Beam control methods, apparatuses, reconfigurable surface, and base station upper computer

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure are beam control methods, apparatuses, a reconfigurable surface, and a base station upper computer. A method applied to a reconfigurable surface comprises: receiving a beam control command sent by a base station upper computer, wherein the beam control command is used for indicating at least one of the following: enabling or disabling a reconfigurable surface, changing the direction of a beam, and changing the polarization of the beam; analyzing the beam control command, and configuring a reconfigurable surface codeword; and receiving a trigger signal sent by the base station upper computer, so that the reconfigurable surface codeword takes effect. The embodiments of the present disclosure can support the real-time implementation of enabling or disabling a reconfigurable surface, changing the direction of a beam, and changing the polarization of the beam.

Description

Beam control method, device, reconfigurable metasurface and base station host computer

[0001] Related applications

[0002] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese patent application number 2023109759191, filed on August 3, 2023, entitled “Beam control method, device, reconfigurable metasurface and base station host computer,” the entire text of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a beam control method, device, reconfigurable metasurface, and base station host computer. Background Art

[0004] Reconfigurable Intelligence Surface (RIS) and Reconfigurable Holographic Surface (RHS) are both reconfigurable metasurfaces, which are artificial electromagnetic surface structures with programmable electromagnetic properties. They can generate the required target beam without complex phase-shifting circuits, making it easy to implement transceivers. Their low cost, low energy consumption, programmability, and easy deployment have attracted much attention, making them one of the potential enabling technologies for 6G.

[0005] The two types of reconfigurable metasurfaces mentioned above primarily consist of metamaterial surfaces and control modules. In wireless communications, they can function as antenna arrays or relay devices. To meet the practical needs of mobile communications, reconfigurable metasurfaces must be capable of real-time beam switching. Currently, effective beam steering methods are lacking, hindering effective tracking of mobile users, resulting in reduced or even interrupted service quality, and making it difficult to support multi-user communications at different locations.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a beam control method and apparatus to solve the problem in the prior art of the lack of a real-time and effective beam control method for reconfigurable metasurfaces.

[0008] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam steering method applied to a reconfigurable metasurface, comprising:

[0009] Receive a beam control command sent by a base station host computer, wherein the beam control command is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling a reconfigurable metasurface; changing a direction of a beam; or changing a polarization of a beam;

[0010] parsing the beam control command and configuring a reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0011] Receive a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0012] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0013] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0014] Optionally, the receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer includes: the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer;

[0015] The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the beam control unit parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0016] The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the wave control unit receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword.

[0017] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0018] Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit.

[0019] The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface sub-array codeword,

[0020] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0021] Optionally, the beam control agent of the reconfigurable metasurface receives a beam control command sent by a base station host computer;

[0022] The beam control agent parses the beam control command and sends it to the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface, and the beam control unit configures the reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0023] The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer and controls the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

[0024] Optionally, the wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controls the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective, including:

[0025] The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and transparently transmits the trigger signal to the wave control unit to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect; or

[0026] The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, converts the trigger signal into an internal signal and sends it to the wave control unit, so that the reconfigurable metasurface codeword takes effect.

[0027] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0028] Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit.

[0029] The multiple reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays correspond to a wave control agent,

[0030] The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface sub-array codeword,

[0031] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0032] Optionally, the beam control command includes at least one of the following:

[0033] Polarization control;

[0034] enable or disable;

[0035] beam index;

[0036] beam codeword;

[0037] Subarray selection;

[0038] Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

[0039] Optionally, the beam control command and the trigger signal are received in a predetermined sequence.

[0040] Optionally, the trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

[0041] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0042] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam steering method, applied to a base station host computer, comprising:

[0043] Sending a beam control command to the reconfigurable metasurface, wherein the beam control command is used to configure a reconfigurable metasurface codeword and is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; and changing the polarization of the beam.

[0044] A trigger signal is sent to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the trigger signal is used to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0045] Optionally, the beam control command includes at least one of the following:

[0046] Polarization control;

[0047] enable or disable;

[0048] beam index;

[0049] beam codeword;

[0050] Subarray selection;

[0051] Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

[0052] Optionally, the beam control command and the trigger signal are sent according to a predetermined timing.

[0053] Optionally, the trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

[0054] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0055] Optionally, a trigger signal is sent to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the trigger signal is used to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0056] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a reconfigurable metasurface, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

[0057] A memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transmitting and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following operations:

[0058] Receive a beam control command sent by a base station host computer, wherein the beam control command is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling a reconfigurable metasurface; changing a direction of a beam; or changing a polarization of a beam;

[0059] parsing the beam control command and configuring a reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0060] Receive a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0061] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0062] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0063] Optionally, the receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer includes: the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer;

[0064] The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the beam control unit parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0065] The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the wave control unit receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword.

[0066] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0067] Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit.

[0068] The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface sub-array codeword,

[0069] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0070] Optionally, the receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer includes: the beam control agent of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer;

[0071] The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the beam control agent parsing the beam control command and sending it to the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface, and the beam control unit configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0072] The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the wave control agent receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer and controlling the wave control unit to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword.

[0073] Optionally, the wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controls the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective, including:

[0074] The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and transparently transmits the trigger signal to the wave control unit to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect; or

[0075] The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, converts the trigger signal into an internal signal and sends it to the wave control unit, so that the reconfigurable metasurface codeword takes effect.

[0076] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0077] Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit.

