Relay communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a relay communication method and a communication apparatus, which can improve communication performance by utilizing forwarding resources of multiple beam sets of a relay device to transmit signals. The method comprises: a network device sending to a relay device multiple pieces of forwarding resource configuration information, the multiple pieces of forwarding resource configuration information corresponding to a multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set among the multiple beam sets comprising multiple beams; the network device sending first indication information to the relay device, the first indication information being used to indicate forwarding of a first signal on the basis of a beam set corresponding to a first piece of forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple pieces of forwarding resource configuration information, the first signal coming from a terminal device or the network device; the relay device forwarding the first signal on the basis of the beam set corresponding to the first piece of forwarding resource configuration information.

Description

Relay communication method and communication device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on December 27, 2023, with application number 202311830249.0 and application name "A Relay Communication Method and Communication Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a relay communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0004] In mobile communication systems, relay devices are being proposed to facilitate communication between network devices and terminal devices, improving network coverage and cell-edge throughput. Signals between network devices and terminal devices can be forwarded via relay devices. However, how network devices control relay devices to utilize forwarding resources to forward signals, thereby improving signal coverage, has become a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a relay communication method and a communication device for configuring forwarding resources of multiple beam sets on a relay device, and utilizing the relay device to relay signals, thereby improving signal coverage and communication performance.

[0006] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a relay communication method, including: a network device sends multiple forwarding resource configuration information to a relay device, the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponding to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams; the network device sends first indication information to the relay device, and the first indication information is used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to a first forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device; the relay device forwards the first signal according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0007] It is understandable that the role of the first indication information can also be replaced by the description that the first indication information is used to activate the forwarding resources corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information specified in multiple forwarding resource configuration information. When forwarding the first signal, the relay device can specifically refer to the following implementation: when the first signal comes from the terminal device, the first signal can also be understood as an uplink signal, and the relay device forwards the first signal from the terminal device to the network device according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information; when the first signal comes from the network device, the first signal can also be understood as a downlink signal, and the relay device forwards the first signal from the network device to the terminal device according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0008] In the above design, one beam set of the relay device can correspond to one panel. The network device implements relay transmission based on multiple panels by configuring the forwarding resources corresponding to multiple beam sets, which can improve signal coverage and communication performance.

[0009] The specific correspondence between the forwarding resource configuration information and the beam set is described in detail below.

[0010] In one possible design, the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds one-to-one to the multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a beam set and an identifier of a forwarding resource.

[0011] Among them, the time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information are different, or the time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources corresponding to the forwarding resources corresponding to different beam sets can also be replaced by different descriptions. For example, when the time domain resources corresponding to multiple forwarding resource configuration information are the same but the frequency domain resources are different, the relay device can use multiple beam sets to forward signals on different frequency domain resources at the same time. For example, when the time domain resources corresponding to multiple forwarding resource configuration information are different but the frequency domain resources are the same, the relay device can use multiple beam sets to forward signals on the same frequency domain resources in a time-sharing manner. For another example, when the time domain resources corresponding to multiple forwarding resource configuration information are different and the frequency domain resources are different, the relay device can use multiple beam sets to forward signals in a time-sharing and frequency-sharing manner.

[0012] This design establishes a correspondence between beam sets and forwarding resources, facilitating the subsequent rapid activation of the forwarding resources corresponding to a specified beam set for relay transmission. Based on this correspondence, when activating the forwarding resources in the first forwarding resource configuration information via first indication information, the first indication information only needs to include the identifier of a forwarding resource or the identifier of a beam set in the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0013] In another possible design, each of the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set, the one forwarding resource set corresponds to at least one beam set of the relay device, and the multiple forwarding resources in the one forwarding resource set correspond one-to-one to the multiple beams included in each beam set in the at least one beam set.

[0014] The time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information are different, or the description can also be replaced by that the time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources corresponding to the forwarding resource sets corresponding to different beam sets are different.

[0015] Taking the example of a one-to-one correspondence between multiple forwarding resource configuration information and multiple beam sets, and a forwarding resource set corresponding to one beam set, it can be understood that: when the time domain resources corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource sets are the same but the frequency domain resources are different, the relay device can simultaneously use multiple beam sets to forward signals on different frequency domain resources. For example, when the time domain resources corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource sets are different but the frequency domain resources are the same, the relay device can use multiple beam sets in a time-sharing manner to forward signals on the same frequency domain resources. For another example, when the time domain resources corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource sets are different and the frequency domain resources are different, the relay device can use multiple beam sets in a time-sharing and frequency-sharing manner to forward signals.

[0016] For example, if one forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets, that is, one forwarding resource set corresponds to multiple beam sets, the frequency domain resources corresponding to the forwarding resource set can be divided into multiple frequency domain ranges, and different beam sets within the multiple beam sets corresponding to the forwarding resource set correspond to different frequency domain ranges. Optionally, the multiple frequency domain ranges can be divided according to subbands. This design enables relay devices to simultaneously use multiple beam sets to forward signals on different frequency domain resources, improving signal coverage and communication performance while reducing relay transmission time.

[0017] When activating forwarding resources in first forwarding resource configuration information through first indication information, the first indication information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set and an identifier of at least one beam set in the first forwarding resource configuration information; wherein the first forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to the at least one beam set. In this design, multiple forwarding resource sets are configured, and the correspondence between the beam sets and forwarding resource sets is bound during the activation process, thereby enabling relay transmission.

[0018] In addition, optionally, the situation in the above design where different forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to different frequency domains can be specifically manifested as: different forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to different sub-bands. In this case, each of the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a sub-band.

[0019] In one possible design, the network device receives beam configuration information from a third-party network element; and / or the relay device receives beam configuration information from a third-party network element; wherein the beam configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: an identifier of each beam set in multiple beam sets included in the relay device; an identifier of each beam included in each beam set; and an identifier of quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam. This design enables both the network device and the relay device to have a unified understanding of the beam set allocation on the relay device, facilitating the normal operation of subsequent relay transmission.

[0020] In one possible design, the network device may further determine the forwarding priorities corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information based on the forwarding resource types corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information. This design can be applied to situations where the time domain resources corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information overlap, and can quickly determine which beam set corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information to use for relay transmission in the overlapping portion (e.g., a conflicting time slot).

[0021] In second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a relay communication method, applied to a relay device, including: receiving multiple forwarding resource configuration information from a network device, the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponding to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets including multiple beams; receiving first indication information from the network device, the first indication information being used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to a first forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device; and forwarding the first signal through the communication module according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0022] Some possible designs can be understood by referring to the description in the first aspect, and the embodiments of this application will not go into details.

