Communication device, control device, control method, and program for forming and communicating a beam with high precision

Adaptive beam control in wireless communication systems forms multiple beams with varying gains to accurately estimate terminal device location, improving communication quality by directing beams effectively despite obstacles.

JP7698595B2Active Publication Date: 2025-06-25KDDI RES INC
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2022032784
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2022-03-03
Publication Date
2025-06-25
Estimated Expiration
2042-03-03

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In wireless communication systems, particularly in high-frequency bands, ensuring that beams are accurately directed towards terminal devices to maintain sufficient radio quality is challenging due to obstacles and the need for adaptive beam control.

Method used

Implementing a communication device with adaptive beam control techniques that form multiple beams with differing gains, allowing for precise estimation of the terminal device's location based on received power differences, enabling accurate beam direction.

Benefits of technology

Enables high-accuracy beam direction towards terminal devices, enhancing wireless communication quality by accurately directing beams even in obstructed areas.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Patent Text Reader

Abstract

To point a beam in the direction of an opposite device with high precision in a communication device.SOLUTION: A communication device for forming a beam and outputting radio waves sets a first beam and a second beam so that the differences between the received power of radio waves output using the first beam and the received power of radio waves output using the second beam are different according to each direction in which the radio waves are output from the communication device, and controls the direction of a beam directed toward a receiving device, based on the difference value between a first received power of radio waves at the receiving device of the radio waves when the radio waves are output using the first beam, and a second received power of radio waves at the receiving device when the radio waves are output using the second beam.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to beam control technology in wireless communication.

Background Art

[0002] In mobile communication, a wireless communication service is provided to a terminal device existing at a position where radio waves transmitted by a base station device can be received. Therefore, it is important to appropriately reach the radio waves transmitted by the base station device to the position of the terminal device. In particular, in recent wireless communication environments that tend to use high-frequency bands, the wireless quality is likely to deteriorate. In response to this, it is assumed that the base station device forms a beam and improves the wireless quality by the gain of the beam. In addition, the use of a reflector that reflects radio waves toward a region with low wireless quality has been studied. Note that the reflector can change the direction of signal reflection by changing its physical orientation, but by using a metasurface reflector (see Non-Patent Document 1), radio waves can be reflected in various directions without changing the physical orientation. Similarly, a wireless repeater capable of forming a beam or the like can also be used. Furthermore, a regenerative relay device that demodulates and decodes a received signal, re-encodes and modulates the decoded data, and regenerates and relays a wireless signal may be used. Note that these reflectors, wireless repeaters, and regenerative relay devices may be collectively referred to as relay devices.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] For a base station device to communicate with a terminal device with sufficient radio quality, it is important that the beam formed by the base station device itself or a relay device is appropriately directed towards the terminal device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The present invention provides an adaptive control technique for accurately directing a beam towards a counterpart device in a communication device.

[0006] A communication device according to an aspect of the present invention includes output means for forming a beam and outputting radio waves, and the radio waves output using a first beam when received by the receiving device and the radio waves output using a second beam when received by the receiving device setting means for setting the first beam and the second beam such that a difference between the received power of the radio waves and the received power of the radio waves is different for each output direction of the radio waves from the communication device, and the radio waves when the radio waves are output using the first beam said control means for performing direction control of the beam towards the receiving device based on a difference value between a first received power of the radio waves in the receiving device and a second received power of the radio waves in the receiving device when the radio waves are output using the second beam. Also, a communication device according to another aspect of the present invention is a communication device that functions as a relay device for relaying communication between a base station device and a terminal device, and includes output means for forming a beam and outputting radio waves, and a first beam. Setting means for setting the first beam and the second beam so that a difference between a reception power when the radio wave output using the beam is received by the terminal device and a reception power when the radio wave output using the second beam is received by the terminal device is different for each output direction of the radio wave from the communication device; relay means for relaying to the base station device information on a first reception power of the radio wave in the terminal device when the radio wave is output using the first beam and a second reception power of the radio wave in the terminal device when the radio wave is output using the second beam; receiving means for receiving from the base station device a beam control instruction based on a difference value between the first reception power and the second reception power; and control means for performing direction control of the beam directed to the terminal device based on the control instruction.