[0078] The multiple reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays correspond to a wave control agent,

[0079] The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface sub-array codeword,

[0080] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0081] Optionally, the beam control command includes at least one of the following:

[0082] Polarization control;

[0083] enable or disable;

[0084] beam index;

[0085] beam codeword;

[0086] Subarray selection;

[0087] Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

[0088] Optionally, the beam control command and the trigger signal are received in a predetermined sequence.

[0089] Optionally, the trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

[0090] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0091] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a base station host computer, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

[0092] A memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transmitting and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following operations:

[0093] Sending a beam control command to the reconfigurable metasurface, wherein the beam control command is used to configure a reconfigurable metasurface codeword and is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; and changing the polarization of the beam.

[0094] A trigger signal is sent to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the trigger signal is used to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0095] Optionally, the beam control command includes at least one of the following:

[0096] Polarization control;

[0097] enable or disable;

[0098] beam index;

[0099] beam codeword;

[0100] Subarray selection;

[0101] Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

[0102] Optionally, the beam control command and the trigger signal are sent according to a predetermined timing.

[0103] Optionally, the trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

[0104] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0105] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam management device, applied to a reconfigurable metasurface, comprising:

[0106] A first receiving unit is configured to receive a beam control command sent by a base station host computer, wherein the beam control command is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling a reconfigurable metasurface; changing a direction of a beam; or changing a polarization of a beam;

[0107] A first processing unit is configured to parse the beam control command and configure a reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0108] The second receiving unit is used to receive a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0109] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam management device, applied to a base station host computer, including:

[0110] A first sending unit is configured to send a beam control command to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the beam control command is used to configure a reconfigurable metasurface codeword and is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing a direction of a beam; or changing a polarization of a beam;

[0111] The second sending unit sends a trigger signal to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the trigger signal is used to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0112] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a processor-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned beam control method is implemented.

[0113] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station host computer sends a beam control command to a reconfigurable metasurface. The beam control command is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; changing the polarization of the beam. The reconfigurable metasurface parses the beam control command and then configures the reconfigurable metasurface codeword. When a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer is received, the configured reconfigurable metasurface codeword can be enabled, thereby achieving at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; changing the polarization of the beam. Through the beam control method disclosed in the present disclosure, the reconfigurable metasurface can be used as a base station or relay device to effectively track mobile users, ensure the quality of communication services, and support multi-user communication in different locations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0114] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, a brief introduction will be given below to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0115] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the time slots of 5G beam steering;

[0116] FIG2 is a flow chart of a beam steering method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0117] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a reconfigurable metasurface and a base station host computer provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0118] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a time slot of beam control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0119] FIG5 is a second structural diagram of a reconfigurable metasurface and a base station host computer provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0120] FIG6 is a second schematic diagram of a time slot for beam steering according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0121] FIG7 is a second flow chart of the beam steering method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0122] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a beam management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0123] FIG9 is a second structural diagram of a beam management device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0124] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a reconfigurable metasurface provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0125] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station host computer provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0126] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "and / or" describes the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0127] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "plurality" refers to two or more than two, and other quantifiers are similar thereto.

[0128] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0129] The technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can be applicable to a variety of systems, especially the sixth generation mobile communication standard (6G). For example, the applicable system can be the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) system, global system of mobile communication (GSM) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) general packet radio service (GPRS) system, long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) system, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) system, 5G new air interface (NR) system, etc. These various systems include terminal equipment and network equipment. The system may also include core network components, such as the Evolved Packet System (EPS) and the 5G system (5GS). The aforementioned communication systems all include terminal devices and network equipment. Furthermore, core network equipment, such as the Evolved Packet System (EPS), may also be included.

[0130] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connection function, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. In different systems, the name of the terminal device may also be different. For example, in a 5G system, the terminal device may be called User Equipment (UE). A wireless terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks (CN) via a radio access network (RAN). The wireless terminal device may be a mobile terminal device, such as a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal device. For example, it may be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile device that exchanges voice and / or data with a radio access network. For example, personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other devices. The wireless terminal device may also be referred to as a system, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, an access point, a remote terminal device, an access terminal device, a user terminal device, a user agent, or a user device, but is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0131] The network device involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a base station, which may include multiple cells providing services to terminals. Depending on the specific application scenario, the base station may also be called an access point, or may be a device in an access network that communicates with a wireless terminal device through one or more sectors on an air interface, or may be called another name. The network device may be used to interchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets, acting as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, wherein the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device may also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network device involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a base transceiver station (BTS) in the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) or code division multiple access (CDMA), a network device (NodeB) in wide-band code division multiple access (WCDMA), an evolutionary Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in the long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in the 5G network architecture (next generation system), a 6G base station, a home evolved Node B (HeNB), a relay node, a femto, a pico, etc., and is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. In some network structures, the network device may include a centralized unit (CU) node and a distributed unit (DU) node, and the centralized unit and the distributed unit may also be geographically separated.

[0132] Network devices and terminal devices can each use one or more antennas for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transmission. MIMO transmission can be single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) or multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). Depending on the configuration and number of antenna combinations, MIMO transmission can be 2D-MIMO, 3D-MIMO, FD-MIMO, or massive-MIMO. It can also use diversity transmission, precoding, or beamforming.

[0133] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following introduces terms or background related to the embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0134] Reconfigurable Intelligence Surface (RIS) and Reconfigurable Holographic Surface (RHS) are composed of a large number of reconfigurable independent units. RIS and RHS (hereinafter collectively referred to as "reconfigurable metasurfaces") can adjust the phase of each independent unit to control the reflection and refraction of electromagnetic waves, so that the wireless signal from the base station or the transmitting and receiving point (TRP) is reflected and refracted by the reconfigurable metasurface and the beam is aligned with the target user equipment (UE) or the target direction.

