Wireless device and control method

Abstract

This wireless device is provided with: a control unit that determines a codeword on the basis of a geometric relationship between the wireless device and an area covered by the wireless device and generates a beam that covers the area by applying the codeword; and a communication unit that outputs a signal by using the beam.

Description

Wireless device and control method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wireless device and a control method.

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is developing specifications for the 5th generation mobile communication system (5G, also known as New Radio (NR) or Next Generation (NG)), and is also developing specifications for the next generation, known as Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0003] In NR, in addition to user terminals (which may be referred to as UE (User Equipment) or simply as terminals) and radio base stations (which may be simply referred to as base stations), the introduction of radio devices such as RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) is being considered to achieve higher data rates and wider coverage (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] International Publication No. 2022 / 151016

[0005] However, there is room for improvement in controlling the generation of appropriate beams according to the coverage area of ​​wireless devices that are being considered for introduction.

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a wireless device and a control method capable of performing control to generate an appropriate beam according to the coverage area.

[0007] A wireless device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a control unit that determines a code word based on a geometric relationship between the wireless device and an area covered by the wireless device, and applies the code word to generate a beam that covers the area, and a communication unit that outputs a signal using the beam.

[0008] 1-1-1-1. FIG. 1-1-1. FIG. 1-1-2. FIG. 1-1-2. FIG. 1-1-3. FIG. 1-1-4. FIG. 1-1-5. FIG. 1-2-6. FIG. 1-3-7. FIG. 1-4. FIG. 1-5. FIG. 1-6. FIG. 1-7. FIG. 1-8. FIG. 1-9. FIG. 1-10. FIG. 1-11. FIG. 1-12. FIG. 1-13. FIG. 1-14. FIG. 1-15. FIG. 1-16. FIG. 1-17. FIG. 1-18. FIG. 1-19. FIG. 1-20. FIG. 1-21. FIG. 1-22. FIG. 1-23. FIG. 1-24. FIG. 1-25. FIG. 1-26. FIG. 1-27. FIG. 1-28. FIG. 1-29. FIG. 1-30. FIG. 1-31. FIG. 1-32. FIG. 1-33. FIG. 1-34. FIG. 1-35. FIG. 1-36. FIG. 1-37. FIG. 1-38. FIG. 1-39. FIG. 1-40. FIG. 1-41. FIG. 1-42. FIG. 1-43. FIG. 1-44. FIG. 1-55. FIG. 1-66. FIG. 1-77. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing Alt. 1 of a second example of use case 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing Alt. 2 of a second example of use case 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a first example of use case 2. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first example of use case 3. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second example of use case 3. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a base station, a terminal, and a wireless device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle.

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment according to one aspect of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is an example, and the embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0010] In operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, existing technology is used as appropriate, for example, existing LTE or existing NR, but is not limited to existing LTE or NR.

[0011] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure described below, terms used in existing LTE or NR, such as SS (Synchronization signal), PSS (Primary SS), SSS (Secondary SS), PBCH (Physical broadcast channel), PRACH (Physical random access channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), and PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), are used. This is for convenience of description, and similar signals, functions, etc. may be referred to by other names. Furthermore, the above-mentioned terms in NR correspond to NR-SS, NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, NR-PRACH, etc. However, even signals used in NR are not necessarily referred to as "NR-".

[0012] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the duplex method may be a time division duplex (TDD) method, a frequency division duplex (FDD) method, or another method (for example, flexible duplex, etc.).

[0013] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, "configuring" radio parameters and the like may mean that predetermined values ​​are pre-configured, or that radio parameters notified from a base station or a terminal are set.

[0014] <Wireless Communication System> Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 10 is a wireless communication system conforming to 5G NR or 6G NR, and includes a Next Generation-Radio Access Network 20 (hereinafter, NG-RAN 20) and a terminal 200 (hereinafter, also referred to as UE (User Equipment) 200).

[0015] The wireless communication system 10 may be a wireless communication system conforming to a system called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0016] The NG-RAN 20 includes a base station 100 (hereinafter also referred to as a gNB 100). Note that the number of gNBs and UEs is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1 .

[0017] The NG-RAN 20 actually includes multiple NG-RAN nodes, specifically, gNBs (or ng-eNBs), and is connected to a core network conforming to 5G or 6G. The NG-RAN 20 and the core network may be simply referred to as a "network." In the following description, the term "gNB" may be replaced with "network (NW)."

[0018] As an example, gNB100 is a base station conforming to 5G or 6G and performs wireless communication conforming to 5G or 6G with UE200.

[0019] 1 also shows a radio device 300 that transfers signals between the gNB 100 and the UE 200. Hereinafter, the radio device 300 may be referred to as a RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface).

[0020] For example, the radio device 300 performs a forwarding operation of forwarding a signal transmitted from the gNB 100 to the UE 200. The radio device 300 may also perform a forwarding operation of forwarding a signal transmitted from the UE 200 to the gNB 100. Note that "forward" may be replaced with "relay." Furthermore, "operation" may be replaced with "processing," "control," or the like. Furthermore, a RIS, which is an example of the radio device 300 under consideration in NR, will be described below.

[0021] The gNB 100 and the UE 200 may support MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), which generates more directional beams by controlling radio signals transmitted from multiple antenna elements, carrier aggregation (CA), which bundles and uses multiple component carriers (CC), and dual connectivity (DC), which communicates between the UE and each of two NG-RAN nodes.

[0022] The wireless communication system 10 may also support multiple frequency ranges (FR). The wireless communication system 10 may support FR1 and FR2. The frequency bands of each FR are, for example, as follows: FR1: 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz FR2: 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz

[0023] FR1 may use a sub-carrier spacing (SCS) of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, or 60 kHz, and a bandwidth (BW) of 5 to 100 MHz. FR2 is a higher frequency than FR1, and may use an SCS of 60 kHz or 120 kHz (including 240 kHz), and a bandwidth (BW) of 50 to 400 MHz.

[0024] Note that SCS may be interpreted as numerology, which is defined in 3GPP TS 38.300 and corresponds to one subcarrier spacing in the frequency domain.

[0025] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 10 may support a frequency band higher than the FR2 frequency band. Specifically, the wireless communication system 10 may support a frequency band exceeding 52.6 GHz up to 114.25 GHz. For convenience, such a high frequency band may be referred to as "FR2x." When using a frequency band exceeding 52.6 GHz, CP-OFDM (Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) / DFT-S-OFDM (Discrete Fourier Transform-Spread-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) with a larger SCS may be applied.

[0026] The time direction (t) may be called a time domain, a symbol period, a symbol time, etc. The frequency direction may be called a frequency domain, a resource block, a subcarrier, a bandwidth part (BWP), etc.

[0027] The gNB 100 transmits control information, configuration information, etc. of the gNB 100 to the UE 200 as a downlink (DL) signal.

[0028] Furthermore, for example, gNB100 receives control information, data signals, information regarding the processing capabilities of UE200 (terminal capabilities (information); for example, UE capability), etc. from UE200 as uplink (UL) signals.

[0029] Radio device 300 performs a forwarding operation to forward a DL signal to UE 200. Radio device 300 also performs a forwarding operation to forward a UL signal to gNB 100. Note that, hereinafter, the UL signal that gNB 100 receives from UE 200 and / or the DL signal that UE 200 receives from gNB 100 may be a signal forwarded by radio device 300.

[0030] The UE 200 is a communication device equipped with a wireless communication function, such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal, or an M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication module.

[0031] The UE 200 receives a control signal or a data signal from the gNB 100 via DL and transmits a control signal or a data signal to the gNB 100 via UL, thereby utilizing various communication services provided by the wireless communication system 10. The UE 200 also receives various reference signals transmitted from the gNB 100 and performs measurement of propagation path quality based on the reception results of the reference signals.

[0032] Channels used for transmitting DL signals include, for example, data channels and control channels. For example, the data channel may include a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and the control channel may include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). For example, the gNB 100 transmits control information to the UE 200 using the PDCCH, and transmits DL data signals using the PDSCH. Note that the PDSCH is an example of a downlink shared channel, and the PDCCH is an example of a downlink control channel. Note that the PDCCH may be interpreted as downlink control information (DCI), control information, etc. transmitted in the PDCCH.

[0033] The reference signal included in the DL signal may include, for example, at least one of a DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal), a PTRS (Phase Tracking Reference Signal), a CSI-RS (Channel State Information - Reference Signal), an SRS (Sounding Reference Signal), and a PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) for position information. For example, reference signals such as the DMRS and PTRS are used to demodulate DL data signals and are transmitted using the PDSCH.

[0034] Channels used for transmitting UL signals include, for example, data channels and control channels. For example, the data channel may include a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and the control channel may include a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). For example, the UE 200 transmits control information using the PUCCH and transmits UL data signals using the PUSCH. Note that the PUSCH is an example of an uplink shared channel, and the PUCCH is an example of an uplink control channel. The shared channel may also be called a data channel. Note that the PUSCH or the PUCCH may be interpreted as uplink control information (UCI), control information, etc. transmitted in the PUSCH or the PUCCH.

[0035] The reference signal included in the UL signal may include, for example, at least one of DMRS, PTRS, CSI-RS, SRSRS, and PRS for location information. For example, the reference signal such as DMRS or PTRS is used for demodulating the UL data signal and is transmitted using the PUSCH.

[0036] <Utilization of Sub-Terahertz Waves> Future wireless communication systems (e.g., 6G and beyond) have introduced stringent requirements regarding capacity, coverage, power consumption, and other aspects. Utilizing the sub-terahertz (e.g., 100 GHz to 300 GHz) spectrum, which is a higher frequency band than existing systems (e.g., NR Rel. 15 / 16 / 17), is being considered to achieve a data rate of 100 Gbps while maintaining sufficient coverage.

[0037] Among these, the design of a line of sight (LOS)-MIMO (Multi-Input Multi-Output) transmission method suitable for access links is being considered, with the goal of 100 GHz, 100 Gbps, and 100 m (coverage).

[0038] 2A is a diagram showing an example of a distant user in a high frequency band, in which orthonormal transmission is not possible for the distant user due to the size limitations of the mega-MIMO base station (BS).

[0039] 2B illustrates an example of a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) user in the high frequency band, where blockages (e.g., buildings) prevent efficient LOS-MIMO transmission to the non-line-of-sight user.

[0040] Existing NR MIMO (NR MIMO) does not support LOS-MIMO. Existing NR requires a very large bandwidth to achieve a data rate of 100 Gbps, which is difficult to secure.

[0041] NR MIMO is designed for antenna far-field applications, supporting only rank-1 transmission per polarization direction in LOS channels. Using dual polarization enables rank-2 multiplexing, but ranks higher than this are not available. Achieving 100 Gbps requires a bandwidth of several tens of GHz, which is difficult to achieve in practical systems and places high demands on RF components.

[0042] The LOS-MIMO schemes already considered require fixed transmitting and receiving positions, making them unsuitable for access links or requiring too large array sizes.

[0043] For this reason, the introduction of fixed widely spaced antenna arrays, Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM)-MIMO, and Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS)-aided Mega MIMO are being considered.

[0044] In addition to the above-mentioned example of sub-terahertz waves, RIS has attracted much attention as a new device for network deployment due to its flexible and cost-effective approach. RIS enables the achievement of very high data rates and wide-area coverage extension, and is being considered as a promising technology within the topology of 6G wireless networks. For example, Release 19 (Rel. 19) is currently considering RIS.

[0045] <Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS)> A RIS relays communications between a BS and a UE by controlling the reflection angle in at least one of a backhaul link to an access link and a backhaul link. The RIS is an example of a wireless device for implementing a flexible and cost-effective approach to network deployment compared to new types of network (NW) nodes such as an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), an RF repeater, and an NCR (Network-controlled Repeater).

[0046] The RIS may be composed of a number of reconfigurable scattering components, hereinafter sometimes referred to as elements or antenna elements.

[0047] The RIS may control the direction of the reflected signal or the direction of the transmitted (refracted) signal.

[0048] In the present disclosure, reflection, transmission, and refraction may be interpreted as interchangeable terms. Furthermore, in the present disclosure, reflection, transmission, and refraction of a signal at a RIS may be understood as the RIS receiving a signal transmitted from a specific direction and transmitting (or receiving) a signal in the same direction as the specific direction or in a direction different from the specific direction. In this case, the signal transmitted by the RIS may be the same signal as the signal received by the RIS, or may be a signal received by the RIS that has been subjected to specific processing. Furthermore, in the present disclosure, forwarding processing at a RIS may be understood as processing in which at least one of reflection, transmission, and refraction occurs at the RIS.

[0049] While the NCR amplifies the signals it relays, the RIS may not require an RF amplifier, which can reduce power consumption.

[0050] While the RIS can obtain beam gain with narrowband beams, an increase in the number of RIS beams (beams reflected / refracted by the RIS) is required.