[0023] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a relay communication method, which is applied to a network device, including: sending multiple forwarding resource configuration information to the relay device through a communication module, wherein the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams; and sending first indication information to the relay device through the communication module, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device.

[0024] Some possible designs can be understood by referring to the description in the first aspect, and the embodiments of this application will not go into details.

[0025] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a relay device, or a device, module or chip in a relay device, or a device that can be used in combination with a relay device. In one design, the communication device may include a module that executes the method / operation / step / action described in the second aspect, and the module may be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In one design, the communication device may include a processing module and a communication module. Optionally, the communication module includes a sending unit and a receiving unit, and the communication module may also be replaced by a transceiver unit, a communication interface, or a communication unit, and the processing module may also be replaced by a processing unit.

[0026] a communication module, configured to receive a plurality of forwarding resource configuration information from a network device, wherein the plurality of forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to a plurality of beam sets of the relay device, each of the plurality of beam sets including a plurality of beams;

[0027] The communication module is further configured to receive first indication information from the network device, where the first indication information is used to instruct forwarding of a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device;

[0028] A processing module is used to forward the first signal through the communication module according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0029] It is understandable that when the processing module forwards information through the communication module, the processing module may specifically instruct the communication module to forward or send information. In a possible design, the communication device described in the fourth aspect may also include only the communication module but not the processing module.

[0030] In one possible design, the communication module is also used to: receive beam configuration information from a third-party network element; wherein the beam configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: an identifier of each beam set in the multiple beam sets included in the relay device; an identifier of each beam included in each beam set; and an identifier of the quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam.

[0031] In one possible design, the processing module is further used to determine the forwarding priorities corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information based on the forwarding resource types corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information.

[0032] Other possible designs can be understood by referring to the description in the first aspect, and will not be elaborated in the embodiments of this application.

[0033] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device, or a device, module or chip in a network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a network device. In one design, the communication device may include a module that executes the method / operation / step / action described in the third aspect, and the module may be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In one design, the communication device may include a processing module and a communication module. Optionally, the communication module includes a sending unit and a receiving unit, and the communication module may also be replaced by a transceiver unit, a communication interface, or a communication unit, and the processing module may also be replaced by a processing unit.

[0034] a processing module, configured to send a plurality of forwarding resource configuration information to a relay device through a communication module, wherein the plurality of forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to a plurality of beam sets of the relay device, each of the plurality of beam sets including a plurality of beams;

[0035] The processing module is also used to send a first indication information to the relay device through the communication module, and the first indication information is used to indicate the forwarding of a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein, the first signal comes from the terminal device or the network device.

[0036] It can be understood that when the processing module sends information through the communication module, it may specifically instruct the communication module to send or forward information. In one possible design, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may also only include a communication module, but not a processing module. In one possible design, the communication module is also used to: receive beam configuration information from a third-party network element; wherein the beam configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: an identifier of each beam set in the multiple beam sets included in the relay device; an identifier of each beam included in each beam set; an identifier of the quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam.

[0037] In one possible design, the processing module is further used to determine the forwarding priorities corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information based on the forwarding resource types corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information.

[0038] Other possible designs can be understood by referring to the description in the first aspect, and will not be elaborated in the embodiments of this application.

[0039] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor configured to implement the method described in the second aspect. The processor is coupled to a memory configured to store instructions and data. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the second aspect can be implemented. Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a memory; the communication device may further comprise a communication interface configured to enable the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

[0040] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor configured to implement the method described in the third aspect. The processor is coupled to a memory configured to store instructions and data. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the third aspect can be implemented. Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a memory; the communication device may further comprise a communication interface configured to enable the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

[0041] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising a communication device as described in the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect; and a communication device as described in the fifth aspect or the seventh aspect.

[0042] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method provided in any one of the first to third aspects above.

[0043] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method provided in any one of the first to third aspects above.

[0044] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is run on a computer, the computer executes the method provided in any one of the first to third aspects above.

[0045] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which is used to read a computer program stored in a memory and execute the method provided in any one of the first to third aspects above, or the chip includes a circuit for executing the method provided in any one of the first to third aspects above.

[0046] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a device to implement the method provided in any one of the first to third aspects above. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing programs and data necessary for the device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0047] For the effects of the solutions provided in any of the second to thirteenth aspects above, reference can be made to the corresponding description in the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of multiple panels on a relay device in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a relay communication method in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG4A is a schematic diagram of resource allocation according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG4B is a schematic diagram of resource allocation according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG4C is a schematic diagram of resource allocation according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG5A is a schematic diagram of beam distribution of multiple panels in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG5B is a schematic diagram of beam distribution of multiple panels in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a MAC-CE according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a MAC-CE in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG6C is a schematic diagram of the structure of a MAC-CE in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of time domain resource conflict in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG11 is one of the structural diagrams of the communication device in the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0065] The at least one (item) involved in the embodiments of the present application as follows indicates one (item) or more (items). More (items) refers to two (items) or more than two (items). "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. In addition, it should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe each object in the embodiments of the present application, these objects should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish each object from each other.

[0066] The terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof mentioned in the following description of the embodiments of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally includes other steps or units that are not listed, or optionally includes other steps or units that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any method or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other methods or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way.

[0067] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture applicable to the method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one terminal device, and the communication system also includes at least one relay device, which can assist the communication between the network device and the terminal device. The relay device can be composed of multiple antennas (or antenna panels), wherein a part of the antennas are backhaul link side antennas for communicating with the network device through the backhaul link, and another part of the antennas are access link side antennas for communicating with the terminal device through the access link. The relay device can perform downlink forwarding, the network device sends a downlink signal through the backhaul link, and the relay device forwards the received signal received in the backhaul link to the terminal device on the access link. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the downlink signal forwarded from the relay device on the access link. The relay device can also perform uplink forwarding, the terminal device sends an uplink signal through the access link, and the relay device forwards the received signal received in the access link to the network device on the backhaul link.

[0068] Figures 1(a), 1(b), and 1(c) illustrate three different architectures. Figure 1(a) illustrates a single-hop forwarding architecture, Figure 1(b) illustrates a multi-hop forwarding architecture, and Figure 1(c) illustrates a reflective forwarding architecture.