[0135] The antenna array of the 4G / 5G active antenna unit (AAU) / radio remote unit (RRU) product is basically integrated with the AAU / RRU product. The phased array and the base station share a common clock. High-speed data communication protocols can be used to transmit control commands, which means that they can be transmitted to each phased array in real time. In addition, the phase of each antenna element can be controlled by a phase shifter to achieve phased array beam switching.

[0136] Figure 1 shows a time slot diagram for 5G beam control. As shown in Figure 1, 5G real-time beam control switching generally refers to time slot-level switching, meaning at least one beam switch must be completed within a time slot, and beam switching must be completed within a symbol. Taking a 120kHz subcarrier spacing frame structure as an example, where one time slot is 125µs, beam switching occurs once per time slot and is completed within symbol #13, meaning the actual beam switching time is no more than 8.92µs, or even less.

[0137] AAU / RRU products are internally time-synchronized with the base station, enabling real-time beam switching by adjusting digital phase shifts and enabling or disabling RF. Some active relays also require time synchronization with the base station. However, reconfigurable metasurface systems are simplified and generally lack internal clock synchronization systems. Furthermore, reconfigurable metasurface systems may be composed of multiple distributed subarrays, and communication with the base station uses low-speed wired or wireless protocols, making it difficult to adopt the beam switching mechanisms of base station phased arrays or active relay devices.

[0138] The present disclosure provides a beam control method that can enable or disable the reconstruction of a metasurface in real time, change the beam direction and polarization characteristics.

[0139] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0140] FIG2 is a flow chart of a beam steering method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam steering method that can be applied to a reconfigurable metasurface, including:

[0141] Step S210: receiving a beam control command sent by a base station host computer, wherein the beam control command is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling a reconfigurable metasurface; changing a direction of a beam; or changing a polarization of a beam.

[0142] Step S220, parsing the beam control command and configuring a reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0143] Step S230: receiving a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0144] It should be noted that configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword can mean changing the state of some elements of the unit structure (such as diodes or varactor diodes), changing the equivalent circuit, and thus changing the equivalent dielectric constant and permeability, to achieve phase, amplitude, and polarization adjustment, so that the independent units of the reconfigurable metasurface can realize the content indicated by the beam control command.

[0145] In the disclosed embodiments, a reconfigurable metasurface can parse beam control commands received from a base station host computer and configure a reconfigurable metasurface codeword. Upon receiving a trigger signal from the base station host computer, the configured reconfigurable metasurface codeword takes effect, thereby achieving at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; or changing the polarization of the beam. If the reconfigurable metasurface is applied to a base station or relay device, it can effectively track mobile users, ensure communication service quality, and support multi-user communication at different locations.

[0146] The beam steering method disclosed in this disclosure allows for enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface and changing the beam direction and polarization characteristics in real time, even through low-speed wired or wireless protocols, despite the lack of strict time synchronization between the reconfigurable metasurface and the base station host computer. If necessary, the reconfigurable metasurface can be controlled to enable or disable the reconfigurable metasurface, change the beam direction and polarization characteristics, and so on, at a specified time.

[0147] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface can be divided into multiple reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, the enabling or disabling of the reconfigurable metasurface can be enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface sub-array. That is, the reconfigurable metasurface can be divided into multiple reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays as control units, so that one or more of the reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays can be enabled or disabled to achieve energy saving.

[0148] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface array may be divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays in a manner of being equally divided.

[0149] As an optional embodiment, the reconfigurable metasurface can be provided with a wave control unit.

[0150] Specifically, the receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer includes: the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer;

[0151] The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the beam control unit parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0152] The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the wave control unit receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword.

[0153] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface subarrays, each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit, the reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword, and enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface is enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface subarray. That is, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface subarrays, the reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword can be configured by the wave control unit corresponding to each reconfigurable metasurface subarray, and the reconfigurable metasurface can be beam controlled by the wave control unit corresponding to each reconfigurable metasurface subarray in units of each reconfigurable metasurface subarray.

[0154] As an optional embodiment, the reconfigurable metasurface may be provided with a wave control agent and a wave control unit.

[0155] Specifically, the receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer includes: the beam control agent of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer;

[0156] The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the beam control agent parsing the beam control command and sending it to the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface, and the beam control unit configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0157] The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the wave control agent receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer and controlling the wave control unit to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword.

[0158] Optionally, the wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controls the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective, including:

[0159] The wave control agent may receive a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and transparently transmit the trigger signal to the wave control unit to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect; or

[0160] The wave control agent can receive a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, convert the trigger signal into an internal signal and send it to the wave control unit, so that the reconfigurable metasurface codeword takes effect.

[0161] That is, the beam control agent can transparently transmit the trigger signal to achieve rapid control, or it can process the trigger signal and send it to the beam control unit to achieve other functions, such as triggering beam changes at a specified time.

[0162] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into multiple reconfigurable metasurface subarrays, each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit, the multiple reconfigurable metasurface subarrays correspond to a wave control agent, the reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword, and enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface is enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface subarray. That is, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into multiple reconfigurable metasurface subarrays, a wave control agent can control multiple reconfigurable metasurface subarrays, a wave control agent parses the beam control command and sends it to the wave control unit corresponding to each reconfigurable metasurface subarray, each wave control unit configures the reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword, and when the wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, it controls the wave control unit corresponding to each reconfigurable metasurface subarray to make the configured reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

[0163] According to the above embodiment, a beam control agent can control multiple reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays through the beam control unit corresponding to each reconfigurable metasurface sub-array, without the need for each beam control unit to parse the beam control command separately, which can save resources and improve processing efficiency.

