Wireless relay device and communication method

Abstract

This radio relay device includes: a transmission unit that transmits, to a base station, a first signal by which the base station recognizes said device; a reception unit that receives, from the base station, a second signal pertaining to permission to operate as a radio relay device; and a control unit that, if the reception unit receives the second signal, activates a relay function for transmitting signals received from the base station to a terminal and transmitting signals received from the terminal to the base station.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a radio relay device and a communication method in a radio communication system. [Background technology]

[0002] The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) is currently studying a wireless communication system called 5G or NR (New Radio) (hereinafter, this wireless communication system will be referred to as "NR") in order to achieve a larger system capacity, a higher data transmission speed, and a lower latency in wireless sections. In 5G, various wireless technologies and network architectures are being studied to meet the requirements of achieving a throughput of 10 Gbps or more while keeping the latency in wireless sections to 1 ms or less (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] Next-generation communications are expected to use high-frequency bands. The characteristics of these bands require improvements in communication quality due to the reduction in the number of scatterers, the reduction in the shadowing effect, and the increase in distance attenuation. It is expected that beam control and environments that guarantee communication quality will be required.

[0004] For example, in high frequency bands, there is a problem that blind zones are likely to occur due to the strong directional nature of radio waves, etc. Therefore, methods have been attempted to improve communication quality in a multipath environment by using passive repeaters, active reflectors (RIS: Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), smart repeaters that receive, amplify, and re-emit signals, etc. (e.g., Non-Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] 3GPP TS 38.300 V16.6.0 (2021-06) [Non-patent document 2] NTT Docomo, "White Paper: 5G Advancements and 6G" (2021-02, 3.0 edition) Internet <URL: https: / / www.nttdocomo.co.jp / binary / pdf / corporate / technology / whitepaper_6g / DOCOMO_6G_White_PaperJP_20210203.pdf> Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Wireless relay devices such as reflectors or smart repeaters that relay radio waves by reflecting or transmitting them from a radio wave source such as a base station to a radio wave receiving destination such as a terminal may be installed by users other than the network operator. While users can freely install wireless relay devices to improve the network environment in response to their requests, the network side must control the relay function depending on the installation status of the wireless relay devices.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to control relay operations in a wireless communication system based on the installation status of a wireless relay device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] According to the disclosed technology, a transmitter that transmits a first signal to a base station for the base station to recognize the device, the first signal including information related to a configurable area and information indicating whether the device is operator-installed or user-installed; When the network determines that the device should perform a relay function based on the first signal, A wireless relay device is provided that has a receiving unit that receives a second signal from the base station related to permission to operate as a wireless relay device, and a control unit that, when the receiving unit receives the second signal, enables a relay function that transmits the signal received from the base station to a terminal and transmits the signal received from the terminal to the base station. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the disclosed technique, in a wireless communication system, it is possible to control relay operations based on the installation status of a wireless relay device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a base station 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a terminal 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a wireless relay device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation of the wireless relay device 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication in a high frequency band. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reflective wireless repeater 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transparent wireless relay device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation example (1) of the wireless relay device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation example (2) of the wireless relay device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a base station 10 or a terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle 2001 according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0012] In the operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention, existing technologies are used as appropriate. However, the existing technologies are, for example, but not limited to, the existing LTE. Furthermore, the term "LTE" used in this specification has a broad meaning including LTE-Advanced and systems subsequent to LTE-Advanced (e.g., NR) unless otherwise specified.

[0013] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention described below, terms used in existing LTE, such as SS (Synchronization signal), PSS (Primary SS), SSS (Secondary SS), PBCH (Physical broadcast channel), PRACH (Physical random access channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), and PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), are used. This is for convenience of description, and similar signals, functions, etc. may be referred to by other names. Furthermore, the above-mentioned terms in NR correspond to NR-SS, NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, NR-PRACH, etc. However, even signals used in NR are not necessarily designated as "NR-".

[0014] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention, the duplex method may be a TDD (Time Division Duplex) method, an FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) method, or other methods (for example, Flexible Duplex, etc.).

[0015] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention, when radio parameters and the like are "configured," it may mean that predetermined values ​​are pre-configured, or that radio parameters notified from the base station 10 or the terminal 20 are set.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a base station 10 and a terminal 20. There may be a plurality of base stations 10 and a plurality of terminals 20.

[0017] The base station 10 is a communication device that provides one or more cells and performs wireless communication with the terminal 20. The physical resources of a wireless signal are defined in the time domain and the frequency domain, and the time domain may be defined by the number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, and the frequency domain may be defined by the number of subcarriers or the number of resource blocks. Furthermore, a TTI (Transmission Time Interval) in the time domain may be a slot or a subslot, or a TTI may be a subframe.

[0018] Base station 10 is capable of performing carrier aggregation, which aggregates multiple cells (multiple CCs (component carriers)) to communicate with terminal 20. In carrier aggregation, one primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells) are used.

[0019] The base station 10 transmits a synchronization signal, system information, and the like to the terminal 20. The synchronization signal is, for example, NR-PSS and NR-SSS. The system information is transmitted, for example, on the NR-PBCH or PDSCH, and is also called broadcast information. As shown in FIG. 1 , the base station 10 transmits control signals or data to the terminal 20 on the DL (Downlink) and receives control signals or data from the terminal 20 on the UL (Uplink). Note that, here, what is transmitted on a control channel such as the PUCCH or PDCCH is called a control signal, and what is transmitted on a shared channel such as the PUSCH or PDSCH is called data, but these names are merely examples.

[0020] The terminal 20 is a communication device equipped with a wireless communication function, such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal, or an M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication module. As shown in Fig. 1, the terminal 20 receives control signals or data from the base station 10 via DL and transmits control signals or data to the base station 10 via UL, thereby utilizing various communication services provided by the wireless communication system. The terminal 20 may be referred to as a UE, and the base station 10 may be referred to as a gNB.

[0021] Terminal 20 can perform carrier aggregation, which aggregates multiple cells (multiple CCs) to communicate with base station 10. In carrier aggregation, one primary cell and one or more secondary cells are used. Also, a PUCCH-SCell having a PUCCH may be used.

[0022] In the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the base station 10 is, for example, a wireless base station operated in 5G or 6G, and forms a cell. The cell is a relatively large cell, and is called a macrocell.

[0023] Base station 10A to base station 10D are base stations operated in 5G or 6G. Base station 10A to base station 10D form cells CA to D, respectively, which are smaller in size than a macro cell. Cells A to D may also be called small cells, macro cells, or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, cells A to D may be formed so as to be included in the macro cell.

[0024] A macrocell may generally be interpreted as a communication area with a radius of several hundred meters to several tens of kilometers that is covered by one base station, while a small cell may be interpreted as a general term for a cell that has low transmission power and covers a smaller area than a macrocell.

[0025] The base station 10 and base stations 0A to 10D may be referred to as gNodeB (gNB) or BS (Base Station), etc. The terminal 20 may be referred to as UE or MS, etc. Furthermore, the specific configuration of the wireless communication system including the number and types of base stations and terminals is not limited to the example shown in FIG.

[0026] Furthermore, the wireless communication system is not necessarily limited to a wireless communication system conforming to 5G or 6G, and may be, for example, a next-generation 6G wireless communication system or a wireless communication system conforming to LTE.