[0051] The RIS may reflect / refract signals other than the target frequency.

[0052] The RIS may be made of a material such as a liquid crystal, a metal, a semiconductor, etc. For example, a RIS using a liquid crystal has a slower beam sweep speed than a semiconductor, and is therefore considered unsuitable for current beam sweep operations.

[0053] Due to its thin and flexible shape, the RIS may be installed on an object such as a building.

[0054] 3A is a diagram showing an example of communication using the NCR configuration. The NCR may include an NCR-mobile termination (MT) and an NCR-forwarding (Fwd). The NCR-MT communicates with the BS (gNB) via a control link.

[0055] The communication between the NCR-MT and the BS may include at least one of receiving configuration / instruction / control information from the BS and sending requests / reports / responses to the BS. The NCR-Fwd relays communications between the BS and the UE by relaying / amplifying signals from the backhaul link to the access link and from the access link to the backhaul link.

[0056] 3B is a diagram illustrating an example of communication using a RIS, in which the RIS relays communication between a BS and a UE by controlling a reflection angle in at least one of a reflection from a backhaul link to an access link and a reflection from the access link to the backhaul link.

[0057] <System Architecture Including RIS> Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a system architecture including a RIS. Below, a system architecture including a RIS will be described with reference to Fig. 4, but this is merely an example.

[0058] A system architecture including a RIS may include multiple (eg, two) design phases.

[0059] For example, a system architecture including a RIS may include an aperture pre-adaptation phase.

[0060] In the aperture pre-adaptation phase, UE positioning may be performed first. In the UE positioning, the UE may report information about its position / attitude to the network (NW). In addition, in the UE positioning, the NW (base station) may estimate information about the UE's position / attitude based on a signal (e.g., UL RS) transmitted from the UE.

[0061] Note that UE positioning in the aperture pre-adaptation phase may be omitted.

[0062] Then, in an aperture pre-adaptation phase, pre-adaptation of the apertures (eg, antenna elements) of the RIS may be performed.

[0063] In this disclosure, aperture adaptation may mean determining / determining / selecting which antenna elements / arrays to use.

[0064] Then, in an aperture pre-adaptation phase, pre-adaptation of the aperture (eg, antenna elements) of the BS may be performed.

[0065] A system architecture including a RIS may also include a beamforming phase.

[0066] The beamforming phase may, for example, follow an aperture pre-adaptation phase.

[0067] In the beamforming phase, beamforming may be performed first at the BS.

[0068] Then, in the beamforming phase, beamforming in the RIS may be performed.

[0069] Reception may then occur in the beamforming phase by the UE, which may use a CSI reception (CSIR) based MIMO receiver.

[0070] Note that reception by the UE in the beamforming phase may be omitted.

[0071] <Far field and near field beamforming method> Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the near field (NF) and far field (FF) of a RIS. Fig. 5 illustrates an RIS array, and examples of radio wave propagation in the near field and far field relative to the RIS array. Note that the RIS array may be considered as an example of a surface in the RIS that transmits signals or a surface that emits radio waves. Furthermore, the near field may be replaced with a short distance. Furthermore, the far field may be replaced with a long distance.

[0072] A large aperture in a RIS exhibits certain characteristics that enhance the range of the near field. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , the near field boundary (e.g., the boundary between the near field and the far field) is proportional to the square of D, where D represents the size associated with the RIS aperture. Therefore, a large aperture in a RIS enhances the range of the near field. Furthermore, the near field boundary is inversely proportional to the wavelength λ, so the shorter the wavelength, i.e., the higher the frequency, the greater the range of the near field. Within this near field region, the phase delays for the various elements of the RIS become distinguishable. As a result, the assumption of a plane wavefront is no longer valid; spherical wavefronts must be considered. As shown in FIG. 5 , within the far field region, the radio waves emitted from each element of the RIS are assumed to be plane waves, whereas within the near field region, the wavefronts of the radio waves emanating from each element are spherical.

[0073] Several methods are being investigated as existing far-field (FF) and near-field (NF) beamforming methods.

[0074] For example, the beamforming method may be DFT-based beamforming (BF), beamfocusing with optimum phase, and beamfocusing with near-field (NF) steering vector.

[0075] The DFT-based BF may be used primarily for transmitting signals to terminals at long distances, and may use a precoder (matrix) based on an angle-dependent linear phase.

[0076] Figure 6A shows an example of DFT-based beamforming (BF) for a uniform, linear array, where x is the distance from the array center to element n in the array and the angle of the beam with respect to the axis normal to the array.

[0077] Beam focusing with optimal phase may be used primarily for transmitting signals to terminals at short distances, and may use a precoder (matrix) based on a position (distance)-dependent non-linear phase.

[0078] Figure 6B shows an example of beam focusing with optimal phase, showing an example of a uniform linear array, where DF is the focal length and x' is the distance from the axis normal to the array to the focal point.

[0079] Beam focusing with short-range steering vectors may be used primarily for transmitting signals to short-range terminals. Beam focusing with short-range steering vectors may use a precoder (matrix) based on angle- and position (distance)-dependent quadratic phase.

[0080] Figure 6C shows an example of beam focusing with near-field (NF) steering vectors, showing an example of a uniform linear array, where D is the distance from the center of the array to the focal point, and ω is the angle from the axis normal to the array to the line connecting the array center and the focal point.

[0081] Conventional codebooks for far-field beamforming, such as DFT codebooks, cannot be directly applied to near-field beamforming due to a mismatch with the near-field channel. If DFT codebooks were applied to near-field beamforming, it could cause severe SNR loss. On the other hand, focused beamforming, such as ring-type codebooks (RTC), a near-field version of coherent beamformers, does not have the near-field limitation.

[0082] For example, RIS is employed for data channel transmission, and the RTC described above generates a UE-specific focused beam, enabling high-speed transmission.

[0083] On the other hand, the adoption of RIS for the transfer of control channels (for example, SSB (Synchronization Signal Block) and the like) is being considered.

[0084] 7 is a diagram showing an example of SSB forwarding using RIS. In FIG. 7, it is shown that RIS forwards SSBs #2 to #4 of SSBs #0 to #4 transmitted by the gNB.

[0085] When the RIS transmits a control channel (for example, SSB, etc.), it is considered to transmit the control channel by expanding the beam.

[0086] Here, we will describe existing methods of SSB transmission over RIS and existing RIS beam expansion techniques.

[0087] <Existing Methods> The following describes existing methods for transmitting SSBs by a RIS. In the existing methods, the RIS uses multiple narrow beams to transmit SSBs transmitted by a gNB. Therefore, the existing methods require significant allocation of SSB resources or significant changes to the SSB scheme.

[0088] Existing typical beam expansion techniques can be classified into numerical optimization algorithm-based techniques, aperture adjustment-based techniques, logical subarray division-based techniques, and wide-area illumination approaches.

[0089] For example, in technologies based on numerical optimization algorithms, the algorithms are complex, which makes the processing complicated, making it difficult to achieve beamforming in a realistic time frame.

[0090] Also, for example, with high-pass illumination approaches, it is difficult to precisely control the shaping of the wide beam pattern of the RIS according to the actual coverage requirements.

[0091] Also, for example, aperture-adjustment based techniques reduce the beamforming gain of the array due to the aperture adjustment.

[0092] Furthermore, for example, in a technology based on logical subarray division, the beamforming gain across the entire area varies significantly.

[0093] Here, examples of related techniques for RIS including aperture adjustment and logical sub-array division will be described.

[0094] <First Example of Related Art> The first example relates to codebook / precoder design.

[0095] The codebook / precoder may be a codebook / precoder for short distance (NF) or a codebook / precoder for long distance (FF).

[0096] In the present disclosure, a short distance may mean a distance less than (or equal to or less than) a certain threshold. In the present disclosure, a long distance may mean a distance greater than (or equal to or greater than) a certain threshold.

[0097] The RIS (RIS-NCR) may receive information for the precoder / codebook from the NW. The information may be, for example, information about the location of another node (e.g., a UE / NW node). The information about the location may be, for example, information about angle and / or information about distance.

[0098] The first example is roughly divided into examples 1-1 and 1-2. Either example 1-1 or example 1-2 may be applied, or a combination of examples 1-1 and 1-2 may be applied.

[0099] Example 1-1 Example 1-1 relates to a specific codebook / precoder design.

[0100] Example 1-1 is broadly divided into Examples 1-1-1 to 1-1-4. Any one of Examples 1-1-1 to 1-1-4 may be applied, or at least two of Examples 1-1-1 to 1-1-4 may be applied in combination.

[0101] The precoder may be calculated, for example, as the output of a particular multiplication of different precoders / matrices.

[0102] In the present disclosure, the terms codebook, precoder, codeword, matrix, term, vector, and element may be interchangeable.

[0103] <Example 1-1-1> The precoder in the RIS may be a precoder that decouples angle-dependent terms and distance (position)-dependent terms.

[0104] Example 1-1-1 may be used, for example, for beamforming / focusing of NCR including RIS (RIS-NCR).

[0105] The precoder in the RIS may be calculated, for example, by the product (e.g., Hadamard product, e.g., element-by-element product) of a distance-dependent precoder / matrix (e.g., WRing) and an angle-dependent precoder / matrix (e.g., WDFT).

[0106] For example, the precoder may be calculated using the following equation 1.

[0107] Here, D Ｆ may be the axial distance between the array and the focal position.

[0108] In the present disclosure, a phase shift associated with a distance-dependent precoder may be referred to as a ring-type phase distribution, and a codebook associated with a distance-dependent precoder may be referred to as a ring-type codebook (RTC).

[0109] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a precoder according to Example 1-1-1. An example of a uniform and linear array is shown in FIG. 8. In the example shown in FIG. 8, beam focusing at the boresight is performed first. The above-described distance-dependent precoder may be used for the beam focusing. k is an index corresponding to the phase in the DFT.

[0110] In the example shown in Figure 8, the focal position is then shifted by the DFT vector, which may utilize the angle-dependent precoder described above.

[0111] According to Example 1-1-1, by using angle-dependent terms and distance (position)-dependent terms, signals can be transmitted appropriately to targets at long and short distances, and implementation is also easy.

[0112] <Example 1-1-2> The precoder in the RIS may be a precoder that uses piecewise linear approximation with DFT vectors.

[0113] For example, the precoder may be a precoder that includes a term for each subarray (one or more arrays) and a distance (position) dependent term.

[0114] Example 1-1-2 may be used, for example, for beamforming / focusing of NCR with RIS (RIS-NCR) and / or coherent transmission of multiple panels (e.g., widely spaced panels).

[0115] Moreover, Example 1-1-2 is suitable for subarray-based RIS-NCR.

[0116] The precoder in the RIS may be calculated by, for example, the product (for example, the Hadamard product (for example, the product of each element)) of a precoder for each subarray (one or more arrays) and an angle-dependent precoder.

[0117] The precoder for each subarray (one or more arrays) may be expressed, for example, as the product of a phase offset for each subarray and an angle offset of the subarray.

[0118] For example, the precoder may be calculated using the following equation 2.

[0119] where φ （ｉ，ｊ） ＰＯ may represent the phase offset of subarray (i, j). The phase offset of subarray (i, j) may be quantized with specific bits (e.g., b bits) that can take on specific values ​​(e.g., values ​​from 0 to 2π). （ｉ，ｊ） ＡＯ may denote the angular offset of subarray (i,j).

[0120] W(i,j)AO may be calculated based on the dot product of the vector from the array reference point to the subarray (i,j) reference point and the vector from the subarray (i,j) reference point to antenna element (m,n) in subarray (i,j).

[0121] For example, W （ｉ，ｊ） ＡＯ may be calculated using the following equation 3:

[0122] where D may be the distance from the array (e.g., the reference point of the array) to the object (e.g., the UE). （ｉ，ｊ） ＳＡ denotes the vector from the reference point of the array to the reference point of the subarray (i,j), and r （ｍ，ｎ） ＡＥ may denote the vector from the reference point of subarray (i,j) to antenna element (m,n) in subarray (i,j) (see FIG. 9).

[0123] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a precoder according to Example 1-1-2. Fig. 10 shows an example of a uniform and linear array. In the example shown in Fig. 8, first, beam direction focusing is performed for multiple arrays (each subarray) using phase offsets (Step 1). For this beam focusing, a precoder based on the above-described phase offset and angle offset may be used.

[0124] In the example shown in Figure 10, the focal position is then shifted by the DFT vector (step 2), which may utilize the angle-dependent precoder described above.

[0125] According to Example 1-1-2, by using a term for each subarray (one or more arrays) and a distance (position) dependent term, it is possible to transmit a signal appropriately to targets at long and short distances.

[0126] <Example 1-1-3> The precoder in the RIS may be a precoder that uses a term related to short distance and a term related to long distance.

