments, the information on the number of beams supported by the access link includes at least one of the following: the total number of beams supported by the access link, the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, the total number of beams for simultaneous transmission supported by the access link, and the number of beams of different types.

[0157] In some embodiments, if the beam identifier is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network equipment, the receiving unit 901 further receives relationship information between the beams corresponding to the beam identifier from the network equipment.

[0158] In some embodiments, when the beam identifier is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder, as shown in FIG. 9, the apparatus further includes: A sending unit 903: reports the relationship information between the beams corresponding to the beam identifiers to the network device.

[0159] In some embodiments, the transmitting unit 903 is an NCR-MT or part of an NCR-MT.

[0160] In some embodiments, the network device configures, by RRC signaling, at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network device or at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder, activates a first portion of beam identifiers by MAC CE, and indicates a second portion of beam identifiers by physical layer signaling, where the first portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers configured by the RRC signaling, the second portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the first portion, and the beam identifier received by the forwarder is the second portion of beam identifiers.

[0161] In some embodiments, the beam identifier received by the forwarder includes a first beam identifier set by the network equipment or reported by the forwarder, and a second beam identifier set by RRC signaling, activated by a MAC CE, and indicated by a field in physical layer signaling.

[0162] In some embodiments, the beam through which the forwarder forwards the broadcast signal corresponds to a first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to method 1 in embodiment 1, and the beam through which the forwarder forwards the terminal-specific signal corresponds to a second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to method 2 in embodiment 1, and / or the beam through which the forwarder receives the semi-static beam configuration corresponds to a first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to method 1 in embodiment 1, and the beam through which the forwarder receives the dynamic beam configuration corresponds to a second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to method 2 in embodiment 1, and / or the wide beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to a first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to method 1 in embodiment 1, and the narrow beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to a second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment according to method 2 in embodiment 1.

[0163] In some embodiments, the relationship between beams is a relationship between beams corresponding to different beam identifiers.

[0164] In some embodiments, the relationship between the beams includes at least that beams corresponding to different beam identifiers have different directions, or that beams corresponding to different beam identifiers have the same direction but different widths.

[0165] In some embodiments, the beam identifier received by the forwarder indicates the corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits, or the beam identifier received by the forwarder indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap.

[0166] In some embodiments, when the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits, the first number is determined by the total number of beam identifiers of the access link, or the first number is determined by the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, or the first number is determined by the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

[0167] In some embodiments, when the beam identifier indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap, the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers of the access link, or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

[0168] For the functions and specific contents of each of the above-mentioned units, please refer to the descriptions of the relevant steps in the first embodiment, and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here.

[0169] As can be seen from the above embodiments, the forwarder performs forwarding on the access link using a beam corresponding to the beam identifier based on the beam identifier of the access link received from the network equipment, thereby allowing the network equipment to schedule the access link beam for forwarding by the forwarder and allowing the forwarder to determine the access link beam for forwarding, so that the beam identifier can be effectively used to complete the forwarding between the terminal and the network equipment. [Example]

[0170] In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, a device for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link is provided, and the device is applied to a network device side. The principle of the device for solving the problem is the same as that of the method of the second embodiment, so that the specific implementation can refer to the implementation of the method of the second embodiment, and the duplicated description of the same or related content will be omitted here.

[0171] 10 is a diagram illustrating an apparatus 1000 for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus 1000 for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link includes: First instruction unit 1001: Instructs the forwarder of the beam identifier of the access link.

[0172] In some embodiments, the network equipment indicates the beam identifier of the access link by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

[0173] 11 is another diagram illustrating an apparatus 1100 for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link according to Example 4 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the apparatus 1100 for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link includes: First instruction unit 1001: Instructs the forwarder of the beam identifier of the access link.

[0174] In some embodiments, when the network device sets the beam identifier of the access link, the device further includes: A second instructing unit 1002: instructs the forwarder on the relationship information between beams corresponding to the beam identifiers of the access links.

[0175] In some embodiments, when the network device sets the beam identifier of the access link, the device further includes: A first receiving unit 1003: receives the information reported by the forwarder; and A first setting unit 1004: sets the beam identifier of the access link based on the information reported by the forwarder.

[0176] In some embodiments, the information reported by the forwarder includes at least one of information on the number of beams supported by the access link, the relationship between the beams of the access link, and whether simultaneous forwarding is supported on different beams of the access link.