[0027] As an example, the base station 10 and the base stations 10A to 10D perform wireless communication according to 5G or 6G with the terminal 20. The base station 10, the base stations 10A to 10D, and the terminal 20 may support Massive MIMO, which generates a more directional beam by controlling wireless signals transmitted from multiple antenna elements, Carrier Aggregation (CA), which uses aggregating multiple component carriers (CCs), Dual Connectivity (DC), which simultaneously communicates between the terminal 20 and each of two NG-RAN nodes, and Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), which integrates wireless backhaul between wireless communication nodes such as gNBs and wireless access to the terminal 20.

[0028] The wireless communication system may also support higher frequency bands than the following frequency ranges (FR) defined in 3GPP Release 15. For example, 410 MHz-7.125 GHz may be supported as FR1, and 24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz as FR2. Furthermore, the wireless communication system may support a frequency band exceeding 52.6 GHz up to 114.25 GHz. This frequency band may be called the millimeter wave band.

[0029] Here, a base station 10 that supports massive MIMO can transmit beams. Massive MIMO generally refers to MIMO communication using an antenna with 100 or more antenna elements, which enables faster wireless communication than conventional methods by multiplexing multiple streams. Advanced beamforming is also possible. The beam width can be dynamically changed depending on the frequency band used or the status of the terminal 20. Furthermore, the use of narrow beams can increase the received signal power due to the beamforming gain. Furthermore, effects such as reduced interference and more effective use of wireless resources are expected.

[0030] The wireless communication system may also include a wireless repeater 30. In the embodiment of the present invention, the wireless repeater 30 may be, for example, a reflector (RIS), a phase-controlled reflector, a passive repeater, an IRS (Intelligent Reflecting Surface), or the like. Specific examples of the reflector (RIS: Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) may include what is called a metamaterial reflector, a dynamic metasurface, a metasurface lens, or the like (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).

[0031] In an embodiment of the present invention, the wireless relay device 30 relays, for example, a wireless signal transmitted from the base station 10A. In the description of the embodiment of the present invention, "relay" may refer to at least one of "reflection," "transmission," "concentration (concentrating radio waves at approximately one point)," and "diffraction." The terminal 20 can receive the wireless signal relayed by the wireless relay device 30. Furthermore, the wireless relay device 30 may relay a wireless signal transmitted from the terminal 20, or may relay a wireless signal transmitted from the base station 10.

[0032] As an example, the wireless relay device 30 can change the phase of a wireless signal relayed to the terminal 20. From this perspective, the wireless relay device 30 may be called a variable-phase reflector. In the present embodiment, the wireless relay device 30 may have a function of changing the phase of a wireless signal to relay it, but is not limited to this. The wireless relay device 30 may also be called a repeater, a relay device, a reflect array, an IRS, a transmit array, or the like.

[0033] In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the wireless repeater device 30 such as a RIS may be called a battery-less device, a metamaterial functional device, an intelligent reflecting surface, a smart repeater, etc. As an example, the wireless repeater device 30 such as a RIS or a smart repeater may be defined as having the functions shown in 1) to 5) below.

[0034] 1) The terminal 10 may have a function for receiving signals transmitted from the base station 10. The signals may be DL signals such as SSB (SS / PBCH block), PDCCH, PDSCH, DM-RS (Demodulation Reference Signal), PT-RS (Phase Tracking Reference Signal), CSI-RS (Channel Status Information Reference Signal), and RIS-dedicated signals. The terminal 10 may have a function for receiving signals carrying information related to metamaterial functions. The terminal 10 may also have a transmission function for transmitting the signals to the terminal 20.

[0035] 2) It may have a function of transmitting signals to the base station 10. The signals may be UL signals such as PRACH, PUCCH, PUSCH, DM-RS, PT-RS, SRS, and RIS-dedicated signals. It may have a function of transmitting information related to metamaterial functions. It may also have a receiving function of receiving the signals from the terminal 20.

[0036] 3) It may have a function of frame synchronization with the base station 10. It may also have a function of frame synchronization with the terminal 20.

[0037] 4) The base station 10 may have a function of reflecting a signal transmitted from the base station 10 or the terminal 20. For example, the reflection function may be a function related to phase change, a function related to beam control (for example, a function related to control of TCI (Transmission Configuration Indication)-state, QCL (Quasi Co-Location), beam selection and application, and spatial filter / precoding weight selection and application). 5) It may have a function of changing the power of a signal transmitted from the base station 10 or the terminal 20. For example, the power change function may be power amplification.

[0038] Furthermore, "receive and transmit" or "relay" in a wireless relay device 30 such as a RIS or smart repeater may mean that up to function A below is performed, but transmission is performed without up to function B below. Function A: Apply a phase shifter. Function B: No compensation circuit (e.g., amplifier, filter) is used.

[0039] Another example is Function A: Apply phase shifters and compensation circuits. Function B: No frequency conversion is involved.

[0040] In addition, when the phase is changed in the wireless relay device 30 such as the RIS, the amplitude may be amplified. Furthermore, "relaying" in the wireless relay device 30 such as the RIS may mean transmitting a received signal as is without performing processing at the layer 2 or layer 3 level, transmitting a received signal at the physical layer level as is, or transmitting a received signal as is without interpreting the signal (in this case, the phase may be changed or the amplitude may be amplified).

[0041] (Device configuration) Next, a description will be given of examples of functional configurations of the base station 10, the terminal 20, and the wireless relay device 30 that execute processes and operations according to the embodiment of the present invention. The base station 10, the terminal 20, and the wireless relay device 30 each include functions for executing the embodiments described below. However, the base station 10, the terminal 20, and the wireless relay device 30 may each include only one of the functions of the embodiments.

[0042] <Base station 10> Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the base station 10. As shown in Fig. 2, the base station 10 has a transmitting unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a setting unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 2 is merely an example. The names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any as long as they can perform the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention. The transmitting unit 110 and the receiving unit 120 may be called a communication unit.

[0043] The transmitter 110 has a function of generating a signal to be transmitted to the terminal 20 and transmitting the signal wirelessly. The receiver 120 has a function of receiving various signals transmitted from the terminal 20 and acquiring, for example, information of a higher layer from the received signals. The transmitter 110 also has a function of transmitting NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL / UL control signals, DL data, etc. to the terminal 20. The transmitter 110 also transmits setting information, etc., which will be described in the embodiments.

[0044] The setting unit 130 stores preset setting information and various setting information to be transmitted to the terminal 20 in a storage device, and reads out the information from the storage device as needed. The control unit 140 performs, for example, resource allocation and overall control of the base station 10. Note that the functional unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 140 may be included in the transmitting unit 110, and the functional unit related to signal reception in the control unit 140 may be included in the receiving unit 120. Furthermore, the transmitting unit 110 and the receiving unit 120 may be called a transmitter and a receiver, respectively.

[0045] <Terminal 20> Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal 20. As shown in Fig. 3, the terminal 20 has a transmitting unit 210, a receiving unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 3 is merely an example. The names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any as long as they can execute the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention. The transmitting unit 210 and the receiving unit 220 may be called a communication unit.

[0046] The transmitter 210 generates a transmission signal from transmission data and transmits the transmission signal wirelessly. The receiver 220 receives various signals wirelessly and acquires higher layer signals from the received physical layer signals. The transmitter 210 also transmits HARQ-ACK, and the receiver 220 receives setting information and the like described in the embodiments.

