Beam management method, beam configuration method, access node, relay device

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a beam management method, a beam configuration method, an access node, a relay device, and a storage medium, and the beam management method includes a step of grouping a plurality of relay devices based on a preset grouping rule to form at least one beam management group (S1000), and a step of performing beam management (S2000) on the relay devices in each beam management group on a group-by-group basis.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application is filed based on a Chinese patent application with an application number of 202210969791.3 and a filing date of August 12, 2022, claims the priority of the Chinese patent application, and the entire content of the Chinese patent application is incorporated herein by reference. The embodiments of this application relate to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a beam management method, a beam configuration method, a base station, a relay device, and a storage medium.

Background Art

[0002] In related technologies, in order to compensate for the path loss of wireless signals, usually, a relay device is installed to transfer the wireless signals, thereby improving the signal transmission distance and ensuring the communication quality.

[0003] Taking millimeter-wave communication as an example, a millimeter-wave base station usually uses a large-scale antenna array to perform narrow-beam transmission, and the transmission energy can be effectively concentrated in a certain area or direction. However, the directional transmission of millimeter waves is very sensitive to convergence, which in turn may lead to disconnection of the connection. Therefore, the reconfigurable intelligent surface is integrated into the millimeter-wave cellular system, and the controllable intelligent signal reflection technology is used to actively correct the wireless channel, so as to improve the communication quality and the coverage ability of the millimeter-wave system. However, in some special application scenarios, it is necessary to arrange multiple reconfigurable intelligent surfaces within the coverage range of one base station, but the base station needs to perform beam management for each of the multiple reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. As a result, the efficiency of beam management is low, which affects the communication quality.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of this application provide a beam management method, a beam configuration method, a base station, a relay device, and a storage medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application includes the steps of: grouping a plurality of relay devices based on a preset grouping rule to form at least one beam management group; performing beam management for the relay devices in each of the beam management groups on a group basis; and, in the step of performing beam management for the relay devices in each of the beam management groups on a group basis, generating at least one beam management group signaling; and transmitting the beam management group signaling corresponding to the beam management group to the relay devices in the beam management group. of The steps include performing beam management on a beam, wherein the steps include generating at least one beam management group signaling for each individual in the beam management group of The present invention provides a beam management method that includes the steps of: configuring a beam management codebook corresponding to the relay device; and generating at least one beam management group signaling based on all of the beam management codebooks.

[0006] In a second aspect, the embodiment of the present application includes the step of receiving beam management group signaling transmitted from a second access node, wherein the beam management group signaling is used to perform beam management for a plurality of relay devices in a beam management group on a group basis, the step of obtaining a corresponding beam management codebook based on the beam management group signaling, the step of performing beam configuration based on the beam management codebook, and the individual in the beam management group of The relay device is configured with a corresponding beam management codebook, and the beam management group signaling is generated based on the beam management codebook, and the beam configuration method is provided.

[0008] Third aspectThe embodiment of the present application includes at least one processor and at least one memory for storing at least one program, and provides an access node that performs the beam management method described in any of the first or third embodiments when at least one program is executed by at least one of the processors.

[0009] Fourth aspect The embodiment of the present application provides a relay device that includes at least one processor and at least one memory for storing at least one program, wherein when at least one program is executed by at least one processor, the relay device performs the beam configuration method described in any of the second embodiments.

[0010] Fifth aspect Therefore, the embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium that stores a processor-executable program, and when the processor-executable program is executed by the processor, executes the beam management method described in any one of the first or third embodiments, or the beam configuration method described in any one of the second embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of a relay communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] [Figure 2] This is a flowchart of a beam management method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] [Figure 3] This is a flowchart of a beam management method in a base station switching scenario according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] [Figure 4] This is a flowchart of a beam management method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] [Figure 5]It is a flowchart of a beam management method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0016] [Figure 6] It is a flowchart of a beam configuration method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0017] [Figure 7] It is a schematic diagram for realizing signal coverage using a reconfigurable intelligent surface in a high-speed train scenario according to an example of the present application.

[0018] [Figure 8] It is a schematic flowchart of a beam management method according to an example of the present application.

[0019] [Figure 9] It is a schematic flowchart of a beam management method according to an example of the present application.

[0020] [Figure 10] It is a schematic flowchart of a beam management method according to an example of the present application.

[0021] [Figure 11] It is a schematic diagram of beam management during base station switching in a high-speed train scenario according to an example of the present application.

[0022] [Figure 12] It is a flowchart of beam management during base station switching according to an example of the present application.

[0023] [Figure 13] It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a base station according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] [Figure 14] It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a relay device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0025] To further clarify the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of this application, the application will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are used solely for the purpose of interpreting this application and are not intended to limit it.

[0026] In addition, while the schematic diagram of the device shows the division of functional modules and the flowchart shows a logical sequence, in some cases the division of modules in the device and the steps shown or described may be performed in a different order from the sequence in the flowchart. The terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and the above drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and do not necessarily describe a specific order or sequence.

[0027] In the embodiments of this application, words such as “furthermore,” “exemplary,” or “optionally” are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanatory means, and should not be interpreted as being preferable or superior to other embodiments or design means. The use of words such as “furthermore,” “exemplary,” or “optionally” is intended to illustrate the relevant concepts in specific aspects.

[0028] With the explosive increase in data traffic, millimeter waves (mmWave) will become a key technology for fifth-generation (5G) systems due to their abundant available frequency band. The first major challenge to realizing millimeter-wave communication is path loss. To compensate for the significant path loss in millimeter-wave transmission, millimeter-wave base stations (BS) typically use large antenna arrays to perform narrow-beam transmission, effectively concentrating transmission energy in a certain area or direction. However, directional transmission of millimeter waves is highly sensitive to congestion, which can lead to connection interruptions, creating a new challenge in establishing and maintaining millimeter-wave links. Therefore, millimeter-wave cellular systems incorporate Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) and Network Controlled Repeaters (NCRs).

[0029] RIS / NCR is an antenna surface containing a large number of low-cost passive reflection arrays, each array capable of independently adjusting the phase and amplitude of the incident electromagnetic wave, thereby altering the propagation path of the electromagnetic wave. In related technologies, wireless technology generally performs signal processing at the transmit / receive terminal to adapt to dynamic and uncontrollable wireless environments, but RIS / NCR can actively correct wireless channels with controllable intelligent signal reflection technology. Therefore, RIS / NCR offers new degrees of freedom for further improving wireless link performance and opens up possibilities for realizing intelligent programmable wireless environments. In millimeter-wave cellular systems, congestion problems severely degrade communication quality and ultimately cause link interruptions. Due to its ability to alter the electromagnetic wave transmission environment, RIS / NCR has potential as a new way to address the problem of millimeter-wave communication congestion. For users whose link with the base station has been interrupted, the phase adjustment of RIS / NCR allows the electromagnetic wave transmission path to bypass shielding and reach the user, thereby improving communication quality and the coverage capability of the millimeter-wave system.

[0030] The typical RIS / NCR placement method involves placing one or more dedicated RIS / NCRs within the coverage range of a single base station to improve signal coverage blind spots within the base station's coverage area. In special scenarios such as high-speed trains and buildings, it is necessary to place transmissive RIS / NCRs in vehicle windows and building windows to relay the base station beam into the vehicle and interior spaces. However, to ensure that the beam accurately covers users inside the vehicle and interior, the base station needs to dynamically adjust the RIS / NCR's reflection array in real time based on beam tracking results. The adjustment instructions for all reflection arrays across the entire array constitute a single adjustment instruction matrix (hereinafter referred to as the beam management codebook), and different adjustment instruction matrices specify the number of outgoing beams (e.g., single-beam reflection, multi-beam reflection), direction, outgoing type (e.g., reflection, diffusion, transmission), and beam Adjustments can be made to characteristics such as lobe width and beam width. In such scenarios, a single base station typically controls a large number of RIS / NCRs. To ensure high-volume services, high-frequency coverage is already supported by 5G. However, the base station's high-frequency service beam typically uses a narrow beam and needs to sequentially cover the vehicle and interior through each RIS / NCR relay. However, if beam relay configuration adjustments are performed sequentially for each RIS / NCR, the time interval between beam relay configuration adjustments for each RIS / NCR increases as the number of RIS / NCRs increases, potentially affecting coverage performance as beam relay adjustments become less timely.