[0127] Examples 1-1-3 may be used, for example, to acquire CSI in either or both of FF and NF (not limited to FF and NF), or may be used for localization / sensing of NF.

[0128] The precoder in the RIS may be calculated by, for example, multiplying a first precoder and a second precoder (e.g., a Kronecker product (e.g., an element-wise product)). The first / second precoder may include a term corresponding to a long distance (or angle dependency) and a term corresponding to a short distance (or distance dependency).

[0129] The precoder in this example may be applied in a uniform planar array.

[0130] For example, the precoder W may be expressed by the following equation 4.

[0131] where W is the first precoder W Ｎ＿１，Ｏ＿１，ｋ＿１，Ｄ，Ｌ＿１ and the second precoder W Ｎ＿２，Ｏ＿２，ｋ＿２，Ｄ，Ｌ＿２ It should be noted that "N_1" is expressed as the Kronecker product of "N １ ". Other notations other than "N_1" may also be expressed in the same way as "N_1".

[0132] W Ｎ＿ｉ，Ｏ＿ｉ，ｋ＿ｉ，Ｄ，Ｌ＿ｉ may be expressed, for example, by the following Equation 5:

[0133] Here, the number of antenna elements (scattering elements) in the i-th axial direction in the RIS array is N ｉ and the number of oversamplings in the i-th axis direction O ｉ may be the same as the NR DFT-based codebook defined in the existing NR. i=1 may correspond to the x-axis direction (horizontal direction). i=2 may correspond to the z-axis direction (vertical direction). Also, k ｉ is the codeword index, and k′ may represent a quadratic term.

[0134] Also, N ＲＰ may be a value that depends on the reference point of the RIS array. For example, N ＲＰ is N ＲＰ = 2(d ＲＰ -d ０ ) / Δd.

[0135] For example, d ＲＰ -d０ may denote the distance between a particular antenna element (e.g., antenna element #0) and the reference point, and Δd may denote the antenna element spacing.

[0136] For example, if the bottom leftmost element of the array is used as the reference point, then N ＲＰ may be 0.

[0137] For example, if the center coordinate of the array is used as the reference point, N ＲＰ is N ｉ It may be calculated as -1.

[0138] D may represent the normalized distance between the reference point and the focal length, for example, D may be calculated as (focal length) / λ.

[0139] L may be a value related to a normalized equivalent aperture, and may be calculated, for example, as ON·Δd / λ.

[0140] <Example 1-1-4> The precoder in the RIS may be a precoder that uses a precoder for an access link (between the UE and the RIS) and a precoder for a backhaul link (between the BS and the RIS).

[0141] For example, the precoder may be a precoder that includes a term for each subarray (one or more arrays) and a distance (position) dependent term.

[0142] Examples 1-1-4 may be used, for example, for beamforming / focusing of NCR with RIS (RIS-NCR) on the backhaul link / access link, and / or cascaded LoS-MIMO (e.g., LoS-MIMO requiring joint focal points indication).

[0143] The precoder in the RIS may be calculated, for example, by the product (e.g., Hadamard product, e.g., element-by-element product) of the precoder for the access link and the precoder for the backhaul link.

[0144] For example, the precoder may be calculated using the following equation 6.

[0145] Here, W ＡＣ may represent the precoder of the beam (access beam, beam for UE) in the access link of RIS-NCR. ＢＨ may denote the precoder of the beam (backhaul beam, beam for BS) in the backhaul link of RIS-NCR.

[0146] W ＡＣ and W ＢＨ At least one of may be, for example, a precoder calculated by at least one of the methods described in Examples 1-1-1 to 1-1-3 above.

[0147] W ＡＣ and W ＢＨ The focal lengths of W may be selected / determined independently or jointly. ＡＣ and W ＢＨ The focal lengths of may be selected / determined in a conjugate symmetric manner.

[0148] According to Example 1-1-4, it is possible to appropriately design the precoder / codebook not only in the access link but also in the backhaul link.

[0149] <Parameters Related to Codebook / Precoder> The parameters of the formulas in Example 1-1 above will be described below.

[0150] L may be a parameter related to an aperture (e.g., an antenna element), and may be reported as the capability of the RIS-NCR (NCR-MT).

[0151] L may be reported by the RIS, for example, as antenna number / spacing in n dimensions (eg, n is 2).

[0152] L may be reported by the RIS, for example, as the length of a side of the RIS (eg, antenna number x antenna spacing).

[0153] Nｉ , O ｉ , k ｉ , k ｉｐ , D ｉ (i=1 or 2) may be a parameter related to the codebook of the access link / backhaul link.

[0154] N ｉ and O ｉ may be related to a codebook of the RIS, which may be preset for the RIS or may be predefined in the specification.

[0155] N ｉ and O ｉ may be determined based on reports on the capabilities of the RIS or may be determined independently of the dimensions of the RIS.

[0156] k ｉ may be related to a codebook of the RIS, which may be indicated to the RIS.

[0157] k ｉｐ may be calculated at the RIS based on specific settings / instructions for the RIS.

[0158] D ｉ (e.g., i=1) may be a parameter related to the distance between the BS and the RIS. ｉ (eg, i=2) may be a parameter related to the distance between the UE and the RIS.

[0159] For example, D １ may be pre-configured by the BS for the RIS, or D ２ may be indicated by the BS to the RIS.

[0160] For example, D １ and D ２ may be commanded by the BS (using a compound CW).

[0161] For example, D １ may be pre-configured by the BS for the RIS, or D ２ may be measured by RIS.

[0162] For example, D １ and D ２ may be measured by RIS.

[0163] For example, D １ and D ２ Logarithmic quantization may be used to determine .

[0164] N ＲＰ may be a parameter related to the reference point of the RIS. ＲＰ may be, for example, a parameter relating to the offset of the reference point of the RIS.

[0165] N ＲＰ may be related to a codebook of the RIS, which may be indicated to the RIS.

[0166] A reference point in a RIS may refer to a specific location.

[0167] For example, the reference point for the RIS may be the location of an antenna / subarray at a particular location (eg, the bottom left most).

[0168] For example, the reference point for the RIS may be the location of the center point of the RIS, which is appropriate for a single large RIS or multiple separate sub-arrays.

[0169] For example, the reference point of the RIS may be reported by the RIS. The reference point of the RIS may be determined according to the reference point reported by the RIS.

[0170] A parameter indicating an adaptation (aperture adaptation) mode may be defined, which may be used for aperture control of the RIS.

[0171] The parameter indicating the adaptation mode may be associated with a codebook of the RIS, which may be indicated to the RIS.

[0172] Parameters may be defined that indicate the shape / size of the RIS, which may be used to control the aperture of the RIS.

[0173] A parameter indicating the shape / size of the RIS may be associated with a codebook of the RIS, which may be indicated to the RIS.

[0174] The parameter may be indicated by a bitmap. Alternatively, the parameter may be indicated by the direction and length of two sides of an aperture forming a parallelogram. Alternatively, the parameter may be indicated by the arrangement of subarrays (e.g., direction / spacing / subarray number / subarray size). Alternatively, the parameter may be indicated by at least one of the direction / length of two sides of an aperture forming a parallelogram (which may be called a general mode), the subarray number (sampling rate), and the subarray size.

[0175] A parameter may be defined that indicates the roll-off factor.

[0176] Parameters for a conjugate symmetric RTC may be defined, which may be parameters for a reference point related to the location of the UE.

[0177] A reference point for the location of a UE may refer, for example, to an antenna port (e.g., antenna port #0) of a particular UE.

[0178] The reference point for the UE's location may refer to, for example, a particular (eg, central) UE array established by the BS.

[0179] <Example 1-2> In Example 1-2, quantization of angle (angle information) and distance (distance information) in codebook notification (to NW / RIS-NCR) will be described.

[0180] Example 1-2 is roughly divided into Examples 1-2-1 and 1-2-2. Either of Examples 1-2-1 and 1-2-2 below may be applied, or Examples 1-2-1 and 1-2-2 below may be applied in combination.

[0181] The NW (or RIS-NCR) may transmit angle information / distance information regarding the quantized codebook / precoder using at least one of Examples 1-2-1 and 1-2-2 to the RIS-NCR (or NW).

[0182] <Example 1-2-1> Quantization regarding angles and quantization regarding distances may be performed separately (independently).

[0183] A specific quantization method may be used for the angle. The specific quantization method may be, for example, a DFT-based quantization method. By using a DFT-based method for angle quantization, quantization suitable for a unified design for FF and NF can be performed.

[0184] For example, linear quantization may be used for the distance. Using linear quantization makes it easier to implement in the device. For example, logarithmic quantization may be used for the distance. Using logarithmic quantization allows appropriate quantization regardless of whether the distance between the devices is long or short.

[0185] Quantization of the distance may be performed using Equation 7 below.

[0186] In the present disclosure, the range of NF may be related to the array area, for example, the range of NF may be (approximately) proportional to the array area.

[0187] <Example 1-2-2> Quantization regarding angles and quantization regarding distances may be performed jointly.

[0188] For example, the quantization of angles and distances may use a uniform grid in Cartesian coordinates (angles and distances may be quantized on a uniform grid), which is suitable for use in localization / position-based beam focusing.

[0189] For example, angle and distance quantization may use a non-uniform grid in spherical coordinates (angles and distances may be quantized on a non-uniform grid), which is favorable in terms of aperture / NF range at boresight, and allows for more uniform coverage and fewer beams by using wider beams at close range.

[0190] For example, quantization for angles and distances may be performed using Equation 8 below.

[0191] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a uniform grid in Cartesian coordinates. In the example shown in FIG. 11, a uniform grid in Cartesian coordinates for RIS (RIS-NCR) is shown.

[0192] In FIG. 11, (x ｇｉ , y ｇｉ , z ｇｉ ) may denote the center coordinate of the ith grid obtained from grid index i.

[0193] The uniform grid RTC may be calculated according to at least one of the following options 1 and 2.

[0194] The RTC using a uniform grid may be calculated using Equation 9 below (option 1).

[0195] The RTC using a uniform grid may be calculated using Equation 10 below (option 2).

[0196] Here, the above θ may be calculated using the following equation 11.

[0197] Here, μ may represent the azimuth angle and ν may represent the elevation angle, and μ and ν may be obtained by a specific coordinate transformation.

[0198] According to Example 1-2, it is possible to appropriately quantize the angle (angle information) and distance (distance information) in the notification of the codebook.

[0199] <Second Example of Related Art> The second example relates to aperture adaptation in a RIS.

[0200] The second example is roughly divided into examples 2-1 and 2-2. The following examples 2-1 or 2-2 may be applied, or the following examples 2-1 and 2-2 may be applied in combination.

[0201] The RIS-NCR may receive information (setting information) related to the control of apertures (e.g., antenna elements) from the NW. Based on the information, the RIS-NCR may determine the apertures / antenna elements to be used for signals destined for the terminal.

[0202] <Example 2-1> The RIS (RIS-NCR) may select / decide / determine the aperture to be used from among the apertures included in the RIS.

[0203] Example 2-1 is roughly divided into Examples 2-1-1 and 2-1-2. The following Examples 2-1-1 or 2-1-2 may be applied, or the following Examples 2-1-1 and 2-1-2 may be applied in combination.

[0204] <Example 2-1-1> Unnecessary RIS elements (for example, antenna elements) may be set to off. Information about this setting may be included in information about aperture control received from the NW.

[0205] The unwanted RIS elements may be configured to not scatter (or reflect / refract) the incident signal, or the unwanted RIS elements may be configured to scatter (or reflect / refract) the incident signal in a diffuse or random manner.

[0206] <Example 2-1-2> Beamforming and aperture adaptation may be used in combination.

[0207] The beamforming information may include, for example, information about the beamforming vector of the RIS.

[0208] For example, the (desired and actually used) apertures may be expressed as values ​​(e.g., aperture functions) that indicate the on / off state of each RIS element, and the (desired and actually used) apertures may be applied to the beamforming vectors of that RIS.

[0209] For example, a value (e.g., aperture function) corresponding to a RIS element may indicate that the RIS element is in an OFF state when the value (e.g., aperture function) corresponding to the RIS element is a first value (e.g., 0), and a value (e.g., aperture function) corresponding to the RIS element may indicate that the RIS element is in an ON state when the value (e.g., aperture function) corresponding to the RIS element is a second value (e.g., 1).

[0210] Aperture adaptation may be used to control the beam shape (eg, at least one of the beam width, side lobes, main lobe, and focal spot shape / size).

[0211] <Example 2-2> In Example 2-2, aperture control in RIS (RIS-NCR) will be described.

[0212] Example 2-2 is roughly divided into Examples 2-2-1 and 2-2-2. The following Examples 2-2-1 or 2-2-2 may be applied, or the following Examples 2-2-1 and 2-2-2 may be applied in combination.