[0047] The setting unit 230 stores various setting information received from the base station 10 by the receiving unit 220 in a storage device, and reads it out from the storage device as needed. The setting unit 230 also stores setting information that is set in advance. The control unit 240 performs overall control of the terminal 20. Note that the functional unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 240 may be included in the transmitting unit 210, and the functional unit related to signal reception in the control unit 240 may be included in the receiving unit 220. Note that the transmitting unit 210 and the receiving unit 220 may be called a transmitter and a receiver, respectively.

[0048] <Wireless relay device 30> Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the wireless relay device 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 4, the wireless relay device 30 has a transmitting unit 310, a receiving unit 320, a control unit 330, a variable unit 340, and an antenna unit 350. The functional divisions and names of the functional units may be any names as long as they can perform the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention. The transmitting unit 310 and the receiving unit 320 may be called a communication unit.

[0049] The antenna unit 350 includes at least one antenna connected to the variable unit 340. For example, the antenna unit 350 may be arranged as an array antenna. In the embodiment of the present invention, the antenna unit 350 may be particularly referred to as a relay antenna. The variable unit 340 and the antenna unit 350 may also be referred to as a relay unit.

[0050] The variable unit 340 is connected to the antenna unit 350 and can change the phase, load, amplitude, etc. For example, the variable unit 340 may be a variable phase shifter, a phase shifter, an amplifier, etc. For example, by changing the phase of the radio waves that reach the relay antenna from the radio wave generating source, it is possible to change the direction or beam of the radio waves.

[0051] The control unit 330 is a control means for controlling the variable unit 340. In the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 330 functions as a control unit that controls the relay state when relaying radio waves from the base station 10 or the terminal 20 without signal interpretation. Here, the control unit 330 may change the relay state based on control information received from the base station 10 or the terminal 20 via the communication unit, or may change the relay state based on the reception state of the radio waves from the base station 10 or the terminal 20. For example, the control unit 330 may select appropriate reception beams and transmission beams (directions) based on control information such as SSB, and control the variable unit 340. Similarly, the control unit 330 may select an appropriate combination of reception direction and transmission direction based on criteria such as the highest reception quality or the highest received power from the reception state, and control the variable unit 340.

[0052] Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 330 can control the variable unit 340 based on, for example, information about the propagation path between the terminal 20 or the base station 10A and the antenna unit 350 (including information estimated from the reception state and control information; the same applies below). For example, the control unit 330 can relay the radio wave received from the base station 10A to a specific direction such as the radio wave receiving destination (terminal 20 in this case) by changing the phase without using transmission power, using a known method such as an active repeater or RIS. Specifically, the control unit 330 uses the estimated propagation path information H PT and H RP Based on this, the phase of the radio signal is controlled to be relayed to the terminal 20 or the base station 10A. That is, by changing the phase of an array antenna or the like based on the same principle as beamforming, radio waves can be relayed in a specific direction. Note that the radio relay device 30 controls (changes) only the phase of the radio signal (radio wave) using the control unit 330, and may relay the radio signal without power supply, without amplifying the power of the relayed radio signal.

[0053] Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 330 may acquire information according to the reception state. Furthermore, the receiving unit 320 may acquire control information from the base station 10A or the terminal 20. For example, the receiving unit 320 may receive various signals such as SSB (including the various signals exemplified in the above-mentioned functions) transmitted from the base station 10A or the terminal 20 as control information.

[0054] Furthermore, the control unit 330 calculates propagation path information (H PT and H RP ) may be estimated.

[0055] The propagation path information (propagation channel information) regarding each propagation path is specifically information such as amplitude or phase, and in the embodiment of the present invention, is information estimated regarding the propagation path of the radio wave arriving at the antenna unit 350. As an example, the control unit 330 may estimate the propagation path information of the antenna unit 350 based on a change in the received power when the phase of the variable unit 340 of the array-shaped antenna unit 350 is switched to orthogonal, using a principle similar to that of I / Q (In-phase / Quadrature) detection.

[0056] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the wireless relay device 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 5, as an example, the wireless relay device 30 is located between the base station 10A (or another base station 10, etc.) and the terminal 20, and relays (reflects, transmits, aggregates, diffracts, etc.) wireless signals transmitted and received between the base station 10A and the terminal 20.

[0057] As a specific example, when the wireless quality is good, the base station 10A and the terminal 20 transmit and receive wireless signals directly without going through the wireless relay device 30. On the other hand, when the wireless quality deteriorates, for example, when there is an obstruction between the base station 10A and the terminal 20, the wireless relay device 30 relays the wireless signals transmitted and received between the base station 10A and the terminal 20.

[0058] Specifically, the wireless relay device 30 calculates propagation path information H between the radio wave generating source such as the base station 10A or the terminal 20 and the relay antenna based on the change in the received power when the variable unit 340 such as a variable phase shifter is controlled. PT , H RT The propagation path information H is estimated, and the variable section 340 such as a variable phase shifter is controlled based on the estimated propagation path information to relay the radio signal to the radio wave receiving destination such as the terminal 20. PT , H RT The wireless relay device 30 may also relay a wireless signal to a radio wave receiving destination such as the base station 10A or the terminal 20 by controlling a variable unit 340 such as a variable phase shifter based on control information received from the base station 10A or the terminal 20.

[0059] Here, a propagation path or a propagation channel refers to an individual communication path for wireless communication, and in this case refers to a communication path between each transmitting and receiving antenna (such as a base station antenna and a terminal antenna in the figure).

[0060] As an example, the wireless relay device 30 includes an antenna unit 350 having a small multi-element antenna compatible with massive MIMO, and a variable unit 340 having a variable phase changer or phase shifter that changes the phase of a wireless signal, essentially, radio waves, to a specific phase, and uses the variable unit 340 to control the phase of the radio waves relayed to the terminal 20 or base station 10A.

[0061] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication in a high-frequency band. As shown in FIG. 6, when a high-frequency band of several GHz to several tens of GHz or more is used, a blind zone is likely to occur due to the strong, directional nature of radio waves. When the base station 10A and the terminal 20 are line of sight, even when the high-frequency band is used, there is no effect on wireless communication between the base station 10A and the terminal 20. On the other hand, when the line of sight between the base station 10A and the terminal 20 is blocked by an obstruction, such as a building or a tree, the wireless quality is significantly degraded. In other words, when the terminal 20 moves into a blind zone blocked by an obstruction, communication may be interrupted.

[0062] Considering the existence of applications (such as remote control) that take advantage of high speed, large capacity, and low latency characteristics, it is important to eliminate blind spots, ensure communication within the wireless communication system, and ensure connections between base stations and terminals.

[0063] Therefore, technologies have been developed that can relay radio waves between the base station 10A and the terminal 20, such as radio wave propagation control devices such as RIS or smart repeaters. In this way, by controlling the propagation characteristics of the base station signal, it is possible to improve communication characteristics, expand coverage without the need for a signal source, and reduce installation and operation costs by adding base stations.

[0064] Conventional radio wave propagation control devices are classified into passive and active types. Passive types have the advantage of not requiring control information, but are unable to keep up with changes in the mobile object or environment. On the other hand, active types have the disadvantage of requiring control information and increasing overhead, but can variably control the propagation characteristics of radio waves by changing the load (phase) state of the control antenna, and can keep up with changes in the mobile object and environment.