[0177] In some embodiments, the information on the number of beams supported by the access link includes at least one of the following: the total number of beams supported by the access link, the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, the total number of beams for simultaneous transmission supported by the access link, and the number of beams of different types.

[0178] Alternatively, in some embodiments, when the network device sets the beam identifier of the access link, the device further includes: A second setting unit 1005: sets the beam identifier of the access link, that is, the network device independently determines the beam identifier of the access link.

[0179] For example, the second setting unit 1005 may be used instead of the first receiving unit 1003 and the second setting unit 1004 .

[0180] It should be noted that the second instruction unit 1002, the first receiving unit 1003, the second setting unit 1004, and the second setting unit 1005 are selectable components.

[0181] 12 is another diagram illustrating an apparatus 1200 for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link according to embodiment 4 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the apparatus 1200 for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link includes: First instruction unit 1001: Instructs the forwarder of the beam identifier of the access link.

[0182] In some embodiments, when the forwarder reports a beam identifier of the access link, the apparatus further includes: A second receiving unit 1006: receives the beam identifier of the access link reported by the forwarder; and A third receiving unit 1007: receives inter-beam relationship information corresponding to the beam identifier of the access link reported by the forwarder.

[0183] It should be noted that the second receiving unit 1006 and the third receiving unit 1007 are optional.

[0184] In some embodiments, the network equipment configures, by RRC signaling, at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network equipment or at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder, and the network equipment activates a first portion of beam identifiers by MAC CE, and the network equipment indicates a second portion of beam identifiers by physical layer signaling, where the first portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers configured by the RRC signaling and the second portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the first portion of beam identifiers. The beam identifiers that the network equipment indicates to the forwarder are the second portion of beam identifiers.

[0185] In some embodiments, the relationship between beams refers to the relationship between beams corresponding to different beam identifiers.

[0186] In some embodiments, the relationship between the beams includes two beams of different directions, or two beams of different widths in the same direction.

[0187] In some embodiments, the beam identifier that the network device indicates to the forwarder indicates the corresponding beam identifier using a first number of bits, or the beam identifier that the network device indicates to the forwarder indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap.

[0188] In some embodiments, when the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits, the first number is determined by the total number of beam identifiers of the access link, or the first number is determined by the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, or the first number is determined by the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

[0189] In some embodiments, when the beam identifier indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap, the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers of the access link, or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

[0190] For the functions and specific contents of each of the above-mentioned units, please refer to the descriptions of the related steps in the second embodiment, and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here.

[0191] As can be seen from the above embodiments, the forwarder performs forwarding on the access link using a beam corresponding to the beam identifier based on the beam identifier of the access link received from the network equipment, thereby allowing the network equipment to schedule the access link beam for forwarding by the forwarder and allowing the forwarder to determine the access link beam for forwarding, so that the beam identifier can be effectively used to complete the forwarding between the terminal and the network equipment. [Example]

[0192] In a fifth embodiment of the present invention, a forwarder is provided, which includes the forwarding device of the forwarder access link according to the third embodiment.

[0193] 13 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of a transmitter according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, a transmitter 1300 may include a processor 1310 and a memory 1320, and the memory 1320 is connected to the processor 1310. The memory 1320 can store various data and also store a program 1330 for information processing, and can execute the program 1330 under the control of the processor 1310. Note that this diagram is merely an example, and other types of configurations may be used to supplement or replace the configurations to achieve telecommunication functions or other functions.

[0194] In one embodiment, the function of the forwarding device of the forwarder access link can be integrated into the processor 1310. Wherein, the processor 1310 may be configured as follows: the receiving unit of the forwarder receives a beam identifier of the access link from the network device; and the forwarding unit of the forwarder performs forwarding using the beam corresponding to the received beam identifier.

[0195] In another implementation, the forwarding device of the forwarder access link may be configured separately from the processor 1310, for example, the forwarding device of the forwarder access link may be configured as a chip connected to the processor 1310, and the function of the forwarding device of the forwarder access link may be realized under the control of the processor 1310.

[0196] As shown in Figure 13, the forwarder 1300 may further include a network-side transceiver 1340-1 and a network-side antenna 1350-1, a terminal-side transceiver 1340-2 and a terminal-side antenna 1350-2, and a signal amplifier circuit 1360, among which the functions of the above-mentioned components are the same as those of the prior art, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted here. Note that the forwarder 1300 does not need to include all the components shown in Figure 13. Furthermore, the forwarder 1300 may also include components not shown in Figure 13, for which reference can be made to the prior art.

