Base station device, control device, control method, and program for controlling reflection pattern of reflector

Abstract

To efficiently operate a reflection plate capable of changing a reflection pattern.SOLUTION: A base station device receives, from a control device that controls a reflection plate that reflects a radio wave transmitted from one of a base station device and a terminal device, information indicating a time length from when setting a reflection pattern of the reflection plate is started to when the setting is completed, determines a specific reflection pattern to be set at the reflection plate and a first timing at which setting of the specific reflection pattern should be completed, specifies a second timing that is before the first timing by the time length or second timing that is timing before the timing, and transmits an instruction signal for instructing the control device to set the specific reflection pattern at the second timing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for controlling the reflection pattern of a reflector. [Background technology]

[0002] In mobile communications, wireless communication services are provided to terminal devices located in positions where they can receive radio waves transmitted from a base station. Therefore, it is important for the radio waves transmitted by the base station to reach the terminal device's location appropriately. In recent wireless communication environments, which tend to use high-frequency bands, wireless quality is prone to decline. Therefore, it is expected that base station devices will form beams and improve wireless quality by using the gain of those beams. Furthermore, the use of reflectors that reflect radio waves toward areas with poor wireless quality has been considered. While reflectors can change the direction in which a signal is reflected by changing their physical orientation, metasurface reflectors can reflect radio waves in various directions without changing their physical orientation. Non-Patent Document 1 describes a technology in which a base station device controls the reflection pattern of radio waves from a reflector by transmitting control information to a reflector control device. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Wu, Qingqing and Rui Zhang, "Intelligent reflecting surface enhanced wireless network: Joint active and passive beamforming design", 2018 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), 2018. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A base station device can perform highly efficient beam management by specifying detailed timing for beam switching. Such beam management may also be required for the reflector's beam (reflection pattern). However, a reflector cannot switch its beam pattern immediately after receiving an instruction from the base station device, which may hinder efficient operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present invention provides a technique for efficiently operating a reflector that can change its reflection pattern.

[0006] A base station device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a receiving means for receiving information indicating the length of time from the start of setting the reflection pattern of a reflector to the completion of the setting from a control device that controls a reflector that reflects radio waves transmitted from either the base station device or a terminal device, a determining means for determining a specific reflection pattern to be set on the reflector and a first timing at which the setting of the specific reflection pattern should be completed, a determining means for determining a second timing that is the time length before the first timing or a timing before the first timing, and a transmitting means for transmitting an instruction signal to the control device at the second timing to instruct it to set the specific reflection pattern.

[0007] A control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a control device that controls a reflector that reflects radio waves transmitted from either a base station device or a terminal device, and has a notification means that notifies the base station device of information indicating the length of time from when the setting of the reflection pattern of the reflector is started to when the setting is completed, a receiving means that receives an instruction signal from the base station device that instructs the base station device to set a specific reflection pattern, and a setting means that sets the specific reflection pattern on the reflector. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently use a reflector capable of changing its reflection pattern. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system configuration. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of the apparatus. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a base station device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a control device. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of processing executed in the system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined in any desired manner. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are used to designate identical or similar components, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0011] (Communication System Configuration) FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to this embodiment. The wireless communication system is, for example, a cellular communication system conforming to the cellular communication standard of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the following discussion can be applied to a wireless communication system conforming to any wireless communication standard. The wireless communication system includes, for example, a base station device 101, a terminal device 102, and a terminal device 103. Here, it is assumed that the terminal device 102 and the terminal device 103 cannot receive radio waves transmitted from the base station device 101 with sufficiently strong power due to the influence of an obstruction such as a building. In this case, it is also assumed that the base station device 101 cannot receive radio waves transmitted from the terminal device 102 and the terminal device 103 with sufficiently strong power. In such a situation, a reflector 104 can be used to enable communication between the base station device 101 and the terminal device 102 and the terminal device 103. The reflector 104 reflects radio waves transmitted from the base station device 101 in a predetermined reflection pattern. The reflector 104 also reflects radio waves transmitted from the terminal device 102 in a predetermined reflection pattern. The reflection pattern is determined by the reflection phase set in the reflecting elements that make up the reflector, and corresponds to, for example, a combination of an incident pattern and an output pattern. The incident pattern indicates the gain of the reflector for each incident direction. That is, an incident pattern is a pattern in which radio waves incident from a predetermined incident direction are hardly attenuated, and radio waves incident from another incident direction are attenuated to almost zero. Similarly, the output pattern is a pattern in which radio waves emitted in a predetermined output direction are emitted with high power, and radio waves are hardly emitted in another output direction. This reflection pattern generally causes radio waves incident from an incident direction with a high gain to be output in an output direction with a high gain.