[0065] There are two types of active radio wave propagation control devices and control methods: a feedback (FB) model and a propagation path information model. In the FB model, a variable radio wave propagation control device randomly changes the load (phase) state and has terminal 20 or the like provide feedback on the communication state, thereby searching for optimal conditions. On the other hand, in the propagation path information model, the load state is determined based on propagation path information between the base station and the radio wave propagation control device, enabling optimal radio wave propagation control. Either type can be applied to the embodiments of the present invention.

[0066] In addition, there are various types of relay methods, such as reflection, transmission, diffraction, and aggregation. In this embodiment, as an example, reflective and transmission type configurations will be described below (for diffraction and aggregation types, see Non-Patent Document 2, etc.).

[0067] Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reflective radio relay device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of the system configuration of the reflective radio relay device 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a transmitting antenna Tx of a base station 10A or the like, a relay antenna Sx of a transparent radio relay device 30, and a receiving antenna Rx of a terminal 20 or the like. As shown in Fig. 7, the embodiment of the present invention uses MIMO as an example, in which there are multiple propagation paths between Tx and Sx and multiple propagation paths between Sx and Rx, and the radio relay device 30 relays radio waves by controlling a variable unit 340 having a variable phase shifter or the like of the relay antenna Sx.

[0068] In the case of a reflective type, the arrayed relay antennas are arranged facing the same direction, as shown in Figure 7. This allows the propagation path of the relay antenna to be estimated based on the reception state observed when the phase conditions of the relay antenna are changed multiple times.

[0069] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transmission-type wireless relay device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of the system configuration of the transmission-type wireless relay device 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 illustrates the relationship between a transmitting antenna Tx of a base station 10A or the like, a relay antenna Sx of the transmission-type wireless relay device 30, and a receiving antenna Rx of a terminal 20 or the like. As shown in FIG. 8, the embodiment of the present invention uses MIMO as an example, and there are multiple propagation paths between Tx and Sx and multiple propagation paths between Sx and Rx. As shown in the figure, the wireless relay device 30 relays radio waves arriving from one side to the other side via a variable unit 340 such as a variable phase shifter of the relay antenna Sx. In this way, in the case of the transmission-type wireless relay device, the reference antenna on the left side of the figure and the relay antenna on the right side of the figure are arranged as a pair, facing in opposite directions, so that radio waves arriving from one side can be relayed to the other side. Whether the transmission-type wireless relay device is a transmission-type or a reflection-type wireless relay device, a power detector or the like may be configured to detect the power received at the relay antenna to measure the reception status. Furthermore, the propagation path of the relay antenna can be estimated based on the received signal observed when the phase condition of the relay antenna is changed multiple times.

[0070] Future networks, such as 6G, will require even higher quality than 5G. For example, they will require ultra-high speeds on the order of terabits per second and high reliability and low latency on the level of optical communications. To achieve this quality, the use of extremely high frequencies, such as terahertz waves, is anticipated. While the use of extremely high frequencies such as terahertz waves offers the expected advantages of high speeds due to the use of ultra-wideband and low latency due to short symbol lengths, it also has the expected disadvantages of narrow coverage due to high attenuation rates and reduced reliability due to high directivity. It is therefore necessary to consider how to ensure redundancy at each location where 6G communications are required, i.e., how to increase the number of communication transmission points.

[0071] As described above, the RIS reflects or transmits a beam transmitted from the base station 10 or terminal 20 in a predetermined direction and delivers it to the terminal 20 or base station 10. A passive RIS is a device that does not change control of the reflection angle or beam width, etc., depending on the position of the mobile station, and does not require control information, but precise beam control is difficult. An active RIS is a device that changes control of the reflection angle and beam width, etc., depending on the position of the mobile station, and allows precise beam control, but requires control information, which increases overhead. The RIS can increase the number of communication transmission points.

[0072] The RIS may be any of the names shown below in 1)-4), but is not limited to these. 1) Battery-less device 2) Metamaterial functional devices 3) Intelligent reflecting surface 4) Smart repeater

[0073] The RIS may be any device having a predetermined function, and the predetermined function may be, for example, at least one of the following functions 1) and 2).

[0074] 1) UE function A function for receiving signals transmitted from the base station 10 (e.g., DL signals, SSB, PDCCH, PDSCH, DM-RS, PT-RS, CSI-RS, RIS-dedicated signals). The receiving function may receive information related to the metamaterial function described below in 2). A function for transmitting signals to the base station 10 (e.g., UL signals, PRACH, PUCCH, PUSCH, DM-RS, PT-RS, SRS, RIS-dedicated signals). The transmitting function may transmit information related to the metamaterial function described below in 2). A function for frame synchronization with the base station 10.

[0075] 2) Metamaterial function A reflection function (e.g., phase change) of a signal transmitted from the base station 10 or the terminal 20. The signal may be reflected by changing the phase for each of the multiple reflecting elements possessed by the RIS, or a common phase change may be performed across multiple reflecting elements. A function related to beam control (e.g., TCI-state, functions related to QCL control, selective application of beam, selective application of spatial filter / precoding weight). A power change function (e.g., power amplification) of a signal transmitted from the base station 10 or the terminal 20. A different power change may be performed for each of the reflecting elements possessed by the RIS, or a common power change may be performed across multiple reflecting elements.

[0076] "Receiving and transmitting" in RIS may mean reflecting radio waves / signals. The terms "base station" and "terminal" are used hereafter, but are not limited to these and may be replaced with communication devices. RIS may also be replaced with smart repeater, relay, etc.

[0077] For example, the RIS may operate under the assumptions set forth below in 1)-6). 1) The network operator configures the RIS. 2) RIS is fixed and does not move 3) RIS relays signals from only one base station 4) Capable of receiving and transmitting control signals 5) It operates with half-duplex signaling. 6) Single RIS environment

[0078] Here, wireless relay devices such as reflectors or smart repeaters that relay radio waves by reflecting or transmitting them from a radio wave source such as a base station to a radio wave receiving destination such as a terminal may be installed by users other than the network operator. Users can freely install wireless relay devices, enabling improvements to the network environment according to their needs. For example, users may install wireless relay devices on the walls or windows of buildings to make it easier to use high-frequency bands indoors. Meanwhile, the network side needs to control the relay function according to the installation status of the wireless relay devices.

[0079] Therefore, the network may discover the RIS, permit the discovered RIS to perform relay operation, and control ON / OFF of the relay operation.

[0080] 9 is a diagram showing an operation example (1) of the wireless relay device according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the RIS 30 may transmit and receive a signal for the base station 10 to recognize the device itself, and may report to the base station 10.

[0081] The RIS 30 may discover a base station with which it can synchronize / connect, or the RIS 30 may be discovered by a base station with which it can synchronize / connect. Regarding synchronization / connection, the RIS 30 may perform operations related to synchronization / connection with the base station 10. For example, the RIS 30 may perform synchronization based on an SSB transmitted from the base station 10 and transmit a connection request to the base station 10.

[0082] Regarding the initial connection between the base station 10 and the terminal 20, signals relating to the initial connection transmitted from the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may be received and transmitted (beam control in the RIS 30). For example, the RIS 30 may direct a beam based on each SSB index. Furthermore, the RIS 30 may perform the following operations when performing beam control (beam control based on control information from the base station 10) in communication after the connection between the base station and the terminal is established. Note that beam control may be performed specific to the UE.