[0213] <Example 2-2-1> A mode relating to the aperture of RIS-NCR may be defined.

[0214] The RIS-NCR may determine the aperture to use based on the mode, which may include, for example, first to third modes.

[0215] The first mode may be a mode in which some or all of the elements of the RIS are used in a square configuration, and may be called, for example, a fallback mode.

[0216] The second mode may be, for example, a mode in which some of the elements of the RIS are used in a parallelogram (diamond) shape. The second mode may be, for example, called a semi-continuous mode.

[0217] The third mode may be a mode in which only a specific RIS is used among the RIS elements. The specific RIS may be determined by selecting a portion of the RIS elements in a parallelogram (diamond) shape. The third mode may be called, for example, a discrete mode.

[0218] <Example 2-2-2> The shape / size of the aperture of the RIS-NCR to be used may be instructed in a specific manner. Information regarding the instruction may be included in information regarding aperture control received from the NW.

[0219] For example, the shape / size of the aperture of the RIS-NCR used may be determined by a bitmap / parameter indicating the on / off state of the elements of the RIS used.

[0220] The shape / size of the aperture (e.g., parallelogram (diamond)-shaped aperture) in the second / third mode may be indicated in a specific manner, for example, based on the lengths and angles of two sides relative to a specific point (e.g., a reference point) of the RIS element (selected RIS element).

[0221] In the third mode, the size / number of subarrays to be used may be additionally indicated.

[0222] According to the second example described above, the elements / apertures of the RIS to be used can be appropriately determined / selected.

[0223] <Considerations for this embodiment> When transmitting a control channel (e.g., SSB, etc.), the following two considerations arise, making a UE-specific beam generated from a codebook impractical and difficult to adopt.

[0224] First, the aperture of the RIS is large, which narrows the beam width of UE-specific beamforming, making it difficult to effectively cover a large area.

[0225] If a wide area cannot be effectively covered, as in the existing methods described above, a significant allocation of SSB resources is required, or a significant change to the SSB scheme is required. If the allocation of SSB resources increases, the allocation of resources to other channels (or signals) will decrease relatively, leading to a decrease in the throughput of the entire system and a decrease in resource utilization efficiency. If a significant change to the SSB scheme occurs, a significant change will also be required in the gNB and / or UE, making it difficult to maintain compatibility between versions, etc.

[0226] Second, existing schemes require a gNB to utilize a significant number of SSBs to send to the RIS for transmission, while the total availability of SSBs (e.g., the number of available SSB resources) is limited. For example, in the case of a RIS having a size of 0.64 m square and operating at 30 GHz, covering a range of ±45° including the near field and far field, approximately 300 narrow beams are required. In this case, the 3 dB beamwidth of the narrow beam is 0.79°.

[0227] For example, if the number of SSBs used increases, the allocation of resources to other channels (or signals) will decrease relatively, leading to a decrease in the overall system throughput and a decrease in resource utilization efficiency. In addition, while it is possible to change (e.g., relax) the total SSB limit, changing such a limit would also require changes in the gNB and / or UE, making it difficult to maintain compatibility between versions, etc.

[0228] In this way, considering that the beam width of the UE-specific beam indicated by the codebook is very narrow, making it difficult to cover an area directly, and that if the RIS transmits SSB using a narrow beam, a significant portion of the limited SSB resources will be consumed, this embodiment considers generating a wide beam.

[0229] For example, this embodiment describes a codebook-based instruction method for generating a wide beam of a RIS, and also describes a method for transmitting a control channel based on the wide beam, for example.

[0230] Note that an "instruction" for a certain function (or operation) may indicate information for performing the function (or operation), or may indicate an operation such as transmitting (or notifying) information for performing the function (or operation). Note that "instruction" may be replaced with an indication, indicator, information, parameter, etc. For example, a beam instruction may indicate information for performing beam control, or may indicate an operation such as transmitting (or notifying) information for performing beam control.

[0231] <Proposal Overview> The following proposal describes the generation of a wide beam in the near field based on the selection of control information for beam generation. The control information for beam generation may be, for example, a code word included in the RTC (hereinafter referred to as an RTC code word). The RTC enables wide beam generation without requiring additional special code word generation. Furthermore, the RIS allows the generation of wide beams of any shape.

[0232] As a mechanism for RTC codeword selection for near-field wide beam generation, the codeword selection may be based on the geometric relationship between the RIS and the target area, for example, the RTC codeword may be selected by at least one of three parameters: the dimension of the target area, the angle, and the distance between the center of the target area and the center of the RIS array.

[0233] Proposal 1: Codeword Selection Proposal 1 describes near-field wide beam generation based on RTC codeword selection. Illustratively, the focal position corresponding to the wide beam is determined based on the geometric optics principle.

[0234] In step 1 of codeword selection, the position of the focal point is calculated based on the geometric relationship between the RIS and the target area. The position of the focal point may be referred to as the focal point position or focal point hereinafter.

[0235] FIG. 12A is a diagram showing a first example of calculation of the focal position. FIG. 12B is a diagram showing a second example of calculation of the focal position. In FIGS. 12A and 12B , plane D indicates the plane of the RIS array, and plane L indicates the target area. Note that the RIS array may be an example of an emission plane from which a signal (or radio wave) from the RIS is emitted. Distance d indicates the distance between the center of plane D and the center of plane L. Angle α indicates the angle between plane D and a plane perpendicular to a line connecting the centers of plane D and plane L. Angle β indicates the angle between plane L and a plane perpendicular to a line connecting the centers of plane D and plane L. Furthermore, in FIG. 12A , distance F indicates the distance between the center of plane D and the actual focal position P, and in FIG. 12B , distance F indicates the distance between the center of plane D and the virtual focal position P. Hereinafter, the distance F between the focal position and the RIS array (i.e., plane D) may be referred to as the focal length.

[0236] As shown in Fig. 12A, the actual focal position may be calculated as the focal position. In the case of Fig. 12A, the distance F from the center of the surface D to the focal position P is expressed by equation (12).

[0237] Then, when distance F is calculated, the position that is a distance F away from the center of surface D (i.e., the center of the RIS array) perpendicularly in the direction of surface L (i.e., in the direction of the target area) is determined to be the actual focal position.

[0238] As shown in equation (12), the focal position is calculated based on an example of the geometric relationship between the RIS array and the target area, such as the position and size of the RIS array, the position and size of the target area, and the angular difference determined by the positional relationship between the RIS array and the target area.

[0239] 12B, a virtual focal position may be calculated as the focal position. In the case of FIG. 12B, the distance F from the center of the surface D to the focal position P is expressed by equation (13).

[0240] Then, when the distance F is calculated, a position that is a distance F away vertically from the center of the surface D (i.e., the center of the RIS array) in the direction opposite to the direction of the surface L (i.e., the direction opposite to the direction of the target area) is determined to be the virtual focal position.

[0241] As shown in equation (13), the focal position is calculated based on an example of the geometric relationship between the RIS array and the target area, such as the position and size of the RIS array, the position and size of the target area, and the angular difference determined by the positional relationship between the RIS array and the target area.

[0242] Whether to calculate the actual focal position or the virtual focal position may be determined by specifications or by instructions from a network. Whether to calculate the actual focal position or the virtual focal position may be dynamically switched or fixed.

[0243] In step 2 of codeword selection, an RTC codeword is selected according to (based on) the calculated focal position. For example, an RTC codeword is selected that achieves radio wave emission such that the focal point coincides with (or is close to) the calculated focal position. Note that instead of selecting an RTC codeword according to the focal position, an RTC codeword may be selected according to the focal distance F.

[0244] The selection method is not particularly limited. For example, focus positions and RTC codewords may be associated with each other, and the RTC codeword may be selected based on this association. Alternatively, information indicating the RTC codeword (e.g., an index associated with the codeword) may be calculated by a specific calculation process on the focus position or parameters used to calculate the focus position, and the RTC codeword may be selected based on the calculated information. Alternatively, the focus position may be quantized, and an RTC codeword associated with the quantized focus position may be selected. Alternatively, the focus position may be classified into one of a finite number of groups, and an RTC codeword corresponding to the classified group may be selected.

[0245] The codeword to be selected may be changed depending on the focal position (or focal length). For example, if the focal position (or focal length) is within a predetermined range, the target area may be determined to be within the near field, and an RTC codeword may be selected. Also, for example, if the focal position (or focal length) is not within the predetermined range, the target area may be determined to be within the far field, and a codeword for beam generation in the far field (e.g., a codeword from a DFT codebook) may be selected.

[0246] Furthermore, the processes in steps 1 and 2 described above may be performed by the RIS, or at least one may be performed by the RIS and the remaining may be performed by the network (e.g., gNB). For example, parameters related to the processes performed by the RIS may be provided by the network. Alternatively, both of the two processes may be performed by the network, and the RIS may generate a wide beam in response to instructions from the selected RTC codeword.

[0247] 12C is a diagram showing an example of a generated wide beam. In FIG. 12C, SSB#N transmitted from the gNB is shown to be forwarded by the RIS. As shown in FIG. 12C, according to Proposal 1, a wide beam covering the target area can be generated to transmit SSB#N.

[0248] In the above-mentioned Proposal 1, by selecting the RTC codeword according to the focal position calculated based on the geometric relationship between the RIS array and the target area, it is possible to appropriately select the RTC codeword for a wide beam in the near field that covers the target area. For example, the RTC codeword is selected so that the focal position is set between the surface D (emission surface) and the surface L (target area), or in the area on the opposite side of the surface D from the surface L. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately generate a wide beam in the near field.

[0249] <Proposal 2> In Proposal 2, an example of a method for shaping a wide beam will be described. Note that the shaping of a wide beam may be control of the shape of the wide beam based on the shape of a target area to be covered by the wide beam. In Proposal 2, generation of multiple wide beams, control of the operation mode of a RIS, and a phase mask will be described as examples of wide beam shaping.

[0250] <Proposal 2-1: Generation of Multi-Wide Beams> Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of multi-wide beam generation. Fig. 13 shows an example of a RIS that generates beams for two target areas, target area #1 and target area #2.

[0251] In step 1 of generating the multi-wide beam, the focal position is calculated based on the geometric relationship between the RIS and the target area. The method of calculating the focal position may be the same as in Proposal 1 described above. However, in Proposal 2-1, the focal position is calculated for each of the multiple target areas, as shown in FIG. 13 .

[0252] In step 2 of generating multi-wide beams, the RIS selects multiple RTC codewords for the wide beams according to the target beam shape. In the example of Figure 13, the RIS selects RTC codeword #1 according to the beam shape covering target area #1 according to focus #1 for target area #1. Similarly, in the example of Figure 13, the RIS selects RTC codeword #2 according to the beam shape covering target area #2 according to focus #2 for target area #2.

[0253] The method for selecting one RTC codeword for one focus point is not particularly limited. For example, one RTC codeword for one focus point may be selected in the same manner as in Proposal 1 described above.

[0254] In step 3 of generating multi-wide beams, the RIS performs complex superposition of the selected codewords to obtain a multi-beam codeword. In the example of Figure 13, the RIS performs complex superposition of RTC codeword #1 and RTC codeword #2 to obtain a multi-beam codeword. Note that a multi-beam codeword may be a codeword that generates multiple beams. A codeword that generates multiple wide beams may also be referred to as a multi-wide beam codeword.

[0255] For example, a multi-wide beam codeword obtained from n wide beam codewords (n is an integer equal to or greater than 1) is expressed by the following equation (14): Note that the n wide beam codewords may correspond to n target areas or n focal positions.

[0256] Here, w ｍｕｌｔｉ is the multi-beam codeword, and w １ ,...,w ｎ are n wide-beam codewords (e.g., RTC codewords), and a １ , ..., a ｎ is the power allocation factor.

[0257] According to the above-mentioned proposal 2-1, even if there are multiple target areas, it is possible to form multi-wide beams that cover these target areas.

[0258] Additionally, the processes in steps 1 to 3 described above may be performed by the RIS, or at least one may be performed by the RIS and the remaining may be performed by the network (e.g., gNB). Alternatively, each of the three processes may be performed by the network, and the RIS may generate multi-wide beams in response to instructions from the selected RTC codeword.

[0259] In the above-described step 2, multiple codewords corresponding to multiple focal positions are selected, and in step 3, the multiple codewords are superimposed to calculate a multi-wide beam codeword. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this example. For example, multiple focal positions and one multi-wide beam codeword corresponding to the multiple focal positions may be stored in association with each other. In this case, the multi-wide beam codeword is selected based on the correspondence without performing the superimposition calculation process as in step 3. In this case, a wide beam codeword corresponding to one focal position and multi-wide beam codewords corresponding to multiple focal positions may be stored together.