[0031] Based on this, the present application provides a beam management method, a beam configuration method, a base station, a relay device, and a storage medium. The beam management method groups multiple relay devices based on a preset grouping rule to form a beam management group, performs beam management on each relay device in the beam management group as a unit, thereby improving the efficiency of beam management and ensuring communication quality.

[0032] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a relay communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the relay communication system 100 includes an access node 110, relay devices 221-224, and terminals 231-232. As can be seen from the figure, in application scenarios such as high-speed trains, the signal inside the high-speed train deteriorates due to shielding by the vehicle, and in this case it is necessary to transfer the signal via the relay devices 221-224, thereby enabling communication between terminals 231-232 and the access node 110.

[0033] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA®) mobile communication systems, evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E UTRAN) systems, next generation radio access network (NG RAN) systems, Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, 5th generation (5G) systems such as new radio access technology (NR), and future communication systems such as 6G systems.

[0034] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication technologies, such as microwave communication, optical communication, and millimeter-wave communication. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or specific apparatus forms used.

[0035] The access node 110 in the embodiment of the present application may be an evolved NodeB (eNB), a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a Next Generation NodeB (gNB) in an NR system, a base station in other future mobile communication systems, or an access node in a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) system, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific technology or specific device form used in the network device.

[0036] The terminals 131-132 in the embodiments of this application are user-side entities for receiving or transmitting signals, such as mobile phones. Terminal devices may also be called terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations (MS), mobile terminals (MT), etc. Terminal devices may also be automobiles with communication functions, smart automobiles, mobile phones, wearable devices, tablet computers (Pad), computers with wireless transmission and reception functions, virtual reality (VR) terminal devices, augmented reality (AR) terminal devices, wireless terminal devices in industrial control, wireless terminal devices in self-driving, wireless terminal devices in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal devices in smart grids, wireless terminal devices in transportation safety, wireless terminal devices in smart cities, wireless terminal devices in smart homes, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or specific device form used in the terminal.

[0037] The relay devices 121 to 122 in the embodiments of the present application may be network devices having any of the wireless signal relay capabilities, that is, having the ability to receive wireless signals and wirelessly transmit wireless signals, and the relay devices may be repeaters, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), network controlled repeaters (NCR), etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used in the relay devices.

[0038] In the embodiments of this application, a base station is used as an access node as an example. As those skilled in the art will understand, other types of access nodes, such as TRPs and gNBs, are also compatible with the beam management method according to the embodiments of this application.

[0039] Figure 2 is a flowchart of a beam control method according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 2, the beam control method may include, but is not limited to, steps S1000 and S2000.

[0040] Step S1000: Based on the preset grouping rules, multiple relay devices are grouped to form at least one beam management group.

[0041] In one embodiment, the base station transmits a beam management group creation message to multiple relay devices, so that the multiple relay devices form a beam management group based on the beam management group creation message, and the beam management group information is carried in the beam management group creation message.

[0042] When creating a beam management group, the beam management group information includes at least one of the following: beam management group identifier, beam management codebook number transmission type, reference relay device identifier, general relay device identifier, and the relative positional relationship between the reference relay device and the general relay device.

[0043] To understand this, one base station can manage multiple beam management groups, or when a base station switchover occurs, the beam management group to which some relay devices are located changes, so it is necessary to distinguish beam management groups by beam management group identifiers. The transmission type of beam management codebook numbers is used to indicate whether or not compressed coding of beam management codebook numbers is used. In some embodiments, relay devices in a beam management group are divided into two types: one is a reference relay device, which is also called a reference point relay device, and the other is general relay devices other than reference relay devices, and different types of relay devices and different relay devices are distinguished using relay device identifiers and general relay device identifiers. After determining the reference relay device, all other general relay devices in the group determine their relative positions based on that reference relay device.

[0044] In one embodiment, a preset grouping rule and operational information of multiple relay devices are acquired, a relay device corresponding to the operational information that satisfies the preset grouping rule is determined as the target relay device, and a beam management group is determined based on the target relay device.

[0045] The preset grouping rules include at least one of the following: the relative positions between the multiple accessed relay devices are fixed; the difference in beam management frequency between the multiple accessed relay devices is less than the preset frequency difference threshold; the movement speed and direction of the multiple accessed relay devices are the same; and the number of accessed relay devices is less than the preset beam management group member number threshold.

[0046] In one embodiment, if the preset grouping rule is that the relative positions between multiple relay devices are fixed, for example, if relay devices are installed in the windows of a building, both the relative and absolute positions of these relay devices are fixed, and if relay devices are installed in the windows of a high-speed train, the relative positions of these relay devices are fixed and are not affected by the movement of the high-speed train. When the relative positional relationship between multiple relay devices satisfies the grouping rule according to this embodiment, these relay devices whose relative positions have been determined can be divided into one or more sets to form one or more beam management groups.

[0047] In one embodiment, if the beam management frequency difference between multiple relay devices accessed by a preset grouping rule is smaller than a preset frequency difference threshold, then multiple relay devices that satisfy this grouping rule have similar beam management frequencies and are more suitable for comprehensive management of these relay devices.

[0048] In one embodiment, if the movement speed and direction of multiple relay devices accessed by a preset grouping rule are the same, the multiple relay devices satisfying this grouping rule are relatively stationary, and their relative positions are fixed. If the relative positional relationship between multiple relay devices satisfies the grouping rule according to this embodiment, these relay devices whose relative positions have been determined can be divided into one or more sets to form one or more beam management groups.

[0049] In one embodiment, if the number of relay devices accessed by a preset grouping rule is less than the preset threshold for the number of beam management group members, in one scenario, a threshold is set in advance for the number of members in the beam management group, and beam management is performed only if the number of members does not exceed the threshold.

[0050] Furthermore, the above preset grouping conditions can be expressed in combination form. For example, in one embodiment, beam management is performed for multiple relay devices simply by simultaneously satisfying two preset grouping conditions: their relative positions are fixed, and the difference in beam management frequency is smaller than the preset frequency difference threshold.

[0051] There are several methods for obtaining operational information about a relay device, and at least one of the following is included: the base station measuring the position of the relay device and obtaining operational information based on that position; the base station directly obtaining operational information from the relay device; the base station obtaining operational information from the relay device's management server; or the current base station obtaining operational information from the second base station.

[0052] In one embodiment, the base station measures the position of the relay device and obtains operational information of the relay device from the position. The operational information includes at least one of the following: position information, movement speed, and the relative positional relationship between relay devices in a beam management group.

[0053] In one embodiment, the base station acquires operational information from the relay device. The operational information includes at least one of the following: location information, movement speed, and the determination result of whether the relay device's relative position is fixed relative to adjacent relay devices. The determination result of whether the relay device's relative position is fixed relative to adjacent relay devices means whether or not the relay device's relative position to adjacent relay devices is fixed, and that is, there are two possible determination results: one is that the relative position is fixed, and the other is that the relative position is not fixed.

[0054] In one embodiment, the base station obtains operational information of the relay device from the relay device's management server. The operational information includes at least one of the following: movement speed, identifier of the relay device in the beam management group, determination result of relative positional stability between relay devices in the beam management group, relative positional relationship between relay devices in the beam management group, and beam configuration information of the relay device in the beam management group.

[0055] The beam configuration information includes at least one of the following: the horizontal exit angle of the exit beam relative to the relay device, the vertical exit angle of the exit beam relative to the relay device, the horizontal exit width of the exit beam, the vertical exit width of the exit beam, the distance between the relay device and the exit beam coverage location, and the coverage area of ​​the exit beam coverage location.