[0083] The RIS 30 may receive / decode control information from the base station 10. For example, in order to perform beam control, the RIS 30 may receive / decode CSI information and location information of the terminal 20 and / or the base station 10 from the base station 10. The RIS 30 may perform beam control based on the control information received / decoded from the base station 10. For example, beam switching may be performed when multiple terminals 20 are present, the RIS 30 may report information regarding communication to the base station 10, or the RIS 30 may report communication quality on the RIS 30 side to the base station 10.

[0084] Furthermore, the RIS 30 may report to the base station 10 at least one of the pieces of information shown in 1)-9) below.

[0085] 1) RIS function capabilities 2) Information related to the location of the RIS (e.g., GNSS (Global navigation satellite system) information, latitude and longitude, altitude, area formation angle, direction, etc.) 3) Information about the area where you want to build or where you can build 4) The PLMN you want to connect to 5) Relayable frequency resources and / or time resources (including TDD settings, XDD (Cross division duplex) settings, FD (Full-duplex) settings, etc.) 6) Radio characteristics of the beam 7) Processing time for beam switching 8) Information indicating whether the RIS is operator-installed or user-installed 9) Channel status (target frequency, channel usage status, interference power value / level, other detectable base stations 10, information related to propagation characteristic measurements, etc.)

[0086] The above 9) channel condition may be the channel condition between the RIS 30 and the base station 10, or may be the channel condition between the RIS 30 and the terminal 20.

[0087] By reporting from the RIS 30 to the base station 10 as described above, the network can determine whether or not to have the RIS 30 perform the relay function, thereby achieving efficient area formation and avoiding increased interference.

[0088] 10 is a diagram showing an operation example (2) of the wireless relay device according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the RIS 30 may receive a signal from the base station 10 regarding permission to operate as the RIS.

[0089] The RIS 30 may control the enabling or disabling of its own device's reflection or radiation function based on higher layer configuration and / or physical layer instructions from other network nodes. The higher layer configuration may be RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling or MAC (Medium Access Control)-CE (Control Element). The physical layer instruction may be DCI (Downlink Control Information) or UCI (Uplink Control Information). The enabling or disabling may mean turning a function on or off, or activating or deactivating a function. Note that the enabling, turning on, or activating of the RIS 30 may indicate that the base station 10 has authorized the RIS 30 to perform relaying.

[0090] For example, the information element (IE) of the RRC signaling may be as follows: RepeaterConfig ::= SEQUENCE { repeaterState ENUMERATED {activated, deactivated} OPTIONAL, -- Need M }

[0091] For example, the RIS 30 may control the activation or deactivation based on a setting and / or an instruction from the base station 10. The setting and / or instruction may be the above-mentioned upper layer setting or a physical layer instruction.

[0092] The base station 10 transmits settings and / or instructions related to the reflection / radiation function to the RIS 30. Subsequently, the RIS 30 enables or disables the reflection / radiation function based on the settings and / or instructions. Hereinafter, "reflection / radiation" may mean reflection or radiation, or may mean reflection and radiation.

[0093] For example, the RIS 30 may control the activation or deactivation based on a setting and / or an instruction from the terminal 20. The setting and / or the instruction may be the above-mentioned upper layer setting or a physical layer instruction.

[0094] The terminal 20 transmits settings and / or instructions related to the reflection / emission function to the RIS 30. Subsequently, the RIS 30 enables or disables the reflection / emission function based on the settings and / or instructions.

[0095] For example, the RIS 30 may control the activation or deactivation based on settings and / or instructions from the base station 10 and the terminal 20. The settings and / or instructions may be the above-mentioned higher layer settings or physical layer instructions. do.

[0096] The base station 10 transmits settings and / or instructions related to the reflection / radiation function to the RIS 30. The terminal 20 transmits settings and / or instructions related to the reflection / radiation function to the RIS 30. The RIS 30 enables or disables the reflection / radiation function based on the settings and / or instructions.

[0097] Here, the RIS 30 may apply the setting and / or instruction only when it receives the same setting and / or instruction from the base station 10 and the terminal 20. For example, the RIS 30 may enable the reflection / emission function when it receives an enabling setting and / or instruction from both the base station 10 and the terminal 20. For example, the RIS 30 may disable the reflection / emission function when it receives a disabling setting and / or instruction from both the base station 10 and the terminal 20.

[0098] The RIS 30 may also autonomously determine whether to enable or disable the reflection / radiation function. For example, the RIS 30 may execute a predetermined autonomous operation when it does not receive settings and / or instructions related to the reflection / radiation function from the base station 10 and the terminal 20.

[0099] When RIS30 controls the enabling or disabling of the reflection / emission function based on upper layer settings and / or instructions from base station 10 or terminal 20, the enabled or disabled state may be directly set semi-statically, or the period during which the enabled or disabled state is set semi-statically.

[0100] When RIS30 is dynamically instructed to enable or disable the reflection / radiation function by a physical layer control signal (e.g., PDCCH or PUCCH) from base station 10 or terminal 20, the time from receiving the physical layer control signal to applying the enablement or disablement may be specified in a specification, may be instructed by the physical layer control signal, or a minimum time may be specified, and RIS30 may not assume that a time shorter than the minimum time will be instructed.

[0101] When the RIS 30 is dynamically instructed to enable or disable the reflection / radiation function by a physical layer control signal (e.g., PDCCH or PUCCH) from the base station 10 or the terminal 20, when the RIS 30 reflects / radiates a PDCCH including a DL grant, the RIS 30 may disable the reflection / radiation function after reflecting / radiating the PDSCH and PUCCH scheduled by the DL grant.

[0102] When the RIS 30 is dynamically instructed to enable or disable the reflection / radiation function by a physical layer control signal (e.g., PDCCH or PUCCH) from the base station 10 or the terminal 20, when the RIS 30 reflects / radiates a PDCCH including an UL grant, the RIS 30 may disable the reflection / radiation function after reflecting / radiating a PUSCH scheduled by the UL grant.

[0103] The RIS 30 may enable or disable the reflection / emission function when detecting a configured UL signal triggered by the terminal 20. That is, the UL signal from the terminal 20 may be used as a wake-up signal (WUS).

[0104] When a signal instructing the terminal 20 to enable or disable the reflection / radiation function is set as valid by the base station 10 and / or the terminal 20, the RIS 30 may enable or disable the reflection / radiation function upon detecting the signal. That is, the UL signal and the WUS may be transmitted separately from the terminal 20. The terminal 20 may always transmit the signal before transmitting an UL signal, or may transmit the signal only when the RIS 30 has disabled the reflection / radiation function.

[0105] The RIS 30 determines whether the reception quality of the predetermined signal is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If the reception quality of the predetermined signal is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the RIS 30 may enable the reflection / emission function.

[0106] The RIS 30 determines whether the reception quality of the predetermined signal is equal to or lower than a threshold value. If the reception quality of the predetermined signal is equal to or higher than a threshold value, the RIS 30 may disable the reflection / emission function.

[0107] The predetermined signal may be an SSB from the base station 10, a TRS from the base station 10, or an SRS from the terminal 20. A signal for measuring reception quality may be specified or set as the predetermined signal. The reception quality may be RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), or SINR (Signal to interference plus noise ratio). The threshold may be specified in the specifications or may be set by another node. In addition, the threshold may have hysteresis, and may be enabled when the specified or set reception quality measurement opportunity exceeds the threshold N times in a row, and disabled when the specified or set reception quality measurement opportunity falls below the threshold N times in a row.