[0164] Similarly, the beam control agent can transparently transmit the trigger signal to achieve rapid control, or it can process the trigger signal and send it to the beam control unit to achieve other functions, such as triggering beam changes at a specified time, or it can de-interfere with the received trigger signal to avoid triggering beam changes at inappropriate times due to environmental interference.

[0165] In all the above embodiments, the beam control command may include at least one of the following: polarization control; enabling or disabling; beam index; beam codeword.

[0166] It should be noted that the beam index can be obtained by looking up the beam codeword in a table, etc. The base station can also directly configure the beam codeword. In this case, the beam control agent or beam control unit does not need to record the corresponding table of the beam index and the beam codeword.

[0167] In the case where the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, the beam control command may further include at least one of the following: sub-array selection; and a reconfigurable metasurface sub-array index.

[0168] Enabling or disabling may enable or disable the reconfigurable metasurface. When the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, the reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays may be enabled or disabled.

[0169] It should be noted that the specific content of the beam control command is not limited to the above, and the above content can be implemented in different combinations. For example, subarray selection can be indicated in the following ways: implicitly, as an example, the subarray index is integrated with the polarization control command; explicitly, a separate subarray index field is designed; and mixed, specifying different subarray control word structures, such as the first segment corresponding to subarray A.

[0170] Different beam control effects can be achieved through different beam control commands, such as changing the beam direction, changing the beam polarization, enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface sub-array, etc.

[0171] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface may receive the beam control command and the trigger signal in a predetermined sequence.

[0172] Optionally, the beam control command may be received first, and then the trigger signal may be received.

[0173] Optionally, a beam control command may be received first, and a trigger signal may be received after the reconfigurable metasurface finishes parsing the beam control command.

[0174] Optionally, the trigger signal may be a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

[0175] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface can be connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0176] Specifically, when the reconfigurable metasurface is provided with a wave control unit, the wave control unit can be connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly. When the reconfigurable metasurface is provided with a wave control agent and a wave control unit, the wave control agent can be connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0177] When the reconfigurable metasurface is applied to a base station, the reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire. When the reconfigurable metasurface is applied to a relay device, the reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wireless.

[0178] It should be noted that regardless of whether the reconfigurable metasurface is applied to a base station or a relay device, the various embodiments and combinations of the above-mentioned beam control methods are applicable.

[0179] Several specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described below.

[0180] As an optional embodiment, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a reconfigurable metasurface and a base station host computer provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the reconfigurable metasurface 300 is divided into four sub-arrays: sub-array 1, sub-array 2, sub-array 3, and sub-array 4. Each of these sub-arrays is equipped with a corresponding wave control unit 321, wave control unit 322, wave control unit 323, and wave control unit 324. The wave control agent 310 controls wave control units 321, 322, 323, and 324, respectively. The base station host computer 1 is connected to the wave control agent 310 via a wired connection.

[0181] It should be noted that the reconfigurable metasurface may be provided with a wave control agent or not, and the present invention is only described by taking the case of providing a wave control agent as an example.

[0182] The beam control agent 310 receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer 1. In this embodiment, the beam control command may include a set of beam index values ​​and polarization control. The beam control agent 310 parses the beam control command. In this embodiment, the beam control agent 310 looks up the beam index value in a table corresponding to the corresponding beam codeword of different reconfigurable metasurface subarrays. The beam control agent 310 sends the beam codeword and polarization control to the beam control units 321, 322, 323, and 324. The beam control units 321, 322, 323, and 324 configure the reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword according to the pre-configured Table 1.

[0183] It should be noted that the beam control command can be directed only to the subarray that needs to be changed, or to all subarrays. In the case of a subarray that needs to be changed, the beam control agent sends the beam control command to the beam control unit that needs to be changed. In the case of a subarray that needs to be changed, the beam control agent sends the beam control command to all beam control units. In this embodiment, polarization control includes polarization unchanged and changing to cross-polarization. The beam control agent 310 sends the beam codeword and polarization control to all beam control units 321, 322, 323, and 324.

[0184] The beam index indicates whether to change the direction of the beam, and the polarization control indicates whether to change the polarization of the beam. Polarization control can be indicated in an implicit, explicit, or mixed manner. In this embodiment, polarization control includes a subarray index and a polarization control bit.

[0185] Table 1

[0186] The base station host computer 1 sends a predetermined level or a predetermined symbol to the wave control agent 310 within the switching symbol. The wave control agent 310 receives the predetermined level or the predetermined symbol sent by the base station host computer 1 and controls the wave control units 321, 322, 323, and 324 to make the configured reconfigurable metasurface sub-array codeword effective.

[0187] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a time slot for beam control provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, this embodiment can implement beam direction and polarization changes before the next time slot. The time at which the base station host computer 1 sends the beam control command to the beam control agent 310 is T10. After the beam control agent 310 completes parsing the beam control command, it receives the predetermined level or predetermined symbol sent by the base station host computer 1 at t11 ​​and controls the corresponding beam control units 321, 322, 323, and 324 to enable the configured reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword to take effect at t12. Subarrays 1, 2, 3, and 4 complete the beam direction and polarization changes at t13.

[0188] The embodiment of the present invention adopts slot-level beam switching, and in fact, symbol-level beam switching can also be supported.

