Beam switching method, communication apparatus, and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a beam switching method, a communication apparatus, and a computer readable storage medium. The beam switching method comprises: receiving a beam switching instruction of a second node, wherein the beam switching instruction is used for instructing a first node to switch a serving beam used for communication to a target beam; in response to the beam switching instruction, switching the serving beam; and sending a beam switching result to the second node, wherein the beam switching result is used for indicating whether the serving beam of the first node is successfully switched.

Description

Beam switching method, communication device, and computer-readable storage medium

[0001] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202310699433.X, filed on June 13, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a beam switching method, a communication device, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0003] Very large-scale multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems are considered a key technology for improving the capacity of next-generation mobile communication networks. They can improve signal coverage and enable communication between a first node (such as a user device) and a second node (such as a network-side device) in a manner that supports multiple beams.

[0004] In general, the first node can select a serving beam from multiple beams and perform radio link detection, time-frequency offset estimation, and other processing based on the serving beam. In some scenarios, the first node needs to switch serving beams due to reasons such as its own movement or the current serving beam being blocked.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam switching method, which includes: receiving a beam switching instruction from a second node; the beam switching instruction is used to instruct the first node to switch the service beam used for communication to a target beam; in response to the beam switching instruction, switching the service beam; sending the beam switching result to the second node; the beam switching result is used to indicate whether the service beam of the first node is switched successfully.

[0007] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam switching method, which includes: sending a beam switching instruction to a first node; the beam switching instruction is used to instruct the first node to switch the service beam used for communication to a target beam; determining whether the service beam of the first node is switched successfully; and if the switching is successful, communicating with the first node through the target beam.

[0008] In another aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a beam switching apparatus, comprising: a receiving module, a switching module, and a sending module. The receiving module is configured to receive a beam switching instruction from a second node, the beam switching instruction instructing a first node to switch a serving beam used for communication to a target beam; the switching module is configured to switch the serving beam in response to the beam switching instruction; and the sending module is configured to send a beam switching result to the second node, the beam switching result indicating whether the serving beam of the first node has been successfully switched.

[0009] In another aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a beam switching apparatus, comprising: a sending module, a determining module, and a communication module. The sending module is configured to send a beam switching instruction to a first node, the beam switching instruction instructing the first node to switch a serving beam used for communication to a target beam; the determining module is configured to determine whether the serving beam of the first node has been successfully switched; and the communication module is configured to communicate with the first node via the target beam if the switching is successful.

[0010] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes: a memory and a processor; the memory and the processor are coupled; the memory is used to store a computer program; and the processor implements the beam switching method described in any of the above aspects when executing the computer program.

[0011] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which computer program instructions are stored. When the computer program instructions are executed by a processor, the beam switching method described in any of the above aspects is implemented.

[0012] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program product, which includes computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are executed by a processor, implements the beam switching method described in any of the above aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present disclosure, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in some embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the drawings described below are only drawings of some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0014] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a beam switching process in some technologies according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a communication network architecture according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG3 is a flowchart of a beam switching method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG4 is a flowchart of another beam switching method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a beam switching process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a beam switching device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of another beam switching device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] To help those skilled in the art better understand the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the technical solutions of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0023] It should be noted that in this disclosure, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this disclosure as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0024] In the following, the terms "first," "second," etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly specify the quantity of the technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature specified as "first," "second," etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features.

[0025] In the description of this disclosure, unless otherwise specified, " / " means "or." For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this document simply describes an association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A, A and B, or only B. Furthermore, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more.

[0026] In some mobile communication systems, to enhance network coverage, a first node and a second node communicate using multi-beam technology. Multi-beam technology includes uplink and downlink beams. This means that the first and second nodes support downlink data transmission using multiple downlink beams and uplink data transmission using multiple uplink beams. The management and process of uplink multi-beam technology are similar to those of downlink multi-beam technology. The following description focuses on downlink multi-beam technology.

[0027] In some scenarios, the first node needs to switch its serving beam due to reasons such as its own movement or the current serving beam being blocked. However, the serving beams determined by the first and second nodes are currently inconsistent, which affects the correct demodulation of data transmission and leads to a decrease in data transmission rate.

[0028] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the network architecture of a mobile communication system (including but not limited to 3G, 4G, 5G and future mobile communication systems) may include a first node and a second node. In some examples, the first node may be a network-side device, and the second node may be a user equipment (UE). In other examples, the first node may be a UE, and the second node may be a network-side device. In yet other examples, in a user-side to user-side communication scenario, the first node and the second node may both be UEs. The embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0029] The following description is given by taking the first node as a UE and the second node as a network side device as an example.