[0069] (a) in FIG1 shows a network device 110, a relay device 120, and a terminal device 130. The network device 110 can provide network coverage for a specific geographical area. As previously mentioned, when the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 are far apart, the communication quality deteriorates. Therefore, the relay device 120 is introduced to assist the communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130. As shown in FIG1 , the backhaul link side beam of the relay device can receive signals from the network device and send them to the terminal device 130 via the access link side beam. Similarly, the network device 110 can send downlink signals to the terminal device 130 via the relay device 120; the terminal device 130 can also send uplink signals to the network device 110 via the relay device 120.

[0070] FIG1(b) shows a network device 110, relay devices 120A and 120B, and a terminal device 130. Unlike FIG1(a), FIG1(b) shows multiple relay devices (such as relay devices 120A and 120B in the figure). That is, downlink signals from the network device 110 can be forwarded by the multiple relay devices to reach the terminal device 130, and uplink signals from the terminal device 130 can also be forwarded by the multiple relay devices to reach the network device 110. It should be understood that the processing of received signals by the relay devices 120A and 120B in FIG1(b) is similar to the processing process of the relay device 120 in FIG1(a), and will not be described in detail.

[0071] Figure 1(c) shows a network device 110, a relay device 120, and a terminal device 130. Different from Figure 1(a) and (b), the relay device 120 uses a reflective antenna panel to forward signals by reflection.

[0072] In an embodiment of the present application, a relay device can be used in a multi-hop relay cascade communication network, that is, a relay node can establish a connection with a network device through at least one upper-level relay node and accept control of the network device. In this case, the upper-level relay node can be considered a special network device; or a relay node can establish a connection with a terminal device through at least one lower-level relay node. In this case, the lower-level relay node can be considered a special terminal device. The relay device provided in an embodiment of the present application has a signal forwarding function. In one form of the relay device, the signal forwarding of the relay device can be forwarding after amplification of the signal, and the relay device can also shift the carrier frequency of the signal, or demodulate the signal and remodulate it before forwarding it, or reduce the noise of the signal before forwarding it. This form of relay device can be called an amplification and forwarding relay device or a network controlled repeater (NCR). The NCR mainly consists of two parts, namely a mobile terminal (MT) unit (also called a controller unit) and a forwarding (Fwd) unit. The relay device uses the MT and the base station to exchange messages. For example, beam steering, amplification (or output power) control, uplink or downlink signal forwarding direction control, on-off control, etc. are all interactions between the MT and the base station. The Fwd is a relay forwarding unit that directly amplifies and forwards the received signal without demodulating it.

[0073] To improve the coverage and transmission capacity of relay devices, multi-panel technology is used on the access side. As shown in Figure 2, the relay device has two panels on the access side, which can generate beams in up to two directions at the same time to receive signals from terminal devices or amplify and forward signals to terminal devices.

[0074] Another form of relay device can employ specialized reflective or transmissive antennas to directly reflect or transmit signals. This type of relay device can be called a reflector, a reflecting surface, or other names, such as an intelligent reflecting surface, a reconfigurable reflecting surface (RIS), a reflect array, an intelligent reflecting array, a reflector, an intelligent reflector, a backscatter device, a passive device, a semi-passive device, or an ambient signal device. A relay device can also be considered a specialized terminal. On the other hand, if relay devices are categorized based on the network's control capabilities over the relay, they can be divided into non-intelligent relay devices and intelligent relay devices; or, alternatively, uncontrolled repeaters and network-controlled repeaters (NetConRepeaters). Among them, network equipment can control the intelligent relay to perform more performance-enhancing functions, such as relay transmission power control, relay amplification gain control, relay beam scanning control, and relay precoding control.

[0075] The network device provided in the embodiment of the present application may be a wireless network device, and the wireless network device may be a base station (BS), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmit / receive point (TRP), a next-generation base station (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The network device provided in the embodiment of the present application may also be a module or unit that performs part of the functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium / media access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete some or all of the physical layer functions. In other deployments, the network device can also be an antenna unit (radio unit, RU), etc. In some other deployments, the access network can adopt an open radio access network (ORAN) architecture, etc., and the network device can be a node in the ORAN architecture. This application does not limit the specific type of network device. For example, when the access network adopts the ORAN architecture, the network device shown in the embodiment of the present application can be a network device in the ORAN, or a module in the network device, etc. In the ORAN system, the CU can also be called an open (open, O)-CU. Similarly, the DU can also be called an O-DU, the CU-DU can also be called an O-CU-DU, the CU-UP can also be called an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be called an O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented through a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0076] For detailed descriptions of each of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The wireless network device can be a macro base station, a micro base station, or an indoor base station. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the network device.

[0077] The terminal device provided in the embodiments of the present application may be a device with wireless transceiver functions, which may send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. The terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal may be widely used in various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communications (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a wearable device, a vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0078] In an embodiment of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device function. The control subsystem that includes the network device function here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device function. The functions of the relay device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the relay device, or by a device that includes the relay device function.

[0079] It should be understood that in this application, "sending information to a communication device (such as a network device, a relay device, or a terminal device)" can be understood as the destination end of the information being the communication device. It can include sending information to the communication device directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from a communication device" can be understood as the source end of the information being the communication device, and can include receiving information from the communication device directly or indirectly. The information may be processed as necessary between the source end and the destination end of the information transmission, such as format changes, etc., but the destination end can understand the valid information from the source end. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0080] It should be understood that the number and type of each device in the communication system shown in Figure 1 are for illustration only, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. In actual applications, the communication system may also include more terminal devices, more relay devices, more network devices, and other network elements, for example, core network devices, and / or network management devices such as operation administration and maintenance (OAM) equipment.

[0081] The following are examples of the technical terms involved in this application.

[0082] 1. Resources:

[0083] The embodiments of the present application involve forwarding resources of a relay device. The relay device mainly performs the following operations based on the forwarding resources: forwarding a signal from a network device to a terminal device, or forwarding a signal from a terminal device to a network device. Forwarding resources are generally configured in a reference signal resource set. A forwarding resource set may include one or more forwarding resources. In order to distinguish different forwarding resources, each forwarding resource may correspond to an index (index) or identity (ID) of a forwarding resource. In order to distinguish different forwarding resource sets, each forwarding resource set may also correspond to an index or identity of a forwarding resource set.

[0084] Forwarding resources can be used to configure relay communication properties. For example, they define at least one of the following parameters corresponding to the relay device's forwarding signal: time resources, frequency resources, access link beam, backhaul link beam, amplification gain, and reflection configuration matrix (for reflection surfaces). It should be understood that sending signals based on forwarding resources can also be referred to as sending forwarding resources. In this technical field, the two are interchangeable.