[0189] As an optional embodiment, Figure 5 is a second schematic diagram of the structure of a reconfigurable metasurface and a base station host computer provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the reconfigurable metasurface 500 is divided into four sub-arrays: sub-array 1, sub-array 2, sub-array 3, and sub-array 4. Each of these sub-arrays is equipped with a corresponding wave control unit 521, a wave control unit 522, a wave control unit 523, and a wave control unit 524. The wave control agent 510 controls the wave control units 521, 522, 523, and 524, respectively. The base station host computer 2 is connected to the wave control agent 510 via a wired connection.

[0190] The beam control agent 510 receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer 2. In this embodiment, the beam control command may include the reconfigurable metasurface subarray index, enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface subarray, the beam index, and polarization control. The beam control agent 510 parses the beam control command and sends it to the beam control units 521, 522, 523, and 524. The beam control units 521, 522, 523, and 524 configure the reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword according to the pre-configured Table 2.

[0191] It should be noted that the beam steering command can be issued only to the subarray that needs to be changed, or to all subarrays. In the case of issuing a beam steering command to the subarray that needs to be changed, the beam steering agent sends the beam steering command to the beam steering unit that needs to be changed. In the case of issuing a beam steering command to all subarrays, the beam steering agent sends the beam steering command to all beam steering units. In this embodiment, polarization control includes maintaining polarization unchanged and changing to cross-polarization. The beam steering agent 510 sends the parsed beam steering command to all beam steering units 521, 522, 523, and 524.

[0192] The beam index indicates whether to change the direction of the beam, and the polarization control indicates whether to change the polarization of the beam. Polarization control can be indicated in an implicit, explicit, or mixed manner. In this embodiment, polarization control includes a subarray index and a polarization control bit.

[0193] Table 2

[0194] The base station host computer 2 sends a predetermined level or a predetermined symbol to the wave control agent 510 within the switching symbol. The wave control agent 510 receives the predetermined level or the predetermined symbol sent by the base station host computer 2 and controls the wave control units 521, 522, 523, and 524 to make the configured reconfigurable metasurface sub-array codeword effective.

[0195] Figure 6 is a second schematic diagram of a time slot for beam control provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. This time slot is configured with 10 downlink symbols, 2 uplink symbols, and 2 flexible symbols. As shown in the figure, this embodiment can implement uplink beam direction changes and polarization changes within the time slot. The time when the base station host computer 1 sends the beam control command to the beam control agent 310 is T10. After the beam control agent 310 completes the parsing of the beam control command, it receives the predetermined level or predetermined symbol sent by the base station host computer 1 at t11, controls the corresponding beam control units 321, 322, 323, and 324 to make the configured reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword take effect at t12, and subarrays 1, 2, 3, and 4 complete the beam direction change and polarization change at t13.

[0196] The embodiment of the present invention adopts slot-level beam switching, and in fact, symbol-level beam switching can also be supported.

[0197] FIG7 is a second flow chart of a beam steering method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam steering method that can be applied to a base station host computer, including:

[0198] Step S710: Sending a beam control command to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the beam control command is used to configure the reconfigurable metasurface codeword and is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; or changing the polarization of the beam.

[0199] Step S720: Send a trigger signal to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the trigger signal is used to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0200] In the disclosed embodiments, a base station host computer can send beam control commands to a reconfigurable metasurface to achieve at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the beam's direction; or changing the beam's polarization. If reconfigurable metasurfaces are applied to base stations or relay devices, they can effectively track mobile users, ensure communication quality, and support multi-user communication at different locations.

[0201] In all the above embodiments, the beam control command may include at least one of the following: polarization control; enabling or disabling; beam index; beam codeword.

[0202] It should be noted that the beam index can be obtained by looking up the beam codeword in a table, etc. The base station can also directly configure the beam codeword. In this case, the beam control agent or beam control unit does not need to record the corresponding table of the beam index and the beam codeword.

[0203] In the case where the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, the beam control command may further include at least one of the following: sub-array selection; and a reconfigurable metasurface sub-array index.

[0204] Enabling or disabling may enable or disable the reconfigurable metasurface. When the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, the reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays may be enabled or disabled.

[0205] It should be noted that the specific content of the beam control command is not limited to the above, and the above content can be implemented in different combinations. For example, subarray selection can be indicated in the following ways: implicitly, as an example, the subarray index is integrated with the polarization control command; explicitly, a separate subarray index field is designed; and mixed, specifying different subarray control word structures, such as the first segment corresponding to subarray A.

[0206] Different beam control effects can be achieved through different beam control commands, such as changing the beam direction, changing the beam polarization, enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface sub-array, etc.

[0207] Optionally, the base station host computer may send the beam control command and the trigger signal according to a predetermined timing.

[0208] Optionally, the beam control command may be sent first and then the trigger signal may be sent.

[0209] Optionally, a beam control command may be sent first, and a trigger signal may be sent after the reconfigurable metasurface finishes parsing the beam control command.

[0210] The reconfigurable metasurface may learn that the beam control command has been completed by reading back or receiving a signal sent by the reconfigurable metasurface, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0211] Optionally, the trigger signal may be a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

[0212] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface can be connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0213] Specifically, when the reconfigurable metasurface is provided with a wave control unit, the wave control unit can be connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly. When the reconfigurable metasurface is provided with a wave control agent and a wave control unit, the wave control agent can be connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0214] When the reconfigurable metasurface is applied to a base station, it is connected to the base station host computer via a wired connection. When the reconfigurable metasurface is applied to a relay device, it is connected to the base station host computer wirelessly.

[0215] It should be noted that regardless of whether the reconfigurable metasurface is applied to a base station or a relay device, the various embodiments and combinations of the above-mentioned beam control methods are applicable.