[0030] Network-side equipment can send synchronization signals, system messages, transmission signaling or business data through multiple beams.

[0031] Under normal circumstances, the UE can select one of multiple beams as the serving beam to communicate with the network-side device. For example, wireless link detection and maintenance, time-frequency offset estimation and compensation, etc. can be performed based on the serving beam. Each beam corresponds to an access resource, and the network-side device can determine the serving beam selected by the terminal based on the UE's access resource. During the UE's access to the network, the UE can measure multiple beams, select the optimal beam as the serving beam, and use the access resource corresponding to the beam to send a random access request to the network-side device. The network-side device determines the UE's serving beam based on the access resource selected by the UE, and can subsequently communicate with the UE based on the serving beam.

[0032] Due to UE mobility or other factors, the UE's serving beam may need to be switched. In related technologies, the network-side device determines whether to switch the UE's serving beam. The network-side device can send down measurement resources for multiple beams, generally physical reference signals, so that the UE can measure the multiple beams and report the measurement results to the network-side device. As shown in Figure 1, the network-side device selects a new serving beam for the UE based on the measurement results and sends an indication message to the UE via L1 signaling, L2 signaling, or L3 signaling to instruct the UE to switch the serving beam. The UE switches the serving beam based on the received indication message.

[0033] In related technologies, the UE does not notify the network device of the service beam switching result. Therefore, the network device does not know whether the UE's service beam switching is successful, at what point in time the UE completed the beam switching, and so on. Due to the lack of feedback information, the following situation may occur: the UE has not completed the service beam switching, but the network device mistakenly believes that the UE has completed the service beam switching. In this case, it will send information based on the new service beam, but the UE will still receive information based on the old service beam, resulting in inconsistent beams used by the communicating parties. This situation will seriously affect the correct demodulation of data transmission between the UE and the network device, resulting in a decrease in data transmission rate, and in severe cases, it may cause wireless link failure.

[0034] Based on this, the present disclosure provides a beam switching method. After the first node (UE) performs beam switching, it will inform the second node (network side device) whether the beam switching is successful, ensuring that the two parties communicate through the same beam after switching if the beam is successfully switched, avoiding the impact of the two parties using different beams for communication on data transmission.

[0035] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which includes a network-side device and a UE. The network-side device can be a base station or a core network element. As shown in Figure 2, the present disclosure embodiment is described using the network-side device as a base station as an example.

[0036] In some embodiments, a base station is used to provide wireless access services to UEs. For example, a base station provides a service coverage area (also known as a cell). UEs that enter this area communicate with the base station via wireless signals to receive the wireless access services provided by the base station. Furthermore, the base station's service coverage area can be divided into near-field and far-field areas. A UE may be within the near-field or far-field area.

[0037] In some embodiments, a base station may be an evolution nodeB (eNB), a next-generation nodeB (gNB), a transmission receiving point (TRP), a transmission point (TP), or some other access node. Depending on the size of the service coverage area provided, a base station may be further divided into a macro base station for providing macro cells, a micro base station for providing pico cells, and a femto base station for providing femto cells. With the continuous evolution of wireless communication technology, future base stations may also adopt other names.

[0038] In some embodiments, the UE may be a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, an in-vehicle device, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) device, a laptop computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the type of UE.

[0039] It should be understood that FIG2 is an exemplary structural diagram, and the number of devices included in the communication system shown in FIG2 is not limited, for example, the number of base stations is not limited, and the number of UEs is not limited. Furthermore, in addition to the devices shown in FIG2 , the communication system shown in FIG2 may also include other devices, which are not limited.

[0040] It should be understood that the application scenarios of the beam switching method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure include but are not limited to: downlink service beam switching, uplink service beam switching, and sidelink (SL) service beam switching.

[0041] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a beam switching method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Exemplarily, the beam switching method provided by the present disclosure can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 2, for example, can be applied to the first node, that is, the UE in Figure 2.

[0042] As shown in FIG3 , the beam switching method provided by the present disclosure may, for example, include the following S301 to S303 .

[0043] In S301, the first node receives a beam switching instruction from the second node.

[0044] The beam switching instruction is used to instruct the first node to switch the serving beam used for communication to the target beam. The serving beam includes but is not limited to: a downlink serving beam, an uplink serving beam, and an SL serving beam.

[0045] In some embodiments, when the first node moves or the service beam is blocked, the second node detects that the service beam currently used by the first node is of poor quality, and can send a beam switching instruction to instruct the first node to switch the service beam to the target beam.

