Communication device, wireless device, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

This communication device comprises a transmission means for transmitting sensing signals by a plurality of transmission beams, respectively, and a reporting means for reporting a feedback condition to a wireless device receiving, by one or more reception beams, the sensing signals transmitted by the transmission means. The feedback condition indicates one or more conditions to be satisfied by a target sensing signal, for which the wireless device feeds back a reception result to the communication device, among the sensing signals received by the wireless device by the one or more reception beams, respectively.

Description

Communication apparatus, wireless device and computer-readable storage medium

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a sensing technology using a sensing signal.

[0002] Non-Patent Document 1 discloses various use cases of sensing services in mobile communication networks. In one of the configurations disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, a base station (BS), which is a wireless communication device, transmits sensing signals, and a wireless device (WD) feeds back the reception results of the sensing signals to the base station, thereby allowing the mobile communication network to collect sensing data. Based on the collected sensing data, the mobile communication network detects the environment of the area where the mobile communication network provides services, such as obstacles that may impede the propagation of wireless signals. Note that obstacles include stationary objects such as buildings and moving objects such as vehicles. Note that by utilizing signals used for communication as sensing signals, communication and sensing can be performed efficiently.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a system called ISAC (Integrated Sensing and Communication) that integrates sensing signals and communication signals.

[0004] WO 2023 / 205961

[0005] 3GPP TR 22.837, V19.0.0, June 2023

[0006] For example, as shown in Figure 1, BS1 is configured to transmit N (N is an integer equal to or greater than 2) transmit beams T#1 to T#N, and each WD2 is configured to receive M (M is an integer equal to or greater than 1) receive beams R#1 to R#M. Then, sensing signals (hereinafter referred to as sensing signals) are transmitted to BS1 using each of the N transmit beams. By configuring in this way, each WD2 can receive the sensing signals transmitted using the N transmit beams in each of the M receive beams.

[0007] In other words, if the reception result of a sensing signal transmitted by a transmission beam T#n (n is an integer from 1 to N) on a reception beam R#m (m is an integer from 1 to M) is expressed as reception result #nm, each WD2 can acquire up to N×M reception results from reception result #11 to reception result #NM. Therefore, each WD2 feeds back feedback data indicating up to N×M reception results to BS1, and BS1 can perform sensing based on the feedback data indicating up to N×M reception results from each WD2.

[0008] However, when the amount of feedback data from each WD2 increases, the amount of calculations performed by the BS1 increases, that is, the processing load on the BS1 increases.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device comprises a transmitting means for transmitting a sensing signal via each of a plurality of transmitting beams, and a notifying means for notifying a wireless device that receives the sensing signal transmitted by the transmitting means via one or more receiving beams of feedback conditions, wherein the feedback conditions indicate one or more conditions that must be satisfied by sensing signals that the wireless device receives via each of the one or more receiving beams, the sensing signals being the subject of the wireless device's feedback of the reception results to the communication device.

[0010] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar elements are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0011] A system configuration diagram. A sequence diagram. An explanatory diagram of an example of a condition. An explanatory diagram of an example of a condition. An explanatory diagram of an example of a condition. An explanatory diagram of an example of a condition. A diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station apparatus. A diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless device.

[0012] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are used for the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the system configuration according to this embodiment. According to FIG. 1, the system includes one BS1 and two WDs2 located within the service area of ​​the BS1. The number of WDs2 located within the service area of ​​one BS1 can be any number equal to or greater than one. The BS1 is configured to transmit N (N is an integer equal to or greater than 2) transmission beams T#1 to T#N. Each WD2 is configured to receive M (M is an integer equal to or greater than 1) reception beams R#1 to R#M.

[0014] Furthermore, BS1 is configured to transmit a sensing signal using each of the N transmission beams. For example, a downlink reference signal (RS) defined by 3GPP (registered trademark) can be used as the sensing signal. For example, a channel state information (CSI)-RS or a positioning reference signal (PRS) can be used as the sensing signal.

[0015] Each WD2 can receive sensing signals transmitted by N transmission beams in each of M reception beams. In the following description, a sensing signal transmitted by transmission beam T#n (n is an integer from 1 to N) and received by reception beam R#m (m is an integer from 1 to M) is referred to as sensing signal #nm, and the reception result of sensing signal #nm is referred to as reception result #nm. Note that each WD2 can distinguish sensing signals #1m to #Nm received by reception beam R#m, for example, by their reception timing, frequency, pattern, etc.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram according to this embodiment. Note that while FIG. 2 shows a sequence between BS1 and one WD2, the sequence in FIG. 2 is performed between BS1 and each WD2 located within the service area of ​​the BS1. In S1, BS1 determines the feedback conditions (feedback criteria) to be applied to each WD2, and in S2, notifies the WD2 of the conditions determined in S1. In S3, BS1 transmits sensing signals using each of transmission beams T#1 to T#N. In S4, WD2 receives the sensing signals transmitted by BS1 using each of transmission beams T#1 to T#N using each of reception beams R#1 to R#M. As described above, WD2 receives a maximum of N×M sensing signals #11 to #NM and obtains a maximum of N×M reception results #11 to #NM.