[0197] As shown in FIG. 13, the processor 1310, which may be referred to as a controller or operational control, may include a microprocessor or other processing and / or logic device, and the processor 1310 can receive inputs and control the operation of each component of the transfer device 1300.

[0198] The memory 1320 may include one or more of a buffer, flash memory, HDD, removable medium, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or other suitable devices, and can store various data and programs for executing related information. The processor 1310 can store or process information by executing the programs stored in the memory 1320. The functions of the other components are the same as those of the conventional components, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted here.

[0199] Each component of the forwarder 1300 may be implemented in dedicated hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof, all of which are within the scope of the present invention.

[0200] As can be seen from the above embodiments, the forwarder performs forwarding on the access link using a beam corresponding to the beam identifier based on the beam identifier of the access link received from the network equipment, thereby allowing the network equipment to schedule the access link beam for forwarding by the forwarder and allowing the forwarder to determine the access link beam for forwarding, so that the beam identifier can be effectively used to complete the forwarding between the terminal and the network equipment. [Example]

[0201] In a sixth embodiment of the present invention, a network device is provided, which includes the device for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link according to the fourth embodiment.

[0202] 14 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a network device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14, a network device 1400 may include a processor 1410 and a memory 1420, and the memory 1420 is connected to the processor 1410. The memory 1420 can store various data and also store an information processing program 1430, and executes the program 1430 under the control of the processor 1410 to receive various information transmitted by a transmitter and transmit various information to the transmitter.

[0203] In one implementation, the function of the device for indicating the beam identifier of the access link to the forwarder can be integrated into the processor 1410. Wherein, the processor 1410 may be configured as follows: the network device indicates the beam identifier of the access link to the forwarder.

[0204] 14, the network device 1400 may further include a transceiver 1440 and an antenna 1450, among which the functions of the above-mentioned components are similar to those of the prior art, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here. Note that the network device 1400 does not need to include all the components shown in FIG. 14. The network device 1400 may also include components not shown in FIG. 14, and reference can be made to the prior art for such components.

[0205] As can be seen from the above embodiments, the forwarder performs forwarding on the access link using a beam corresponding to the beam identifier based on the beam identifier of the access link received from the network equipment, thereby allowing the network equipment to schedule the access link beam for forwarding by the forwarder and allowing the forwarder to determine the access link beam for forwarding, so that the beam identifier can be effectively used to complete the forwarding between the terminal and the network equipment. [Example]

[0206] A seventh embodiment of the present invention provides a communication system, which includes the forwarder according to the fifth embodiment and / or the network device according to the sixth embodiment.

[0207] For example, the configuration of the communication system can be seen in FIGS.

[0208] As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 100 includes a network device 101, a terminal device 102, and a forwarder 103, and the forwarder 103 may be the same as the forwarder described in Example 5, and the network device 101 may be the same as the network device described in Example 6, and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here.

[0209] The above-described devices and methods may be realized by software or hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software. The present invention further relates to a computer-readable program as described below, which, when executed by a logic component, causes the logic component to realize the above-described devices or components, or to perform each of the above-described methods or steps. The logic component may be, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a microprocessor, or a processing unit used in a computer. The present invention also relates to a storage medium, such as a hard disk, magnetic disk, optical hard disk, DVD, or flash memory, that stores the above-described program.

[0210] Furthermore, one or more combinations of the functional blocks illustrated in the figures and / or one or more combinations of the functional blocks may be implemented as a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic component, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware assembly, or any other suitable combination for performing the functions described herein. Also, one or more combinations of the functional blocks illustrated in the figures and / or one or more combinations of the functional blocks may be further implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors communicatively coupled with a DSP, or any other configuration.

[0211] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and any modifications to the present invention that do not depart from the spirit of the present invention fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0212] Furthermore, with respect to the above-mentioned embodiments, the following supplementary notes are disclosed.

[0213] <Appendix 1> (Appendix 1) A forwarding device of a forwarder access link, said device being installed in a forwarder, said device comprising: a receiving unit for receiving a beam identifier of an access link from a network device; and and a forwarding unit configured to forward using a beam corresponding to the received beam identifier.

[0214] (Appendix 2) 10. The apparatus of claim 1, The beam identifier received by the forwarder is indicated by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

[0215] (Appendix 3) 10. The apparatus of claim 1, The beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of access links configured by the network equipment; or The beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder.