[0007] A control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a control device that controls a relay device that relays communication between a base station device and a terminal device staying in a predetermined area. The relay device forms and outputs a radio wave that has arrived from the base station device into a first beam and a second beam different from the first beam. Here, the radio wave relayed using the first beam when received by the terminal device and the radio wave relayed using the second beam when received by the terminal device are set such that the difference between the received powers is different for each output direction of the radio wave from the relay device. The control device receives, from the terminal device, a notification of a first received power of the radio wave at the terminal device when the relay device relays the radio wave using the first beam and a second received power of the radio wave at the terminal device when the relay device relays the radio wave using the second beam, and has receiving means for receiving the notification. Calculating means for calculating a difference value between the first reception power and the second reception power; estimating means for estimating a direction in which the terminal device exists as seen from the relay device based on the difference value; and determining means for determining a direction of a beam directed from the relay device to the terminal device based on the result of the estimation. Transmitting means for transmitting to the relay device a command for controlling the relay device to direct the beam toward the terminal device a beam control instruction based on the determination is provided.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, in a communication device, a beam can be directed with high accuracy toward the direction of a counterpart device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

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[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are essential for the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. Also, the same or similar configurations are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

[0011] (Configuration of the communication system) FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a wireless communication system according to this embodiment. The wireless communication system includes, for example, a base station device 101 and a terminal device 102. The base station device 101 and the terminal device 102 perform wireless communication according to, for example, the 5th generation (5G) cellular communication standard, but this is just an example, and communication according to other communication standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or future wireless communication standards may also be performed. It is assumed that there is an obstacle 104 such as a building near the base station device 101. In such a situation, the received power of the radio wave transmitted from the base station device 101 significantly decreases in a predetermined area that is in the shadow of the obstacle 104 as seen from the base station device 101, and the terminal device 102 staying in the predetermined area cannot directly communicate with the base station device 101. Therefore, in this embodiment, a relay device 103 is used to make the radio wave from the base station device 101 reach a predetermined area, and also to make the radio wave from the terminal device 102 staying in the predetermined area reach the base station device 101.

[0012] The relay device 103 can be a reflector or a wireless repeater that relays a wireless signal without decrypting user data. Note that the reflector is a metasurface reflector composed of a plurality of reflecting elements, and is configured to be able to form a reflection pattern with an arbitrary direction and beam width by adjusting the reflection phase for each reflecting element. Further, the wireless repeater can amplify the received signal (and further convert the frequency if necessary) and output it. Further, the wireless repeater is configured to be able to form a beam with an arbitrary direction and beam width using a plurality of antennas. Note that the relay device 103 may be a playback relay device that relays by demodulating and decrypting user data, re-encoding and modulating the decrypted user data, and reproducing a wireless signal. In the present embodiment, the relay device 103 is configured to be able to form a beam 111 and output the radio wave arriving from the base station device 101. Note that in FIG. 1, an example in which one beam is formed is shown, but two or more beams may be formed, or only two beams may be formed.

[0013] Here, in order to efficiently execute wireless communication between the base station device 101 and the terminal device 102 using the relay device 103, it is important that a beam is formed from the relay device 103 in the direction of the terminal device 102. For this reason, in the present embodiment, a technique for estimating the direction in which the terminal device 102 is located as viewed from the relay device 103 is provided. Note that hereinafter, the direction in which radio waves are radiated from the relay device 103 toward the terminal device 102 is referred to as the radio wave output direction. Further, hereinafter, a method for controlling the beam directed from the relay device 103 toward the terminal device 102 will be described, but the following discussion can be used for a communication device that forms an arbitrary beam and performs communication, such as when the base station device 101 forms a beam when the base station device 101 can directly communicate with the terminal device 102.

[0014] In this embodiment, the relay device 103 forms at least two beam patterns and outputs radio waves toward the terminal device 102. At this time, for at least two beam patterns, the gain of the radio waves is determined for each output direction of the radio waves such that the difference value between the gain of the first beam and the gain of the second beam is a different value for each output direction of the radio waves from the relay device 103.