[0056] In one embodiment, the current base station acquires operational information of a relay device from the second base station. The operational information includes at least one of the following: the moving speed, the identifier of the relay device in the beam management group to be switched, and the relative positional relationship between relay devices in the beam management group to be switched. The beam management group to be switched is the beam management group corresponding to the base station to be switched. When the relay device moves, it may be necessary to switch from the current base station to the second base station to perform beam management. For this reason, operational information of the relay device can be acquired from the second base station, but the beam management group that the second base station intends to manage is the beam management group to be switched.

[0057] In some embodiments, the relay devices in the beam management group are divided into two types: one is a reference relay device, and the other is a general relay device other than the reference relay device. Therefore, in the above embodiments, the relative positional relationship includes at least one of the following: the linear distance between the reference relay device and the general relay device, the linear distance between adjacent relay devices, the horizontal distance and altitude difference between the reference relay device and the general relay device, the horizontal distance and altitude difference between adjacent relay devices, the angle of inclusion in the horizontal plane and the angle of inclusion in the vertical plane between the reference relay device and the general relay device, and the angle of inclusion in the horizontal plane and the angle of inclusion in the vertical plane between adjacent relay devices.

[0058] Step S2000: Perform beam management for relay devices in each beam management group, using groups as the unit.

[0059] In one embodiment, the base station generates at least one beam management group signaling and transmits the beam management group signaling to the beam management group, thereby enabling beam management for the relay equipment in the beam management group.

[0060] In one embodiment, when a base station needs to update management information for a relay device in a beam management group, the beam management group signaling includes a beam management update message, which carries the updated beam management group information. The base station then sends the beam management update message to the beam management group to update the beam management of the beam management group.

[0061] In one embodiment, the base station configures beam management codebooks corresponding to individual relay devices in a beam management group, generates beam management group signaling based on all beam management codebooks, and finally transmits the beam management group signaling simultaneously to all relay devices in the corresponding beam management group. After each relay device receives the corresponding beam management group signaling, it analyzes the beam management codebook corresponding to itself and configures the beam based on the beam management codebook.

[0062] In another embodiment, the base station configures beam management codebooks corresponding to individual relay devices in a beam management group, generates beam management group signaling based on all beam management codebooks, and finally transmits the beam management group signaling to one relay device in the beam management group, which may be a reference point relay device that serves as a reference relay device. The reference relay device further analyzes the beam management codebooks corresponding to itself and other general relay devices, and further transmits the beam management codebooks of the general relay devices to the corresponding relay devices, thereby enabling all relay devices in the group to obtain their corresponding beam management codebooks and realize the beam configuration.

[0063] Furthermore, when a base station configures a beam management codebook for all relay devices in a beam management group, the beam management group information includes at least one of the following: a beam management group identifier, a base station identifier, a beam management codebook number for each relay device in the beam management group, a compressed encoding of the beam management codebook number for each relay device in the beam management group, the update order of the beam management codebooks for each relay device in the beam management group, and the update time offset of the beam management codebooks for each relay device in the beam management group.

[0064] In one embodiment, the base station configures a beam management codebook corresponding to a reference relay device in a beam management group. Simultaneously, the base station acquires the relative positional relationship between the reference relay device and the general relay devices. Based on the beam management codebook and the relative positional relationship between the reference relay device and the general relay devices, the base station generates beam management group signaling and finally transmits the beam management group signaling simultaneously to all relay devices in the corresponding beam management group. The difference between this embodiment and the two embodiments described above is that in this embodiment, the base station configures only the beam management codebook for the reference relay device and simultaneously distributes the relative positional relationship between each general relay device and the reference relay device. This allows the general relay devices to derive their own beam management codebooks based on the relative positional relationship and the beam management codebook for the reference relay device. Simultaneously, after the general relay device has derived its own beam management codebook, it transmits the derived beam management codebook to the base station via device feedback information, thereby allowing the base station to verify the accuracy of the beam management codebook generated by the general relay device.

[0065] Furthermore, when a base station configures a beam management codebook for a reference relay device in a beam management group, the beam management group information includes at least one of the following: a beam management group identifier, a base station identifier, a beam management codebook number for the reference relay device in the beam management group, the relative positional relationship between the reference relay device and the general relay devices in the beam management group, the update order of the beam management codebooks for each general relay device in the beam management group, and the update time offset of the beam management codebooks for each general relay device in the beam management group.

[0066] According to the beam management method of the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to improve the efficiency of beam management for the reconfigurable intelligent surface of a base station, ensure communication quality, and improve the user experience.

[0067] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a beam management method in a base station switching scenario according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 3, the beam management method includes, but is not limited to, steps S2110 to S2120.

[0068] When a beam management group moves from the coverage range of one base station to the coverage range of another base station, the beam management group needs to be switched from one base station to the other, and the migration of beam management group information between the two base stations is relevant.

[0069] In one embodiment, a preset base station switching trigger condition determines whether or not a base station switch needs to be performed. This determination is based on whether or not to trigger a base station switch, as the base station switching conditions may differ in different embodiments.

[0070] Step S2110: When the preset access node switching trigger condition is met, beam management group information is sent to the first access node.

[0071] In this embodiment, the first access node is the first base station.

[0072] Furthermore, the embodiment of the present application provides two types of base station switching trigger conditions: the first is that at least one relay device in the beam management group satisfies the base station switching condition, and the second is that within a preset time window, a change in the positional information of a relay device in the beam management group satisfies the base station switching condition.

[0073] In one embodiment, when a preset base station switching trigger condition is met, beam management group information is transmitted to the first base station, which is a base station that immediately takes over and manages the beam management group.

[0074] Furthermore, beam management group information includes at least the identifier of each relay device within the beam management group.

[0075] Step S2120: Receive acceptance feedback information from the beam management group transmitted from the first access node.

[0076] In one embodiment, the first base station determines whether or not it can take over and manage the beam management group, updates the configuration of the beam management group based on the status of taking over and managing the beam management group, and transmits the updated beam management group as acceptance feedback information to the current base station.

[0077] In one embodiment, the first base station may, after receiving beam management group information, make a decision based on the beam management group status and the base station's own status, and then take over and maintain the original beam management group. To this end, it generates information for taking over and maintaining the beam management group, uses the information for taking over and maintaining the current beam management group as beam management group acceptance feedback information, and further transmits the beam management group acceptance feedback information to the current base station.

[0078] In one embodiment, the first base station may, after receiving beam management group information, make a decision based on the beam management group status and the base station's own status, and then partially take over and manage the beam management group, and thus is involved in modifying and updating the members and management information in the beam management group. It may add or delete relay devices in the first beam management group and obtain updated relay device information, or update at least one of the first beam management group information to obtain updated first beam management group information, and further generate beam management group update information based on the updated relay device information and updated first beam management group information, further use the beam management group update information as beam management group acceptance feedback information, and finally transmit the beam management group acceptance feedback information to the current base station.

[0079] In one embodiment, the first base station may, after receiving beam management group information, make a decision based on the beam management group status and the base station's own status, and then partially take over and manage the beam management group. However, if it is necessary to assign some relay devices in the beam management group to other beam management groups, the first base station may generate second beam management group information for these reassigned relay devices, use the second beam management group information as acceptance feedback information for the beam management group, and transmit it to these reassigned relay devices.

[0080] In one embodiment, the beam management group's acceptance feedback information is carried to the beam management group takeover management signaling, and the first base station transmits the beam management group takeover management signaling to the current base station, thereby enabling the transmission of the beam management group's acceptance feedback information.

[0081] Furthermore, when a relay device in a beam management group receives a beam management group takeover management signaling that has the first base station identifier, it first leaves the beam management codebook distributed from the first base station as is without updating it, and updates it only after at least one relay device has successfully accessed the first base station.

[0082] In one embodiment, the current base station transmits acceptance feedback information of the beam management group to the relay device in the beam management group, allowing the relay device to switch base stations based on the acceptance feedback information of the beam management group.

[0083] In one embodiment, the current base station further transmits the output beam configuration information of individual relay devices in the beam management group to the first base station.