[0260] In addition, in Proposal 2-1, the wide beam code word (e.g., RTC code word) selected in step 2 may be switched with the multi-wide beam code word calculated in step 3. For example, the code word may be switched between generating a wide beam toward target area #1, generating a wide beam toward target area #2, and generating a multi-wide beam toward both target areas #1 and #2.

[0261] <Proposal 2-2: Controlling the Operational Mode of the RIS> Wide beam shaping may be achieved by selectively modifying the operational mode of one or more elements in the RIS array. For example, wide beam shaping may be achieved by switching the operational mode of a particular element from a reflective mode to an absorptive mode.

[0262] The control of the operation mode of the RIS mainly includes the following modes of operation: reflection, refraction, absorption, scattering, modulation, and transparent.

[0263] According to the above-mentioned proposal 2-2, even if the shape of the target area changes, a wide beam that covers the changed target area can be formed by changing the operation mode of some elements. This makes it possible to suppress unnecessary radiation outside the target area, thereby avoiding interference outside the target area and reducing power consumption.

[0264] <Proposal 2-3: Phase Mask> Wide beam shaping may be achieved by incorporating random phase masks into a subset of the RIS elements.

[0265] According to the above-mentioned proposal 2-3, even if the shape of the target area changes, a wide beam that covers the changed target area can be formed by changing the operation mode of some elements. This makes it possible to suppress unnecessary radiation outside the target area, thereby avoiding interference outside the target area and reducing power consumption.

[0266] The above-described proposals 2-1 to 2-3 may be used in combination or may be switched between each other. For example, proposal 2-1 may be used to generate multi-wide beams aimed at multiple target areas, and proposal 2-2 and / or proposal 2-3 may be used to change the shape of the wide beams based on the shape of the target areas.

[0267] <Proposal 3> Three wide beam shaping methods were presented in Proposal 2. Proposal 3 presents a wide beam shaping method specifically designed for rectangular coverage areas.

[0268] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of Proposal 3. Fig. 14 shows a RIS and a rectangular target area #3.

[0269] By selecting and combining codewords from the one-dimensional RTC, rectangular areas of any aspect ratio can be covered.

[0270] In step 1, the RIS aligns two directions (e.g., dimensions) of the RIS with the horizontal and vertical directions of the target area. Then, based on the principles of geometric optics, the focus #1 of the one-dimensional wide beam is calculated for the horizontal direction, and the focus #2 of the one-dimensional wide beam is calculated for the vertical direction.

[0271] In step 2, the wide-beam codeword is obtained by calculating the Kronecker product of the corresponding one-dimensional RTC codeword, as in equation (15).

[0272] In equation (15), w ｗｉｄｅ denotes the two-dimensional wide beam codeword, and w １ and w ２ denote the horizontal and vertical one-dimensional RTC codewords, respectively, and equation (15) defines w １ And lol ２ By Kronecker's registration with ｗｉｄｅ It is shown that

[0273] According to the above-mentioned proposal 3, the target area can be expanded, reduced, or its shape changed, allowing for flexible control of coverage. This makes it possible to suppress unnecessary radiation outside the target area, thereby avoiding interference outside the target area and reducing power consumption.

[0274] Although Proposal 3 describes a wide beam shaping method designed for a rectangular coverage area, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Wide beam shaping may be performed for any shape other than a rectangle. For example, if the RIS array shape is rectangular and the target area is square, wide beam shaping based on the shape of the target area may be performed in a manner similar to Proposal 3. Furthermore, for example, if the RIS array shape is circular and the target area is elliptical, wide beam shaping based on the shape of the target area may be performed in a manner similar to Proposal 3.

[0275] Note that Proposal 3 and Proposal 2 may be used in combination. For example, by combining Proposal 2-1 and Proposal 3, a wide beam that covers a rectangular target area may be generated for multiple rectangular target areas. Furthermore, by combining Proposal 2-2 or Proposal 2-3 and Proposal 3, a wide beam that covers a target area with a partially missing rectangular shape may be generated.

[0276] <Supplementary Note> We will provide additional information regarding the wide beam used in each of the proposals mentioned above.

[0277] For example, when a focused beam and a wide beam are generated in a RIS array of the same size, the focused beam can achieve a relatively high SNR, while the wide beam can effectively cover a specific area. Therefore, the focused beam is suitable for transmitting a data channel, and the wide beam is suitable for transmitting a control channel. However, the focused beam may be used to transmit channels other than data channels (e.g., control channels, broadcast channels, etc.), or signals other than signals assigned to data channels. Furthermore, the wide beam may be used to transmit channels other than control channels (e.g., data channels, broadcast channels, etc.), or signals other than signals assigned to control channels.

[0278] For example, if a RIS array #1 of a certain size and a RIS array #2 of twice the size of the RIS array #1 generate a wide beam for a certain coverage area, the SNR gain of the wide beam of the RIS array #2 is about 3 dB greater than the SNR gain of the RIS array #1. Similarly, if the size of the RIS array is increased by four times, the SNR gain of the wide beam increases by about 6 dB.

[0279] For example, if a RIS array generates a wide beam for coverage area #1 of a certain size and coverage area #2 of twice the size of coverage area #1, the SNR gain of the wide beam in coverage area #2 is about 1.5 dB less than the SNR gain in coverage area #1. Similarly, if the coverage area is quadrupled, the SNR gain of the wide beam decreases by about 3 dB.

[0280] As described above, for example, the size of the coverage area, the size of the RIS array, and the SNR gain of the wide beam exhibit a specific relationship. Therefore, depending on at least one of the size of the coverage area, the size of the RIS array, and the SNR gain of the wide beam, the other two may be set. For example, at least one of the size of the coverage area and the size of the RIS array may be set depending on the desired SNR gain, or the size of the RIS array may be set depending on the desired SNR gain and the size of the desired coverage area.

[0281] A method based on multi-wide beam generation may be used for beam shaping, utilizing the beamforming gain from each of the RIS elements, which can provide higher gain in the coverage area compared to methods based on controlling the operating mode and phase masks.

[0282] The approach based on controlling the operating mode and phase masking is easy to implement.

[0283] According to each proposal and combination of proposals described above, a wide beam in the near field can be appropriately generated, and coverage can be flexibly controlled, so that control can be performed to generate an appropriate beam according to the range to be covered.

[0284] In addition, the RIS may transmit capability information (e.g., capability) to the gNB indicating whether or not it supports each proposal and each combination of proposals.

[0285] Next, use cases in which wide beam generation based on the above-mentioned proposals is used will be described, but the use cases are not limited to the examples described below.

[0286] <Use Case 1> As described above, according to each proposal, the beam width is dynamically controlled by the focus based on the RTC, enabling flexible coverage. In Use Case 1, the flexible coverage control of the RIS will be described. Note that the RIS in Use Case 1 may be referred to as RIS-NCR.

[0287] <First Example of Use Case 1> In the first example, the RIS switches beams for transferring a control channel and a data channel.

[0288] 15 is a diagram illustrating a first example of use case 1. For example, in the first example, a wide beam is generated for the transmission of a control channel, while in the first example, a UE-specific narrow beam is generated for the transmission of a data channel. Also, in the first example, the coverage area is appropriately adjusted based on UE feedback.

[0289] Note that the adjustment method based on UE feedback is not limited. For example, the UE may provide feedback to the network (e.g., gNB) via UL signals, and the network may provide the feedback to the RIS. Alternatively, the UE may provide feedback directly to the RIS. The RIS to which the feedback is provided may adjust its coverage area based on the feedback. Alternatively, the UE may provide feedback to the network, and the gNB may determine information to provide to the RIS (e.g., information about the UE's location, information about the target area, a codeword, etc.) to adjust its coverage area based on the feedback, and the gNB may provide the determined information to the RIS.

[0290] For example, the wide beams generated based on the approaches presented in Proposal 1 to Proposal 3 effectively cover the target area and are therefore suitable for transmitting control channels.

[0291] For example, for data channel transmission, compared with the existing DFT beam, the UE-specific narrow beam generated by the RIS using RTC can increase the SNR gain within the near-field region of the RIS, so that the UE can achieve a high data rate by utilizing the narrow beam for data channel transmission.

[0292] <Second Example of Use Case 1> In a second example of Use Case 1, the coverage area is adaptively adjusted. For example, by utilizing UE feedback information, the coverage area of ​​the wide beam is reduced. By reducing the coverage area of ​​the wide beam, a higher wide beam gain can be obtained for the transmission of the control channel.

[0293] Fig. 16 is a diagram illustrating a second example of Use Case 1. Fig. 16 illustrates an example in which the RIS generates a wide beam for the coverage area in which UE #1 and UE #2 are present.

[0294] For example, the RIS switches between multiple wide beam patterns, the UE measures the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and provides feedback, and the network dynamically adjusts the coverage range of the wide beam based on the feedback.

[0295] As an example of dynamic coverage adjustment, for example, the following Alternation 1 (Alt. 1) and Alt. 2 exist.

[0296] <Alt. 1> The wide beam coverage may be switched from a large size to a small size. Based on the UE feedback on RSRP measurements, the network determines whether the UE is in the current wide beam coverage and dynamically adjusts the coverage.

[0297] Figure 17 is a diagram showing Alt. 1 of a second example of Use Case 1. In the example shown in Figure 17, four wide beam coverage patterns of different sizes, Pattern #1 to Pattern #4, are shown. For example, the RIS first uses the wide beam of Pattern #1, which is the largest of the four, and UEs #1 and #2 measure the RSRP for Pattern #1. Based on the UE feedback, the RIS switches from the wide beam of Pattern #1 to the wide beam of Pattern #2. Similarly, the RIS switches sequentially to the wide beam of Pattern #3 and then to the wide beam of Pattern #4, ultimately resulting in the selection of Pattern #3.

[0298] <Alt. 2> The coverage area may be divided into multiple sub-regions, and differently shaped wide beams may be switched to scan one or more combinations of the multiple sub-regions, in which case the network determines the presence or absence of UEs in each sub-region based on feedback received from the UEs.

[0299] Fig. 18 is a diagram showing Alt. 2 of a second example of use case 1. In the example shown in Fig. 18, the coverage area is divided into four sub-areas. In Fig. 18, for example, switching is performed between pattern #1 including sub-area #1 and sub-area #2 and pattern #2 including sub-area #1 and sub-area #4. Note that while Fig. 18 shows two patterns, patterns other than these may also be switched.

[0300] UE #1, which exists in sub-region #1, and UE #2, which exists in sub-region #4, measure RSRP for each of multiple patterns (pattern #1 and pattern #2 in FIG. 18). For example, in the case of FIG. 18, in pattern 1, the measurement result of UE #1 indicates a high RSRP, but the measurement result of UE #2 indicates a low RSRP. On the other hand, in pattern #2, the measurement results of UE #1 and UE #2 each indicate a high RSRP. Based on feedback from UEs indicating such measurement results, the RIS selects pattern #2.

[0301] <Use Case 2> As described above, the beam width is dynamically controlled by the focal point based on the RTC, enabling flexible coverage. In Use Case 2, flexible coverage control for RIS-aided mega MIMO will be described.

[0302] <First Example of Use Case 2> In the first example, beams are switched between transmitting a control channel and transmitting a data channel.

[0303] Figure 19 is a diagram showing a first example of use case 2. The example of Figure 19 shows a narrow beam generated for transmitting a data channel and a wide beam generated for transmitting a control channel. Note that the example shown in Figure 19 corresponds to the gNB transmitting a signal via the RIS, rather than the RIS forwarding a signal transmitted from the gNB.

[0304] For example, in a first example, a wide beam is generated for transmission of a control channel, in a first example, a UE-specific narrow beam is generated for transmission of a data channel, and in a first example, estimation of the SNR gain for the UE-specific narrow beam is achieved by utilizing measurements of the RSRP for the wide beam.

[0305] For example, the wide beams generated based on the approaches presented in Proposals 1 to 3 are suitable for transmitting control channels since they effectively cover the target area.

[0306] For example, in the case of SSB transmission, if the goal is to cover a target area using only narrow beam transmissions, a problem arises due to the limited number of SSB resources. Therefore, the use of wide beams is considered for SSB transmission.

[0307] For example, in the transmission of data channels, compared with the existing DFT beams, the UE-specific narrow beams generated by the RIS using RTC can increase the SNR gain within the near-field region of the RIS, thus enabling the UE to achieve a high data rate by utilizing narrow beams for data channel transmission.

[0308] <Second Example of Use Case 2> In the second example of Use Case 2, estimation of the SNR gain of the data channel will be described. By utilizing measurement information and beam pattern information obtained from the control channel, it is possible to estimate the SNR gain of the data channel. In addition, the SNR gains of the wide beam and the narrow beam are correlated, and the SNR gain of the data channel is estimated using measurement data from the control channel.