[0015] For example, as shown in FIG. 2(A), the beams are formed such that the gains of the radio waves in the output directions of the first beam and the second beam are different. When the gains as shown in FIG. 2(A) are used, based on the difference value between the first received power when the radio waves are output using the first beam and the second received power when the radio waves are output using the second beam, the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as seen from the relay device 103 can be specified.

[0016] For example, let the output power of the radio waves in the relay device 103 be P, the gain of the first beam be G1, the gain of the second beam be G2, the gain of the receiving antenna in the terminal device 102 be Gr, the propagation loss between the relay device 103 and the terminal device 102 be PL, and the noise be N. It is assumed that all of these are in logarithmic notation. In this case, the first received power P1 of the radio waves in the terminal device 102 when the first beam is used is P1 = P + G1 + Gr + PL + N and is expressed as, and the second received power P2 of the radio waves in the terminal device 102 when the second beam is used is P2 = P + G2 + Gr + PL + N It is expressed as follows. Here, the difference value between the first received power and the second received power is expressed by P1 - P2. Here, when the terminal device 102 is not moving significantly, the propagation loss is generally common between the case where the first beam is used and the case where the second beam is used. Also, for example, when the output power P is sufficiently large, the influence of noise can be relatively ignored. Therefore, it can be expressed as P1 - P2 ≒ G1 - G2. That is, the difference value between the first received power and the second received power in the terminal device 102 corresponds to the difference value between the gain of the first beam and the gain of the second beam. Therefore, when the first beam and the second beam having the characteristics as shown in Fig. 2(A) are used, the difference value between the first received power and the second received power is as shown in Fig. 2(B). When the characteristics as shown in Fig. 2(B) are obtained, since only one direction of the terminal device 102 as seen from the relay device 103 corresponds to one difference value, when the difference value between the first received power and the second received power is specified, it becomes possible to uniquely specify the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as seen from the relay device 103.

[0017] In this way, based on the first received power of the radio wave in the terminal device 102 when the first beam is used in the relay device 103 and the second received power of the radio wave in the terminal device 102 when the second beam is used in the relay device 103, the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as seen from the relay device 103 can be specified. In this way, when the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists is specified, the relay device 103 can execute beam direction control so that the peak of the beam is formed in the specified direction.

[0018] In one example, when a signal for notifying information indicating measurement results of the first received power and the second received power is transmitted from the terminal device 102, the relay device 103 transfers the signal as it is to the base station device 101. Thereafter, the relay device 103 can acquire information for direction control based on the first received power and the second received power measured at the terminal device 102 from the base station device 101. In one example, the information for this direction control may be information indicating the values of the first received power and the second received power themselves. In this case, the relay device 103 calculates and acquires the difference value between the first received power and the second received power. Note that, as the information for direction control, information indicating the difference value between the first received power and the second received power may be acquired. When the relay device 103 acquires the difference value between the first received power and the second received power by calculating it or by notification from the base station device 101, based on the difference value, as described above, the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as seen from the relay device 103 is estimated, and based on the estimation result, beam direction control is executed so that the beam is directed toward the direction of the terminal device. Also, the estimation of the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as seen from the relay device 103 may be performed by a control device prepared in the base station device 101 or a control device in a network connected to the base station device 101. In this case, the control device estimates the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as seen from the relay device 103 based on the difference value between the first received power and the second received power, and based on the estimation result, generates control instruction information for the beam to instruct the relay device 103 so that the beam formed by the relay device 103 is directed toward the direction of the terminal device 102. Then, the control device transmits the generated control instruction information to the relay device 103 via the base station device 101. When the relay device 103 receives this control instruction information, it performs control so that the beam is directed toward the direction of the terminal device 102 according to the instruction. In this case, the relay device 103 does not need to calculate the difference value between the first received power and the second received power or execute the estimation of the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists.