[0085] In beam measurement, there is a correspondence between beams and resources. When a terminal device measures the quality of a resource, it is equivalent to measuring the quality of the beam. In a scenario where a relay device forwards a signal from a terminal device to a network device, the forwarding resource can be an uplink signal resource; in a scenario where a relay device forwards a signal from a network device to a terminal device, the forwarding resource can also be a downlink signal resource. Uplink signals include, but are not limited to, sounding reference signals (SRS) and demodulation reference signals (DMRS). Downlink signals include, but are not limited to, channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CS-RS), user equipment-specific reference signals (US-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), and synchronization signals / physical broadcast channel blocks (SS / PBCH blocks). The SS / PBCH block can be referred to as a synchronization signal block (SSB). Reference signals are generally used for channel estimation, auxiliary signal demodulation, detection, etc. For example, DMRS and CSI-RS can be used to obtain channel information, and PTRS can be used to obtain phase change information.

[0086] The type of forwarding resource can be classified based on the time domain characteristics of the forwarding resource. The types of forwarding resources include periodic, aperiodic and semi-persistent. Periodic resources are configured with a period and an offset, and periodic resources are effective periodically. The transmitter can periodically send a reference signal based on the periodic resource. The reference signal can be called a periodic reference signal (P-RS). Aperiodic resources need to be activated by signaling before each use, and are only effective once after activation. The transmitter can send a reference signal through the aperiodic resource when the aperiodic resource is activated. The reference signal can be called an aperiodic reference signal (AP-RS). Semi-persistent resources are also configured with a period and an offset, but semi-persistent resources will only be effective periodically when in an activated state, and will not be effective when in an inactivated state. The transmitter can periodically send a reference signal through the semi-persistent resource after the semi-persistent resource is activated, and stop sending the reference signal after deactivation. The reference signal can be called a semi-persistent reference signal (SP-RS).

[0087] 2. Panel: A panel refers to an antenna panel, which can be a network device or a terminal device. An antenna panel typically contains one or more antennas, arranged in an antenna array and beamformed to form a simulated beam. This antenna array can generate simulated beams pointing in different directions. In other words, each antenna panel can form multiple simulated beams, and beam measurement can be used to determine the optimal simulated beam for that antenna panel. A terminal device can be equipped with multiple antenna panels, distributed in different locations and facing different directions. This ensures that no matter which direction the terminal device is facing, at least one antenna panel is facing the network device and can transmit data with it. A terminal device can simultaneously activate all antenna panels for transmission. Alternatively, to reduce power consumption, a terminal device can transmit using only a single antenna panel at a time, leaving the remaining unused antenna panels disabled. The network device is typically notified of whether the terminal device's antenna panels are on or off. This means that the terminal and network devices typically need to exchange antenna panel status information.

[0088] In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna panel refers to the antenna panel of the relay device. In the protocol, the antenna panel can be represented by panel, panel index, panel ID, etc. In addition, the antenna panel can also be implicitly represented in other ways. For example, the antenna panel can also be represented by an antenna port (such as a CSI-RS port, an SRS port, a DMRS port, a PTRS port, a common reference signal (CRS) port, a tracking reference signal (TRS) port, an SSB port, etc.) or an antenna port group; or it can also be represented by a resource (such as a CSI-RS resource, an SRS resource, a DMRS resource, a PTRS resource, a CRS resource, a TRS resource, an SSB resource, etc.) or a resource group; or it can also be represented by a certain channel, for example, the channel can be a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical random access channel (PRACH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). channel, PBCH), etc.; or it can be represented by beam, quasi-colocation (QCL), transmission configuration indicator (TCI)-state, spatial relation or an index configured in QCL, TCI-state, spatial relation; or it can be represented by beam group, QCL group, TCI-state group, spatial relation group, etc.; or it can be represented by a set of relay capability parameters reported by the relay device.

[0089] There is a correspondence between the relay capability parameter set and the panel. A relay capability parameter set includes the relevant relay capabilities corresponding to a panel, for example, the maximum number of transmission layers, the maximum number of SRS ports, the maximum transmission power, etc. In other words, the antenna panel / panel described in this application can be replaced with the above content.

[0090] 2. Beam:

[0091] A beam is a communication resource. A beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The technology used to form the beam can be beamforming technology or other technical means. Beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, and hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology. The same information or different information can be sent through different beams. Optionally, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be considered as one beam. A beam can include one or more antenna ports for transmitting data channels, control channels, and sounding signals, etc.

[0092] The embodiment of the beam in the new radio (NR) protocol can be a spatial domain filter, or a spatial filter, or a spatial domain parameter, a spatial parameter, a spatial domain setting, a spatial setting, or Quasi-colocation (QCL) information, a QCL assumption, a QCL indication, etc. The beam can be indicated by a transmission configuration indication state (TCI-state) parameter or by a spatial relation parameter. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present application, the beam can be replaced by a spatial domain filter, a spatial filter, a spatial parameter, a spatial parameter, a spatial setting, a spatial setting, QCL information, a QCL assumption, a QCL indication, a TCI-state (DL TCI-state, UL TCI-state), a spatial relationship, etc. The above terms are also equivalent to each other. The beam can also be replaced by other terms representing the beam, which is not limited in this application.

[0093] Beam, which can also be understood as a spatial resource, can refer to a transmitting or receiving precoding vector with energy transmission directivity. Energy transmission directivity can refer to the fact that within a certain spatial position, the signal received after precoding processing by the precoding vector has better receiving power, such as meeting the receiving demodulation signal-to-noise ratio, etc. Energy transmission directivity can also refer to the fact that the same signal sent from different spatial positions received through the precoding vector has different receiving powers. The same device (such as a network device or a terminal device) can have different precoding vectors, and different devices can also have different precoding vectors, that is, corresponding to different beams. According to the configuration or capability of the device, a device can use one or more of multiple different precoding vectors at the same time, that is, it can form one beam or multiple beams at the same time.

[0094] From the perspective of transmission and reception, beams can be divided into transmission beams (Tx beams) and reception beams (Rx beams). A transmission beam refers to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after a signal is transmitted by an antenna. A reception beam refers to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after a wireless signal is received by an antenna. A signal's reception beam is designed to be as closely aligned with its transmission beam as possible to improve the received signal-to-noise ratio and avoid interference between different signals.