[0309] In step 1, based on the pattern information of the wide beam, the difference between the average SNR gain in the coverage area and the SNR gain of the UE-specific beam is estimated.

[0310] In step 2, the SNR gain of the data channel is estimated by combining measurement information such as RSRP of the control channel with pattern information of the wide beam.

[0311] In addition, the processes of steps 1 to 2 described above may be performed by the RIS, or at least one may be performed by the RIS and the rest may be performed by the network (e.g., a gNB).

[0312] Use Case 3: In Use Case 3, beam refinement is described. For example, considering the limited availability of CSI-RS resources, it is impractical to use a narrow beam for CSI-RS beam scanning. Instead, a wide-beam CSI-RS scanning scheme can be used, which effectively utilizes the limited CSI-RS resources and thereby improves beam refinement.

[0313] Since the UE knows the patterns associated with each CSI-RS wide beam, it can achieve beam refinement by analyzing measurements such as RSRP, and then report the codeword corresponding to the refined beam to the network.

[0314] Figure 20A is a diagram showing a first example of use case 3. Figure 20B is a diagram showing a second example of use case 3. Figure 20A corresponds to the above-mentioned use case 2 (RIS-aided mega MIMO), and Figure 20B corresponds to an example in which the RIS forwards a signal transmitted from the gNB.

[0315] In step 1 of Use Case 3, the UE performs measurements on the CSI-RS. In step 2, based on the measurement results, the UE selects a wide beam (hereinafter referred to as a CSI-RS wide beam) from which it transmits multiple CSI-RSs. For example, the UE selects CSI-RS wide beams whose RSRPs are close to each other. Then, the UE identifies the pattern of the target refinement beam as the intersection of the patterns of the selected wide beams. In step 3, the UE reports the codeword corresponding to the refined beam to the network.

[0316] In the example of Figures 20A and 20B, the UE performs measurements on CSI-RS #1 to #3, and selects the wide beam that transmitted CSI-RS #1 and #2 whose RSRPs are close to each other. The UE then determines the pattern of the target refinement beam as the intersection of the patterns of the wide beams that transmitted CSI-RS #1 and #2. The UE reports the codeword corresponding to the refined beam to the network.

[0317] As in Use Case 3, by refining the beam, the RIS can generate a more suitable wide beam for the UE.

[0318] <Potential Impact on Specifications> Next, we will explain the potential impact on specifications. In other words, we will explain the items that may be included in specifications if they are formulated in the future.

[0319] For example, the following describes wide beam generation of the RIS, control of the operation mode of the RIS, and an SSB transmission method of the RIS. Note that the SSB transmission method of the RIS may be, for example, a method using a wide beam.

[0320] The wide beam generation of the RIS includes matters such as coverage area measurement and feedback, beam type indication, and codeword indication.

[0321] Controlling the operation mode of the RIS includes specifying the operation mode.

[0322] The SSB transmission method of the RIS includes an instruction for power control of the SSB. The instruction for power control of the SSB may be, for example, an instruction from the gNB to the RIS.

[0323] <Wide Beam Generation of RIS> <Coverage Area Measurement and Feedback> To indicate the codewords required for wide beam generation, the network may determine the coverage area and report geometric information based on UE measurements, where the information measured and reported by the UE may be at least one of RSRP, RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), Rx-Tx time difference, and RTT (Round Trip Time).

[0324] In addition, the information reported by the UE may include the UE's location information determined by GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like, and information regarding the relative position between the US and the gNB (or RIS) estimated by the signal received by the UE.

[0325] The signal measured by the UE may be an existing signal, or may be a signal different from the existing signal that indicates a codeword required to generate a wide beam.

[0326] <Indication of Beam Type> As for the beam type, the beam for the data channel may be a narrow beam (or a focused beam), and the beam for the control channel may be a wide beam.

[0327] Note that the beam type is not limited to these. For example, a wide beam may be used as a broadcast beam. Alternatively, a beam may be selected depending on the type, number, and use of signals included in the channel.

[0328] <Instruction of code word in Proposal 1> Regarding the instruction of code word in Proposal 1 described above, for wide beam generation in Proposal 1, "D_2" indicating the distance between the RIS and the UE in Example 1-1 of the first example of the related art described above (for example, the above-mentioned item "Parameters related to codebook / precoder") may be replaced with "F" indicating the focal length in Proposal 1.

[0329] The way in which this F is provided to the RIS may be one of two options:

[0330] Option 1: "F" is provided directly from the network (e.g., gNB). Option 2: Parameters such as D, d, L, α, and β shown in Proposal 1 are provided by the network. RIS calculates F based on D, d, L, α, β and either Equation (12) or Equation (13) in Proposal 1.

[0331] In the above-mentioned options 1 and 2, the parameter value may be provided directly, or quantized information on the parameter value may be provided, or a value converted by a specific calculation may be provided, or an index or the like associated with the parameter value may be provided.

[0332] <Wide Beam Generation of RIS> <Wide Beam Shaping: Multi-Wide Beam Generation in Proposal 2> The indication of multiple code words for multi-wide beams may be similar to the indication of code words shown in the first example and / or the second example of the related art. However, in Example 1-1 of the first example of the related art (for example, the above-mentioned item "Parameters Related to Codebook / Precoder"), "D_2" indicating the distance between the RIS and the UE is replaced with "F" indicating the focal length.

[0333] For one time unit, multiple codewords may be dictated by the network, and the power allocation factor of each codeword may be dictated by the network. The RIS may calculate the multi-beam codeword based on equation (14) in Proposal 2.

[0334] Wide Beam Shaping: Control of Operation Mode of RIS in Proposal 2 Three options are described here: Any one of the three options may be applied, or two or more may be applied.

[0335] In option 1, an operational mode is indicated for each element in the RIS array or for each group of elements in the RIS array. In this option 1, a control signal (or control signaling) indicated from the network to the RIS may include N operational mode indications for N elements or groups of elements (N is an integer equal to or greater than 1). Note that there do not have to be N operational mode indications for N elements or groups of N elements. For example, if N elements are distinguished into K different ways (K is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and less than N), there may be K operational mode indications. Note that a group of elements may include one or more elements.

[0336] In option 2, one operational mode is indicated for a set of elements in a RIS array or a set of groups of elements in the RIS array. A set of elements includes zero or more elements. A set of groups of elements includes zero or more groups. In option 2, a control signal (or control signaling) indicated from the network to the RIS includes an indication of one operational mode. In option 2, the control signaling indicates a set of elements or a set of groups of elements corresponding to the indicated operational mode. In option 2, multiple operational mode indications may be made. For example, an indication of a first operational mode may be associated with an indication of a first set of elements or a set of first groups of elements, and an indication of a second operational mode may be associated with an indication of a second set of elements or a set of second groups of elements.

[0337] In option 3, a set of elements or a set of element groups within the RIS array is designated, and a default mode of operation is applied to the designated set of elements or set of element groups.

[0338] It should be noted that the number of bits required to indicate the above-mentioned operation mode may depend on the total number of operation modes supported by the capabilities (e.g., capabilities) of the RIS and / or the total number of operation modes pre-configured by the network. For example, the number of bits required to indicate the above-mentioned operation mode may vary depending on the total number of operation modes supported by the capabilities (e.g., capabilities) of the RIS and / or the total number of operation modes pre-configured by the network.

[0339] Shaping Wide Beams: Proposal 2 Phase Masks A set of elements or a set of element groups in the RIS array is commanded by the network, and the RIS applies a random phase to the commanded set of elements or set of element groups.

[0340] <Codeword Indication of Proposal 3> The codeword indication of Proposal 3 may be the same as the codeword indication shown in the first example and / or second example of the related art. However, in Example 1-1 of the first example of the related art (for example, the above-mentioned item "Parameters Related to Codebook / Precoder"), "D_2" indicating the distance between the RIS and the UE is replaced with a focal length. Note that in Proposal 3, there are two focal lengths: "F1" corresponding to focus #1 in the horizontal direction and "F2" corresponding to focus #2 in the vertical direction. Therefore, in the related art, "D_2" indicating the distance between the RIS and the UE is replaced with the focal lengths "F1" and "F2".

[0341] For example, equation (5) shown in the related art mentioned above can be replaced with the following equation (16).

[0342] RIS Operation Modes RIS are implemented to operate in various modes, including reflection mode, refraction mode, scattering mode, absorption mode, modulation mode, etc. To achieve various objectives such as interference cancellation, beam shaping, and performance enhancement in specific areas (e.g., Intelligent Omni-Surfaces (IOS)), it is necessary to control the operation mode of all or specific elements of the RIS.

[0343] The following describes modes for transitioning from idle to operational states, reflective and refractive modes, multi-beam pointing, and modulation.

[0344] <From Idle State to Operating State> Here, the idle state corresponds to, for example, the scattering mode and / or the absorption mode, and the operating state corresponds to, for example, the reflection mode, the refraction mode and / or the modulation mode.

[0345] In the idle state, the energy absorbed by the system may be used to power the RIS-MT to avoid potential interference from the RIS.

[0346] Regarding the indication of switching in idle state, at least one of the following four options may be applied:

[0347] In option 1, a specific signal is defined: upon detecting a specific signal from the network, the RIS switches from an idle state to an active state, or alternatively, upon detecting a specific signal from the network, the RIS switches from an active state to an idle state.

[0348] In option 2, the idle indication or operational mode indication applies for one or more subsequent time units until a new idle indication or operational mode indication is received.

[0349] In option 3, idle or active state is indicated in units of time.

[0350] In option 4, similar to NCR, if a valid beam or codebook is indicated for a time unit, it is in active mode, otherwise it is in idle mode.

[0351] Reflective and Refractive Modes This mode may be, for example, Intelligent Omni-Surfaces (IOS).

[0352] For IOS, the power distribution in both the reflective and refractive coverage areas is dynamically adjusted based on specific requirements.

[0353] The reflected and refracted power distribution may be commanded by the network. For this command, one of two options may be applied: in option 1, the power distribution command is applied for the following time unit until a new command is received; in option 2, the power allocation command is made for each time unit.

[0354] <Instruction of Multi-Beam> For example, it is assumed that communication and position estimation (eg, positioning) are performed simultaneously.

[0355] Depending on specific requirements, both the number of beams and the power allocation among the beams are dynamically adjusted based on actual needs.

[0356] For example, although it has been assumed that communication and position estimation (e.g., positioning) are performed simultaneously, a case in which communication and position estimation are performed simultaneously and a case in which either communication or position estimation is performed may be switched. Also, there may be a case in which either the number of beams or the power allocation among the beams is dynamically adjusted based on actual needs, while the other is not adjusted.

[0357] Modulation Mode In modulation mode, the RIS modulates, for example, an incident signal.

[0358] The RIS may be utilized to modulate the signal of an incident wave. By adjusting the phase shift of individual elements within the RIS, the signal may be modulated and various functions may be possible, such as shaping the signal or encoding information into the incident wave.

[0359] Whether the RIS modulates the signal may be instructed by the network. For this instruction, at least one of two options may be applied: in option 1, the instruction whether the RIS modulates the signal applies to subsequent time units until a new instruction is received; in option 2, the instruction whether the RIS modulates the signal is given in time units.

[0360] <RIS SSB Forwarding Methods> In existing methods, the RIS uses multiple narrow beams to relay SSBs transmitted by the gNB, however, these methods typically involve significant allocation of SSB resources or require significant modifications to the SSB methods.

[0361] On the other hand, in the above-mentioned proposed RIS SSB transmission method, in contrast to existing proposals, the RIS utilizes a wide beam to transmit SSB resources transmitted by the gNB to the UE.

[0362] The above proposals may reduce the need for significant allocation of SSB resources.

[0363] <SSB Power Indication> To ensure that the SNR transmitted by the RIS using a wide beam reaches the demodulation threshold of one or more UEs within the coverage area, the power of the SSB beam transmitted from the base station to the RIS may be adjusted differently from other SSB beams.

[0364] <Impact of SSB Transmission by RIS on Specifications> In the existing specifications, the transmit power of the SSB is given by higher layer parameters (e.g., ss-PBCH-BlockPower). Furthermore, the EPRE of the CSI-RS is derived based on ss-PBCH-BlockPower and an offset to the Tx power of the SSB provided by the higher layer parameters. In such a derivation, if the powers of different SSBs are different from each other, the derivation method must be extended.

[0365] The downlink transmission power of the SSBs is then given by a higher layer parameter for each SSB or for a group of SSBs. At least one of two variations may be applied regarding the provision of this parameter.

[0366] Variation 1: The EPRE (Energy Per Resource Element) of the first SSB group (e.g., SSBs transmitted directly to the UE) is provided using existing parameters. The EPRE of other SSB groups (e.g., SSBs transmitted to the RIS) is provided by new parameters. Note that the first SSB group here may be the SSB group that is first in transmission order.