[0012] Note that the configuration in FIG. 1 is merely an example. For example, there may be two or more reflectors that relay communication between the base station device 101 and the terminal device 102 or 103. Naturally, it is also assumed that there are three or more terminal devices. Some of the terminal devices may communicate via reflectors, while other terminal devices may communicate directly with the base station device 101 without using reflectors. Furthermore, a wireless communication system may include a large number of base station devices. In this case, communication using reflectors may also be performed in other base station devices, similar to the base station device 101.

[0013] The reflector 104 is configured to be able to change the reflection pattern of radio waves. For example, the reflector 104 may be configured to change the reflection direction of radio waves arriving from the base station device 101 or the terminal device 102 or 105 by physically controlling the attitude of the reflector. The reflector 104 is, for example, an Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS). In one example, the IRS may be a liquid crystal reflector. In a liquid crystal reflector, the reflection direction of radio waves can be electrically controlled by changing the phase of the reflecting element by changing the dielectric constant of a liquid crystal layer arranged between the reflecting element and ground. Note that a liquid crystal reflector is merely one example of an IRS, and other types of reflectors may be used. For example, a reflector capable of changing the phase of the reflecting element using a diode or a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) may be used. The reflector 104 is connected to the control device 105. The control device 105 then controls the reflector 104 to change the reflection pattern. The control device 105 outputs a control signal to the reflector 104 to adjust the reflection pattern of the IRS, for example. The control device 105 may be a device built into the reflector 104. Alternatively, the control device 105 may be a device provided outside the reflector 104. Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which the control device 105 is connected to one reflector 104, the control device 105 may be connected to multiple reflectors. When the control device 105 is connected to multiple reflectors, the control device 105 may be configured to be able to independently control the reflection patterns of the multiple reflectors.

[0014] Here, it is assumed that the reflector 104 uses a reflection pattern that reflects radio waves output from the base station device 101 and arriving from direction 111 in direction 112. In this case, the terminal device 102 can receive the radio waves output from the base station device 101 and reflected by the reflector 104 with sufficient power. Meanwhile, by changing the reflection pattern of the reflector 104 to reflect the radio waves from the base station device 101 in direction 113, the terminal device 103 can also receive the radio waves output from the base station device 101 and reflected by the reflector 104 with sufficient power. The reflection pattern of the reflector 104 can be changed, for example, based on an instruction from the base station device 101 (or a network node). In one example, it is assumed that the control device 105 has the functionality of a terminal device compliant with the 3GPP (registered trademark) fifth-generation (5G) cellular communication standard and can receive a signal 121 from the base station device 101. Here, the signal 121 from the base station device 101 is a control signal for controlling the reflector 104. Based on a signal 121 from the base station device 101, the control device 105 sets the reflection pattern of radio waves of the connected reflector 104.

[0015] It is necessary that the radio wave reflection pattern of the reflector 104 be switched at an appropriate timing. That is, for example, when the terminal device 103 is to communicate, the reflection pattern of the reflector 104 must be set to reflect the radio waves from the base station device 101 in the direction 113. However, due to limitations on the response speed of the reflector 104, a certain amount of time is required to complete the change of the reflection pattern, and the base station device 101 must transmit an instruction to change the reflection pattern to the control device 105 that certain amount of time earlier than the timing of the change of the reflection pattern. However, because the certain amount of time may differ for each reflector, the base station device 101 cannot specify in advance the timing at which to transmit the instruction to change the reflection pattern.