[0019] In addition, when the relay device 103 receives a notification of the first received power and the second received power transmitted from the terminal device 102, it may demodulate and decode the notification to obtain the first received power and the second received power. That is, the relay device 103 may directly obtain the first received power and the second received power notified from the terminal device 103 to the base station device 101 from the terminal device 102, rather than obtaining them via the base station device 101. In this case, based on the obtained information, the relay device 103 can calculate the difference value as described above, estimate the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists, and control the beam to be directed toward the terminal device 102 based on the result of the estimation. Further, when the base station device 101 communicates directly with the terminal device 102 (communicates without going through the relay device 103), at least two beams are formed as described above, and the base station device 101 receives a notification of the received power of the radio wave when the at least two beams are used from the terminal device 102, and can estimate the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as seen from the base station device 101 based on the difference value of the received power. Then, the base station device 101 can execute beam direction control so that the beam is directed in the estimated direction. Note that the base station device 101 and the relay device 103 can also use this method when forming a beam toward a device other than a terminal device such as another relay device. Also in this case, at least two beams can be used to transmit a predetermined radio wave, and control can be executed to direct the beam toward the receiving device based on the feedback of the received power from the receiving device that has received the radio wave.

[0020] (Device Configuration) Using FIG. 3, a hardware configuration example of the base station device 101, the terminal device 102, and the relay device 103 will be described. In one example, each device includes a processor 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, a storage device 304, and a communication circuit 305. The processor 301 is a computer including one or more processing circuits such as a general-purpose CPU (central processing unit) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), and reads and executes programs stored in the ROM 302 and the storage device 304 to execute the overall processing of the device and the above-described respective processes. The ROM 302 is a read-only memory that stores information such as programs and various parameters related to the processes executed by each device. The RAM 303 functions as a workspace when the processor 301 executes a program, and is a random access memory that stores temporary information. The storage device 304 is configured by, for example, a removable external storage device or the like. The communication circuit 305 includes, for example, circuits for LTE or 5G wireless communication. Note that in FIG. 3, one communication circuit 305 is illustrated, but each device may have a plurality of communication circuits. For example, the base station device 101 may include a wired communication circuit for communication with other nodes, and the relay device 103 may include a wired communication circuit for communication with a control device.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of the relay device 103. As its functional configuration, the relay device 103 includes, for example, a relay processing unit 401, a beam forming unit 402, a direction control unit 403, and a terminal position specifying unit 404. Note that these are merely examples, and some of the functions may be omitted, may be integrated with other functional units, or one functional unit may be further divided. These functional units can be realized, for example, when the processor 301 executes programs stored in the ROM 302 and the storage device 304. However, it is not limited thereto, and dedicated hardware may be prepared.

[0022] The relay processing unit 401 executes a process of relaying a radio signal (radio wave) transmitted from the base station device 101 or the terminal device 102 (without performing decoding of user data in one example). For example, when the relay device 103 is a wireless repeater, the relay processing unit 301 amplifies the received radio wave, frequency-converts it if necessary, and then outputs it. Also, when the relay device 103 is a reflector, the relay processing unit 301 reflects the incoming radio wave without performing any substantial processing on it. Further, when the relay device 103 is a regenerative relay device, the relay processing unit 301 demodulates and decodes the received signal, re-encodes and modulates the decoded data to regenerate a radio signal, and outputs the regenerated radio signal to the relay destination.

[0023] As described above, the beam forming unit 402 forms beams with at least two beam patterns. As described above, the beam forming unit 402 sets the first beam and the second beam such that the difference value between the gain of the first beam and the gain of the second beam is different for each output direction of the radio wave from the relay device 103.