[0108] The RIS 30 may control the enabling or disabling of the reflection / emission function for both the DL and the UL, or may control the enabling or disabling of the reflection / emission function for the DL and the UL independently.

[0109] Whether DL and UL are controlled in common or independently may be specified in the specifications, or may be set or instructed by another node. In the case of common control, for example, they may be controlled in common by upper layer setting from the base station 10, they may be controlled in common by a physical layer control signal from the base station 10, they may be controlled in common by upper layer setting from the terminal 20, or they may be controlled in common by a physical layer control signal from the terminal 20.

[0110] When they are controlled independently, for example, DL may be controlled by higher layer settings from the base station 10, and UL may be controlled by physical layer control signals from the terminal 20. Alternatively, DL may be controlled by physical layer control signals from the base station 10, and UL may be controlled by physical layer control signals from the terminal 20. Alternatively, DL may be controlled by physical layer control signals from the base station 10, and UL may be controlled by higher layer settings from the terminal 20. Alternatively, DL may be controlled by higher layer settings from the base station 10, and UL may be controlled by higher layer settings from the terminal 20.

[0111] When the reflection / radiation function is enabled, the RIS 30 may reflect / radiate all signals from the base station 10 and the terminal 20. The period during which the reflection / radiation function is enabled may be the period during which an RRC connection state with the base station 10 is established, or the period during which an RRC connection state with the terminal 20 is established. For example, the RIS 30 may maintain the function enabled when it receives a WUS in a Monitoring Occasion (MO) of the PDCCH, as in CDRX (Connected mode DRX) with the base station 10, and may disable the function until the next MO if it does not receive a WUS.

[0112] The RIS 30 may not reflect / radiate signals from the base station 10 and the terminal 20 while the reflection / radiation function is disabled. The period during which the reflection / radiation function is disabled may be a period during which the RRC state with the base station 10 is an RRC idle or RRC inactive state, or a period during which the RRC state with the terminal 20 is an RRC idle or RRC inactive state. For example, if the main circuit receives a Paging Early Indication (PEI) that is a WUS before a Paging Occasion (PO), the RIS 30 may maintain the function enabled, and if no PEI is received, the RIS 30 may disable the reflection / radiation function of the main circuit until the next PEI. For example, the reflection / radiation function of the main circuit may be disabled, and if a WUS is received by a passive circuit dedicated to WUS reception, the reflection / radiation function of the main circuit may be enabled.

[0113] The RIS 30 may control the enabling or disabling of reflection / radiation in conjunction with the RRC connection state between the terminal 20 connected to the RIS 30 itself or the base station 10 of the terminal 20 that reflects / radiates a signal.

[0114] In response to an instruction from a terminal 20 that is connected to the RIS 30 or that reflects / radiates a signal, the RIS 30 may change the enable / disable state of reflection / radiation. For example, when the terminal 20 detects a transmittable UL signal in RRC idle or inactive mode, the RIS 30 may change the enable / disable state of reflection / radiation, for example, enable it. In other words, the UL signal from the terminal 20 may be used as a WUS.

[0115] The UL signal may be a PRACH in a four-step random access procedure, an MsgA in a two-step random access procedure, a CG-PUSCH in SDT (Small Data Transmission), or the like. Furthermore, if the UL signal is set as valid by the base station 10 and / or the terminal 20, the RIS 30 may enable or disable the reflection / radiation function upon detecting the signal. That is, the UL signal and the WUS from the terminal 20 may be transmitted separately. The terminal 20 may always transmit the signal before performing UL transmission, or may transmit the signal only when the RIS 30 has disabled the reflection / radiation function.

[0116] Furthermore, the RIS 30 may be permitted to operate as a RIS when it receives higher layer parameters related to operation as a RIS. Furthermore, the RIS 30 may assume that it is permitted to operate as a RIS when it establishes connection or communication with the base station 10. Furthermore, it may assume that it is permitted to operate as a RIS when RRC signaling, MAC-CE, or DCI notification related to permission of relay operation is defined and it receives the signaling.

[0117] The signal related to the relay operation permission may include the information shown in 1)-4) below. 1) Applicable beam setting parameters 2) Parameters related to power control 3) Parameters relating to time, frequency, space and / or code resources on which relaying operations are permitted. 4) Parameters related to the frequencies for which repeater operation is permitted (e.g., band, band combination, carrier component, frequency range, etc.)

[0118] As described above, by base station 10 permitting RIS30 to perform relaying operations, only RIS30 that the network determines should perform the relay function can be allowed to perform relaying operations, thereby achieving efficient area formation and avoiding increased interference.

[0119] The RIS 30 may request A) permission to operate as a RIS or B) an instruction to enable the RIS function from the base station 10. A) Permission to operate as a RIS may be requested before the base station 10 gives permission to the RIS 30 to perform relay operations. B) An instruction to enable the RIS function may be requested after the base station 10 gives permission to the RIS 30 to perform relay operations.

[0120] The RIS 30 may explicitly or implicitly include a signal requesting the above A) or B) in transmissions made in operations related to connection / communication establishment with the base station 10.

[0121] Furthermore, the RIS 30 may explicitly or implicitly include a signal requesting the above A) or B) in the signal for recognizing the RIS 30 to the base station 10.

[0122] RRC signaling, MAC-CE, and DCI notification related to the request A) or B) above may be defined, and the RIS 30 may transmit the signaling to the base station 10 based on a predetermined condition.

[0123] For example, the RIS 30 may autonomously transmit the signaling to the base station 10. For example, the RIS 30 may transmit the signaling to the base station 10 when, as a predetermined condition, it is in a state where it can perform the function of the RIS. For example, the RIS 30 may determine whether to transmit the signaling based on a signal (e.g., SSB-RSRP) received from the base station 10. For example, the RIS 30 may transmit the signaling to the base station 10 when, as a predetermined condition, the SSB-RSRP is equal to or greater than a threshold. For example, the RIS 30 may determine whether to transmit the signaling based on the surrounding environment measured by the RIS (e.g., channel conditions, number of UEs, request from a UE, etc.). For example, the RIS 30 may transmit the signaling to the base station 10 when, as a predetermined condition, it receives a request from a UE.

[0124] As described above, by sending a request from RIS 30 to base station 10 to perform a relay operation, the network can be requested to use the RIS installed based on the user's request, thereby enabling on-demand area construction.

[0125] According to the above-described embodiment, even when the RIS 30 is installed at a user's location, the RIS 30 can appropriately relay signals and improve communication quality by reporting necessary information to the base station 10 and determining whether the network should execute relay operations.

[0126] That is, in a wireless communication system, the relay operation can be controlled based on the installation status of the wireless relay device.

[0127] (Hardware configuration) The block diagrams (FIGS. 2, 3, and 4) used in the description of the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are connected directly or indirectly (for example, by wire, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may be realized by combining the single device or the multiple devices with software.

[0128] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, election, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocation, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on how these functions are implemented.

[0129] For example, the base station 10, the terminal 20, the wireless relay device 30, etc. according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the base station 10, the terminal 20, and the wireless relay device 30 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The base station 10, the terminal 20, and the wireless relay device 30 described above may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0130] In the following description, the term "apparatus" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configurations of the base station 10, the terminal 20, and the wireless relay device 30 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices.