[0216] (Appendix 4) 4. The apparatus of claim 3, When the beam identifier is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link set by the network equipment, the beam identifier is set by the network equipment based on information reported by the forwarder.

[0217] (Appendix 5) 5. The apparatus of claim 4, The information reported by the forwarder includes: The information includes at least one of information regarding the number of beams supported by the access link, the relationship between the beams of the access link, and whether simultaneous transmission is supported on different beams of the access link.

[0218] (Appendix 6) 6. The apparatus of claim 5, The beam quantity information supported by the access link includes at least one of the following: The total number of beams supported by the access link, the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, the total number of beams for simultaneous transmission supported by the access link, and the number of beams of different types.

[0219] (Appendix 7) 4. The apparatus of claim 3, When the beam identifier is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network device, The receiving unit further receives, from the network equipment, relationship information between beams corresponding to the beam identifiers.

[0220] (Appendix 8) 4. The apparatus of claim 3, If the beam identifier is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder, the device further: A transmitting unit that reports relationship information between beams corresponding to the beam identifiers to the network equipment.

[0221] (Appendix 9) 10. The apparatus of any one of claims 2-8, The network equipment configures at least one beam identifier of the access link beam identifiers configured by the network equipment or at least one beam identifier of the access link beam identifiers reported by the forwarder through RRC signaling, activates the first part of the beam identifiers through MAC CE, and indicates the second part of the beam identifiers through physical layer signaling; The first portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers configured by the RRC signaling; the beam identifiers of the second portion include at least one beam identifier of the beam identifiers of the first portion; The beam identifier received by the forwarder is the beam identifier of the second portion.

[0222] (Appendix 10) 10. The apparatus of any one of claims 2-9, The beam identifier received by the forwarder includes a first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment, set by the network equipment, or reported by the forwarder, and a second beam identifier set by the network equipment by RRC signaling, activated by MAC CE, and indicated by physical layer signaling.

[0223] (Appendix 11) 11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: The beam along which the forwarder forwards the broadcast signal corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network device, and the beam along which the forwarder forwards the terminal-specific signal corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network device; and / or The beam for which the forwarder receives a semi-static beam configuration corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment, and the beam for which the forwarder receives a dynamic beam configuration corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment; and / or The wide beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network device, and the narrow beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network device.

[0224] (Appendix 12) 10. The apparatus of any one of claims 5, 7 and 8, comprising: The relationship between the beams is a relationship between beams corresponding to different beam identifiers.

[0225] (Appendix 13) 13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising: The relationship between the beams includes at least beams corresponding to different beam identifiers being in different directions, or beams corresponding to different beam identifiers being in the same direction but with different widths.

[0226] (Appendix 14) 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, the beam identifier received by the transmitter indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits; or The beam identifier received by the transmitter indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap.

[0227] (Appendix 15) 15. The apparatus of claim 14, If the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits, the first quantity is determined by the total number of beam identifiers of the access link; or the first quantity is determined by the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link; or The first quantity is determined by the total number of beam identifiers received by the transmitter.

[0228] (Appendix 16) 15. The apparatus of claim 14, When the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap, The number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers for the access link; or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link; or The number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

[0229] (Appendix 17) An apparatus for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link, the apparatus being installed in a network device, the apparatus comprising: and a first indicating unit for indicating a beam identifier of the access link to the forwarder.

[0230] (Appendix 18) 18. The apparatus of claim 17, The network equipment indicates the beam identifier of the access link by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

[0231] (Appendix 19) 18. The apparatus of claim 17, The network device indicates to the forwarder at least one of the beam identifiers of the access links configured by the network device; or The network device instructs the forwarder of at least one of the beam identifiers of the access links reported by the forwarder.

[0232] (Appendix 20) 18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising: a first receiving unit for receiving information reported by the forwarder; and and a first setting unit that sets a beam identifier of an access link based on information reported by the forwarder.

[0233] (Appendix 21) 21. The apparatus of claim 20, The information reported by the forwarder includes: The information includes at least one of information regarding the number of beams supported by the access link, the relationship between the beams of the access link, and whether simultaneous transmission is supported on different beams of the access link.

[0234] (Appendix 22) 22. The apparatus of claim 21, The beam quantity information supported by the access link includes at least one of the following: The total number of beams supported by the access link, the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, the total number of beams for simultaneous transmission supported by the access link, and the number of beams of different types.