[0024] The direction control unit 403 performs control to form a beam in the direction where the terminal device 102 exists, based on the difference value between the first received power of the radio wave at the terminal device 102 when forming the first beam and outputting the radio wave, and the second received power of the radio wave at the terminal device 102 when forming the second beam and outputting the radio wave. The terminal position specifying unit 404 specifies the position of the terminal based on, for example, the information acquired from the control device. For example, the terminal position specifying unit 404 acquires from the control device information indicating the measured values of the first received power and the second received power of the radio wave at the terminal device 102, and information on the difference value of these received powers (or information that can specify the value), and based on this information, can estimate the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as viewed from the relay device 103. Further, the terminal position specifying unit 404 may acquire, for example, information indicating the measurement result of the received power of the radio wave at the terminal device 102 by receiving (or eavesdropping) a report from the terminal device 102. Note that when the control device estimates the position of the terminal device 102 and provides a beam control instruction based on the estimation to the relay device 103, the terminal position specifying unit 404 may be omitted.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of the base station device 101. The base station device 101 includes, as its functional configuration, for example, a report receiving unit 501, an information notifying unit 502, and a terminal direction estimating unit 503. Note that these are merely examples, and some of the functions may be omitted, or they may be integrated with other functional units, or one functional unit may be further divided. These functional units can be realized, for example, when the processor 301 executes programs stored in the ROM 302 and the storage device 304. However, it is not limited to this, and dedicated hardware may be prepared. Further, FIG. 5 schematically shows only the functional units related to the present embodiment, and the base station device 101 naturally has the functions of a base station device in a normal cellular communication system.

[0026] The report receiving unit 501 receives, from the terminal device 102, a report of measurement results of the first received power and the second received power of the radio wave output by the relay device 103. Note that the base station device 101 continuously transmits a reference signal at a predetermined radio resource as a normal base station device, and the terminal device 102 can report, to the base station device 101, a reference signal received power (RSRP) obtained by measuring the reference signal relayed by, for example, the relay device 103. Here, although the received power of the radio wave is reported, the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, any index capable of specifying the received intensity of the radio wave, such as SNR (signal-to-noise ratio), may be used. The information notification unit 502 notifies the relay device 103 of information regarding the first received power and the second received power. The terminal direction estimation unit 503 estimates the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as viewed from the relay device 103 based on the difference value between the first received power and the second received power. Here, the information regarding the first received power and the second received power notified by the information notification unit 502 may be information indicating the first received power and the second received power or information on the difference value of these received powers. Further, the information regarding the first received power and the second received power may include, for example, control instruction information for designating the direction in which the relay device 103 should direct the beam based on the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as viewed from the relay device 103 estimated by the terminal direction estimation unit 503. Note that when the relay device 103 can receive a report from the terminal device 102 and autonomously control the beam, the base station device 101 may not have the function as shown in FIG. 5.

[0027] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of the terminal device 102. As its functional configuration, the terminal device 102 includes, for example, a received power measurement unit 601 and a received power notification unit 602. Note that these are merely examples, and a part of the functions may be omitted, may be integrated with other functional units, or one functional unit may be further divided. These functional units can be realized, for example, when the processor 301 executes programs stored in the ROM 302 and the storage device 304. However, it is not limited to this, and dedicated hardware may be prepared. Also, FIG. 6 only schematically shows only the functional units related to the present embodiment, and the terminal device 102 naturally has functions as a terminal device in a normal cellular communication system.

[0028] The received power measurement unit 601 measures the power of the radio wave output from the relay device 103. For example, the received power measurement unit 601 measures a reference signal transmitted from the base station device 101 and relayed by the relay device 103, and acquires the reference signal received power (RSRP). The received power notification unit 602 notifies the base station device 101 of information indicating the received power measured by the received power measurement unit 601 (for example, via the relay device 103). Note that the received power notification unit 602 may be configured to notify the relay device 103 of information indicating the received power.

[0029] (Flow of processing) Next, an example of the flow of processing executed in the wireless communication system will be outlined with reference to FIG. 7. In this processing, the relay device 103 sets the first beam and the second beam such that the difference value between the gain of the first beam and the gain of the second beam is different for each output direction of the radio wave from the relay device 103, as described above, for the radio signal (e.g., including a reference signal) arriving from the base station device 101, forms the set first beam and second beam, and outputs them. For example, the relay device 103 first relays the radio signal arriving from the base station device 101 by forming the first beam (S701, S702). The terminal device 102 measures the received power (first received power) of the relayed radio signal (S703) and notifies the base station device 101 of the measurement result via the relay device 103 (S704). Also, the relay device 103 relays the radio signal arriving from the base station device 101 by forming the second beam (S705, S706). The terminal device 102 measures the received power (second received power) of the relayed radio signal (S707) and notifies the base station device 101 of the measurement result via the relay device 103 (S708). Here, the case where the first beam and the second beam are formed in a time-division manner has been described, but these beams may be formed in parallel. In this case, for example, different radio signals (e.g., reference signals) may be transmitted for each beam, and the terminal device 102 may be made to measure these radio signals in parallel.