[0084] According to the beam management method of the embodiment of the present invention, by adjusting the members and beam configuration of a beam management group in real time, it is possible to migrate beam management groups between base stations, ensuring that relay devices in the beam management group switch smoothly between base stations, thereby ensuring communication quality and improving the user experience.

[0085] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a beam control method according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 4, the beam control method includes, but is not limited to, steps S800 and S900.

[0086] Step S800: Based on the preset grouping beam management conditions, determine whether or not to perform beam management for multiple relay devices on a group basis.

[0087] Step S900: When the preset grouping beam management conditions are met, the system enters beam management mode based on the group.

[0088] The preset grouping beam management conditions include at least one of the following: the required beam management frequency for at least one accessed relay device exceeds the first preset frequency threshold; the required beam management codebook delivery delay for at least one accessed relay device exceeds the preset time threshold; the number of accessed relay devices exceeds the first preset number threshold; the number of accessed first relay devices exceeds the second preset number threshold; the number of accessed second relay devices exceeds the third preset number threshold; the beam management group signaling overhead for accessed relay devices exceeds the preset overhead threshold; and the number of accessed third relay devices exceeds the fourth preset number threshold. The first relay device is one whose required beam management frequency exceeds the second preset frequency threshold; the second relay device is one whose moving speed exceeds the preset speed threshold; and the third relay device is one whose beam management correlation exceeds the preset correlation threshold.

[0089] In one embodiment, it is shown that when the beam management frequency required for an accessed relay device exceeds a first preset frequency threshold, the relay device has a high demand for beam management frequency and cannot meet the relay device's requirements for beam management frequency based on the sequential beam management method in related technologies. In this case, it is necessary to ensure the quality of beam management by using a group-based beam management mode.

[0090] In one embodiment, it is shown that if the beam management codebook delivery delay required for the accessed relay device exceeds a preset time threshold, the relay device's immediacy requirement for beam management codebook acquisition cannot be met based on the sequential beam management method in the related technology. In this case, it is necessary to ensure the quality of beam management by using a group-based beam management mode.

[0091] In one embodiment, when the number of accessed relay devices exceeds a first preset threshold, it is shown that the current number of accessed relay devices is large, and the relay device requirements for beam management frequency cannot be met based on the sequential beam management method in the related technology. In this case, it is necessary to ensure the quality of beam management by using a group-based beam management mode.

[0092] In one embodiment, when the beam management frequency required for a certain number of relay devices exceeds the second preset frequency threshold, and the number of these relay devices exceeds the second preset number threshold, it indicates that a considerable number of relay devices have high requirements for beam management frequency. In this case, it is necessary to ensure the quality of beam management by using a group-based beam management mode.

[0093] In one embodiment, when the movement speed of a certain number of relay devices exceeds a preset speed threshold, and the number of these relay devices exceeds a third preset number threshold, it indicates that a considerable number of relay devices are in a high-speed movement state. In this case, it is necessary to ensure the quality of beam management using a beam management mode based on groups.

[0094] In one embodiment, if the beam management group signaling overhead of an accessed relay device exceeds a preset overhead threshold, it indicates that the overhead is too large, resulting in excessive resource utilization and the need to reduce overhead by using a group-based beam management mode.

[0095] In one embodiment, it is shown that when the beam management correlation of a certain number of relay devices exceeds a preset correlation threshold, the differences between the beam management codebooks of these relay devices are large, making it unsuitable to configure and manage these relay devices in the same beam management group. In this case, the beam management of these relay devices may be performed by dividing them into different groups based on the magnitude of the differences between their beam management codebooks.

[0096] Furthermore, the above-mentioned preset grouping beam management conditions can be expressed in combination form. For example, in one embodiment, a relay device can enter a group-based beam management mode simply by simultaneously satisfying two conditions: the required beam management codebook distribution delay exceeds a preset time threshold, and the overhead of beam management group signaling exceeds a preset overhead threshold.

[0097] According to the beam management method of the embodiment of the present application, it is possible to determine in advance whether or not the conditions for entering a group-based beam management mode are met, and if so, perform group-based beam management, thereby providing different beam management methods for different application scenarios or application requirements.

[0098] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a beam control method according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 5, the beam control method includes, but is not limited to, steps S3000, S4000, and S5000.

[0099] Step S3000: Receive the second beam management group information transmitted from the second access node.

[0100] In this embodiment, the second access node is the second base station.

[0101] In one embodiment, the second base station is a base station that performs beam management for a beam management group, the second beam management group information is management information for the beam management group, and the recipient of the second beam management group information is a base station that intends to take over and manage the beam management group.

[0102] Step S4000: Based on the information of the second beam management group, generate a decision to accept the second beam management group.

[0103] Step S5000: Send acceptance feedback information to the second beam management group to the second access node.

[0104] In one embodiment, a base station attempting to take over a beam management group determines whether or not it can take over the beam management group, updates the configuration of the beam management group based on the takeover status, and transmits the updated beam management group as beam management group acceptance feedback information to the current base station.

[0105] In one embodiment, a base station attempting to take over and manage a beam management group may, after receiving beam management group information, make a decision based on the beam management group status and the base station's own status, and then accept and maintain the original beam management group. To this end, it generates information for accepting and maintaining the beam management group, uses the current beam management group takeover and maintenance information as beam management group acceptance feedback information, and transmits the beam management group acceptance feedback information to the current base station.

[0106] In one embodiment, a base station attempting to take over a beam management group may, after receiving beam management group information, make a decision based on the beam management group status and the base station's own status, and then partially take over the beam management group. This involves modifying and updating the members and management information in the beam management group. The base station may add or remove relay devices in the second beam management group and obtain updated relay device information, or update at least one of the second beam management group information to obtain updated second beam management group information. Furthermore, based on the updated relay device information and the updated second beam management group information, beam management group update information is generated, the beam management group update information is used as beam management group acceptance feedback information, and finally the beam management group acceptance feedback information is transmitted to the current base station.

[0107] In one embodiment, a base station attempting to take over a beam management group may, after receiving beam management group information, make a decision based on the beam management group status and the base station's own status, and then partially take over the beam management group. However, it is necessary to assign some relay devices in the beam management group to other beam management groups to form a third beam management group. In this case, the base station attempting to take over the beam management group may generate third beam management group information for these reassigned relay devices, use the third beam management group information as beam management group acceptance feedback information, and have the second base station transmit it to these reassigned relay devices.

[0108] In one embodiment, beam management group acceptance feedback information is carried to beam management group signaling, and a base station attempting to take over a beam management group transmits beam management group signaling to the current base station, thereby enabling the transmission of beam management group acceptance feedback information.

[0109] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a beam configuration method according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 6, the beam management method includes, but is not limited to, steps S6000, S7000, and S8000.

[0110] Step S6000: The beam management group signaling transmitted from the second access node is received. The beam management group signaling is used to perform beam management for multiple relay devices in the beam management group, with the group being the unit.

[0111] In this embodiment, the second access node is the second base station.

[0112] In one embodiment, the relay device receives beam management group signaling transmitted from the second base station, and the beam management group signaling enables the second base station to perform beam management for multiple relay devices in a beam management group, using the group as a unit.

[0113] Step S7000: Obtain the corresponding beam management codebook based on beam management group signaling.

[0114] Step S8000: Configure the beam based on the beam management codebook.

[0115] In one embodiment, by analyzing beam management group signaling, the relay device can obtain a beam management codebook corresponding to itself and configure the beam based on the beam management codebook.

[0116] In another embodiment, the relay devices in the beam management group are divided into reference relay devices and general relay devices other than reference relay devices. Only the reference relay device can directly obtain the beam management codebook corresponding to itself, and the beam management codebook is generated by the first base station. However, the general relay devices only generate their own corresponding beam management codebooks based on the beam management codebook received from the reference relay device and the relative positional relationship between the general relay device and the reference relay device, and perform beam configuration based on the beam management codebook.

[0117] In one embodiment, the general relay device may transmit the generated beam management codebook to a second base station, and the second base station may further verify the accuracy of the generated beam management codebook.