[0046] As an example, the beam switching instruction carries an identifier of a target beam or information indirectly indicating the target beam to indicate the target beam to be switched. For example, the beam switching instruction carries quasi co-located (QCL) information to indicate the target beam to be switched.

[0047] In S302, in response to a beam switching instruction, the first node switches the serving beam.

[0048] In some embodiments, upon receiving a beam switching instruction from the second node, the first node may, in response to the beam switching instruction, switch the serving beam to the target beam according to the target beam indicated in the beam switching instruction. The beam switching process can be found in related art and is not described in detail here.

[0049] In S303 , the first node sends a beam switching result to the second node.

[0050] The beam switching result is used to indicate whether the service beam of the first node is switched successfully.

[0051] In some embodiments, after performing beam switching, the first node may feed back a beam switching result to the second node based on whether the beam switching is successful, so as to inform the second node of its own beam switching status.

[0052] In some embodiments, the beam switching result may be carried in control information or a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) for transmission. The control information includes but is not limited to uplink control information (UCI) and downlink control information (DCI).

[0053] As an example, if beam switching is successful, the first node may provide feedback to the second node including a beam switching result that includes switching success information. The beam switching result including this switching success information can be used to indicate that the serving beam switching was successful. Similarly, if beam switching fails, the first node may provide feedback to the second node including a beam switching result that does not include switching success information, thereby indicating to the second node that the serving beam switching of the first node has failed.

[0054] As another example, when the beam switching is successful, the first node may feed back the beam switching result including the switching result indication field to the second node. When the value corresponding to the switching result indication field is a first value (for example, a value of 1), the beam switching result is used to characterize the success of the service beam switching. Similarly, when the value corresponding to the switching result indication field is a second value (for example, a value of 0), the beam switching result is used to characterize the failure of the beam switching. The second node may detect the value of the switching result indication field in the beam switching result to determine whether the service beam switching of the first node is successful.

[0055] In some embodiments, after the above S303, the beam switching method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure further includes the following S304: In S304, if the serving beam is successfully switched, the first node communicates with the second node through the target beam.

[0056] It should be understood that in related technologies, if the first node fails to switch, the first node will continue to communicate based on the original serving beam, while the second node will communicate based on the switched target beam. This will result in inconsistent beams used by both nodes, affecting signal demodulation. Therefore, in the present disclosure, the first node will provide feedback on the beam switching status to the second node to ensure that both nodes communicate based on the same beam, thus avoiding the above problem.

[0057] Figure 4 is a flow chart of another beam switching method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Exemplarily, the beam switching method provided by the present disclosure can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 2, for example, can be applied to the second node, that is, the base station in Figure 2.

[0058] As shown in FIG4 , the beam switching method provided by the present disclosure may include, for example, the following S401 to S403 .

[0059] In S401, the second node sends a beam switching instruction to the first node.

[0060] The beam switching instruction is used to instruct the first node to switch the serving beam used for communication to the target beam.

[0061] In some embodiments, when the service beam of the first node needs to be switched, the second node may determine the target beam to be switched, and then issue a beam switching instruction to instruct the first node to switch the service beam used for communication to the target beam.

[0062] As an example, the first node may measure multiple beams between it and the second node periodically, semi-continuously, or non-periodically (for example, based on a preset rule) to obtain measurement results. The measurement results include multiple beams and the reference signal receiving power (RSRP) corresponding to each beam. In some embodiments, the first node may report the measurement results periodically, semi-continuously, or non-periodically. The second node may receive the measurement results and determine whether the signal quality of the service beam of the first node is qualified and whether the service beam needs to be switched based on the measurement results. If it is determined that the RSRP of the service beam is less than a certain value, it is determined that the signal quality of the service beam of the first node is unqualified and the service beam needs to be switched.

[0063] If it is determined that serving beam switching is required, the second node may determine the target beam to be switched based on the measurement results reported by the first node and the RSRPs of the multiple beams. For example, the second node may determine a beam with an RSRP greater than a preset threshold as the target beam, or determine a beam with the highest RSRP as the target beam. Alternatively, the second node may select a target beam from the multiple beams based on a preset rule without referring to the measurement results. This embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit this implementation.

[0064] In S402, the second node determines whether the serving beam of the first node is switched successfully.

[0065] In some embodiments, after sending a beam switching instruction, the second node may determine whether the first node's service beam has been successfully switched based on whether feedback from the first node is received after sending the beam switching instruction, or feedback information from the first node. A description of this is provided in the following embodiments. The second node determining whether the first node's service beam has been successfully switched includes determining that the first node's service beam has been successfully switched and determining that the first node's service beam has failed to be switched.