[0030] Then, the base station device 101 notifies the relay device 103 of the first received power and the second received power included in the information of the received measurement result or the information of the difference value of these received powers (S709). Then, the relay device 103 estimates the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as seen from its own device based on that information (S710), and executes direction control of the beam to be formed so that the beam faces that direction (S711).

[0031] In FIG. 7, an example in which the relay device 103 estimates the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the control device (base station device 101) may perform the estimation. In the case of FIG. 8, the control device estimates the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as seen from the relay device 103 from the information on the first received power and the second received power included in the received measurement results (S801), and determines the direction in which the beam should be directed in the relay device 103 (S802). Then, the control device transmits beam control instruction information for instructing the relay device 103 to direct the beam in the determined direction via the base station device 101 (S803). The relay device 103 executes direction control of the beam according to the beam control instruction information (S804).

[0032] Note that the relay device 103 may be configured to initially form a beam in a preset direction and output radio waves from the base station device 101 until the terminal device 102 enters a region where it cannot directly communicate with the base station device 101. Note that this beam may be, for example, the first beam or the second beam, or may be a beam with a relatively wide beam width and low gain so as to widely cover the dead zone. Then, in response to the terminal device 102 entering the area of the beam, the above-described processing may be configured to be executed.

[0033] As described above, according to the present embodiment, by setting the beam pattern so that the difference in the gains of at least two beams is uniquely determined for each radio wave output direction in the relay device 103, it is possible to accurately estimate the direction in which the terminal device 102 exists as seen from the relay device 103 based on the measured value of the received power of the radio wave at the terminal device 102. Then, the relay device 103 can set a beam according to the estimated direction in which the terminal device 102 exists, and can relay the communication between the base station device 101 and the terminal device 102 efficiently using the set beam. Further, by applying the above-described method to the base station device 101, the beam setting when the base station device 101 directly communicates with the terminal device 102 can be accurately performed.

[0034] With the above configuration, in a communication device, a beam can be set in an appropriate direction. Therefore, it becomes possible to contribute to Goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) led by the United Nations, which is to "build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation."

[0035] The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising: output means for forming a beam and outputting radio waves; setting means for setting the first beam and the second beam such that a difference between a reception power when the radio waves output using the first beam are received by a receiving device and a reception power when the radio waves output using the second beam are received by the receiving device is different for each output direction of the radio waves from the communication device; control means for performing direction control of a beam directed to the receiving device based on a difference value between a first reception power of the radio waves at the receiving device when the radio waves are output using the first beam and a second reception power of the radio waves at the receiving device when the radio waves are output using the second beam; A communication device, characterized by comprising the above.

2. The communication device is a base station device, the receiving device is a terminal device, the communication device further comprises acquisition means for acquiring the first reception power and the second reception power from the terminal device, The communication device according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The communication device is a relay device, the receiving device is a terminal device, the terminal device notifies the base station device of the first reception power and the second reception power via the relay device, the communication device further comprises acquisition means for acquiring information for the direction control based on the first reception power and the second reception power from the base station device, The communication device according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

4. The information for the direction control is information indicating the first reception power and the second reception power, or information indicating the difference value, the communication device further comprises estimation means for acquiring the difference value based on the information and estimating a direction in which the terminal device exists as seen from the relay device based on the difference value, the control means performs the direction control so as to direct the beam in the estimated direction of the terminal device, The communication device according to claim 3, characterized by the above.

5. A communication device functioning as a relay device for relaying communication between a base station device and a terminal device, comprising: output means for forming a beam and outputting radio waves; Setting means for setting the first beam and the second beam such that a difference between the received power when the radio wave output using the first beam is received by the terminal device and the received power when the radio wave output using the second beam is received by the terminal device is different for each output direction of the radio wave from the communication device; Relaying means for relaying to the base station device information transmitted from the terminal device, the information being the first received power of the radio wave in the terminal device when the radio wave is output using the first beam and the second received power of the radio wave in the terminal device when the radio wave is output using the second beam; Receiving means for receiving from the base station device a beam control instruction based on a difference value between the first received power and the second received power; Control means for performing direction control of the beam directed to the terminal device based on the control instruction; A communication device characterized by comprising:

6. The communication device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the relay device is a reflector having a metasurface.