[0216] The above embodiments introduce the beam steering method of the present disclosure, and the following embodiments will illustrate the corresponding devices with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0217] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a beam management device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, as shown in FIG8 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam management device that can be applied to a reconfigurable metasurface, including:

[0218] The first receiving unit 810 is configured to receive a beam control command sent by a base station host computer, wherein the beam control command is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling a reconfigurable metasurface; changing a direction of a beam; or changing a polarization of a beam.

[0219] A first processing unit 820 is configured to parse the beam control command and configure a reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0220] The second receiving unit 830 is configured to receive a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0221] In the disclosed embodiments, a reconfigurable metasurface can parse beam control commands received from a base station host computer and configure a reconfigurable metasurface codeword. Upon receiving a trigger signal from the base station host computer, the configured reconfigurable metasurface codeword takes effect, thereby achieving at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; or changing the polarization of the beam. If the reconfigurable metasurface is applied to a base station or relay device, it can effectively track mobile users, ensure communication service quality, and support multi-user communication at different locations.

[0222] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0223] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0224] Optionally, the receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer includes: the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer;

[0225] The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the beam control unit parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0226] The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the wave control unit receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword.

[0227] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0228] Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit.

[0229] The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface sub-array codeword,

[0230] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0231] Optionally, the receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer includes: the beam control agent of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer;

[0232] The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the beam control agent parsing the beam control command and sending it to the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface, and the beam control unit configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0233] The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the wave control agent receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer and controlling the wave control unit to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword.

[0234] Optionally, the wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controls the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective, including:

[0235] The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and transparently transmits the trigger signal to the wave control unit to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect; or

[0236] The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, converts the trigger signal into an internal signal and sends it to the wave control unit, so that the reconfigurable metasurface codeword takes effect.

[0237] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0238] Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit.

[0239] The multiple reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays correspond to a wave control agent,

[0240] The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface sub-array codeword,

[0241] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0242] Optionally, the beam control command includes at least one of the following:

[0243] Polarization control;

[0244] enable or disable;

[0245] beam index;

[0246] beam codeword;

[0247] Subarray selection;

[0248] Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

[0249] Optionally, the beam control command and the trigger signal are received in a predetermined sequence.

[0250] Optionally, the trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

[0251] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0252] FIG9 is a second structural diagram of a beam management device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, as shown in FIG9 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a beam management device that can be applied to a base station host computer, including:

[0253] The first sending unit 910 is configured to send a beam control command to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the beam control command is used to configure a reconfigurable metasurface codeword and is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; or changing the polarization of the beam.

[0254] The second sending unit 920 sends a trigger signal to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the trigger signal is used to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0255] Optionally, the beam control command includes at least one of the following:

[0256] Polarization control;

[0257] enable or disable;

[0258] beam index;

[0259] beam codeword;

[0260] Subarray selection;

[0261] Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

[0262] Optionally, the beam control command and the trigger signal are sent according to a predetermined timing.

[0263] Optionally, the trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

[0264] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0265] It should be noted here that the above-mentioned device provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can implement all the method steps implemented in the above-mentioned method embodiment applied to the network device, and can achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects of this embodiment that are the same as the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0266] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of the present disclosure is schematic and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0267] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present disclosure is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0268] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a reconfigurable metasurface provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 10, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a reconfigurable metasurface, including a memory 1020, a transceiver 1000, and a processor 1010. The memory 1020 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 1000 is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor 1010; and the processor 1010 is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0269] Receive a beam control command sent by a base station host computer, wherein the beam control command is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling a reconfigurable metasurface; changing a direction of a beam; or changing a polarization of a beam;

[0270] parsing the beam control command and configuring a reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0271] Receive a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0272] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0273] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0274] Optionally, the receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer includes: the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer;

[0275] The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the beam control unit parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0276] The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the wave control unit receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword.

[0277] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0278] Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit.

[0279] The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface sub-array codeword,

[0280] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0281] Optionally, the receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer includes: the beam control agent of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer;

[0282] The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the beam control agent parsing the beam control command and sending it to the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface, and the beam control unit configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword;

[0283] The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword includes: the wave control agent receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer and controlling the wave control unit to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword.

[0284] Optionally, the wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controls the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective, including:

[0285] The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and transparently transmits the trigger signal to the wave control unit to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect; or

[0286] The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, converts the trigger signal into an internal signal and sends it to the wave control unit, so that the reconfigurable metasurface codeword takes effect.

[0287] Optionally, when the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays,

[0288] Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit.

[0289] The multiple reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays correspond to a wave control agent,

[0290] The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface sub-array codeword,

[0291] The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

[0292] Optionally, the beam control command includes at least one of the following:

[0293] Polarization control;

[0294] enable or disable;

[0295] beam index;

[0296] beam codeword;

[0297] Subarray selection;

[0298] Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

[0299] Optionally, the beam control command and the trigger signal are received in a predetermined sequence.

[0300] Optionally, the trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

[0301] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0302] In FIG10 , the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically various circuits connected together by one or more processors represented by processor 1010 and memory represented by memory 1020. The bus architecture may also connect various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and are therefore not further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1000 may be a plurality of components, including a transmitter and a transceiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium. For different user devices, the user interface 1030 may also be an interface capable of connecting external or internal devices as required, and the connected devices include but are not limited to a keypad, a display, a speaker, a microphone, a joystick, and the like.

[0303] The processor 1010 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1020 can store data used by the processor 1010 when performing operations.

[0304] Optionally, the processor 1010 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and the processor may also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0305] The processor calls the computer program stored in the memory to execute any of the methods provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure according to the obtained executable instructions. The processor and the memory can also be arranged physically separately.