[0095] In the embodiment of the present application, the relay device unit can form one or more beams, or one or more beam sets (a beam set can also be referred to as a beam set). It should be understood that a beam set includes at least one beam. Optionally, in a scenario where multiple panels are distributed on the relay device, the aforementioned beam set corresponds to one panel, and the identifier of the beam set in the embodiment of the present application can also be replaced by the identifier of the panel (such as panel ID).

[0096] In one possible design, identifiers of different beam sets and identifiers of each beam in each beam set are defined for multiple beam sets. For example, in beam set A ({a0, a1, a2, ...}), beam set B ({b0, b1, b2, ...}), and beam set C ({c0, c1, c2, ...}), a0, a1, a2, b0, b1, b2, and c0, c1, c2 are beam identifiers (or indices).

[0097] In another possible design, all beams of the relay device can be uniformly numbered. For example, the network device and relay device can directly identify different access-side beams using beam-index. For example, assuming that the maximum number of beams corresponding to beam set A is M, the beams in beam set A are identified by beam-index 0 to beam-index M-1; and if the maximum number of beams corresponding to beam set B is N, the beams in beam set B are identified by beam-index M to beam-index M+N-1.

[0098] Optionally, the beam set or the number of beams on the relay access side or backhaul side can be any value in {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 16, 24, 32}. Assume that the beam set or the number of beams in the set is no greater than K, where K can be any value in {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 16, 24, 32}.

[0099] 4. Quasi-colocation (QCL):

[0100] QCL is used to indicate that multiple forwarding resources have one or more identical or similar communication characteristics. For multiple forwarding resources with a QCL relationship, the same or similar communication configuration can be used. For example, the signals corresponding to the antenna ports with a QCL relationship have the same parameters, or the parameters of one antenna port (also referred to as QCL parameters) can be used to determine the parameters of another antenna port with a QCL relationship with the antenna port, or the two antenna ports have the same parameters, or the parameter difference between the two antenna ports is less than a certain threshold. The parameters may include one or more of the following: delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average delay, average gain, and spatial Rx parameters. The spatial Rx parameters may include one or more of the following: angle of arrival (AOA), average AOA, AOA spread, angle of departure (AOD), average departure angle AOD, AOD spread, receiving antenna spatial correlation parameter, transmitting antenna spatial correlation parameter, transmit beam, receiving beam, and resource identifier.

[0101] In the NR protocol, the QCL relationship can be divided into four types based on different parameters as shown in Table 3:

[0102] Table 1

[0103] When identifiers of different beam sets and identifiers of individual beams within each beam set are defined for multiple beam sets, the corresponding QCL information is defined for each beam within each beam set and represented by a different Beam-Index. For example, Table 2 below illustrates that the QCL information corresponding to each beam within beam set A ({a0, a1, a2, …}) is represented by a different Beam-Index.

[0104] Table 2

[0105] The Beam-Index and TCI-StateId function similarly, both serving as indexes to distinguish different beams. The Beam-Index used in different beam sets can be the same. For example, the QCL information corresponding to each beam in beam set B ({b0, b1, b2, …}) can be represented using Beam-Index 0 to 2. Network devices can distinguish beam sets based on their identifiers.

[0106] When all beams of a relay device are uniformly numbered, the network device and relay device directly use beam-index to identify the QCL information corresponding to different beams. As shown in Table 3 below, assuming that the maximum number of beams corresponding to panel A is M, its corresponding beam indexes are identified by Beam-Index 0 to Beam-Index M-1; and the maximum number of beams corresponding to panel B is N, its corresponding beam indexes are identified by Beam-Index M to Beam-Index M+N-1.

[0107] Table 3

[0108] In a scenario where a network device and a terminal device communicate via a relay device, how to implement beam management of the network device, the relay device, and the terminal device to determine the communication beam actually used by the network device and the terminal device is a problem to be solved. An embodiment of the present application provides a relay communication method, in which a network device can configure and activate forwarding resources for a relay device, so that the relay device can forward a reference signal transmitted between the network device and the terminal device, so that the terminal device can measure the reference signal forwarded by the relay device from the network device, or the network device can measure the reference signal forwarded by the relay device from the terminal device, thereby implementing beam management in a relay scenario.

[0109] Specifically, as shown in FIG3 , a relay communication method mainly includes the following steps.

[0110] S301, the relay device and the network device obtain the beam information of the relay device from the third-party network element. The beam information of the relay device is used to indicate the beam distribution on the relay device. For example, the beam information may include one or more of the following: an identifier of each beam set included in the relay device; an identifier of each beam included in each beam set; an identifier of the quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam. The specific implementation method can be understood with reference to the aforementioned terminology description of the beam. For example, a beam set corresponds to a panel of the relay device. The identifier of the beam set can be the ID of the beam set, or the identifier of the corresponding panel (panel ID). The identifier of the beam can be the beam ID, and the identifier of the quasi-co-location information is represented by Beam-Index.

[0111] Optionally, the third-party network element may be an operation and administration maintenance (OAM) device. As shown in FIG3 , S301 includes S301a and S301b , where S301a indicates that OAM configures the beam information of the relay device and sends it to the network device; S301b indicates that OAM sends the beam information of the relay device to the relay device.

[0112] In addition, in a possible implementation, the beam information of the relay device can be determined by the network device itself. For example, the relay device reports its own beam capability information to the network device, and the network device configures the beam information of the relay device to the relay device based on the beam capability information. For another example, the beam capability information of the relay device is defined by the protocol, and the network device can directly determine the beam information of the relay device. Among them, the beam capability information of the relay device indicates the number of panels (or beam sets) of the relay device, and the maximum number of beams supported by each panel. In this implementation, OAM does not need to send the aforementioned beam information to the network device, that is, S301 is not executed. Therefore, S301 is an optional step, and S301a and S301b are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3.

[0113] S302: The network device sends a plurality of forwarding resource configuration information to the relay device.

[0114] Among them, multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device. The specific correspondence and forwarding resource configuration can be understood in the following ways.

[0115] Method (1): Multiple forwarding resource configuration information pieces correspond one-to-one to multiple beam sets of a relay device. Each piece of forwarding resource configuration information includes a beam set identifier and a forwarding resource identifier. The beam set identifier can also be replaced with the panel identifier corresponding to the beam set, denoted as panel ID. Each piece of forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to a single forwarding resource, so the aforementioned forwarding resource configuration information can also be described as a forwarding resource.