[0016] In this embodiment, in consideration of the above circumstances, the control device 105 notifies the base station device 101 of a certain time length T0 required to complete the change of the reflection pattern of the reflector 104. The base station device 101 then controls the transmission of the reflection pattern change instruction to the control device 105 so that the transmission of the change instruction to the control device 105 is completed at a second timing T1-T0, which is earlier than the first timing T1 at which the reflection pattern of the reflector 104 is changed by the notified time length T0. For example, the base station device 101 may transmit the reflection pattern change instruction at a third timing T1-T0-Δt using a predetermined time offset Δt (>0). This predetermined time offset Δt may be set to a time corresponding to at least one of or the sum of the propagation time of the signal from the base station device 101 to the control device 105, the time required for demodulating and decoding the signal in the control device 105, and the time required for control including input of the instruction from the control device 105 to the reflector 104. The control device 105 may notify the base station device 101 of the time length corresponding to T0+Δt. The control device 105 may also notify the base station device 101 of information on the fixed time length using the number of slots corresponding to the fixed time length. For example, if the time length of a timeslot is τ milliseconds, information on the fixed time length T0 milliseconds may be expressed as ceil(T0 / τ), where ceil(x) is a ceiling function and indicates the smallest integer greater than the argument x. In other words, information on the time length T0 may be notified to the base station device 101 in any format.

[0017] This ensures that the control device 105 has completed receiving the change instruction at the second timing T1-T0. The control device 105 then controls the reflector 104 to change the reflection pattern over a fixed time T0. This ensures that the change in the reflection pattern of the reflector 104 is completed at the first timing T1. By recognizing this fixed time T0, the base station device 101 can reliably set the reflection pattern of the reflector 104 at the intended timing. This control may be performed dynamically or semi-fixedly. The base station device 101 may control the reflection pattern of the reflector 104 to change frequently, or may control the reflector 104 so that a specific reflection pattern is started to be used at a specific timing and the reflection pattern is fixed for a long period of time. When dynamically setting the reflection pattern, the base station device 101 may transmit an instruction signal to the control device 105 to sequentially change multiple reflection patterns. In this case, the instruction signal may include multiple reflection patterns and information indicating the timing at which each setting should be performed. The base station device 101 may then identify a second timing T1-T0 based on a first timing T1 at which setting of the initial reflection pattern should be completed and a certain time T0 required to change the reflection pattern, and transmit the information at or before the second timing. Note that the timing corresponding to the multiple reflection patterns included in the information may be a timing T3 at which setting of each reflection pattern should be completed, or a timing T3-T0 at which setting of each reflection pattern should start.

[0018] When notifying the base station device 101 of the information about the time length T0, the control device 105 may also notify the base station device 101 of the identification information of the reflector 104. This allows the base station device 101 to specify an individual reflector 104 and transmit an instruction signal. If it is known that the control device 105 supports only one reflector 104, the identification information may be the identification information of the control device 105. In this case, if the control device 105 has the function of a terminal device capable of communicating with the base station device 101 as described above, the identification information of the terminal device may be the identification information of the terminal device. In other words, when the control device 105 connects to the base station device 101, the identification information of the reflector 104 may be implicitly notified to the base station device 101. In this way, by notifying the base station device 101 of the identification information of the reflector 104, the base station device 101 becomes able to transmit an instruction signal dedicated to the individual reflector 104 at a timing appropriate for that reflector 104.

[0019] The control device 105 can notify the base station device 101 of information about the time length T0 in various formats. For example, the control device 105 can notify the base station device 101 of information about the time length T0 as part of UE Capability, which is its own capability information. Furthermore, the control device 105 may transmit the information by including it in a message in the random access procedure when establishing a connection with the base station device 101. As an example, the control device 105 may associate the time length T0 with a sequence of a random access preamble and time and frequency resources used for transmission in advance, and generate a random access preamble using a sequence corresponding to the time length T0 to be transmitted, and transmit the random access preamble in the time and frequency resources corresponding to the time length T0. Furthermore, the control device 105 may transmit the information to the base station device 101 in message 3 in the random access procedure. Furthermore, the control device 105 may notify the base station device 101 of the information using uplink control information (UCI) after establishing a connection. Furthermore, when a protocol layer dedicated to the reflector is defined, information on the time length T0 may be notified to the base station device 101 by a message in the protocol layer.