[0066] In some embodiments, in the above S402, determining that the service beam switching of the first node is successful includes: receiving the beam switching result of the first node within a preset time period after sending the beam switching instruction, and the beam switching result indicates that the service beam switching is successful, determining that the service beam switching of the first node is successful.

[0067] For example, the second node may initialize a timer to count after sending the beam switching instruction, with the timer duration being a preset duration. If, before the timer expires, the second node receives a beam switching result from the first node, and the beam switching result includes information indicating successful beam switching, the second node may determine that the serving beam of the first node has been successfully switched.

[0068] In some embodiments, in the above S402, determining that the service beam switching of the first node has failed includes: receiving the beam switching result of the first node within a preset time after sending the beam switching instruction, and the beam switching result indicates that the service beam switching has failed, determining that the service beam switching of the first node has failed; or, not receiving the feedback information from the first node within a preset time after sending the beam switching instruction, determining that the service beam switching of the first node has failed.

[0069] For example, the second node may initialize a timer to count after sending a beam switching instruction, with the timer duration being a preset duration. If, before the timer expires, the second node receives a beam switching result from the first node, and the beam switching result does not include information indicating a successful beam switching or includes information indicating a beam switching failure, the second node may determine that the first node's serving beam switching has failed. If, after the timer expires, the second node still has not received feedback from the first node, the second node may determine that the first node's serving beam switching has failed.

[0070] In S403 , if the handover is successful, the second node communicates with the first node through the target beam.

[0071] In some embodiments, when it is determined that the service beam switching of the first node is successful, the second node can communicate with the first node based on the switched service beam, i.e., the target beam, thereby ensuring that the first node and the second node can communicate using a consistent beam.

[0072] In some embodiments, after the above S402, the beam switching method further includes the following S404. It should be understood that S404 is in parallel with the above S403.

[0073] In S404 , in case of handover failure, the second node retransmits the beam handover instruction.

[0074] It is understood that when the second node determines that the first node's beam switching has failed, it may be because the first node did not receive the second node's beam switching instruction, or the beam switching process may have timed out. Therefore, after determining that the beam switching has failed, the second node can reissue the beam switching instruction, instructing the first node to retry the beam switching. In response to the retransmitted beam switching instruction, the first node can continue to execute S301 to S303 above, and the second node can continue to execute S401 to S403 above.

[0075] In some embodiments, when the first node fails to switch to the target beam multiple times, for example, the number of switching failures is greater than 3 times, the second node can re-determine a new target beam from multiple beam nodes and send a beam switching instruction to instruct the first node to switch to the new beam for communication.

[0076] It is understandable that in the event of a beam switching failure, the second node can retransmit the beam switching instruction to instruct the first node to retry the beam switching, which can effectively avoid the impact of the wireless link due to the blocking of the service process.

[0077] In the beam switching method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, after receiving a beam switching instruction and performing beam switching, a first node sends a beam switching result to a second node. The second node can then determine whether the first node's serving beam has been successfully switched based on the beam switching result. If the switch is successful, the second node communicates with the first node via the switched beam. This method ensures that both parties communicate via the same switched beam if the beam switch is successful, preventing the two parties from using different beams to communicate, which could affect the correct demodulation of data transmission, and can effectively increase the data transmission rate.

[0078] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a beam switching process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, the network device issues a beam switching instruction to the UE. In response to this instruction, the UE switches the serving beam to the target beam. After the switch is completed, the UE reports the beam switching result to the network device. If the serving beam switch is successful, the UE and the network device communicate via the target beam.

[0079] It is understandable that the beam switching device (which can be the first node or the second node mentioned above) includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function in order to implement the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in a hardware or computer software driven hardware manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present disclosure.

[0080] The embodiments of the present disclosure can divide the beam switching device into functional modules based on the above-mentioned method embodiments. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one functional module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or software. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present disclosure is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods can be used. The following is an example of dividing each functional module according to each function.

[0081] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a beam switching device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which can execute the beam switching method provided by the above method embodiment. As shown in FIG6 , the beam switching device includes: a receiving module 601 , a switching module 602 , and a sending module 603 .

[0082] The receiving module 601 is used to receive a beam switching instruction from the second node; the beam switching instruction is used to instruct the first node to switch the serving beam used for communication to a target beam.

[0083] The switching module 602 is configured to switch the serving beam in response to a beam switching instruction.

[0084] The sending module 603 is configured to send the beam switching result to the second node.

[0085] The beam switching result is used to indicate whether the service beam of the first node is switched successfully.

[0086] In some embodiments, the beam switching apparatus further includes a communication module 604. The communication module 604 is configured to communicate with the second node via the target beam if the switching is successful.

[0087] In some embodiments, the beam switching result is carried in control information or MAC CE.