[0306] It should be noted here that the above-mentioned device provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can implement all the method steps implemented in the above-mentioned method embodiment applied to the terminal, and can achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects of this embodiment that are the same as the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0307] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a base station host computer provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 11, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a base station host computer, which may include a memory 1120, a transceiver 1100, and a processor 1110; wherein the memory 1120 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 1100 is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor 1110; and the processor 1110 is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0308] Sending a beam control command to the reconfigurable metasurface, wherein the beam control command is used to configure a reconfigurable metasurface codeword and is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; and changing the polarization of the beam.

[0309] A trigger signal is sent to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the trigger signal is used to enable the reconfigurable metasurface codeword to take effect.

[0310] Optionally, the beam control command includes at least one of the following:

[0311] Polarization control;

[0312] enable or disable;

[0313] beam index;

[0314] beam codeword;

[0315] Subarray selection;

[0316] Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

[0317] Optionally, the beam control command and the trigger signal are sent according to a predetermined timing.

[0318] Optionally, the trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

[0319] Optionally, the reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

[0320] In FIG11 , the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking together various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 1110 and memory represented by memory 1120. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and are therefore not further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1100 may be a plurality of components, including a transmitter and a transceiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. The processor 1110 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1120 may store data used by the processor 1110 when performing operations.

[0321] The processor 1110 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor may also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0322] It should be noted here that the above-mentioned device provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can implement all the method steps implemented in the above-mentioned method embodiment applied to the network device, and can achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects of this embodiment that are the same as the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0323] In addition, a specific embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a processor-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein when the program is executed by the processor, the steps of the processing method for conditional cell change as described above are implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here. The readable storage medium can be any available medium or data storage device that can be accessed by the processor, including but not limited to magnetic storage (such as floppy disk, hard disk, tape, magneto-optical disk (MO), etc.), optical storage (such as CD, DVD, BD, HVD, etc.), and semiconductor storage (such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, non-volatile memory (NAND FLASH), solid-state drive (SSD)), etc.

[0324] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present disclosure may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Furthermore, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage and optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0325] The present disclosure is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one process or multiple processes in the flowchart and / or one box or multiple boxes in the block diagram.

[0326] These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0327] These processor-executable instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operational steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, whereby the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0328] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present disclosure fall within the scope of the claims of the present disclosure and their equivalents, the present disclosure is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A beam steering method, wherein: Applications in reconfigurable metasurfaces include: Receive a beam control command sent by a base station host computer, wherein the beam control command is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling a reconfigurable metasurface; changing a direction of a beam; or changing a polarization of a beam; parsing the beam control command and configuring a reconfigurable metasurface codeword; A trigger signal sent by the base station host computer is received to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

2. The beam steering method according to claim 1, wherein: In the case that the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, the enabling or disabling of the reconfigurable metasurface is enabling or disabling of the reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

3. The beam steering method according to claim 1, wherein: The receiving of the beam control command sent by the base station host computer comprises: the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer; The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword comprises: the beam control unit parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword; The receiving a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective includes: the wave control unit receiving a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

4. The beam steering method according to claim 3, wherein: In the case where the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit. The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword, The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

5. The beam steering method according to claim 1, wherein: The receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer comprises: the beam control agent of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer; The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword comprises: the beam control agent parsing the beam control command and sending it to the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface, and the beam control unit configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword; The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective includes: the wave control agent receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controlling the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

6. The beam steering method according to claim 5, wherein: The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controls the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective, including: The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and transparently transmits the trigger signal to the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective; or The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, converts the trigger signal into an internal signal and sends it to the wave control unit, so that the reconfigurable metasurface codeword takes effect.

7. The beam steering method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein: In the case where the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit. The multiple reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays correspond to a wave control agent, The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword, The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

8. The beam steering method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The beam control command includes at least one of the following: Polarization control; to enable or to disenable; Beam index; Beam codeword; Subarray selection; Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

9. The beam steering method according to claim 1, wherein: The beam control command and the trigger signal are received according to a predetermined timing.

10. The beam steering method according to claim 1, wherein: The trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

11. The beam steering method according to claim 1, wherein: The reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

12. A beam steering method, wherein: Applied to base station host computer, including: Sending a beam control command to the reconfigurable metasurface, wherein the beam control command is used to configure the reconfigurable metasurface codeword and is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; changing the polarization of the beam; A trigger signal is sent to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the trigger signal is used to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

13. The beam steering method according to claim 12, wherein: The beam control command includes at least one of the following: Polarization control; to enable or to disenable; Beam index; Beam codeword; Subarray selection; Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

14. The beam steering method according to claim 12, wherein: The beam control command and the trigger signal are sent according to a predetermined timing.

15. The beam steering method according to claim 12, wherein: The trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

16. The beam steering method according to claim 12, wherein: The reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

17. A reconfigurable metasurface, wherein: Includes memory, transceiver and processor: A memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transmitting and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following operations: Receive a beam control command sent by a base station host computer, wherein the beam control command is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling a reconfigurable metasurface; changing a direction of a beam; or changing a polarization of a beam; parsing the beam control command and configuring a reconfigurable metasurface codeword; A trigger signal sent by the base station host computer is received to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

18. The reconfigurable metasurface according to claim 17, wherein: In the case where the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

19. The reconfigurable metasurface according to claim 17, wherein: The receiving of the beam control command sent by the base station host computer comprises: the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer; The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword comprises: the beam control unit parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword; The receiving a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective includes: the wave control unit receiving a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

20. The reconfigurable metasurface according to claim 19, wherein: In the case where the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit. The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword, The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

21. The reconfigurable metasurface according to claim 17, wherein: The receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer comprises: the beam control agent of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer; The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword comprises: the beam control agent parsing the beam control command and sending it to the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface, and the beam control unit configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword; The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective includes: the wave control agent receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controlling the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

22. The reconfigurable metasurface according to claim 21, wherein: The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controls the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective, including: The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and transparently transmits the trigger signal to the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective; or The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, converts the trigger signal into an internal signal and sends it to the wave control unit, so that the reconfigurable metasurface codeword takes effect.