[0020] (Device configuration) Next, a configuration example of the base station device 101 and the control device 105 described above will be described. Hereinafter, the base station device 101 will be referred to as the base station device, and the control device 105 will be referred to as the control device, without using reference numerals. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the base station device and the control device. In one example, the base station device and the control device include a processor 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a storage device 204, and a communication circuit 205. The processor 201 is a computer including one or more processing circuits, such as a general-purpose CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and performs overall processing of the device and each of the above-mentioned processes by reading and executing programs stored in the ROM 202 or the storage device 204. The ROM 202 is a read-only memory that stores information such as programs related to the processing executed by the base station device and the control device, various parameters, etc. The RAM 203 functions as a workspace when the processor 201 executes a program, and is also a random access memory that stores temporary information. The storage device 204 is, for example, a removable external storage device. The communication circuit 205 is configured to include, for example, a circuit for wired or wireless communication between the base station device and the control device. For example, the base station device may be configured to include a circuit for LTE or 5G wireless communication for communication with the terminal device 102 or 103. The base station device may communicate with the control device using, for example, the communication circuit 205 for LTE or 5G. However, this is just one example, and the base station device may be configured to communicate with the control device using a communication circuit 205 for wired or wireless communication that is prepared separately from the communication circuit 205 for LTE or 5G. The control device has a communication circuit 205 for wireless or wired communication to communicate with the base station device. The control device may also have a communication circuit 205 for (e.g., wired) communication with the reflector. Although FIG. 2 illustrates one communication circuit 205, the base station device and the control device may have multiple communication circuits. Multiple communication functions may be implemented by a single communication circuit 205.

[0021] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a base station device. The base station device has, as its functions, for example, an information acquisition unit 301, a reflection pattern determination unit 302, a timing determination unit 303, a control target designation unit 304, and an instruction notification unit 305. Note that these functional units can be realized, for example, by the processor 201 executing a program stored in the ROM 202 or the storage device 204 and controlling the communication circuit 205 as necessary. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, dedicated hardware for realizing each function may be provided.

[0022] The information acquisition unit 301 acquires information about the time (response time) required to change the reflection pattern of the reflector from the control device that controls the reflector. That is, the information acquisition unit 301 acquires information about the time length T0 from the control device issuing an instruction to change the reflection pattern of the reflector to the completion of the change of the reflection pattern from the control device. Note that this time length may include the time required for communication between the base station device and the control device and the processing time Δt, such as the time from the control device receiving an instruction from the base station device to the control of the reflector. That is, the information acquisition unit 301 may acquire not only the response time of the reflector but also the time T0 + Δt from the base station device transmitting an instruction signal to the actual completion of the change of the reflection pattern from the control device as the above-mentioned time length information from the control device. Note that the time length information may be expressed in units of seconds or other units such as the number of time slots. The information acquisition unit 301 may also acquire identification information of the reflector controlled by the control device. Note that if the reflector can be identified by identifying the control device, the identification information of the reflector may be the identification information of the control device. Furthermore, for example, when there is only one reflector in the area of ​​the base station device or when there is no need to distinguish between reflectors, the information specifying the identification information of the reflector may be omitted. The information acquisition unit 301 may, for example, request the control device to provide UE Capability and acquire the above-mentioned information from the UE Capability. Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 301 may acquire the above-mentioned information from message 1 (random access preamble), message 3, or UCI in the random access procedure transmitted by the control device when connecting to the base station device. Furthermore, for example, when a protocol layer for controlling the reflector is defined, the information acquisition unit 301 may acquire the above-mentioned information by a message in the protocol layer.