[0131] Each function in the base station 10, terminal 20 and wireless relay device 30 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as processor 1001, memory device 1002, etc., so that the processor 1001 performs calculations, controls communication by the communication device 1004, and controls at least one of reading and writing data in memory device 1002 and auxiliary memory device 1003.

[0132] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, the above-mentioned control unit 140, control unit 240, etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0133] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the auxiliary storage device 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the storage device 1002, and executes various processes in accordance with the programs. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-described embodiments. For example, the control unit 140 of the base station 10 shown in FIG. 2 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and executed by the processor 1001. Furthermore, for example, the control unit 240 of the terminal 20 shown in FIG. 3 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and executed by the processor 1001. While the above-described various processes have been described as being executed by one processor 1001, they may also be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0134] The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured, for example, by at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc. The storage device 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory, etc. The storage device 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0135] The secondary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray disc), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy disk, a magnetic strip, etc. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other suitable medium including at least one of the storage device 1002 and the secondary storage device 1003.

[0136] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, a transmission / reception antenna, an amplifier unit, a transmission / reception unit, a transmission path interface, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmission / reception unit may be implemented as a transmission unit and a reception unit that are physically or logically separated.

[0137] The input device 1005 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (for example, a touch panel).

[0138] Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0139] Furthermore, the base station 10, the terminal 20, and the wireless relay device 30 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0140] Furthermore, the wireless relay device 30 may include, as necessary, a variable phase shifter, a phase shifter, an amplifier, an antenna, an array antenna, and the like as hardware that constitutes the variable section 340 and the antenna section 350.

[0141] Fig. 12 shows an example configuration of a vehicle 2001. As shown in Fig. 12, the vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021 to 2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013. Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to a communication device mounted on the vehicle 2001, and may be applied to the communication module 2013, for example.

[0142] The drive unit 2002 is configured, for example, by an engine, a motor, or a hybrid of an engine and a motor. The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle), and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user.

[0143] The electronic control unit 2010 is composed of a microprocessor 2031, a memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and a communication port (IO port) 2033. Signals are input to the electronic control unit 2010 from various sensors 2021 to 2029 provided in the vehicle 2001. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0144] The signals from the various sensors 2021 to 2029 include a current signal from a current sensor 2021 that senses the current of the motor, a rotation speed signal of the front and rear wheels obtained by a rotation speed sensor 2022, an air pressure signal of the front and rear wheels obtained by an air pressure sensor 2023, a vehicle speed signal obtained by a vehicle speed sensor 2024, an acceleration signal obtained by an acceleration sensor 2025, an accelerator pedal depression amount signal obtained by an accelerator pedal sensor 2029, a brake pedal depression amount signal obtained by a brake pedal sensor 2026, a shift lever operation signal obtained by a shift lever sensor 2027, and a detection signal for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. obtained by an object detection sensor 2028.

[0145] The information service unit 2012 is composed of various devices, such as a car navigation system, an audio system, speakers, a television, and a radio, for providing various types of information such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, and one or more ECUs for controlling these devices. The information service unit 2012 uses information obtained from external devices via the communication module 2013, etc., to provide various types of multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001.

[0146] The driving assistance system unit 2030 is composed of various devices that provide functions for preventing accidents and reducing the driver's driving burden, such as a millimeter-wave radar, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a camera, a positioning locator (e.g., GNSS, etc.), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) map, autonomous vehicle (AV) map, etc.), a gyro system (e.g., an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), an INS (Inertial Navigation System), etc.), an AI (Artificial Intelligence) chip, and an AI processor, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. The driving assistance system unit 2030 also transmits and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize the driving assistance function or the autonomous driving function.

[0147] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 2001 via the communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 transmits and receives data via the communication port 2033 to and from the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021 to 29, which are provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0148] The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and can communicate with an external device. For example, it transmits and receives various information to and from the external device via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 2010. The external device may be, for example, a base station, a mobile station, or the like.

[0149] The communication module 2013 transmits, via wireless communication to an external device, a current signal from the current sensor that is input to the electronic control unit 2010. The communication module 2013 also transmits, via wireless communication to an external device, the rotation speed signals of the front and rear wheels acquired by a rotation speed sensor 2022, the air pressure signals of the front and rear wheels acquired by an air pressure sensor 2023, the vehicle speed signal acquired by a vehicle speed sensor 2024, the acceleration signal acquired by an acceleration sensor 2025, the accelerator pedal depression amount signal acquired by an accelerator pedal sensor 2029, the brake pedal depression amount signal acquired by a brake pedal sensor 2026, the shift lever operation signal acquired by a shift lever sensor 2027, and the detection signals for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. acquired by an object detection sensor 2028, which are input to the electronic control unit 2010.

[0150] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, traffic signal information, inter-vehicle information, etc.) transmitted from external devices and displays it on an information service unit 2012 provided in the vehicle 2001. The communication module 2013 also stores the various information received from the external devices in a memory 2032 that can be used by the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in the memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, sensors 2021 to 2029, etc. provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0151] (Summary of the embodiment) As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a wireless relay device is provided that has a transmitter that transmits a first signal to a base station so that the base station can recognize the device, a receiver that receives a second signal from the base station related to permission to operate as a wireless relay device, and a control unit that, when the receiver receives the second signal, enables a relay function that transmits the signal received from the base station to a terminal and transmits a signal received from the terminal to the base station.

[0152] With the above configuration, even when the RIS 30 is installed in a user's location, it can report necessary information to the base station 10 and determine whether the network should execute relay operation, thereby relaying signals appropriately and improving communication quality. That is, in a wireless communication system, it is possible to control relay operation based on the installation status of the wireless relay device.

[0153] The transmitter may transmit a third signal indicating a request to enable the relay function to the base station. With this configuration, even when the RIS 30 is installed in a user's location, the RIS 30 can report necessary information to the base station 10 and improve communication quality.

[0154] The transmitter may include, in the first signal, information indicating a channel state of communication with the base station or the terminal. With this configuration, even when the RIS 30 is installed in a user's location, the RIS 30 can appropriately relay signals and improve communication quality by reporting necessary information to the base station 10 and determining whether the network should execute relay operations.

[0155] The receiver may acquire parameters related to beam setting applicable to the relay function from the second signal. With this configuration, even when the RIS 30 is installed at a user's location, the RIS 30 can receive necessary information from the base station 10 and determine whether the network should execute a relay operation, thereby appropriately relaying signals and improving communication quality.

[0156] The transmitting unit may include the third signal in the first signal and transmit the third signal to the base station. With this configuration, even when the RIS 30 is installed in a user's location, the RIS 30 can report necessary information to the base station 10 and improve communication quality.

[0157] In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a communication method is provided in which a wireless relay device executes a transmission procedure of transmitting a first signal to a base station for the base station to recognize the device, a reception procedure of receiving a second signal from the base station related to permission to operate as a wireless relay device, and a control procedure of enabling a relay function that, when the second signal is received, transmits the signal received from the base station to a terminal and transmits a signal received from the terminal to the base station.

[0158] With the above configuration, even when the RIS 30 is installed in a user's location, it can report necessary information to the base station 10 and determine whether the network should execute relay operation, thereby relaying signals appropriately and improving communication quality. That is, in a wireless communication system, it is possible to control relay operation based on the installation status of the wireless relay device.