[0367] Variation 2: The EPRE of the first SSB group (e.g., SSBs transmitted directly to the UE) is provided directly using existing parameters. The EPREs of other SSB groups (e.g., SSBs transmitted to the RIS) other than the first SSB group are provided as offsets to the EPRE of the first SSB group.

[0368] In the existing specifications, the EPRE of the CSI-RS is derived from the power offset given by higher layer parameters and the downlink transmit power of the SSB (SSB DL Tx power). In this derivation, if the powers of different SSBs are different from each other, the derivation method must be extended. For example, any of the following three options may be applied as the derivation method:

[0369] Option 1: For CSI-RS, dictated by higher layer parameters: The EPRE for CSI-RS is derived from the DL transmit power of either SSB.

[0370] Option 2: For EPRE of CSI-RS, by default it is derived from the DL transmit power of the first SSB or first SSB group, or the SSB transmit power provided by existing parameters (e.g., legacy parameters).

[0371] Option 3: In the case of CSI-RS, if QCL is performed with SSB, the EPRE of the CSI-RS is derived from the DL transmit power of the SSB used as the QCL reference RS.

[0372] Variation: The CSI-RS EPRE and / or the power offset of the CSI-RS relative to the SSB may be provided per CSI-RS or per CSI-RS group.

[0373] <Supplementary Notes> To support use case 3 described above, the UE needs to support the RTC codebook.

[0374] The RTC codeword for each SSB or CSI-RS resource is indicated to the UE, and the indication of the codeword in this case may be similar to the indication of the codeword in the first example and / or the second example of the related art.

[0375] Regarding the indication of the RTC codeword for each SSB or CSI-RS resource, the UE may be configured with "N_1," "N_2," "O_1," and "O_2" shown in the first and / or second examples of the related art (e.g., the above-mentioned "Parameters Related to Codebook / Precoder" section). The UE may also be instructed with codeword indices "k_1" and "k_2" for each SSB or CSI-RS resource. The UE may also be instructed with "D_2," which indicates the distance between the RIS and the UE, as in the first and / or second examples of the related art. Alternatively, the UE may be instructed with the focal distance F from the RIS to the focal position in the above-mentioned proposal for each SSB or CSI-RS resource.

[0376] The UE reports the RTC codeword of the refined beam identified by the UE. This reporting may be performed using one of the following two options:

[0377] Option 1: The report includes the indices k_1 and k_2 of the codewords of the refined beams identified by the UE.

[0378] Option 2: The report includes the index k_1 of the codeword of the refined beam identified by the UE and k_1. Additionally, the report includes the index of the SSB or CSI-RS and the L1-RSRP / SINR of the SSB or CSI-RS.

[0379] In the above-described embodiment, an example of downlink processing in which a RIS forwards a signal transmitted by a gNB to a UE has been shown, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The present disclosure may be applied to uplink processing in which a RIS forwards a signal transmitted by a UE to a gNB, or may be applied to processing in which a RIS forwards a signal transmitted by a UE to another UE.

[0380] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which one RIS is provided between the gNB and the UE has been described, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, multiple RISs may be provided between the gNB and the UE. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which a first RIS forwards a signal transmitted by the gNB to a second RIS, and the second RIS forwards the signal to the UE. In this case, the first RIS may generate multiple beams (e.g., the multi-wide beams described above) and forward the signal to multiple second RISs, and each of the multiple second RISs may further forward a signal to the UE.

[0381] In the present disclosure, "A / B" and "at least one of A and B" may be interpreted interchangeably. Also, in the present disclosure, "A / B / C" may mean "at least one of A, B, and C."

[0382] In the present disclosure, terms such as notify, activate, deactivate, indicate (or indicate), select, configure, update, and determine may be read interchangeably. In the present disclosure, terms such as support, control, controllable, operate, and operate may be read interchangeably.

[0383] In the present disclosure, Radio Resource Control (RRC), RRC parameters, RRC messages, higher layer parameters, fields, information elements (IEs), settings, etc. may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, Medium Access Control (MAC) control elements (CEs), update commands, activation / deactivation commands, etc. may be interchangeable.

[0384] In the present disclosure, the higher layer signaling may be, for example, any one of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information, other messages (e.g., messages from the core network such as positioning protocol (e.g., NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) / LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP)) messages), or a combination thereof.

[0385] In the present disclosure, MAC signaling may use, for example, a MAC Control Element (MAC CE), a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU), etc. Broadcast information may be, for example, a Master Information Block (MIB), a System Information Block (SIB), Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI), Other System Information (OSI), etc.

[0386] In the present disclosure, physical layer signaling may be, for example, Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI), and the like.

[0387] In this disclosure, terms such as aperture, antenna array, array, subarray (multiple antenna elements, part of an array), panel, RIS, RIS array, scattering element array, etc. may be interchangeable. In this disclosure, terms such as antenna, antenna element, scattering element, etc. may be interchangeable.

[0388] In the present disclosure, NCR, RIS, NCR including RIS, network node, device, IAB, IAB-MT (Mobile Termination), IAB-DU (Distribution Unit), IAB-CU (Central Unit), terminal, base station, relay station, relay device, repeater, reflector, transmittance plate, RIS-NCR, RIS type NCR, extended NCR, etc. may be read interchangeably.

[0389] <Block Configuration Diagram> Fig. 21 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The base station 100 includes, for example, a transmitting unit 101, a receiving unit 102, and a control unit 103. The base station 100 communicates wirelessly with a terminal 200 (see Fig. 22). The transmitting unit 101 and the receiving unit 102 may be collectively referred to as a communication unit. The control unit may also be referred to as a processing unit, a processor, or the like.

[0390] The transmitter 101 transmits a DL signal to the terminal 200. For example, the transmitter 101 transmits the DL signal under the control of the controller 103. For example, the DL signal may include information indicating scheduling related to signal transmission by the terminal 200 (for example, an UL grant), control information of higher layers, and the like.

[0391] For example, the transmitter 101 transmits, as DL signals, various control signals (such as control signals for higher layers), reference signals, data signals, etc. to the terminal 200 and / or the radio device 300. The transmitter 101 transmits, as DL signals, various signals, channels, setting information, control information, etc., described in the above embodiments, to the terminal 200.

[0392] For example, transmitting unit 101 transmits information related to the control of terminal 200, which is generated by control unit 103, to terminal 200. Also, for example, transmitting unit 101 transmits information related to the control of wireless device 300, which is generated by control unit 103, to wireless device 300. Also, transmitting unit 101 transmits a data signal generated by control unit 103 to terminal 200.

[0393] The receiving unit 102 receives the UL signal transmitted from the terminal 200. For example, the receiving unit 102 receives the UL signal under the control of the control unit 103. The receiving unit 102 may also receive the UL signal transmitted from the wireless device 300.

[0394] For example, the receiving unit 102 receives, as UL signals, signals including terminal capability information (e.g., UE capability) of the terminal 200, various control signals, reference signals, data signals, etc. from the terminal 200. The receiving unit 102 may also receive signals including capability information (e.g., capability) of the wireless device 300.

[0395] The control unit 103 controls the overall (communication) operation of the base station 100 , including the transmission processing in the transmission unit 101 and the reception processing in the reception unit 102 .

[0396] For example, the control unit 103 acquires information such as data and control information from the upper layer and outputs it to the transmitting unit 101. The control unit 103 also outputs the data, control information, etc. received from the receiving unit 102 to the upper layer.

[0397] For example, the control unit 103 allocates resources to be used for transmitting and receiving DL signals and / or resources to be used for transmitting and receiving UL signals based on signals (e.g., data and control information, etc.) received from the terminal 200 and / or data and control information, etc. acquired from a higher layer. Information on the allocated resources may be included in control information to be transmitted to the terminal 200.

[0398] The control unit 103 performs operations other than the transmission and reception described in the above embodiment (note that these operations may be performed by the transmission unit 101 and / or the reception unit 102).

[0399] Furthermore, the control unit 103 may generate control information related to the forwarding operation of the wireless device 300. The control unit 103 may transmit instructions (e.g., control information) related to communication control of the wireless device 300 via the transmission unit 101.

[0400] 22 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a terminal 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The terminal 200 includes, for example, a receiving unit 201, a transmitting unit 202, and a control unit 203. The terminal 200 communicates with, for example, the base station 100 (see FIG. 21 ) wirelessly. Note that the receiving unit 201 and the transmitting unit 202 may be collectively referred to as a communication unit.

[0401] The receiving unit 201 receives a DL signal transmitted from the base station 100. For example, the receiving unit 201 receives the DL signal under the control of the control unit 203.

[0402] For example, the receiving unit 201 receives, as DL signals, various control signals, reference signals, data signals, etc. from the base station 100. For example, the receiving unit 201 receives, as DL signals, various signals, channels, setting information, control information, etc. described in the above embodiments from the base station 100.

[0403] For example, the receiving unit 201 receives a signal from the base station 100 .

[0404] The transmitting unit 202 transmits the UL signal to the base station 100. For example, the transmitting unit 202 transmits the UL signal under the control of the control unit 203.

[0405] For example, the transmitter 202 transmits, as UL signals, signals including information about the processing capacity of the terminal 200, various control signals, reference signals, data signals, and the like to the base station 100.

[0406] The control unit 203 controls the overall (communication) operation of the terminal 200 , including the reception processing in the reception unit 201 and the transmission processing in the transmission unit 202 .

[0407] For example, the control unit 203 acquires information such as data and control information from the upper layer and outputs it to the transmitting unit 202. Also, the control unit 203 outputs, for example, the data and control information received from the receiving unit 201 to the upper layer.

[0408] The control unit 203 performs operations other than the transmission and reception described in the above embodiment (note that these operations may be performed by the receiving unit 201 and / or the transmitting unit 202).

[0409] Note that the signal that terminal 200 receives from base station 100 may be a signal that has been transmitted directly from base station 100, or may be a signal that has been transmitted from base station 100 and transferred by radio device 300. Furthermore, the signal that terminal 200 transmits to base station 100 may be received directly by base station 100, or may be transferred by radio device 300 and then received by base station 100. In this case, terminal 200 does not need to recognize whether the signal has been transferred by radio device 300 or not.

[0410] FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a wireless device 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless device 300 corresponds to an example of a RIS. The wireless device 300 includes, for example, a receiving unit 301, a transmitting unit 302, and a control unit 303. The wireless relay device 300 wirelessly communicates with, for example, a base station 100 (see FIG. 21) and a terminal 200 (see FIG. 22). The receiving unit 301 and the transmitting unit 302 may be collectively referred to as a communication unit. The communication unit has a radiation surface (e.g., a RIS array) that radiates radio waves, and may transmit signals from the radiation surface or receive signals at the radiation surface.

[0411] The receiving unit 301 receives a DL signal transmitted from the base station 100. The receiving unit 301 also receives a UL signal transmitted from the terminal 200. For example, the receiving unit 301 receives DL signals and UL signals under the control of the control unit 303. Note that the received signals may include a signal addressed to the base station 100, a signal addressed to the terminal 200, and a signal addressed to the wireless device 300. For example, the receiving unit 301 receives a signal addressed to the terminal 200 from the base station 100 (e.g., a signal unique to the terminal 200). Note that the transfer process may include at least one of a process of transmitting a signal addressed to the terminal 200 received from the base station 100 to the terminal 200 and a process of receiving a signal addressed to the base station 100 from the terminal 200.

[0412] The transmitting unit 302 transmits to the base station 100 an UL signal addressed to the base station 100 that has been received from the terminal 200. The transmitting unit 302 also transmits to the terminal 200 a DL signal addressed to the terminal 200 that has been received from the base station 100. For example, the transmitting unit 302 transmits the UL signal under the control of the control unit 303. For example, the transmitting unit 302 transfers to the terminal 200 a signal addressed to the terminal 200 that has been received from the base station 100.

[0413] The control unit 303 controls the overall (communication) operation of the wireless device 300 , including the reception processing in the receiving unit 301 and the transmission processing in the transmitting unit 302 .

[0414] For example, the control unit 303 generates a beam to be used by the transmission unit 302. The control unit 303 uses the acquired information about the target area (the area covered by the wireless device 300) to select (determine) a codeword based on the geometric relationship (for example, the focal position or focal length) between the wireless device 300 and the target area. The control unit 303 then applies the determined codeword to control the generation of the beam.

[0415] The control unit 303 performs operations other than the transmission and reception described in the above embodiment (note that these operations may be performed by the receiving unit 301 and / or the transmitting unit 302).

[0416] Note that the wireless device 300 (e.g., RIS) in the present disclosure may be an example of a communication device. Furthermore, the wireless device 300 in the present disclosure may be referred to by other names such as a forwarding device or a relay device. Furthermore, the wireless device 300 in the present disclosure may be replaced with a terminal 200 (e.g., UE). For example, the wireless device 300 may be considered as a terminal 200 having a forwarding function (or a relay function).