[0023] The reflection pattern determination unit 302 determines the reflection pattern to be set on the reflector. For example, the reflection pattern determination unit 302 identifies a reflection pattern corresponding to the position of each terminal device in advance, and when a terminal device of a communication partner is determined, determines to use the reflection pattern corresponding to that terminal device. In this case, the reflection pattern determination unit 302 may determine to dynamically change the reflection pattern each time the terminal device of a communication partner changes. Furthermore, the reflection pattern determination unit 302 may also determine a reflection pattern for temporarily directing a beam toward an event venue, for example, so as to accommodate a large number of terminal devices present at the venue. In this case, the reflection pattern determination unit 302 may determine to semi-fixedly use the same reflection pattern for a certain period of time.

[0024] The timing determination unit 303 determines the timing at which the reflection pattern determined by the reflection pattern determination unit 302 should be set on the reflector and the timing at which an instruction signal for setting the reflection pattern should be transmitted. Here, the timing determination unit 303 determines the timing at which the instruction signal should be transmitted so that the reflection pattern setting is completed at a predetermined timing, for example, based on the time length information acquired by the information acquisition unit 301. For example, the timing determination unit 303 determines the timing at which the instruction signal should be transmitted so that the reflection pattern setting is completed at or before T1-T0, using the time T1 at which the reflection pattern setting should be completed and the notified time length T0. Note that, when the timing determination unit 303 determines reflection patterns in parallel for multiple reflectors that reflect radio waves from the base station device, it may determine the timing at which the reflection pattern should be changed individually for each of the multiple reflectors and the timing at which an instruction signal for the change should be transmitted. Note that a common timing for changing the reflection pattern and a common timing for transmitting an instruction signal may also be determined for the multiple reflectors. Furthermore, when multiple reflection patterns are to be sequentially switched and used on a single reflector, the timing determination unit 303 may determine the timing at which the reflection pattern should be changed for each of the multiple reflection patterns. In this case, when multiple reflection pattern change instructions are notified at once, timing determination unit 303 may determine the transmission timing of the instruction signal based on the earliest change timing for each of the multiple reflection patterns and the time length acquired from the control device. Note that when change instructions are notified separately for each of the multiple reflection patterns, the transmission timing of each instruction signal may be determined based on the change timing corresponding to each reflection pattern and information on the time length acquired from the control device.

[0025] For example, when there are multiple reflectors to be controlled, the control target designation unit 304 designates which reflector's reflection pattern is to be controlled. The control target designation unit 304 may be omitted if it is known in advance that only one reflector will be controlled. Furthermore, when the order of changing the reflection patterns of multiple reflectors is determined in advance and a command signal is issued simultaneously to trigger changes to the reflection patterns of the multiple reflectors, it may not be necessary to distinguish between the multiple reflectors. In such cases, the control target designation unit 304 may be omitted.

[0026] The instruction notification unit 305 notifies the control device corresponding to the reflector to be controlled of an instruction signal including information indicating the reflection pattern determined by the reflection pattern determination unit 302 and information indicating the timing at which the reflection pattern should be set. The instruction notification unit 305 notifies the control device of the information indicating the reflection pattern by broadcast transmission or individual signaling. Note that the instruction notification unit 305 transmits the instruction signal to the control device at the timing determined by the timing determination unit 303 or at a timing earlier than that timing.

[0027] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the control device. The control device has, as its functions, for example, a response time notification unit 401, an instruction receiving unit 402, and a reflection pattern control unit 403. Note that these functional units can be realized, for example, by the processor 201 executing a program stored in the ROM 202 or the storage device 204 and controlling the communication circuit 205 as necessary. However, this is not limiting, and for example, dedicated hardware for realizing each function may be provided.