[0017] In S5, WD2 determines the feedback target sensing signals that satisfy the feedback conditions notified by BS1 in S2. Then, in S6, WD2 feeds back only the reception results of the feedback target sensing signals to BS1. Note that the feedback conditions notified to each WD2 in S2 can be different for each WD2. In other words, BS1 does not need to notify all WD2s existing within its service area of ​​the same feedback conditions. The feedback conditions may include one or more conditions that the feedback target sensing signals must satisfy. Examples of conditions that may be included in the feedback conditions are described below. Note that Figures 3 to 6 below show a total of 64 sensing signals #11 to #88 when N = 8 and M = 8.

[0018] <Condition #1> Condition #1 is that the sensing signal to be fed back is a sensing signal whose received power at WD2 is greater than a first threshold. If condition #1 is included in the feedback conditions, BS1 may notify WD2 of the first threshold in S2. Alternatively, BS1 may notify WD2 of the first threshold beforehand, and only notify WD2 that condition #1 is to be applied in S2. For example, of the total 64 sensing signals shown in FIG. 3, the 19 shaded sensing signals indicate sensing signals whose received power was greater than the first threshold. If only condition #1 is applied, WD2 transmits feedback data indicating the reception results of the 19 shaded sensing signals to BS1 in S6. The reception results of sensing signals with low received power do not contribute much to the sensing accuracy at BS1. Therefore, by not feeding back the reception results of sensing signals with low received power to BS1, the amount of data fed back to BS1 can be reduced without affecting sensing accuracy.

[0019] <Condition #2> Condition #2 requires that the sensing signal to be fed back is a sensing signal transmitted by one or more designated transmission beams among N transmission beams. When condition #2 is included in the feedback conditions, BS1 notifies WD2 of information indicating one or more designated transmission beams in S2. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates a case where transmission beams T#1 and T#2 are designated transmission beams. When only condition #2 is applied, WD2 transmits feedback data indicating the reception results of the 16 shaded sensing signals to BS1 in S6. For example, based on the direction of WD2 relative to BS1, BS1 can determine which transmission beams are expected to have high reception quality at WD2 and which transmission beams are expected to have low reception quality at WD2. By designating the transmission beams expected to have high reception quality at WD2 as designated transmission beams, the amount of data fed back to BS1 can be reduced without affecting sensing accuracy.

[0020] <Condition #3> The sensing signal to be fed back is applicable when WD2 can configure multiple receiving beams, and condition #3 requires that the sensing signal be received by one or more designated receiving beams among the multiple receiving beams. When condition #3 is included in the feedback conditions, BS1 notifies WD2 in S2 of information indicating one or more designated receiving beams. For example, FIG. 5 shows a case where receiving beams R#2 to R#4 are designated receiving beams. When only condition #3 is applied, WD2 transmits feedback data indicating the reception results of the 24 shaded sensing signals to BS1 in S6. For example, if it is desired to accurately detect an obstacle at a specific location, the amount of data fed back to BS1 can be reduced without affecting the sensing accuracy at BS1 by designating a receiving beam pointing in the direction of the obstacle as the designated receiving beam.

[0021] <Condition #4> Condition #4 is the condition that the feedback target sensing signal is a sensing signal whose absolute value of the Doppler shift is greater than (or equal to or greater than) a second threshold, or less than (or equal to or less than) the second threshold. When condition #4 is included in the feedback conditions, BS1 notifies WD2 in S2 of the second threshold and whether sensing signals whose absolute value of the Doppler shift is greater than the second threshold or sensing signals whose absolute value of the Doppler shift is smaller than the second threshold are to be feedback targets. Alternatively, BS1 may notify WD2 of the second threshold in advance, and then notify WD2 in S2 of whether sensing signals whose absolute value of the Doppler shift is greater than the second threshold or sensing signals whose absolute value of the Doppler shift is smaller than the second threshold are to be feedback targets. Furthermore, BS1 may also be configured to notify WD2 in advance of whether sensing signals whose absolute value of the Doppler shift is greater than the second threshold or sensing signals whose absolute value of the Doppler shift is smaller than the second threshold are to be feedback targets. In this case, BS1 informs WD2 at S2 that condition #4 applies.