[0116] In one possible implementation, different forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to different time domain resources, and different forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to the same frequency domain resources; or, different forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to different time domain resources, and different forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to different frequency domain resources. For example, FIG4A illustrates that the relay device uses two panels (panel A, panel B) for signal forwarding, and each panel occupies the same frequency domain resources (CC#1 and CC#2) without distinction, but forwards reference signals through different panels on different time domain resources. CC may refer to a component carrier (CC). For example, the relay device uses access beam #11 of panel A to forward reference signals in time slot 1, uses access beam #21 of panel B to forward reference signals in time slot 2, uses access beam #12 of panel A to forward reference signals in time slot 3, and uses access beam #22 of panel B to forward reference signals in time slot 4, until all access side beams to be forwarded are traversed. For example, Figure 4B shows that the relay device uses the first access beam #11 of panel A to forward the reference signal in time slot 1, and uses the second access beam #12 of panel A to forward the reference signal in time slot 2. After traversing all the beams of panel A, assuming that the total number of beams of panel A is 4, the relay device can use the first access beam #21 of panel B to forward the reference signal in time slot 5, and use the fourth access beam #24 of panel B to forward the reference signal in time slot 8, until all the access side beams to be forwarded are traversed.

[0117] In this implementation, different forwarding resource configuration information may correspond to different types of forwarding resources, and different types of forwarding resources may correspond to different configuration methods.

[0118] (1) Taking the forwarding resource type of the relay device as a periodic resource or a semi-persistent resource as an example, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling, and one piece of forwarding resource configuration information is recorded as FwdResource.

[0119] In the case where the identifiers of different beam sets and the identifiers of each beam in each beam set are defined for multiple beam sets, the format of FwdResource can be expressed as follows:

[0120] When all beams of a relay device are numbered uniformly, the format of FwdResource can be expressed as follows:

[0121] In the above content, periodicFwdRsrcId-r18 indicates the identifier of the forwarding resource; beamIndex-r18 represents the identifier (index) of the beam. When all beams of the relay device are uniformly numbered, the identifier of the access side beam of the relay device is not bound to the panel ID. During high-level signaling configuration, in one implementation, beamIndex 0 to 31 defaults to the access side beam of panel A, and beamIndex 32 to 63 defaults to the access side beam of panel B. The beam index range of each panel does not exceed its maximum beam capacity; panel Id indicates the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource or the beam set corresponding to the forwarding resource, maxNrofPanels indicates the maximum number of panels of the relay device; periodicTimeRsrc-r18 indicates the periodic time resource of the forwarding resource; periodicityAndOffset-r18 indicates the period and time offset of the forwarding resource, and the time offset value generally refers to the time slot offset; symbolOffset-r18 indicates the symbol offset corresponding to the forwarding resource, maxNrofSymbols indicates the maximum number of symbols; durationInSymbols-r18 indicates the duration of the symbol, or can also be understood as the number of symbols.

[0122] (2) Taking the case where the forwarding resource type of the relay device is a non-periodic resource as an example, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling.

[0123] When the identifiers of different beam sets and the identifiers of each beam in each beam set are defined for multiple beam sets, the panel ID can be introduced in the aperiodic forwarding time resource (AperiodicFwdTimeResource) in the higher-level signaling to identify the correspondence between the aperiodic forwarding time resource and the panel (or beam set). When all beams of the relay device are numbered uniformly, the forwarding resources are configured according to the aperiodic forwarding time resource (AperiodicFwdTimeResource) in the higher-level signaling, but the panel ID is not introduced.

[0124] In another possible implementation, different forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to the same time domain resources, but different forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to different frequency domain resources. For example, Figure 4C illustrates that the relay device uses two panels (Panel A and Panel B) for signal forwarding at the same time, with Panel A occupying frequency domain resource CC#1 and Panel B occupying frequency domain resource CC#2.

[0125] Optionally, the frequency domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different, specifically including: different forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to different subbands. Wherein, a subband is a type of frequency domain range, and a subband may also replace a component carrier (CC), a cell, a passband, a frequency band, or other names. Based on this, each of the multiple forwarding resource configuration information further includes a subband identifier based on the aforementioned possible implementation manner.

[0126] Similarly, in this implementation, different forwarding resource configuration information may correspond to different types of forwarding resources, and different types of forwarding resources may correspond to different configuration methods.

[0127] (1) For example, if the forwarding resource type of the relay device is a periodic resource or a semi-persistent resource, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling, and one piece of forwarding resource configuration information is recorded as FwdResource. For example, when the identifiers of different beam sets and the identifiers of each beam in each beam set are defined for multiple beam sets, the format of FwdResource can be expressed as follows:

[0128] The parameters mentioned in the format of FwdResource can be understood with reference to the above description, and will not be described in detail in the present embodiment. In addition, passband Id refers to the identifier of the subband, and maxNrofBands refers to the maximum number of subbands in the frequency domain.

[0129] (2) Taking the case where the forwarding resource type of the relay device is a non-periodic resource as an example, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling.

[0130] When the identifiers of different beam sets and the identifiers of each beam in each beam set are defined for multiple beam sets, the panel ID and passband ID can be introduced in the aperiodic forwarding time resource (AperiodicFwdTimeResource) in the higher-layer signaling to identify the correspondence between the aperiodic forwarding time resource and the panel (or beam set) and the subband. When all beams of the relay device are numbered uniformly, the forwarding resources are configured according to the aperiodic forwarding time resource (AperiodicFwdTimeResource) in the higher-layer signaling, but the panel ID and passband ID are not introduced.

[0131] Mode (2) Each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to at least one beam set in the multiple beam sets of the relay device. The one forwarding resource set corresponds to the at least one beam set of the relay device, and the multiple forwarding resources in the one forwarding resource set correspond one-to-one to the multiple beams included in each beam set in the at least one beam set. Among them, the identifier of the beam set can also be replaced by the identifier of the panel corresponding to the beam set, recorded as panel Id. The forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to one forwarding resource set, so the aforementioned forwarding resource configuration information can also be replaced by the description of the forwarding resource set.

[0132] Taking the one-to-one correspondence between beam sets and panels, and the one-to-one correspondence between multiple forwarding resource configuration information and multiple beam sets as an example, each panel on the relay device corresponds to a forwarding resource set (FwdResourceSet), and the forwarding resource set identifier (FwdResourceSetId) can be used to distinguish panels. Based on this, the network device is configured with multiple FwdResourceSets, each of which includes an FwdResourceSetId and one or more forwarding resources. Each forwarding resource corresponds to an access-side beam on the panel corresponding to the FwdResourceSetId.