[0028] The response time notification unit 401 specifies the length of time (response time) required to change the reflection pattern of the reflector controlled by the device itself. This time may include communication with the base station device and the time from receiving an instruction signal to inputting control information to the reflector. The response time notification unit 401 then notifies the base station device of the specified length of time. The instruction receiving unit 402 receives an instruction signal from the base station device instructing the base station device to change the reflection pattern of the reflector. This instruction signal includes, for example, information specifying the reflection pattern to be set on the reflector and information specifying the timing at which the reflection pattern should be set. The reflection pattern control unit 403 sets the reflection pattern of the reflector connected to the device itself based on the pattern information included in the received instruction signal. The reflection pattern control unit 403 may start controlling the reflector, taking into account, for example, the length of time specified by the response time notification unit 401, so that the reflection pattern setting is completed at the timing specified in the instruction signal. The instruction receiving unit 402 may receive identification information for identifying the reflector along with the information specifying the reflection pattern. When the instruction receiving unit 402 receives an instruction signal including identification information corresponding to the reflector connected to the device, the instruction receiving unit 402 acquires information about the reflection pattern included in the instruction signal.Then, the reflection pattern control unit 403 sets the reflection pattern of the reflector based on the information about the reflection pattern.

[0029] (Processing flow) Next, an example of the flow of processing executed in the wireless communication system will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Note that the details of the processing have been described above, so only an overview of the processing flow will be shown here, and the details will not be repeated.

[0030] First, in this process, the control device notifies the base station device of information related to the response time required from the start of setting the reflection pattern of the reflector to the completion of the setting (S501). For example, the control device operates as a 5G terminal device and can notify the base station device of information related to the response time in a random access procedure for establishing a connection with the base station device. Furthermore, the control device can transmit, for example, information related to the response time by including it in UE Capability after connecting to the base station device. Note that the UE Capability can be transmitted in response to a request from the base station device. Furthermore, the control device can notify the base station device of information related to the response time by using, for example, UCI. Note that the control device can transmit information related to the response time by including it in UCI when transmitting a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) ACK, channel state information, a scheduling request, etc. The base station device receives the information related to the response time.

[0031] It is assumed that the base station device then decides to change the reflection pattern of the reflector connected to the control device. At this time, the base station device also determines the timing when the change of the reflection pattern should be completed (S502). In one example, the base station device may determine the reflection pattern and the setting completion timing so that communication is possible, depending on the location of the terminal device and the schedule of communication with the terminal device. The base station device then specifies a timing that is the response time acquired in S501 before the setting completion timing as the timing when transmission of an instruction signal instructing the change of the reflection pattern should be completed (S503). The base station device then notifies the control device of an instruction signal containing the reflection pattern to be set at that timing or at a timing earlier than that timing (S504). Note that the base station device may also include information about the timing when setting of the reflection pattern specified by the instruction signal should be completed in the instruction signal. Furthermore, if multiple reflectors are used for communication with the base station device, the base station device may include information indicating which reflector the instruction pertains to in the instruction signal. The information indicating which reflector the instruction relates to may be, for example, identification information of the reflector. If only one reflector is connected to the control device, the identification information of the control device may be used as the identification information of the reflector. The instruction signal may be transmitted as user data to a terminal device. In this case, by specifying the control device as the destination of the user data, it may be possible to identify that the instruction signal in the user data is an instruction relating to the reflector connected to that control device.

[0032] When the control device receives the instruction signal, it sets the reflector to reflect radio waves in the specified reflection pattern (S505). The control device can set the reflection pattern of the reflector immediately after receiving the instruction signal. This allows the reflector to reliably reflect radio waves in the reflection pattern at the time when the setting of the reflection pattern should be completed. Furthermore, if the instruction signal includes information specifying the time when the setting of the reflection pattern should be completed, the control device can wait until the timing is the above-mentioned waiting time before that time before starting to set the reflector. This makes it possible to prevent the setting from being performed at an unnecessarily early timing.

[0033] As described above, in this embodiment, information on the response time required to set the reflection pattern of the reflector is notified to the base station device. This allows the base station device to identify the timing at which to transmit the instruction signal from the timing at which the reflection pattern setting should be completed. Then, by transmitting the instruction signal at such timing, the reflector can reflect radio waves in the specified reflection pattern at the appropriate timing. This makes it possible to contribute to Goal 9 of the United Nations-led Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is to "Develop resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation."