[0235] (Appendix 23) 18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising: and a second setting unit for setting a beam identifier of the access link.

[0236] (Appendix 24) 20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising: a second indicating unit for indicating, to the forwarder, relationship information between beams corresponding to the beam identifiers of the access links; Alternatively, the apparatus further comprises: a second receiving unit for receiving a beam identifier of the access link reported by the forwarder; and and a third receiving unit for receiving inter-beam relationship information corresponding to the beam identifier of the access link reported by the forwarder.

[0237] (Appendix 25) 25. The apparatus of any one of clauses 19-24, comprising: The network device configures, through RRC signaling, at least one beam identifier among beam identifiers of access links configured by the network device or at least one beam identifier among beam identifiers of access links reported by the forwarder; The network device activates the first portion of the beam identifier by the MAC CE; and The network device indicates the second beam identifier by physical layer signaling; The first portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers configured by the RRC signaling; the beam identifiers of the second portion include at least one beam identifier of the beam identifiers of the first portion; The beam identifier that the network device instructs the forwarder to use is the beam identifier of the second part.

[0238] (Appendix 26) 25. The apparatus of claim 21 or 24, The relationship between beams refers to the relationship between beams corresponding to different beam identifiers.

[0239] (Appendix 27) 27. The apparatus of claim 26, The relationship between the beams includes two beams of different directions, or two beams of different widths in the same direction.

[0240] (Appendix 28) 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, The beam identifier indicated by the network device to the forwarder indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits; or The beam identifier that the network device indicates to the forwarder indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap.

[0241] (Appendix 29) 29. The apparatus of claim 28, If the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits, the first quantity is determined by the total number of beam identifiers of the access link; or the first quantity is determined by the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link; or The first quantity is determined by the total number of beam identifiers received by the transmitter.

[0242] (Appendix 30) 29. The apparatus of claim 28, When the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap, The number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers for the access link; or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link; or The number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

[0243] (Appendix 31) 17. A transmitter comprising the apparatus of any one of clauses 1-16.

[0244] (Appendix 32) 10. A network device comprising the device of any one of clauses 17-30.

[0245] (Appendix 33) 33. A communication system comprising a forwarder according to claim 31 and / or a network device according to claim 32.

[0246] <Appendix 2> (Appendix 1) 1. A method for forwarding a forwarder access link, the method comprising: A receiving unit of the forwarder receives a beam identifier of the access link from the network device; and a forwarding unit of the forwarder forwarding using a beam corresponding to the received beam identifier.

[0247] (Appendix 2) 2. The method of claim 1, comprising: The beam identifier received by the forwarder is indicated by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

[0248] (Appendix 3) 2. The method of claim 1, comprising: The beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of access links configured by the network equipment; or The beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder.

[0249] (Appendix 4) 4. The method of claim 3, When the beam identifier is set by the network equipment, the beam identifier is set by the network equipment based on information reported by the forwarder.

[0250] (Appendix 5) 5. The method of claim 4, The information reported by the forwarder includes: The information includes at least one of information regarding the number of beams supported by the access link, the relationship between the beams of the access link, and whether simultaneous transmission is supported on different beams of the access link.

[0251] (Appendix 6) 6. The method of claim 5, The beam quantity information supported by the access link includes at least one of the following: The total number of beams supported by the access link, the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, the total number of beams for simultaneous transmission supported by the access link, and the number of beams of different types.

[0252] (Appendix 7) 4. The method of claim 3, When the beam identifier is at least one of beam identifiers of access links configured by the network equipment, the method further comprises: The forwarder receives, from the network equipment, relationship information between beams corresponding to the beam identifiers.

[0253] (Appendix 8) 4. The method of claim 3, If the beam identifier is at least one of beam identifiers of access links reported by the forwarder, the method further comprises: The forwarder reports to the network equipment relationship information between beams corresponding to the beam identifiers.

[0254] (Appendix 9) 10. The method according to any one of appendices 2-8, comprising: The network equipment configures at least one beam identifier of the access link beam identifiers configured by the network equipment or at least one beam identifier of the access link beam identifiers reported by the forwarder through RRC signaling, activates the first part of the beam identifiers through MAC CE, and indicates the second part of the beam identifiers through physical layer signaling; The first portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers configured by the RRC signaling; the beam identifiers of the second portion include at least one beam identifier of the beam identifiers of the first portion; The beam identifier received by the forwarder is the beam identifier of the second portion.