23. The reconfigurable metasurface according to claim 21 or 22, wherein: In the case where the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit. The multiple reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays correspond to a wave control agent, The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword, The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

24. The reconfigurable metasurface according to claim 17 or 18, wherein: The beam control command includes at least one of the following: Polarization control; to enable or to disenable; Beam index; Beam codeword; Subarray selection; Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

25. The reconfigurable metasurface according to claim 17, wherein: The beam control command and the trigger signal are received according to a predetermined timing.

26. The reconfigurable metasurface according to claim 17, wherein: The trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

27. The reconfigurable metasurface according to claim 17, wherein: The reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

28. A base station host computer, wherein: Includes memory, transceiver and processor: A memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for transmitting and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and performing the following operations: Sending a beam control command to the reconfigurable metasurface, wherein the beam control command is used to configure the reconfigurable metasurface codeword and is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; changing the polarization of the beam; A trigger signal is sent to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the trigger signal is used to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

29. The base station host computer according to claim 28, wherein: The beam control command includes at least one of the following: Polarization control; to enable or to disenable; Beam index; Beam codeword; Subarray selection; Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

30. The base station host computer according to claim 28, wherein: The beam control command and the trigger signal are sent according to a predetermined timing.

31. The base station host computer according to claim 28, wherein: The trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

32. The base station host computer according to claim 28, wherein: The reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

33. A beam management device, wherein: Applications in reconfigurable metasurfaces include: A first receiving unit is used to receive a beam control command sent by a base station host computer, wherein the beam control command is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling a reconfigurable metasurface; changing a direction of a beam; or changing a polarization of a beam; A first processing unit, configured to parse the beam control command and configure a reconfigurable metasurface codeword; The second receiving unit is used to receive a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

34. The beam management device of claim 33, wherein: In the case that the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, the enabling or disabling of the reconfigurable metasurface is enabling or disabling of the reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

35. The beam management device of claim 33, wherein: The receiving of the beam control command sent by the base station host computer comprises: the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer; The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword comprises: the beam control unit parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword; The receiving a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective includes: the wave control unit receiving a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

36. The beam management device of claim 35, wherein: In the case where the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit. The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword, The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

37. The beam management device of claim 33, wherein: The receiving the beam control command sent by the base station host computer comprises: the beam control agent of the reconfigurable metasurface receives the beam control command sent by the base station host computer; The parsing the beam control command and configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword comprises: the beam control agent parsing the beam control command and sending it to the beam control unit of the reconfigurable metasurface, and the beam control unit configuring the reconfigurable metasurface codeword; The receiving of the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective includes: the wave control agent receiving the trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controlling the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

38. The beam management device of claim 37, wherein: The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and controls the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective, including: The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, and transparently transmits the trigger signal to the wave control unit to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective; or The wave control agent receives a trigger signal sent by the base station host computer, converts the trigger signal into an internal signal and sends it to the wave control unit, so that the reconfigurable metasurface codeword takes effect.

39. The beam management device according to claim 37 or 38, wherein: In the case where the reconfigurable metasurface is divided into a plurality of reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays, Each reconfigurable metasurface subarray corresponds to a wave control unit. The multiple reconfigurable metasurface sub-arrays correspond to a wave control agent, The reconfigurable metasurface codeword is a reconfigurable metasurface subarray codeword, The enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface is an enabled or disabled reconfigurable metasurface sub-array.

40. The beam management device according to claim 33 or 44, wherein: The beam control command includes at least one of the following: Polarization control; to enable or to disenable; Beam index; Beam codeword; Subarray selection; Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

41. The beam management device of claim 33, wherein: The beam control command and the trigger signal are received according to a predetermined timing.

42. The beam management device of claim 33, wherein: The trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

43. The beam management device of claim 33, wherein: The reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

44. A beam management device, wherein: Applied to base station host computer, including: A first sending unit is used to send a beam control command to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the beam control command is used to configure the reconfigurable metasurface codeword and is used to indicate at least one of the following: enabling or disabling the reconfigurable metasurface; changing the direction of the beam; and changing the polarization of the beam. The second sending unit sends a trigger signal to the reconfigurable metasurface, where the trigger signal is used to make the reconfigurable metasurface codeword effective.

45. The beam management device of claim 44, wherein: The beam control command includes at least one of the following: Polarization control; to enable or to disenable; Beam index; Beam codeword; Subarray selection; Reconfigurable metasurface subarray indexing.

46. ​​The beam management device of claim 44, wherein: The beam control command and the trigger signal are sent according to a predetermined timing.

47. The beam management device of claim 44, wherein: The trigger signal is a predetermined level or a predetermined sign.

48. The beam management device of claim 44, wherein: The reconfigurable metasurface is connected to the base station host computer by wire or wirelessly.

49. A processor-readable storage medium, wherein: The processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to enable the processor to execute the beam control method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

50. A processor-readable storage medium, wherein: The processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to enable the processor to execute the beam control method according to any one of claims 12 to 16.

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