[0118] To further explain the beam control method and beam configuration method according to the embodiment of the present application, the following example will be used to provide a detailed explanation.

[0119] Example 1: Example 1 provides a group creation process for beam management groups in a high-speed train scenario. In the following embodiment, a reconfigurable intelligent surface is selected and described as an exemplary relay device, and other relay devices such as intelligent repeaters can also be applied to the embodiments of this application.

[0120] In related technologies, as the train progresses, the incident angle of the beam emitted from the base station to each reconfigurable intelligent surface changes in real time, preventing coverage area offsets and ensuring that the beam emitted from the reconfigurable intelligent surface always stably covers terminals in the target area. To achieve this, the base station 210 needs to adjust the beam relay configuration of each reconfigurable intelligent surface, which is the beam control codebook for the reflective unit array in the reconfigurable intelligent surface panel, in real time based on measurement results for the downlink channels of terminals covered by each reconfigurable intelligent surface. High-speed trains reach speeds of over 300 km / h, or over 83 m / s. A typical high-speed train is over 200 m long, has more than 10 carriages, and each carriage has 7-9 windows and 13-17 rows of seats on one side. Each window has one reconfigurable intelligent surface covering two rows of seats. The number of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces on one side of a high-speed train exceeds 100, all within the service area of ​​a single base station, and comprehensive beam management is performed by that single base station. To ensure high-volume service, high-frequency coverage is already supported by 5G. However, the high-frequency service beam from the base station typically uses a narrow beam and needs to sequentially cover the inside of the carriage via relays through each reconfigurable intelligent surface. If beam management is performed sequentially for each reconfigurable intelligent surface, the time interval for beam management of each surface increases as the number of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces increases. This can lead to beam management becoming less timely, affecting coverage performance and potentially impacting communication quality.

[0121] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the use of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces to achieve signal coverage in a high-speed train scenario according to an example of the present invention. In actual application scenarios, high-speed trains have multiple carriages, and multiple reconfigurable intelligent surfaces are installed in each carriage. However, in this example, only two carriages and four reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in each carriage are depicted exemplarily. The reconfigurable intelligent surfaces are used to refract the base station beam and then provide signal coverage to user terminals within the carriages.

[0122] As shown in Figure 7, the direction of travel of the vehicles is indicated by the arrows, with four reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224 located on the first vehicle and four reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 225-228 located on the second vehicle, and the base station 210 is responsible for managing the above eight reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.

[0123] Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart of a beam control method according to an example of the present invention. As shown in the figure, it includes at least steps C101 and S101 to S104.

[0124] Step C101: The base station determines whether or not to perform beam management on a group basis for the reconfigurable intelligent surface.

[0125] Based on one or more of the following preset grouping beam management conditions, it is determined whether or not to enter a beam management mode on a group basis, and the preset grouping beam management conditions are:

[0126] (1) It is not possible to meet the required beam management frequency for at least one reconfigurable intelligent surface.

[0127] (2) The update codebook delivery delay required for at least one reconfigurable intelligent surface exceeds a predetermined limit.

[0128] (3) The number of dynamically reconfigurable intelligent surfaces accessing the base station exceeds a predetermined limit.

[0129] (4) Whether the number of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces whose required beam management frequency exceeds a predetermined limit exceeds a predetermined limit.

[0130] (5) The number of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces requiring dynamic beam management exceeds a predetermined limit when the moving speed exceeds a predetermined limit,

[0131] (6) The signaling overhead of the reconfigurable intelligent surface beam management exceeds a predetermined limit.

[0132] (7) The number of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces exceeds a predetermined limit, wherein the beam management correlation exceeds a predetermined limit, and the beam management correlation refers to the correlation of the reflective unit array codebook.

[0133] To make it easier to understand, the above statistics can be calculated based on a given time window length.

[0134] In this example, when the number of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces of base station 210 that require management exceeds a predetermined limit, condition (3) is met, and therefore, the system can enter a group-based beam management mode.

[0135] In other examples, you may use only one of the conditions to make a decision, or you may use a combination of several conditions, such as a combination of (1) and (4), or a combination of (1) and (2).

[0136] Step S101: The base station screens reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that can be configured into a single group and forms a beam management group.

[0137] The screening criteria are one or more of the preset grouping criteria, and the preset grouping criteria are,

[0138] (1) The relative positions of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces within the same group are fixed.

[0139] (2) The beam management frequencies required for reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in the same group are equal or approximate.

[0140] (3) The movement speed and direction of the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in the same group are the same.

[0141] (4) With respect to the limit on the number of group member reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, the base station must ensure that the size of the group conforms to the limit if there is a limit on the maximum or minimum number of group members that can form a group.

[0142] Condition (1) may be a mandatory option, while the other conditions are optional.

[0143] In this example, the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224 of the first vehicle belong to the same vehicle and their relative positions are fixed, while the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 225-228 belong to the second vehicle and are not hard-connected to the first vehicle. Since the track is not straight, there is displacement between the vehicles, and therefore the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 225-228 are not suitable to form a single beam management group together with the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224. The method in this example configures the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224 into one beam management group A and the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 225-228 into one beam management group B, and the other vehicles are configured in the same way.

[0144] There are several ways a base station can acquire operational information for a reconfigurable intelligent surface, as follows:

[0145] The first type involves a base station measuring the positioning of a reconfigurable intelligent surface and obtaining at least one of the following based on the positioning: position information, the moving speed of the RIS, and the relative positional relationship. The accuracy of this method is determined by the accuracy of the positioning proposal.

[0146] Type 2 involves the base station acquiring information from a reconfigurable intelligent surface, and the acquired information includes at least one of the following: the location information of the reconfigurable intelligent surface, the speed of movement of the reconfigurable intelligent surface, and whether the relative position of the reconfigurable intelligent surface to other adjacent reconfigurable intelligent surfaces is fixed or not. In this method, the reconfigurable intelligent surface must measure its own location information and speed of movement, and can use technologies such as Beidou positioning or GPS positioning, and report the results to the base station.

[0147] Type 3 involves the base station obtaining information from the Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Operation Management Background, the information obtained including a list of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that can be configured in a group, whether the relative positions of the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in the same group are fixed, the relative positional relationships of the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in the same group, the moving speed of the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, the output beam configuration of the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in the group, and at least one of the target areas covered by the relay beam for managing the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. The output beam configuration of the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in the group further includes at least one of the following: the horizontal output angle of the output beam relative to the reconfigurable intelligent surface panel, the vertical output angle of the output beam relative to the RIS panel, the horizontal output width of the output beam (measured as an angle value), the vertical output width of the output beam (measured as an angle value), the distance from the reconfigurable intelligent surface panel to the output beam coverage location, and the coverage area of ​​the output beam coverage location. The coverage area of ​​the output beam coverage location can be measured by radius or diameter. This method involves network deployment personnel determining the policies and parameters of the beam management group based on data measured in advance during the deployment of reconfigurable intelligent surface construction, and configuring them to the base station via the background.

[0148] The fourth type involves a base station acquiring information from an adjacent base station. The acquired information includes at least one of the following: a list of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that can be configured into a single group from among the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces to be switched; the relative positions between the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces that can be configured into a single group from among the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces to be switched; and the movement speed of the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. If the adjacent base station has already established a beam management group for the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, the beam management group parameters can be acquired from the adjacent base station as a reference when the reconfigurable intelligent surface group moves from the adjacent base station.

[0149] The above relative positional relationship includes at least one of the following: the linear distance between a general group member reconfigurable intelligent surface and a reference point reconfigurable intelligent surface, or the linear distance between adjacent reconfigurable intelligent surfaces; the horizontal distance and elevation difference between a general group member reconfigurable intelligent surface and a reference point reconfigurable intelligent surface, or the horizontal distance and elevation difference between adjacent reconfigurable intelligent surfaces; the directional angle between a general group member reconfigurable intelligent surface and a reference point reconfigurable intelligent surface, or the directional angle between adjacent reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (including the horizontal directional angle and the vertical directional angle).