[0255] (Appendix 10) 10. The method according to any one of appendices 2-9, comprising: The beam identifier received by the forwarder includes a first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment, set by the network equipment, or reported by the forwarder, and a second beam identifier set by the network equipment by RRC signaling, activated by MAC CE, and indicated by physical layer signaling.

[0256] (Appendix 11) 11. The method of claim 10, The beam along which the forwarder forwards the broadcast signal corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network device, and the beam along which the forwarder forwards the terminal-specific signal corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network device; and / or The beam for which the forwarder receives a semi-static beam configuration corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment, and the beam for which the forwarder receives a dynamic beam configuration corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment; and / or The wide beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network device, and the narrow beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network device.

[0257] (Appendix 12) 10. The method according to any one of appendices 5, 7 and 8, comprising: The relationship between the beams is a relationship between beams corresponding to different beam identifiers.

[0258] (Appendix 13) 13. The method of claim 12, The relationship between the beams includes at least beams corresponding to different beam identifiers being in different directions, or beams corresponding to different beam identifiers being in the same direction but with different widths.

[0259] (Appendix 14) 10. The method according to claim 1 or 2, the beam identifier received by the transmitter indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits; or The beam identifier received by the transmitter indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap.

[0260] (Appendix 15) 15. The method of claim 14, If the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits, the first quantity is determined by the total number of beam identifiers of the access link; or the first quantity is determined by the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link; or The first quantity is determined by the total number of beam identifiers received by the transmitter.

[0261] (Appendix 16) 15. The method of claim 14, When the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap, The number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers for the access link; or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link; or The number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

[0262] (Appendix 17) 1. A method for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link, comprising: The method includes the network device instructing the forwarder of the beam identifier of the access link.

[0263] (Appendix 18) 18. The method of claim 17, The network equipment indicates the beam identifier of the access link by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

[0264] (Appendix 19) 18. The method of claim 17, The network device indicates to the forwarder at least one of the beam identifiers of the access links configured by the network device; or The network device instructs the forwarder of at least one of the beam identifiers of the access links reported by the forwarder.

[0265] (Appendix 20) 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: The network device receives the information reported by the forwarder; and The network equipment sets a beam identifier of the access link based on information reported by the forwarder.

[0266] (Appendix 21) 21. The method of claim 20, The information reported by the forwarder includes: The information includes at least one of information regarding the number of beams supported by the access link, the relationship between the beams of the access link, and whether simultaneous transmission is supported on different beams of the access link.

[0267] (Appendix 22) 22. The method of claim 21, The beam quantity information supported by the access link includes at least one of the following: The total number of beams supported by the access link, the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, the total number of beams for simultaneous transmission supported by the access link, and the number of beams of different types.

[0268] (Appendix 23) 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises: The network device sets a beam identifier of the access link.

[0269] (Appendix 24) 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: The network device instructs the forwarder on inter-beam relationship information corresponding to the beam identifier of the access link, Alternatively, the method further comprises: The network device receives a beam identifier of the access link reported by the forwarder; and The method includes the network equipment receiving inter-beam relationship information corresponding to the beam identifier of the access link reported by the forwarder.

[0270] (Appendix 25) 25. The method according to any one of claims 19-24, comprising: The network device configures, through RRC signaling, at least one beam identifier among beam identifiers of access links configured by the network device or at least one beam identifier among beam identifiers of access links reported by the forwarder; The network device activates the first portion of the beam identifier by the MAC CE; and The network device indicates the second beam identifier by physical layer signaling; The first portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers configured by the RRC signaling; the beam identifiers of the second portion include at least one beam identifier of the beam identifiers of the first portion; The beam identifier that the network device instructs the forwarder to use is the beam identifier of the second part.

[0271] (Appendix 26) 25. The method according to claim 21 or 24, The relationship between beams refers to the relationship between beams corresponding to different beam identifiers.

[0272] (Appendix 27) 27. The method of claim 26, The relationship between the beams includes two beams of different directions, or two beams of different widths in the same direction.

[0273] (Appendix 28) 10. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The beam identifier indicated by the network device to the forwarder indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits; or The beam identifier that the network device indicates to the forwarder indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap.

[0274] (Appendix 29) 29. The method of claim 28, If the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits, the first quantity is determined by the total number of beam identifiers of the access link; or the first quantity is determined by the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link; or The first quantity is determined by the total number of beam identifiers received by the transmitter.