[0133] In this manner, different forwarding resource sets correspond to different time domain resources, and the frequency domain resources are the same or different. Different forwarding resource configuration information may correspond to different types of forwarding resources, and different types of forwarding resources may correspond to different configuration methods.

[0134] (1) For example, if the forwarding resource type of the relay device is a periodic resource or a semi-persistent resource, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling. A piece of forwarding resource configuration information is recorded as FwdResourceSet. The format of FwdResourceSet can be expressed as follows:

[0135] In the above content, periodicFwdRsrcSetId-r18 indicates the identifier of the forwarding resource set; periodicFwdRsrcToAdddModList indicates the newly added forwarding resource list, periodicFwdRsrcToReleaseList-r18 indicates the released forwarding resource list, maxNrofPeriodicFwdResource-r18 refers to the maximum value of the forwarding resource identifier; referenceSCS refers to the reference subcarrier spacing; priorityFlag-r18 refers to the priority flag.

[0136] (2) Taking the case where the forwarding resource type of the relay device is a non-periodic resource as an example, the forwarding resource configuration information can be configured by high-layer signaling.

[0137] When the identifiers of different beam sets and the identifiers of each beam in each beam set are defined for multiple beam sets, panel ID and passband ID can be introduced in the aperiodic forwarding configuration (AperiodicFwdConfig) in the higher-level signaling to identify the correspondence between the aperiodic forwarding resource set and the panel (or beam set) and the subband. When all beams of the relay device are numbered uniformly, the forwarding resources are configured according to the aperiodic forwarding configuration (AperiodicFwdConfig) in the higher-level signaling, but panel ID and passband ID are not introduced.

[0138] Optionally, in the case where the forwarding resource configuration information in the above scheme does not include the identifier of the beam set (such as panel Id), the correspondence between the forwarding resource configuration information and the beam set can also be determined (or called binding) based on the values ​​of specified parameters in different forwarding resource configuration information. For example, in the case where the type of forwarding resource is periodic or semi-continuous, the beam sets corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information can be distinguished by the period size of the forwarding resource (or forwarding resource set) in the forwarding resource configuration information, that is, the period size in the forwarding resource configuration information corresponding to different beam sets is different. For example, in the case where the type of forwarding resource is aperiodic, the beam sets corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information can be distinguished by the size of the aperiodic forwarding time resource index (AperiodicFwdTimeResourceId), that is, the AperiodicFwdTimeResourceId in the forwarding resource configuration information corresponding to different beam sets is different. For example, if the forwarding resource type is aperiodic, the beam sets corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information can be distinguished by the odd-even classification of the aperiodic forwarding time resource index AperiodicFwdTimeResourceId. For example, if the relay device includes panel A and panel B, each panel corresponds to a beam set. Forwarding resource configuration information with an odd-numbered AperiodicFwdTimeResourceId can be defined to correspond to panel A, and forwarding resource configuration information with an even-numbered AperiodicFwdTimeResourceId can be defined to correspond to panel B. For example, if the forwarding resource configuration information includes a subband identifier, and different forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to different subbands, different beam sets can be pre-defined to correspond to different subband identifiers, thereby indirectly indicating the correspondence between the forwarding resource configuration information and the beam set. For example, when the forwarding resource type is periodic or semi-continuous, the network device can send multiple radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the multiple RRC signaling corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each RRC signaling carries a forwarding resource configuration information; when the forwarding resource type is non-periodic, different modes of downlink control information (DCI) can be used to indicate the forwarding resource configuration information corresponding to different beam sets on the relay device.

[0139] In addition, during specific implementation, different panels on the relay device may have different beam information corresponding to them, for example, different panels may have different numbers of beams in the corresponding beam sets. In response to this situation, when configuring forwarding resources, the network device generally performs a unified configuration based on the maximum number of beams. For example, FIG5A shows that the beam set corresponding to panel A includes 4 beams, recorded as beam #1, beam #2, beam #3, and beam #4, and the beam set corresponding to panel B includes 3 beams, recorded as beam #1, beam #2, and beam #3. The network device will configure forwarding resources based on the four beams in each beam set. In this case, an indication error may occur in which the network device indicates that the beam index indicated for a certain panel exceeds the maximum number of beams corresponding to the panel, such as indicating beam index #4 for panel B, which exceeds the maximum beam index #3 supported by panel B. In response to this indication error, in one possible design, the relay device can feedback an error indication to the network device, and the relay device will not forward the signal within the time of the forwarding resource corresponding to panel B. In another possible design, such beam indexes may be newly defined in advance. For example, the relay device may interpret beam index #4, which exceeds the support of panel B, as beam #1 corresponding to panel B, that is, the beam index exceeding the maximum beam index is cyclically mapped to other beam indices smaller than the maximum beam index. Similarly, when all beams of the relay device are uniformly numbered, for example, FIG5B illustrates that the beam set corresponding to panel A includes four beams recorded as beam #1, beam #2, beam #3, and beam #4, and the beam set corresponding to panel B includes three beams recorded as beam #5, beam #6, and beam #7. If the network device indicates beam index #8 for panel B, which exceeds the maximum beam index #7 supported by panel B, the relay device may feedback an error indication to the network device or remap the beam index, and may not forward the signal within the time of the forwarding resource corresponding to panel B.

[0140] S303: The network device sends first indication information to the relay device.

[0141] Specifically, the first indication information is used to instruct the forwarding of the first signal based on at least one beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information. Alternatively, it can be understood that the first indication information is used to activate the forwarding resource or forwarding resource set in the first forwarding resource configuration information in S302. It can be understood that the activation of the forwarding resource is mainly implemented for the forwarding resource type of semi-persistent and aperiodic forwarding resources. If the forwarding resource type is a periodic forwarding resource, the resource activation process of S303 does not need to be performed.

[0142] Taking the example of a semi-persistent forwarding resource corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information, the first indication information may be a media access control-element (MAC-CE) or a portion of a field within the MAC-CE. The following describes several different MAC-CE designs, corresponding to the description in S302.