[0159] (Supplementary explanation of the embodiment) Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the disclosed invention is not limited to such embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand various modifications, alterations, alternatives, and substitutions. While specific numerical examples have been used to facilitate understanding of the invention, unless otherwise specified, these numerical values ​​are merely examples, and any appropriate values ​​may be used. The division of items in the above description is not essential to the present invention; two or more items may be combined as needed, and items described in one item may apply to items described in another item (unless inconsistent). The boundaries between functional units or processing units in the functional block diagram do not necessarily correspond to the boundaries between physical components. The operations of multiple functional units may be performed by a single physical component, or the operations of a single functional unit may be performed by multiple physical components. The order of the processing steps described in the embodiments may be reversed as long as there is no contradiction. For convenience of processing description, the base station 10 and terminal 20 have been described using functional block diagrams. However, such devices may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The software operated by the processor of the base station 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and the software operated by the processor of the terminal 20 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may each be stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk (HDD), removable disk, CD-ROM, database, server or any other suitable storage medium.

[0160] Furthermore, the notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), other signals, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.

[0161] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be any of the following: LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (xG (x is, for example, an integer or decimal number)), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE The present invention may be applied to at least one of systems using 802.20, UWB (Ultra-Wideband), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other appropriate systems, and next-generation systems that are extended, modified, created, or defined based on these systems. The present invention may also be applied to a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G).

[0162] The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be changed unless it is consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0163] In this specification, a specific operation that is described as being performed by the base station 10 may also be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having the base station 10, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with the terminal 20 may be performed by at least one of the base station 10 and another network node other than the base station 10 (such as, but not limited to, an MME or an S-GW). Although the above example illustrates a case where there is one other network node other than the base station 10, the other network node may be a combination of multiple other network nodes (such as an MME and an S-GW).

[0164] The information, signals, etc. described in the present disclosure may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer), or may be input / output via multiple network nodes.

[0165] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be sent to another device.

[0166] In the present disclosure, the determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0167] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0168] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0169] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0170] Note that terms explained in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of a channel and a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Furthermore, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

[0171] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0172] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, may be expressed using relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be expressed using other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0173] The names used for the above-described parameters are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0174] In this disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

[0175] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the overall coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can be provided with communication service by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (RRH: Remote Radio Head)). The term "cell" or "sector" refers to a part or the entire coverage area of ​​a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication service within this coverage.

[0176] In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0177] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0178] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a mobile body, or the mobile body itself. The mobile body may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile body (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

[0179] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a user terminal. For example, the aspects / embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a user terminal is replaced with communication between a plurality of terminals 20 (which may be called, for example, D2D (Device-to-Device) or V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything)). In this case, the terminal 20 may be configured to have the functions of the base station 10 described above. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, terms such as an uplink channel and a downlink channel may be read as a side channel.

[0180] Similarly, the user terminal in the present disclosure may be read as a base station, in which case the base station may be configured to have the functions of the user terminal described above.

[0181] As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0182] The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using one or more wires, cables, and / or printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0183] The reference signal may be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal) or may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0184] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0185] As used in this disclosure, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must in some way precede the second element.

[0186] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0187] When used in this disclosure, the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when used in this disclosure, the term "or" is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0188] A radio frame may be composed of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of the one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0189] Numerology may be communication parameters that apply to at least one of transmission and reception of a signal or channel, such as subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame structure, specific filtering operations performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing operations performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0190] A slot may be composed of one or more symbols (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol) in the time domain. A slot may be a time unit based on numerology.

[0191] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0192] The radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol all represent time units for transmitting signals, and may be referred to by other names corresponding to the radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol.

[0193] For example, one subframe may be called a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. That is, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (for example, 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc. instead of a subframe.

[0194] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station performs scheduling to allocate wireless resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each terminal 20) to each terminal 20 in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0195] The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-encoded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) to which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0196] When one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit for scheduling. Also, the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.

[0197] A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a regular TTI (TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, regular subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a regular TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.

[0198] In addition, a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length of more than 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and equal to or greater than 1 ms.

[0199] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of numerology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may also be determined based on numerology.

[0200] The time domain of an RB may include one or more symbols and may have a length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.

[0201] Note that one or more RBs may also be called a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, or the like.

[0202] Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource region of one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0203] A Bandwidth Part (BWP) (which may also be referred to as a fractional bandwidth) may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by their index relative to a common reference point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a given BWP and numbered within that BWP.

[0204] The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be set for the terminal 20 within one carrier.

[0205] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the terminal 20 may not expect to transmit or receive a predetermined signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell," "carrier," and the like in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."

[0206] The above-described structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, symbols, etc. are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, etc. may be variously changed.

[0207] In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0208] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0209] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Furthermore, notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., by not notifying the predetermined information).

[0210] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0211] 10 base station 110 Transmitter 120 Receiver 130 Setting section 140 Control Unit 20 terminals 210 Transmitter 220 Receiving unit 230 Setting Section 240 Control Unit 30 Radio repeater 310 Transmitter 320 Receiving Unit 330 Control Unit 340 Variable Section 350 Antenna section 1001 processor 1002 Storage device 1003 Auxiliary storage device 1004 Communication equipment 1005 Input Device 1006 Output Device 2001 Vehicle 2002 Drive unit 2003 Steering Section 2004 accelerator pedal 2005 brake pedal 2006 Shift Lever 2007 front wheel 2008 rear wheel 2009 Axle 2010 Electronic Control Unit 2012 Information Services Department 2013 Communication Module 2021 Current Sensor 2022 RPM Sensor 2023 Air Pressure Sensor 2024 Vehicle speed sensor 2025 Acceleration Sensor 2026 Brake pedal sensor 2027 Shift lever sensor 2028 Object Detection Sensor 2029 Accelerator pedal sensor 2030 Driving Assistance Systems Department 2031 microprocessor 2032 memory (ROM, RAM) 2033 Communication port (IO port)

Claims

1. a transmitter configured to transmit a first signal to a base station for the base station to recognize the device, the first signal including information related to a configurable area and information indicating whether the device is operator-installed or user-installed; a receiving unit that receives a second signal from the base station indicating permission to operate as a wireless relay device when the network determines based on the first signal that the device should perform a relay function; a control unit that, when the receiving unit receives the second signal, enables a relay function of transmitting the signal received from the base station to a terminal and transmitting the signal received from the terminal to the base station.

2. The wireless relay device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitter transmits a third signal indicating a request to enable the relay function to the base station.

3. The wireless relay device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitting unit includes, in the first signal, information indicating a channel state of communication with the base station or the terminal.

4. The wireless relay device according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving unit acquires parameters relating to beam setting applicable to the relay function from the second signal.

5. The wireless relay device according to claim 2 , wherein the transmitting unit transmits the third signal to the base station by including the third signal in the first signal.

6. a transmission procedure of transmitting a first signal to a base station for the base station to recognize the device, the first signal including information related to a configurable area and information indicating whether the device is operator-installed or user-installed; a receiving step of receiving a second signal from the base station indicating permission to operate as a wireless relay device when the network determines based on the first signal that the device should perform a relay function; a control procedure for enabling a relay function in which, when the second signal is received, the wireless relay device transmits the signal received from the base station to a terminal and transmits the signal received from the terminal to the base station.

Images