[0417] The above-mentioned wireless device (e.g., RIS) 300 comprises a control unit 303 that determines a code word based on the geometric relationship between the wireless device 300 and the area covered by the wireless device 300 and applies the code word to generate a beam that covers the area, and a communication unit that outputs a signal using the beam.

[0418] In the above-mentioned wireless device (e.g., RIS) 300, the control unit 303 determines a focal position based on the geometric relationship between the radiation surface and the area of ​​the communication unit (transmitting unit 302 and / or receiving unit 301), and determines a code word that is focused at the focal position.

[0419] In the above-mentioned wireless device (e.g., RIS) 300, when there are multiple areas, the control unit 303 determines the focal position based on the geometric relationship between each of the multiple areas and the radiation surface, determines an area code word that focuses on the focal position corresponding to each of the multiple areas, and determines the code word by performing specific calculation processing on the area code word corresponding to each of the multiple areas.

[0420] In the above-mentioned wireless device (e.g., RIS) 300, the communication unit has multiple antenna elements arranged on a plane, and the control unit 303 switches the setting of at least one of the antenna elements depending on the mode in which the wireless device 300 operates.

[0421] In the above-described wireless device (for example, RIS) 300, the control unit 303 determines the codeword based on the shape of the area.

[0422] The present disclosure has been described above. Note that the division of items in the above description is not essential to the present disclosure, and items described in two or more items may be used in combination as needed, and items described in one item may be applied to items described in another item (unless they are inconsistent).

[0423] <Hardware Configuration, etc.> The block diagrams used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (e.g., using wires, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may also be realized by combining software with the single device or the multiple devices.

[0424] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, assessment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on how these functions are implemented.

[0425] For example, a base station, a terminal, a wireless device, etc. according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Fig. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a base station, a terminal, and a wireless device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The base station 100, the terminal 200, and the wireless device 300 described above may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0426] In the following description, the term "apparatus" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configurations of the base station 100, the terminal 200, and the wireless device 300 may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.

[0427] Each function in the base station 100, the terminal 200, and the wireless device 300 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, and control at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 1002 and the storage 1003.

[0428] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, the above-mentioned control unit 103, control unit 203, and control unit 303 may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0429] The processor 1001 also reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002 and executes various processes in accordance with these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-described embodiments. For example, the control unit 203 of the terminal 200 may be implemented by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001, and similar implementations may be made for other functional blocks. While the above-described various processes have been described as being executed by one processor 1001, they may also be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may also be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0430] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured by, for example, at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0431] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other appropriate medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0432] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, the above-mentioned transmitter 101, receiver 102, receiver 201, transmitter 202, receiver 301, transmitter 302, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004.

[0433] The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (e.g., a touch panel).

[0434] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0435] Furthermore, base station 100, terminal 200, and wireless device 300 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0436] <Notification of Information, Signaling> Notification of information is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure and may be performed using other methods. For example, notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.

[0437] <Applicable Systems> The embodiments described in the present disclosure are applicable to LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (xG (x is, for example, an integer or a decimal)), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.17 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.19 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.21 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.22 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.23 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.24 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.25 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.26 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.27 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.28 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.29 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.30 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.31 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.32 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.33 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.34 (WiMAX (registered trademark The present invention may be applied to at least one of systems using 802.20, UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable systems, and next-generation systems that are extended, modified, created, or defined based on these systems. The present invention may also be applied to a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of LTE and / or LTE-A with 5G).

[0438] <Processing Procedures, etc.> The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be rearranged unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0439] <Operation of Base Station> In the present disclosure, specific operations described as being performed by a base station may also be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal may be performed by at least one of the base station and another network node other than the base station (for example, an MME or an S-GW, etc., but are not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates a case where there is one other network node other than the base station, a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW) may also be used.

[0440] <Direction of Input / Output> Information, etc. (see <Information, Signal>) can be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer). It may also be input / output via multiple network nodes.

[0441] <Handling of Input / Output Information, etc.> Input / output information, etc. may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input / output information, etc. may be overwritten, updated, or added. Output information, etc. may be deleted. Input information, etc. may be sent to another device.

[0442] <Determination method> The determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a comparison of numerical values ​​(e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0443] <Variations of Aspects, etc.> Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. In addition, notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., by not notifying the predetermined information).

[0444] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

[0445] <Software> Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0446] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0447] Information, Signals, etc., described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc., which may be referred to throughout the above description, may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0448] Note that terms described in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of a channel and a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Furthermore, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

[0449] <System, Network> As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0450] <Parameter and Channel Names> Furthermore, the information, parameters, and the like described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0451] The names used for the above-described parameters are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0452] <Base Station> In the present disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. A base station may also be referred to by terms such as a macrocell, a small cell, a femtocell, and a picocell.

[0453] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the overall coverage area of ​​the base station can be partitioned into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a remote radio head (RRH)). The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to part or the entire coverage area of ​​a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication services within that coverage area.

[0454] Mobile Station In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0455] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0456] <Base Station / Mobile Station> At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be referred to as a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a mobile object, the mobile object itself, etc. The mobile object refers to a movable object, and may move at any speed. Naturally, this also includes cases where the mobile object is stationary. Examples of the mobile object include, but are not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcars, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones (registered trademark), multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and objects mounted thereon. The mobile object may also be an autonomous mobile object operating based on an operational command. It may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile object (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device that does not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

[0457] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a terminal. For example, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a terminal is replaced with communication between multiple terminals (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D) or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)). In this case, the functions of the base station 100 described above may be configured to be possessed by the terminal 200 and the wireless device 300. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, terms such as an uplink channel and a downlink channel may be read as a side channel.

[0458] Similarly, the term "terminal" in the present disclosure may be read as "base station." In this case, the base station 100 and the relay station 300 may be configured to have the functions of the terminal 20 described above.

[0459] Fig. 25 shows an example configuration of a vehicle 2001. As shown in Fig. 25, the vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021 to 2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013. Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to a communication device mounted on the vehicle 2001, and may be applied to the communication module 2013, for example.

[0460] The drive unit 2002 is configured, for example, by an engine, a motor, or a hybrid of an engine and a motor. The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle) and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user.

[0461] The electronic control unit 2010 is composed of a microprocessor 2031, a memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and a communication port (IO port) 2033. Signals are input to the electronic control unit 2010 from various sensors 2021 to 2029 provided in the vehicle 2001. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0462] The signals from the various sensors 2021 to 2029 include a current signal from a current sensor 2021 that senses the current of the motor, a rotation speed signal of the front and rear wheels obtained by a rotation speed sensor 2022, an air pressure signal of the front and rear wheels obtained by an air pressure sensor 2023, a vehicle speed signal obtained by a vehicle speed sensor 2024, an acceleration signal obtained by an acceleration sensor 2025, an accelerator pedal depression amount signal obtained by an accelerator pedal sensor 2029, a brake pedal depression amount signal obtained by a brake pedal sensor 2026, a shift lever operation signal obtained by a shift lever sensor 2027, and a detection signal for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. obtained by an object detection sensor 2028.

[0463] The information service unit 2012 is composed of various devices, such as a car navigation system, an audio system, speakers, a television, and a radio, for providing (outputting) various types of information, such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The information service unit 2012 provides various types of multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001 by using information acquired from external devices via the communication module 2013, etc.

[0464] The information service unit 2012 may include input devices (e.g., keyboards, mice, microphones, switches, buttons, sensors, touch panels, etc.) that accept input from the outside, and may also include output devices (e.g., displays, speakers, LED lamps, touch panels, etc.) that output to the outside.

[0465] The driving assistance system unit 2030 is composed of various devices that provide functions for preventing accidents and reducing the driving burden on the driver, such as millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., GNSS, etc.), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) maps, autonomous vehicle (AV) maps, etc.), gyro systems (e.g., IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), INS (Inertial Navigation System), etc.), AI (Artificial Intelligence) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. In addition, the driving assistance system unit 2030 transmits and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize the driving assistance function or the autonomous driving function.

[0466] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 2001 via the communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 transmits and receives data via the communication port 2033 to and from the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021 to 29, which are provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0467] The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and can communicate with an external device. For example, it transmits and receives various information to and from the external device via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 2010. The external device may be, for example, a base station, a mobile station, or the like.

[0468] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of signals from the above-mentioned various sensors 2021 to 2029 input to the electronic control unit 2010, information obtained based on the signals, and information based on input from the outside (user) obtained via the information service unit 2012 to an external device via wireless communication. The electronic control unit 2010, the various sensors 2021 to 2029, the information service unit 2012, etc. may be referred to as input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 2013 may include information based on the above-mentioned input.

[0469] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, traffic signal information, vehicle distance information, etc.) transmitted from an external device and displays it on the information service unit 2012 provided in the vehicle 2001. The information service unit 2012 may also be called an output unit that outputs information (for example, outputs information to a device such as a display or speaker based on the PDSCH received by the communication module 2013 (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH)).

[0470] Furthermore, the communication module 2013 stores various information received from external devices in a memory 2032 that can be used by the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in the memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, sensors 2021 to 2029, and the like provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0471] <Meaning and Interpretation of Terms> As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining something that is considered to be a "judging" or "determining," and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like that are considered to be a "judging" or "determining." Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0472] The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using one or more wires, cables, and / or printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0473] <Reference Signal> A reference signal can also be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal), and may also be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0474] <Meaning of "based on"> As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0475] "First," "Second" Any reference to an element using designations such as "first," "second," etc., used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0476] <Means> The "means" in the configuration of each device above may be replaced with "section," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0477] Open Format: When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when the term "or" is used in this disclosure, it is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0478] <Time Units such as TTI, Frequency Units such as RB, and Radio Frame Configuration> A radio frame may be composed of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of the one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0479] Numerology may be a communication parameter that applies to the transmission and / or reception of a signal or channel, and may indicate, for example, at least one of subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame structure, specific filtering operations performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing operations performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0480] A slot may be composed of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol). A slot may be a time unit based on numerology.

[0481] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0482] The radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol all represent time units for transmitting signals, and may be referred to by other names corresponding to the radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol.

[0483] For example, one subframe may be called a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. That is, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (for example, 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc. instead of a subframe.

[0484] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station performs scheduling to allocate radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user terminal) to each user terminal in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0485] The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-encoded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) to which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0486] When one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit for scheduling. Also, the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.

[0487] A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a regular TTI (TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, regular subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a regular TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.

[0488] In addition, a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length of more than 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and greater than or equal to 1 ms.

[0489] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and the frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of numerology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be determined based on numerology.

[0490] The time domain of an RB may include one or more symbols and may have a length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.

[0491] Note that one or more RBs may also be called a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, etc.

[0492] Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource region of one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0493] A Bandwidth Part (BWP) (which may also be referred to as a fractional bandwidth) may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by their index relative to a Common Reference Point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a BWP and numbered within the BWP.

[0494] The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.

[0495] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell," "carrier," etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."

[0496] The above-described structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, symbols, etc. are merely examples, and various changes may be made to the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, etc.

[0497] <Maximum Transmit Power> The "maximum transmit power" in the present disclosure may refer to the maximum value of transmit power, the nominal UE maximum transmit power, or the rated UE maximum transmit power.

[0498] Articles In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0499] <"Different"> In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." Note that the term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0500] One aspect of the present disclosure is useful in wireless communication systems.

[0501] 10 Wireless communication system 20 NG-RAN 100 Base station (gNB) 200 Terminal (UE) 300 Radio equipment (RIS) 101, 202, 302 Transmitter 102, 201, 301 Receiver 103, 203, 303 Control unit 1001 Processor 1002 Memory 1003 Storage 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device 1007 Bus

Claims

1. A wireless device comprising: a control unit that determines a code word based on a geometric relationship between the wireless device and an area covered by the wireless device, and applies the code word to generate a beam that covers the area; and a communication unit that outputs a signal using the beam.

2. The wireless device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines a focal position based on the geometric relationship between the radiation surface of the communication unit and the area, and determines the code word that is focused on the focal position.

3. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein, when there are multiple areas, the control unit determines a focal position based on the geometric relationship between each of the multiple areas and the radiation surface of the communication unit, determines an area code word that is focused on the focal position corresponding to each of the multiple areas, and determines the code word by specific arithmetic processing of the area code word corresponding to each of the multiple areas.

4. The wireless device according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit has a plurality of antenna elements arranged on a plane, and the control unit switches the setting of at least one of the antenna elements depending on the mode in which the wireless device operates.

5. The wireless device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the code word based on a shape of the area.

6. A control method in which a wireless device determines a code word based on a geometric relationship between the wireless device and an area covered by the wireless device, applies the code word to generate a beam covering the area, and outputs a signal using the beam.