7. The communication device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the relay device is a wireless repeater.

8. A control device for controlling a relay device that relays communication between a base station device and a terminal device staying in a predetermined area, The relay device forms and outputs a radio wave arriving from the base station device as a first beam and a second beam different from the first beam. Here, the first beam and the second beam are set such that a difference between the received power when the radio wave relayed using the first beam is received by the terminal device and the received power when the radio wave relayed using the second beam is received by the terminal device is different for each output direction of the radio wave from the relay device. The control device includes: Receiving means for receiving from the terminal device a notification of the first received power of the radio wave in the terminal device when the relay device relays the radio wave using the first beam and the second received power of the radio wave in the terminal device when the relay device relays the radio wave using the second beam; Calculating means for calculating a difference value between the first received power and the second received power; Estimation means for estimating the direction in which the terminal device exists as seen from the relay device based on the difference value; Determination means for determining the direction of the beam directed from the relay device to the terminal device based on the result of the estimation; Transmission means for transmitting to the relay device a beam control instruction based on the determination for controlling the relay device to direct the beam toward the terminal device; A control device characterized by comprising the above.

9. The control device is included in the base station device, and the control device according to claim 8 is characterized by this.

10. A control method executed by a communication device that forms a beam and outputs radio waves, Setting the first beam and the second beam such that the difference between the reception power when the radio wave output using the first beam is received by the receiving device and the reception power when the radio wave output using the second beam is received by the receiving device is different for each output direction of the radio wave from the communication device; Performing direction control of the beam directed toward the receiving device based on the difference value between the first reception power of the radio wave in the receiving device when the radio wave is output using the first beam and the second reception power of the radio wave in the receiving device when the radio wave is output using the second beam; A control method characterized by including the above.

11. A control method executed by a communication device that functions as a relay device for relaying communication between a base station device and a terminal device and forms a beam and outputs radio waves, Setting the first beam and the second beam such that the difference between the reception power when the radio wave output using the first beam is received by the terminal device and the reception power when the radio wave output using the second beam is received by the terminal device is different for each output direction of the radio wave from the communication device; Relaying to the base station device information transmitted from the terminal device, which is information on the first reception power of the radio wave in the terminal device when the radio wave is output using the first beam and the second reception power of the radio wave in the terminal device when the radio wave is output using the second beam; Receiving from the base station device a beam control instruction based on the difference value between the first reception power and the second reception power; Based on the control instruction, performing direction control of the beam directed to the terminal device; A control method characterized by including this.

12. A control method executed by a control device that controls a relay device that relays communication between a base station device and a terminal device staying in a predetermined area, The relay device forms and outputs the radio wave arriving from the base station device into a first beam and a second beam different from the first beam. Here, when the radio wave relayed using the first beam is received by the terminal device, the difference between the received power and the received power when the radio wave relayed using the second beam is received by the terminal device at the terminal device is different for each output direction of the radio wave from the relay device. The first beam and the second beam are set, The control method includes: Receiving, from the terminal device, a notification of a first received power of the radio wave at the terminal device when the relay device relays the radio wave using the first beam and a second received power of the radio wave at the terminal device when the relay device relays the radio wave using the second beam; Calculating a difference value between the first received power and the second received power; Based on the difference value, estimating the direction in which the terminal device exists as seen from the relay device; Based on the result of the estimation, determining the direction of the beam directed from the relay device to the terminal device; Transmitting a beam control instruction based on the determination for controlling the relay device to direct the beam toward the terminal device to the relay device; A control method characterized by including this.

13. A program for causing a computer to function as the communication device according to any one of Claims 1 to 7.

14. A program for causing a computer to function as the control device according to Claim 8 or 9.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

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    WO2022012596A1