[0150] Step S102: The base station delivers a beam management group creation message to the reconfigurable intelligent surface in the beam management group.

[0151] The base station may distribute beam management group creation messages to each of the individually reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in a group, in one of two ways:

[0152] The first method involves a base station updating the beam management codebooks for all reconfigurable intelligent surfaces within a group and distributing the beam management codebooks for all reconfigurable intelligent surfaces to each reconfigurable intelligent surface. Thus, the beam management group information includes at least one of the following: a beam management group identifier and whether or not compressed coding of beam management numbers is used.

[0153] Existing compression encoding methods in related technologies can be used for easier understanding, and this application omits such explanation.

[0154] Method 2: The base station updates only the beam management codebook of the reference point group member reconfigurable intelligent surface, and distributes the beam management codebook of the reference point group member reconfigurable intelligent surface and the relative positional relationship between the reference point group member reconfigurable intelligent surface and the general group member reconfigurable intelligent surface to each reconfigurable intelligent surface, thereby allowing the general group member reconfigurable intelligent surface to derive its own codebook based on the above information. Thus, the beam management group information includes at least one of the following: beam management group identifier, reference point RIS identity indicator, general group member RIS identity indicator, and the relative positional relationship between each general group member reconfigurable intelligent surface and the reference point group member reconfigurable intelligent surface.

[0155] In this example, assuming that the beam management codebook is configured using the Type II method, the base station 210 instructs that the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221 be a reference point group member reconfigurable intelligent surface, and that the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222 to 224 be general group member reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. The reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222 to 224 then need to derive their own codebooks based on the codebook of the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221.

[0156] Step S103: After receiving the beam management group creation message, the reconfigurable intelligent surface must continue to intercept whether there is beam management group signaling corresponding to the beam management group identifier.

[0157] In this example, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224 must continuously intercept whether beam management group signaling corresponding to beam management group A identifiers exists, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 225-228 must continuously intercept whether beam management group signaling corresponding to beam management group B identifiers exists. If base station 210 needs to correct the beam management group information of a reconfigurable intelligent surface, it can distribute the updated beam management group, and the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces always intercept and receive beam management group signaling based on the most recently received beam management group information.

[0158] Step S104: Complete.

[0159] Proceeding to step S104 indicates that the current situation is not suitable for entering a group-based beam management mode.

[0160] The beam management method described in this example can improve the efficiency of beam management for the reconfigurable intelligent surface of a base station, ensure communication quality, and enhance the user experience.

[0161] Furthermore, the beam management method described in this example can also be applied to other non-moving, reconfigurable intelligent surface scenarios. For example, a reconfigurable intelligent surface or other wireless signal relay device can be placed on the facade windows outside a building to relay external signals into the interior and achieve signal coverage inside the building. If a reconfigurable intelligent surface is placed outside the windows of each room on each floor outside the building, the building could potentially have hundreds of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces in one direction. The relative positions of these reconfigurable intelligent surfaces are fixed and suitable for grouped beam management. For example, the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces on one side of each floor can constitute one beam management group, and the method for creating these groups can be found in the example of a high-speed train.

[0162] Example 2: Example 2, based on the high-speed train scenario of Example 1, details the process by which a base station performs beam management for a reconfigurable intelligent surface within a beam management group.

[0163] Figure 9 is a schematic flowchart of a beam control method according to an example of the present invention. As shown in the figure, it includes at least steps S201 to S204.

[0164] Step S201: The base station decides to update the beam configuration of a reconfigurable intelligent surface based on channel measurement results reported from a reconfigurable intelligent surface that is a group member in beam management group A, and the base station must simultaneously determine the beam configurations of other group member reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.

[0165] In this example, we assume that reconfigurable intelligent surface 221 is a group member whose beam configuration needs to be actively updated, and that reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222-224 are group members whose beam configuration needs to be passively updated.

[0166] Step S202: The base station derives a new beam configuration for the other group members based on the relative positional relationship between the other group members and the group member, and the new beam configuration for the group member.

[0167] In this example, it is necessary to obtain the relative positional relationship between reconfigurable intelligent surface 221 and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222-224. The base station first generates a beam management codebook for reconfigurable intelligent surface 221, and then derives beam management codebooks for reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222-224 based on the relative positional relationship.

[0168] Step S203: The base station distributes beam management group signaling for beam management group A.

[0169] The control link that delivers the signaling may use a broad beam capable of simultaneously covering the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224, for example, a low-frequency carrier broad beam or a high-frequency carrier broad beam, thereby ensuring that the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224 can simultaneously receive the group beam management group signaling, the group beam management group signaling being the beam management codebook number of each group member reconfigurable intelligent surface of the group, provided that compressed encoding is promised for the beam management codebook numbers of all group member reconfigurable intelligent surfaces when creating the group, the compressed beams of all group member reconfigurable intelligent surfaces This includes one or more of the following: an identifier for beam management group A that transmits beam management codebook numbers; a base station identifier describing which base station generates the beam management group signaling; a codebook update order for each group member reconfigurable intelligent surface that updates its codebook immediately after receiving beam management group signaling, and a codebook update time offset for each group's reconfigurable intelligent surface that indicates the relative time when reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221 to 224 update their codebooks, unless this section is included, allowing each group member reconfigurable intelligent surface to determine its own update time.

[0170] Furthermore, the three pieces of information—base station identifier, codebook update order for each group member reconfigurable intelligent surface, and codebook update time offset for each group member reconfigurable intelligent surface—are optional and may or may not be included in the group beam management group signaling.

[0171] Step S204: The reconfigurable intelligent surface intercepts beam management group signaling containing the identifier of beam management group A, decodes its corresponding beam management codebook, and updates the codebook based on the signaling instructions.

[0172] Example 3: Example 3, based on the high-speed train scenario of Example 1, details the process by which a base station performs beam management for a reconfigurable intelligent surface within a beam management group.

[0173] Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart of a beam control method according to an example of the present invention. As shown in the figure, it includes at least steps S301 to S303.

[0174] Step S301: The base station decides to update the beam configuration of the reference point reconfigurable intelligent surface based on the channel measurement results reported from the reference point reconfigurable intelligent surface in beam management group A.

[0175] In this example, we assume that the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221 is a reference point reconfigurable intelligent surface, and that the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222 to 224 are general reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.

[0176] Step S302: The base station distributes beam management group signaling to beam management group A.

[0177] In this example, the control link that distributes the signaling can refer to Example 2, and the group beam management group signaling includes one or more of the following: the identifier of beam management group A, the beam management codebook number of reconfigurable intelligent surface 221, a base station identifier that describes which base station generates the beam management group signaling, the relative position of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222-224 and reconfigurable intelligent surface 221, the codebook update order of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224, and the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224 codebook update time offset, which is the relative time that instructs reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224 to update their codebooks.

[0178] Furthermore, the following four pieces of information—base station identifier, relative positional relationship between reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222-224 and reconfigurable intelligent surface 221, codebook update order for each group member reconfigurable intelligent surface, and codebook update time offset for each group member reconfigurable intelligent surface—are optional and may or may not be included in the group beam management group signaling.

[0179] Step S303: The reconfigurable intelligent surface in beam management group A, upon receiving beam management group signaling and intercepting it, decodes the beam management codebook number corresponding to the reference point reconfigurable intelligent surface, derives its corresponding beam configuration based on its relative positional relationship with the reference point reconfigurable intelligent surface, and updates the codebook.

[0180] Example 4: Example 4, based on the high-speed train scenario of Example 1, details the process by which a base station performs beam management during switching while a high-speed train is in motion.

[0181] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of beam management during base station switching in a high-speed train scenario according to an example of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the beam management process is illustrated as a beam management group, consisting of a set of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, moves from a cell covered by base station 210 to a cell covered by base station 220 while the high-speed train is in motion.

[0182] In this example, assuming that the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224 of the high-speed train are located on the same train car, and that base station 210 constructs the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224 into a single beam management group A within the coverage area of ​​base station 210, when the train moves from base station 210 to the edge of base station 220's coverage area, reconfigurable intelligent surface 221, having previously measured the reference signal from base station 220, reports a measurement report to base station 210.