[0088] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another beam switching device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which can execute the beam switching method provided by the above method embodiment. As shown in FIG7 , the beam switching device includes: a sending module 701 , a determining module 702 , and a communication module 703 .

[0089] The sending module 701 is used to send a beam switching instruction to the first node; the beam switching instruction is used to instruct the first node to switch the serving beam used for communication to a target beam.

[0090] The determination module 702 is used to determine whether the service beam of the first node is switched successfully.

[0091] The communication module 703 is configured to communicate with the first node through the target beam when the serving beam switching is successful.

[0092] In some embodiments, the determination module 702 is used, for example, to determine that the service beam switching of the first node is successful when the beam switching result of the first node is received within a preset time period after sending the beam switching instruction, and the beam switching result indicates that the service beam switching is successful.

[0093] In some embodiments, the determination module 702 is used, for example, to determine that the service beam switching of the first node has failed when the beam switching result of the first node is received within a preset time after the beam switching instruction is sent, and the beam switching result indicates that the service beam switching has failed; or, to determine that the service beam switching of the first node has failed when no feedback information from the first node is received within a preset time after the beam switching instruction is sent.

[0094] In some embodiments, the sending module 701 is further configured to retransmit the beam switching instruction in case of a switching failure.

[0095] In some embodiments, the beam switching result is carried in control information or MAC CE.

[0096] In the case of implementing the functions of the above-mentioned integrated modules in hardware, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide another possible structure of the communication device involved in the above-mentioned embodiments. As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 80 includes: a processor 802 and a bus 804. In some embodiments, the communication device may also include a memory 801. In some embodiments, the communication device may also include a communication interface 803.

[0097] The processor 802 may implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the embodiments of the present disclosure. The processor 802 may be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof, and may implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the embodiments of the present disclosure. The processor 802 may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like.

[0098] The communication interface 803 is used to connect to other devices via a communication network, such as Ethernet, wireless access network, or wireless local area network (WLAN).

[0099] The memory 801 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0100] As a possible implementation, memory 801 may exist independently of processor 802. Memory 801 may be connected to processor 802 via bus 804 to store instructions or program code. When processor 802 calls and executes the instructions or program code stored in memory 801, the beam switching method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0101] In another possible implementation, the memory 801 may also be integrated with the processor 802 .

[0102] Bus 804 can be an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. Bus 804 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG8 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0103] Some embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium), which stores computer program instructions. When the computer program instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the beam switching method as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0104] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives, etc.). The various computer-readable storage media described in the present disclosure may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable storage media for storing information. The term "machine-readable storage medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0105] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the beam switching method described in any one of the above embodiments.

[0106] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A beam switching method, applied to a first node, comprising: receiving a beam switching instruction from a second node; the beam switching instruction is used to instruct the first node to switch a serving beam used for communication to a target beam; In response to the beam switching instruction, switching the serving beam; Send a beam switching result to the second node; the beam switching result is used to indicate whether the service beam of the first node is switched successfully.

2. The beam switching method according to claim 1, further comprising: In case the serving beam is switched successfully, communication is performed with the second node via the target beam.

3. The beam switching method according to claim 1, wherein: The beam switching result is carried in the control information or the medium access control MAC control element CE.

4. A beam switching method, applied to a second node, comprising: Sending a beam switching instruction to the first node; the beam switching instruction is used to instruct the first node to switch a serving beam used for communication to a target beam; Determining whether the serving beam of the first node is switched successfully; In case the serving beam is switched successfully, communication is performed with the first node via the target beam.

5. The beam switching method according to claim 4, wherein: The determining whether the serving beam of the first node is switched successfully includes: If, within a preset time period after sending the beam switching instruction, a beam switching result of the first node is received and the beam switching result indicates that the service beam switching is successful, it is determined that the service beam switching of the first node is successful.

6. The beam switching method according to claim 4, wherein: The determining whether the serving beam of the first node is switched successfully includes: Within a preset time period after sending the beam switching instruction, if a beam switching result of the first node is received and the beam switching result indicates that the serving beam switching has failed, determining that the serving beam switching of the first node has failed; or, If no information fed back by the first node is received within a preset time period after the beam switching instruction is sent, it is determined that the service beam switching of the first node has failed.

7. The beam switching method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, further comprising: In case the serving beam switching fails, the beam switching instruction is retransmitted.

8. The beam switching method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein: The beam switching result is carried in the control information or MAC CE.

9. A communication device, comprising: a processor and a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor; The processor is configured to execute the instructions so that the communication device performs the beam switching method according to any one of claims 1-8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the beam switching method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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