[0275] (Appendix 30) 29. The method of claim 28, When the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap, The number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers for the access link; or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link; or The number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

Claims

1. A forwarding device of a forwarder access link, said device being installed in a forwarder, said device comprising: a receiving unit for receiving a beam identifier of an access link from a network device; and An apparatus comprising: a forwarding unit configured to forward using a beam corresponding to the received beam identifier.

2. 1. An apparatus according to claim 1, The apparatus, wherein the beam identifier received by the forwarder is indicated by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

3. 1. An apparatus according to claim 1, The beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of access links configured by the network equipment; or The apparatus, wherein the beam identifier received by the forwarder is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder.

4. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, An apparatus, wherein when the beam identifier is set by the network equipment, the beam identifier is set by the network equipment based on information reported by the forwarder.

5. 1. An apparatus according to claim 1, The information reported by the forwarder includes: The apparatus includes at least one of information on the number of beams supported by the access link, a relationship between beams of the access link, and whether simultaneous transmission is supported on different beams of the access link.

6. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, The beam quantity information supported by the access link includes at least one of the following: The device includes a total number of beams supported by the access link, a total number of transmission beams supported by the access link, a total number of beams for simultaneous transmission supported by the access link, and a number of beams of different types.

7. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, When the beam identifier is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link configured by the network device, The receiving unit further receives relationship information between beams corresponding to the beam identifiers from the network equipment.

8. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, When the beam identifier is at least one of the beam identifiers of the access link reported by the forwarder, the device further: An apparatus comprising: a transmitting unit that reports relationship information between beams corresponding to the beam identifiers to the network equipment.

9. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, The network device configures at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of access links configured by the network device or at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers of access links reported by the forwarder through RRC signaling, activates the first beam identifier by MAC CE, and indicates the second beam identifier by physical layer signaling; The first portion of beam identifiers includes at least one beam identifier among the beam identifiers configured by the RRC signaling; the beam identifiers of the second portion include at least one beam identifier of the beam identifiers of the first portion; The beam identifier received by the forwarder is the beam identifier of the second portion.

10. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, The beam identifier received by the forwarder includes a first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment, set by the network equipment, or reported by the forwarder, and a second beam identifier set by the network equipment by RRC signaling, activated by MAC CE, and indicated by physical layer signaling.

11. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, The beam along which the forwarder forwards the broadcast signal corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network device, and the beam along which the forwarder forwards the terminal-specific signal corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network device; and / or The beam for which the forwarder receives a semi-static beam configuration corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment, and the beam for which the forwarder receives a dynamic beam configuration corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment; and / or An apparatus, wherein the wide beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to the first beam identifier indicated by the network equipment, and the narrow beam of the forwarder access link corresponds to the second beam identifier indicated by the network equipment.

12. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, The apparatus, wherein the relationship between the beams is a relationship between beams corresponding to different beam identifiers.

13. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, An apparatus wherein the relationship between the beams includes at least beams corresponding to different beam identifiers being in different directions, or beams corresponding to different beam identifiers being in the same direction but with different widths.

14. 1. An apparatus according to claim 1, the beam identifier received by the forwarder indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits; or The beam identifier received by the transmitter indicates the corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap.

15. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, If the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier by a first number of bits, the first quantity is determined by the total number of beam identifiers of the access link; or the first quantity is determined by the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link; or The apparatus, wherein the first quantity is determined by the total number of beam identifiers received by the transmitter.

16. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, When the beam identifier indicates a corresponding beam identifier in the form of a bitmap, The number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers for the access link; or the number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of transmission beams supported by the access link; or The number of bits in the bitmap is the total number of beam identifiers received by the forwarder.

17. An apparatus for indicating a beam identifier of a forwarder access link, the apparatus being installed in a network device, the apparatus comprising: An apparatus comprising: a first indicating unit for indicating a beam identifier of an access link to a forwarder.

18. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, The network equipment indicates the beam identifier of the access link by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

19. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, The network device indicates to the forwarder at least one of the beam identifiers of the access links configured by the network device; or An apparatus, wherein the network equipment indicates to the forwarder at least one of the beam identifiers of the access links reported by the forwarder.

20. 1. A communication system including a forwarder and / or network equipment, The transfer device comprises the device of claim 1 ; 20. A communication system in which the network equipment comprises the device of claim 17.

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