[0183] Figure 12 is a flowchart of beam management during base station switching according to an example of the present invention. As shown in the figure, it includes at least steps S401 to S415.

[0184] Step S401: The reconfigurable intelligent surface 221 reports a measurement report.

[0185] In this example, based on the direction of train operation, it is first necessary to switch base stations to the reconfigurable intelligent surface 22, and therefore it reports a measurement report.

[0186] Step S402: The base station 210 determines whether the switching conditions are met, and if so, the base station 210 further determines whether the remaining reconfigurable intelligent surfaces of beam management group A successively meet the switching conditions.

[0187] In this example, base station 210 determines whether the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221 meets the switching conditions based on the measurement report of the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221. If it does, base station 210 then determines whether the remaining reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222 to 224 of beam management group A successively meet the switching conditions. Based on the direction of the railway, the trend of change in the beam incidence angle of the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221, the change in path loss of the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221, or the positioning information of the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221, base station 210 determines whether the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222 to 224 successively meet the switching conditions together with the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221.

[0188] Furthermore, based on the change in positional information of the reference point reconfigurable intelligent surface in beam management group A or any one reconfigurable intelligent surface, base station 210 can predetermine in which time window a switch will occur for the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222-224 in beam management group A. Since the direction of movement of the high-speed train is stable, the accuracy of this predetermined information is high, and if the time window in which a switch occurs is reached immediately within a predetermined time, for example, one predetermined time threshold can be set to 0.5s or 1s. If base station 210 does not receive a measurement report for any of the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222-224, it can predetermine instruct base station 220 to start preparing for the switch of the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222-224.

[0189] Step S403: Send beam management group switchover preparation signaling.

[0190] In this example, if base station 210 determines that the switching conditions are met after making a decision, base station 210 can transmit a group switching preparation signal to base station 220. The signal carries group information for beam management group A, identifiers for the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221 to 224 included in beam management group A, and the output beam configuration of each reconfigurable intelligent surface within beam management group A.

[0191] Step S404: The base station 220 decides whether to accept the overall switchover of beam management group A, and whether to modify or reject it to maintain beam management group A.

[0192] Step S405: Switching response.

[0193] In this example, base station 220 feeds the determination result back to base station 210. The feedback information includes at least one or more of the following:

[0194] (1) Whether to accept or reject the overall switching of the beam management group. If the overall switching is rejected, the switching of only the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221 may be accepted, and the switching of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 222-224 may be rejected in the feedback to the base station 210. If the overall switching is accepted, switching signaling is fed back to the reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224.

[0195] (2) Whether to accept and maintain the beam management group, that is, whether to accept the group configuration of beam management group A, and if not, base station 220 may modify the group configuration of beam management group A and then provide feedback to base station 210, the modifications including adding or removing reconfigurable intelligent surfaces of group members, modifying one or more of the group information, for example, modifying the configuration of compressed coding using beam management codebook numbers, or replacing the reference point reconfigurable intelligent surface.

[0196] (3) The base station 220 may also change a group member reconfigurable intelligent surface of beam management group A to another beam management group, for example, beam management group C, and transmit the group information of beam management group C to the group member reconfigurable intelligent surface via the base station 210.

[0197] (4) The base station 220 can transmit beam management group signaling to beam management group A in advance.

[0198] Step S406: Base station 210 transmits the information that base station 220 has fed back to beam management group A to the corresponding reconfigurable intelligent surface.

[0199] In this example, base station 210 transmits the information that base station 220 has fed back to beam management group A to the corresponding reconfigurable intelligent surface, and the reconfigurable intelligent surface does not update the reflecting unit array codebook distributed by base station 220.

[0200] Step S407: The reconfigurable intelligent surface 221 accesses the base station 220.

[0201] Step S408: The reconfigurable intelligent surface 221 updates its own reflection unit array codebook based on the beam management group signaling received from base station 220.

[0202] In this example, once the reconfigurable intelligent surface 221 successfully accesses the base station 220, it updates its own reflecting unit array codebook based on the beam management group signaling received from the base station 220.

[0203] Step S409: The reconfigurable intelligent surface 222 accesses the base station 220.

[0204] Step S410: The reconfigurable intelligent surface 222 updates its own reflecting unit array codebook based on the beam management group signaling received from base station 220.

[0205] Step S411: The reconfigurable intelligent surface 223 accesses the base station 220.

[0206] Step S412: The reconfigurable intelligent surface 223 updates its own reflection unit array codebook based on the beam management group signaling received from base station 220.

[0207] Step S413: The reconfigurable intelligent surface 224 accesses the base station 220.

[0208] Step S414: The reconfigurable intelligent surface 224 updates its own reflection unit array codebook based on the beam management group signaling received from base station 220.

[0209] Step S415: Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces 221-224 intercept the corresponding beam management group signaling based on the beam management group signaling received from base station 220.

[0210] The beam management method described in this example ensures smooth base station switching, maintains communication quality, and improves the user experience by adjusting the members and beam configuration of the beam management group in real time.

[0211] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an access node according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 13, the access node includes a memory 1100 and a processor 1200. The number of memory 1100 and processor 1200 may be one or more, and Figure 13 shows one memory 1100 and one processor 1200 as an example. The memory 1100 and processor 1200 in the device can be connected by a bus or by other means, and Figure 13 shows a bus connection as an example.

[0212] The memory 1100, as a computer-readable storage medium, can store software programs such as program instructions / modules corresponding to the resource determination method according to any one embodiment of the present application, as well as computer-executable programs and modules. The processor 1200 implements the beam management method by executing the software programs, instructions, and modules stored in the memory 1100.

[0213] The memory 1100 may primarily include an operating system, a program storage area capable of storing application programs required for at least one function, and a data storage area. The memory 1100 may also include high-speed random-access memory, and non-volatile memory such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, or other non-volatile solid-state storage device. In some examples, the memory 1100 may further include memory installed remotely from the processor 1200, and these remote memories may be connected to computer equipment via a network. Examples of such networks include, but are not limited to, the Internet, intranets, local area networks, mobile communication networks, and combinations thereof.

[0214] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a relay device according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 14, the device includes a memory 1300 and a processor 1400. The number of memory 1300 and processor 1400 may be one or more, and in Figure 14, one memory 1300 and one processor 1400 are used as an example. The memory 1300 and processor 1400 in the device may be connected by a bus or by other means. Figure 14 shows an example of connection by bus.

[0215] The memory 1300, as a computer-readable storage medium, can store software programs such as program instructions / modules corresponding to the resource determination method according to any one embodiment of the present application, as well as computer-executable programs and modules. The processor 1400 realizes the beam configuration method by executing the software programs, instructions, and modules stored in the memory 1300.

[0216] Memory 1300 may primarily include an operating system, a program storage area capable of storing application programs required for at least one function, and a data storage area. Memory 1300 may also include high-speed random-access memory, and non-volatile memory such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, or other non-volatile solid-state storage device. In some examples, memory 1300 may further include memory installed remotely from the processor 1400, and these remote memories may be connected to computer equipment via a network. Examples of such networks include, but are not limited to, the Internet, intranets, local area networks, mobile communication networks, and combinations thereof.

[0217] One embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium that stores computer-executable instructions, and the computer-executable instructions are used to execute a beam management method or a beam configuration method according to any one embodiment of the present invention.

[0218] One embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program product which includes a computer program or computer instruction stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and a processor of a computer device reads the computer program or computer instruction from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer program or computer instruction to cause the computer device to execute a beam management method or beam configuration method according to any one embodiment of the present invention.

[0219] According to the beam management method, beam configuration method, access node, relay device, and storage medium of the present invention, the beam management method groups multiple relay devices based on a preset grouping rule to form a beam management group, performs beam management on the relay devices in each beam management group as a unit, thereby improving the efficiency of beam management and ensuring communication quality.