[0022] When an obstacle is moving, the absolute value of the Doppler shift of the sensing signal reflected by the obstacle increases as the obstacle's moving speed increases. Therefore, when it is desired to detect an obstacle moving faster than a predetermined moving speed, a sensing signal having a Doppler shift absolute value greater than the second threshold is set as the sensing signal to be fed back, thereby reducing the amount of data fed back to the BS1 without affecting the sensing accuracy. Similarly, when it is desired to detect an obstacle moving slower than a predetermined moving speed or a stationary obstacle, a sensing signal having a Doppler shift absolute value less than the second threshold is set as the sensing signal to be fed back, thereby reducing the amount of data fed back to the BS1 without affecting the sensing accuracy.

[0023] Note that if an obstacle is moving toward WD2, the Doppler shift is a positive value, and if the obstacle is moving away from WD2, the Doppler shift is a negative value. Therefore, when it is desired to detect an obstacle moving toward WD2 or an obstacle moving away from WD2, it is also possible to compare the Doppler shift with the second threshold value rather than the absolute value of the Doppler shift. The four shaded areas in Figure 6 indicate, for example, sensing signals whose absolute value of the Doppler shift is greater than the second threshold. When only condition #4 is applied, WD2 transmits feedback data indicating four reception results to BS1 in S6.

[0024] The feedback condition may include one or more of the above four conditions. For example, by combining condition #1 and condition #2, it is possible to feed back to WD2 only the reception results of sensing signals transmitted by a designated transmission beam whose received power at WD2 is greater than a first threshold. Furthermore, by combining condition #2 and condition #3, it is possible to feed back to WD2 only the reception results of sensing signals transmitted by a designated transmission beam and received by a designated reception beam. Furthermore, by combining condition #1, condition #3, and condition #4, it is possible to feed back to WD2 only the reception results of sensing signals received by a designated reception beam whose received power is greater than a first threshold and whose absolute value of the Doppler shift is greater than a second threshold. The same applies to other combinations. Furthermore, the feedback condition may include other conditions in addition to or instead of one or more of the above four conditions. In other words, the feedback conditions may be set based on the content of the sensing process so that reception results that contribute to sensing accuracy are fed back to WD2, and reception results that do not contribute to sensing accuracy are not fed back to WD2.

[0025] Furthermore, the feedback condition may include a condition regarding the number of sensing signals to be fed back. For example, with regard to condition #1, a condition may be set that, among sensing signals whose received power is greater than a first threshold, up to S sensing signals in descending order of received power are to be set as sensing signals to be fed back. In this case, even if there are S or more sensing signals whose received power is greater than the first threshold, only the reception results of the S sensing signals with the highest received power are fed back to the BS1. On the other hand, if there are fewer than S sensing signals whose received power is greater than the first threshold, the reception results of all sensing signals whose received power is greater than the first threshold are fed back to the BS1. Note that when specifying an upper limit value for the number of sensing signals to be fed back in the feedback condition, information regarding how to narrow down the sensing signals that satisfy the other conditions to the upper limit value when the number of sensing signals that satisfy the other conditions is greater than the upper limit value may also be specified in the feedback condition.

[0026] <Configuration of BS1> FIG. 7 shows an example configuration of BS1. Note that FIG. 7 shows only parts necessary for explaining the embodiment, and parts of BS1 that are not necessary for explaining the embodiment are omitted. The transmitter 11 transmits downlink radio signals. The receiver 12 receives uplink radio signals. Note that the antenna used by the transmitter 11 to transmit the radio signals may be used exclusively by the transmitter 11 or may be shared with the receiver 12. The transmitter 11 may be configured to transmit radio signals using multiple transmission beams. Furthermore, the transmitter 11 may be configured to transmit sensing signals using each of the multiple transmission beams. The sensing signals are, for example, CSI-RS or PRS. When the receiver 12 receives feedback data indicating the reception result of the feedback target sensing signal from WD2, it outputs the feedback data to the sensing processing unit 10. For example, the feedback data may be transmitted using a CSI feedback signal.

[0027] The sensing processing unit 10 performs sensing-related processing. For example, the sensing processing unit 10 also functions as a notification unit that notifies the WD2 of feedback conditions, including one or more conditions, via the transmission unit 11. The feedback conditions indicate conditions for the sensing signals to be fed back. The conditions may include, for example, one or more of the above-mentioned conditions #1 to #4. Furthermore, the conditions may include an upper limit on the number of sensing signals to be fed back.