[0034] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

Claims

1. A base station device, a receiving means for receiving, from a control device that controls a reflector that reflects radio waves transmitted from either the base station device or the terminal device, information indicating a time length from when setting of a reflection pattern of the reflector is started to when the setting is completed; a determining means for determining a specific reflection pattern to be set on the reflector and a first timing at which the setting of the specific reflection pattern should be completed; a specifying means for specifying a second timing that is a timing that is the time length before the first timing or a timing that is before the first timing; a transmitting means for transmitting an instruction signal to the control device at the second timing, the instruction signal instructing the control device to set the specific reflection pattern; A base station device comprising:

2. 2. The base station apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transmitting means transmits said indication signal by further including information indicating said first timing in said indication signal.

3. 2. The base station device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving means receives UE Capability of the control device, which includes information indicating the time length.

4. 2. The base station device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving means receives message 1 or message 3 in a random access procedure, uplink control information (UCI), or a message in a protocol layer for controlling the reflector, the message including information indicating the time length.

5. 2. The base station apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said receiving means receives, as the information indicating said time length, information on the number of time slots corresponding to said time length.

6. A control device that controls a reflector that reflects radio waves transmitted from either a base station device or a terminal device, a notification means for notifying the base station device of information indicating a time length from when setting of the reflection pattern of the reflector is started to when the setting is completed; a receiving means for receiving an instruction signal from the base station device, the instruction signal instructing the base station device to set a specific reflection pattern; a setting means for setting the specific reflection pattern on the reflector; A control device comprising:

7. the receiving means receives the instruction signal including information indicating a first timing at which setting of the specific reflection pattern should be completed; 7. The control device according to claim 6, wherein the setting means executes the setting so as to complete setting of the specific reflection pattern on the reflector at the first timing.

8. The control device according to claim 6 , wherein the notification unit notifies the base station device of the UE capability of the control device, which includes information indicating the time length.

9. 7. The control device according to claim 6, wherein the notification means transmits to the base station device a message 1 or 3 in a random access procedure, uplink control information (UCI), or a message in a protocol layer for controlling the reflector, the message including information indicating the time length.

10. 7. The control device according to claim 6, wherein the notification means notifies, as the information indicating the time length, information on the number of time slots corresponding to the time length.

11. A control method executed by a base station device, receiving information indicating a time length from a control device that controls a reflector that reflects radio waves transmitted from either the base station device or the terminal device, to a time when the setting of a reflection pattern of the reflector is started to a time when the setting is completed; determining a specific reflection pattern to be set on the reflector and a first timing at which setting of the specific reflection pattern should be completed; Identifying a second timing that is a timing that is the time length before the first timing or a timing that is before the first timing; transmitting an instruction signal to the control device at the second timing to instruct the control device to set the specific reflection pattern; A control method comprising:

12. A control method executed by a control device that controls a reflector that reflects radio waves transmitted from either a base station device or a terminal device, comprising: notifying the base station device of information indicating a time length from when setting of the reflection pattern of the reflector is started to when the setting is completed; receiving an instruction signal from the base station device instructing the base station device to set a specific reflection pattern; setting the specific reflection pattern on the reflector; A control method comprising:

13. A computer provided in the base station device receiving, from a control device that controls a reflector that reflects radio waves transmitted from either the base station device or the terminal device, information indicating a time length from when setting of a reflection pattern of the reflector is started to when the setting is completed; determining a specific reflection pattern to be set on the reflector and a first timing at which the setting of the specific reflection pattern should be completed; specifying a second timing that is a timing that is the time length before the first timing or a timing that is before the first timing; transmitting an instruction signal to the control device at the second timing, the instruction signal instructing the control device to set the specific reflection pattern; Program for.

14. A computer provided in a control device that controls a reflector that reflects radio waves transmitted from either a base station device or a terminal device, notifying the base station device of information indicating a time length from when setting of the reflection pattern of the reflector is started to when the setting is completed; receiving an instruction signal from the base station device instructing the setting of a specific reflection pattern; setting the specific reflection pattern on the reflector; Program for.

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