[0220] The system architecture and application scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the technical solutions related to the embodiments of this application. Those skilled in the art will understand that, as system architectures evolve and new application scenarios emerge, the technical solutions related to the embodiments of this application can also be applied to similar technical problems.

[0221] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or some of the steps, systems, and functional modules / units of the devices disclosed above can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, or appropriate combinations thereof.

[0222] In hardware embodiments, the division of functional modules / units as described above does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, one physical component may have multiple functions, or one function or step may be performed jointly by multiple physical components. Some or all physical components may be implemented as software executed on a processor such as a central processing unit, digital signal processor, or microprocessor, or as hardware, or as an integrated circuit such as an application-specific integrated circuit. Such software may be distributed on computer-readable media, which may include computer storage media (or non-temporary media) and communication media (or temporary media). As is well known to those skilled in the art, computer storage media include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technique for storing information (e.g., computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital multipurpose disc (DVD) or other optical disc storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, storage device storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can be used to store desired information and are accessible by a computer. Also, as is well known to those skilled in the art, communication media may include any information transmission media, and typically include computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in modulated data signals such as carriers or other transmission mechanisms.

[0223] As used herein, terms such as “component,” “module,” and “system” are intended to represent computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, hardware-software combinations, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, or a computer. As illustrated, applications running on computing equipment and computing equipment may both be components. One or more components may reside in a process or execution thread, and components may reside in one computer or be distributed between two or more computers. These components may also be executed from various computer-readable media storing various data structures. Components may communicate via local or remote processes in response to signals, for example, one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component between a local system, a distributed system, or a network, e.g., the Internet interacting with other systems via signals).

Claims

1. A beam management method, The steps include: grouping multiple relay devices based on a preset grouping rule to form at least one beam management group; A step of performing beam management for the relay device in each beam management group, with the group being the unit; The step of performing beam management for the relay device in each beam management group, with the group as the unit, A step of generating at least one beam management group signaling, The steps include transmitting beam management group signaling corresponding to the beam management group and performing beam management for the beam of the relay device in the beam management group, The step of generating at least one beam management group signaling is: The steps include: configuring a beam management codebook corresponding to each relay device in the beam management group; A beam management method comprising the step of generating at least one beam management group signaling based on all of the aforementioned beam management codebooks.

2. The step of grouping multiple relay devices based on a preset grouping rule to form at least one beam management group is: Steps include acquiring preset grouping rules and operational information of multiple relay devices, The steps include determining the relay device corresponding to the operation information that satisfies the preset grouping rule as the target relay device, The beam management method according to claim 1, comprising the step of determining the beam management group based on the target relay device.

3. The step of grouping multiple relay devices to form at least one beam management group is, A step of sending a beam management group creation message to a plurality of relay devices, thereby enabling the plurality of relay devices to form a beam management group based on the beam management group creation message, the step of the beam management group creation message carrying beam management group information, The beam management group information is, Beam management group identifier, Transmission type of beam management codebook number, Reference relay device identifier, General relay device identifier, The beam management method according to claim 1, comprising at least one of the relative positional relationships between a reference relay device and a general relay device.

4. The aforementioned beam management group signaling is, Beam management group identifier, Access node identifier, The beam management codebook number for each relay device in the beam management group. Compressed encoding of beam management codebook numbers for individual relay devices in beam management groups. The update sequence of beam management codebooks for individual relay devices within the beam management group. The beam management method according to claim 3, comprising at least one of the update time offsets of the beam management codebooks of individual relay devices in a beam management group.

5. The step of generating at least one beam management group signaling is: The steps include: configuring a beam management codebook corresponding to the reference relay device in the beam management group; The steps include obtaining the relative positional relationship between the reference relay device and the general relay device, The beam management method according to claim 1, comprising the step of generating at least one beam management group signaling based on the beam management codebook and the relative positional relationship between the reference relay device and the general relay device.

6. The aforementioned beam management group signaling is, Beam management group identifier, Access node identifier, Beam management codebook number for the reference relay device in the beam management group, The relative positional relationship between the reference relay device and the general relay device in the beam management group. The update sequence of beam management codebooks for individual general relay devices within the beam management group. The beam management method according to claim 1, comprising at least one of the update time offsets of the beam management codebooks of individual general relay devices in a beam management group.

7. The step of performing beam management for the beams of the relay device in the beam management group, with the group being the unit, The beam management group receives device feedback information from the general relay device, and the device feedback information includes a beam management codebook generated by the general relay device. The beam management method according to claim 5, comprising the step of verifying the generated beam management codebook based on the relay performance of the general relay device and the device feedback information.

8. When the preset access node switching trigger condition is met, the beam management group information is sent to the first access node. The step further includes receiving acceptance feedback information of the beam management group transmitted from the first access node, The preset access node switching trigger conditions are: At least one relay device in the beam management group satisfies the access node switching conditions. Within the preset time window, at least one of the following conditions is met: the change in the location information of the relay device in the beam management group satisfies the access node switching condition. The beam management method according to claim 1, wherein the beam management group information includes identifiers for each relay device in the beam management group.

9. The steps of transmitting the output beam configuration information of each relay device in the beam management group to the first access node, or The beam management method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of transmitting the acceptance feedback information to the relay device in the beam management group so that the relay device can perform access node switching based on the acceptance feedback information.

10. The aforementioned preset grouping rules are: The relative positions between the multiple relay devices that were accessed are fixed. The beam management frequency difference between the multiple relay devices accessed is smaller than the preset frequency difference threshold. The movement speed and direction of movement of the multiple relay devices that were accessed are the same. The beam management method according to claim 1, comprising at least one of the following: the number of relay devices accessed is less than a preset beam management group member threshold.

11. A step of determining whether or not to perform beam management on multiple relay devices in groups based on preset grouping beam management conditions, The beam management method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of entering a beam management mode on a group basis when the preset grouping beam management conditions are met.

12. The preset grouping beam management conditions are: The beam management frequency required for at least one of the accessed relay devices exceeds a first preset frequency threshold. The beam management codebook distribution delay required for at least one of the relay devices accessed exceeds a preset time threshold. The number of relay devices accessed exceeds the first preset threshold. The number of first relay devices accessed exceeds the second preset threshold. The number of second relay devices accessed exceeds the third preset threshold. The overhead of beam management group signaling of the accessed relay device exceeds the preset overhead threshold. This includes at least one of the following: the number of accessed third relay devices exceeds the fourth preset threshold, The beam management method according to claim 11, wherein the first relay device is a relay device whose required beam management frequency exceeds a second preset frequency threshold, the second relay device is a relay device whose moving speed exceeds a preset speed threshold, and the third relay device is a relay device whose beam management correlation exceeds a preset correlation threshold.

13. The step of acquiring operational information of multiple relay devices is: To measure the position of the relay device and obtain the operation information based on the position, To obtain the operation information from the relay device, To obtain the operation information of the relay device from the management server of the relay device, The beam management method according to claim 2, further comprising at least one of obtaining the operation information of the relay device from an adjacent access node.

14. A beam configuration method, A step of receiving beam management group signaling transmitted from a second access node, wherein the beam management group signaling is used to perform beam management for multiple relay devices in a beam management group on a group basis, The steps include obtaining a corresponding beam management codebook based on the beam management group signaling, The steps include configuring the beam based on the aforementioned beam management codebook, A beam configuration method comprising: each relay device in the beam management group is configured with a corresponding beam management codebook; and beam management group signaling is generated based on the beam management codebook.

15. Access node, At least one processor, It includes at least one memory for storing at least one program, An access node that performs the beam management method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, when at least one of the programs is executed by at least one of the processors.

16. It is a relay device, At least one processor, It includes at least one memory for storing at least one program, A relay device that performs the beam configuration method according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the programs is executed by at least one of the processors.

17. A computer-readable storage medium that stores a processor-executable program, and which, when the processor-executable program is executed by a processor, performs the beam management method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

18. A computer-readable storage medium that stores a processor-executable program, and when the processor-executable program is executed by a processor, the beam configuration method described in Claim 14 is performed.

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