[0028] <Configuration of WD2> Fig. 8 shows an example of the configuration of WD2. Note that Fig. 8 shows only parts necessary for explaining the embodiment, and parts of WD2 that are not necessary for explaining the embodiment are omitted. The transmitter 21 transmits uplink radio signals. The receiver 22 receives downlink radio signals. Note that the antenna used by the receiver 22 to receive the radio signals may be one used exclusively by the receiver 22, or may be one shared with the transmitter 21. The receiver 22 may be configured to receive radio signals using one or more reception beams.

[0029] The feedback processing unit 20 performs processing related to the feedback of the sensing signal received from the BS 1. For example, the feedback processing unit 20 receives a feedback condition from the BS 1 via the receiving unit 22. The feedback condition indicates one or more conditions that must be satisfied by a sensing signal to be determined as a feedback target sensing signal among the sensing signals received by the receiving unit 22. The feedback processing unit 20 feeds back the reception result of the feedback target sensing signal determined based on the feedback condition to the BS 1 via the transmitting unit 21.

[0030] Note that BS1 may be realized by a single device, or may be composed of multiple devices located in different locations, such as a radio unit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), a central unit (CU), or a baseband unit (BBU) and a remote radio unit (RRU). Furthermore, while the BS (base station device) 1 has been described as transmitting a sensing signal, the device transmitting the sensing signal is not limited to a base station device in a mobile communication network, but may be any wireless communication device having the functions shown in FIG. 7, such as a wireless LAN access point device. Furthermore, WD2 is also not limited to a wireless device in a mobile communication network, but may be any wireless device having the functions shown in FIG. 8.

[0031] The present disclosure further provides a program executable by one or more processors. The program includes instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to function as, for example, a wireless communication apparatus such as BS1 or a wireless device such as WD2. The present disclosure also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having the program stored thereon. The present disclosure also provides a method executed by a wireless communication apparatus such as BS1 or a wireless device such as WD2 according to the sequence shown in FIG. 2 . The present disclosure also provides a program for causing an apparatus having one or more processors to execute these methods, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having the program stored thereon.

[0032] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

[0033] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-212302, filed December 15, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A communications device comprising: a transmitting means configured to transmit a sensing signal via each of a plurality of transmitting beams; and a notifying means configured to notify a feedback condition to a wireless device that receives the sensing signal transmitted by the transmitting means via one or more receiving beams, wherein the feedback condition indicates one or more conditions that must be satisfied by a sensing signal that the wireless device receives via each of the one or more receiving beams, the receiving result of which is to be fed back by the wireless device to the communications device.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the received power of the sensing signal at the wireless device is greater than a first threshold.

3. A communication device as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition with respect to a sensing signal transmitted in one or more designated transmission beams among the plurality of transmission beams.

4. A communication device described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the one or more receiving beams are multiple receiving beams, and the one or more conditions include a condition with respect to a sensing signal received by one or more designated receiving beams among the multiple receiving beams.

5. A communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the Doppler shift of the sensing signal is greater than a second threshold value, or that the absolute value of the Doppler shift is greater than a second threshold value.

6. A communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the Doppler shift of the sensing signal is smaller than a second threshold value, or that the absolute value of the Doppler shift is smaller than a second threshold value.

7. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the communication device is a base station device, and the sensing signal is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a positioning reference signal (PRS).

8. A wireless device that receives sensing signals transmitted from a communication device via each of a plurality of transmission beams via one or more receiving beams, comprising: a receiving means configured to receive feedback conditions from the communication device; and a feedback means configured to feed back to the communication device the reception results of feedback-target sensing signals among the sensing signals transmitted by the communication device and received via each of the one or more receiving beams, which satisfy one or more conditions indicated by the feedback conditions.

9. The wireless device of claim 8, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that a received power of the sensing signal at the wireless device is greater than a first threshold.

10. A wireless device as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition with respect to a sensing signal transmitted in one or more designated transmission beams among the plurality of transmission beams.

11. A wireless device as described in any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the one or more receive beams are a plurality of receive beams, and the one or more conditions include a condition with respect to a sensing signal received in one or more designated receive beams among the plurality of receive beams.

12. A wireless device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the Doppler shift of the sensing signal is greater than a second threshold value, or that the absolute value of the Doppler shift is greater than a second threshold value.

13. A wireless device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the one or more conditions include a condition that the Doppler shift of the sensing signal is smaller than a second threshold value, or that the absolute value of the Doppler shift is smaller than a second threshold value.

14. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program which, when executed by one or more processors of a device, causes the device to function as a communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

15. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program which, when executed by one or more processors of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to function as a wireless device according to any one of claims 8 to 13.

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