[0143] Design 1, when the first forwarding resource configuration information includes the identifier of the beam set (for example, the panel ID (panel Id)), it can be considered that the binding relationship between the forwarding resource (or forwarding resource set) and the panel Id has been formed in the S302 resource configuration process, and the network device only carries the identifier of the forwarding resource (or forwarding resource set) in the MAC-CE. Exemplarily, when different panels (or different beam sets) correspond to different forwarding resource sets, the network device can activate multiple forwarding resource sets respectively through multiple MAC-CEs, and different MCA-CEs include different identifiers of forwarding resource sets. Among them, the identifier of the forwarding resource set can be a forwarding resource set ID (Resource set ID). Specifically, the structure of MCA-CE is shown in Figure 6A, and the meaning of each field in MCA-CE can be understood with reference to the following content:

[0144] The forwarding resource set ID (Resource set ID) indicates the forwarding resource set in the first forwarding resource configuration information. As shown in FIG6A , the Resource set ID occupies 5 bytes in the MAC-CE.

[0145] A / D: Indicates whether the forwarding resource set corresponding to the resource set ID is activated. For example, if the A / D value is 1, it means that the forwarding resource set corresponding to the resource set ID is activated; if the A / D value is 0, it means that the forwarding resource set corresponding to the resource set ID is deactivated.

[0146] C: Indicates whether the beam index (or panel ID field) exists. For example, if the value of C is 1, it indicates that the beam index (panel ID field) exists; if the value of C is 0, it indicates that the beam index (panel ID field) does not exist. It should be understood that this field is only effective when the value of A / D is 1.

[0147] R: refers to a reserved bit, or a reserved bit. In the embodiment of the present application, the value of the reserved bit is set to 0.

[0148] Beam index (beamindex ID): used to indicate the beam in the beam set corresponding to the forwarding resource set corresponding to the resource set ID.

[0149] Design 2: If the first forwarding resource configuration information does not include a beam set identifier (e.g., a panel ID), it can be assumed that no binding relationship exists between the forwarding resource (or forwarding resource set) and the panel ID during the resource configuration process in S302. Based on this, the network device can carry the forwarding resource (or forwarding resource set) identifier and the beam set identifier (e.g., panel ID) in the MAC-CE.

[0150] For example, different panels (or different beam sets) correspond to different forwarding resource sets. The network device can activate multiple forwarding resource sets through multiple MAC-CEs. Different MCA-CEs include different forwarding resource set identifiers (Resource set IDs). The structure of the MCA-CE is shown in Figure 6B. The panel ID (panel) in the MAC-CE indicates the beam set corresponding to the forwarding resource set corresponding to the Resource set ID. The meaning of the remaining fields can be understood by referring to the introduction in Design 1. This embodiment of the application will not be repeated in detail.

[0151] For another example, a forwarding resource set corresponds to multiple beam sets, and a network device can activate multiple beam sets corresponding to one forwarding resource set through a MAC-CE. The structure of the MCA-CE is shown in Figure 6C. The MCA-CE includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set (Resource set ID) and identifiers of multiple corresponding beam sets (indicated by panel IDs). The meaning of each field in the MCA-CE can be understood by referring to the introduction in Designs 1 and 2, and will not be elaborated on in this embodiment of the application.

[0152] In addition, optionally, corresponding to the case where the time domain resources corresponding to the different forwarding resource configuration information described in S302 are the same but the frequency domain resources are different, that is, frequency division forwarding, the network device can also carry the subband identifier (such as passband Id) in the MAC-CE as shown in Figure 6B or Figure 6C.

[0153] Taking the example of a non-periodic forwarding resource type corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information, the first indication information may be DCI_2_8 or a portion of a field in DCI_2_8; or the first indication information may also be a newly defined DCI. In one possible implementation, if the first forwarding resource configuration information includes a beam set identifier (e.g., panel ID) and a subband identifier (passband ID), DCI 2_8 is interpreted according to the protocol-defined format and no new fields are introduced. In another possible implementation, the network device may introduce a new field in DCI 2_8 to indicate the beam set identifier and / or subband information corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0154] S304: The relay device forwards the first signal according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

[0155] In one possible design, the first signal comes from the terminal device and can be regarded as an uplink signal forwarded by the relay device to the network device; in another possible design, the first signal comes from the network device and can be regarded as a downlink signal forwarded by the relay device to the terminal device.

[0156] In Figure 3, taking the case where a first signal originates from a network device as an example, S304 illustrates the relay device forwarding the first signal from the network device to the terminal device. As a possible implementation, the relay device amplifies and forwards the first signal on a designated panel and / or designated subband using a designated beam and designated forwarding resources based on information such as the forwarding resources (forwarding resource set) and amplification gain configured by high-layer signaling in S302 and information such as the forwarding resources, beams / panels, and subbands activated in S303.

[0157] In a possible application scenario, the first signal may be a reference signal for channel measurement, such as a CSI-RS; further, optionally, the terminal device may further execute S305.

[0158] S305: The terminal device sends the measurement result of the first signal to the network device through the relay device.

[0159] S305 is implemented through the following two sub-steps: S305a, the terminal device sends the measurement result of the first signal to the relay device; and S305b, the relay device forwards the received measurement result of the first signal to the network device.

[0160] Specifically, the terminal device receives and measures the first signal and can obtain a measurement result of the first signal. The measurement result may indicate one or more of the following: channel quality indicator (CQI), reference signal received signal power (RSRP), reference signal received signal quality (RSRQ), received signal strength (RSSI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), transmitted precoding matrix indicator (TPMI), rank indicator (RI) or rank information (RI), layer indicator (LI), channel state information resource index (CSI-RS indicator, CRI), synchronization / broadcast signal block resource index (SSBRI).

[0161] Accordingly, the network device can determine the beam set or panel with the best signal reception quality based on the aforementioned measurement results received, and then instruct the relay device to use the beam set or panel with the best signal reception quality to forward the signal. It is understandable that the beam set with the best signal reception quality can also be recorded as the optimal beam set, and the panel with the best signal reception quality can also be recorded as the optimal panel. The best signal reception quality is mainly reflected in: the reference signal received power RSRP or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) value is the largest.

[0162] The above solution provides forwarding resource configuration for multiple panels on the relay device, which can realize the simultaneous use of multiple panels to forward signals, helping to quickly determine the optimal panel and improve subsequent communication performance.

[0163] In addition, considering that in actual applications there are relay devices that have the ability to transmit from multiple panels simultaneously, there are also relay devices that do not support simultaneous transmission from multiple panels. In one possible implementation, for relay devices that have the ability to transmit from multiple panels simultaneously, it is allowed to configure beams of multiple panels at the same time; however, for relay devices that only support time-sharing transmission from multiple panels, when receiving forwarding resource configurations corresponding to different panels at the same time, it is possible to define forwarding priorities corresponding to different panels or different forwarding resource configuration information. For example, Figure 7 shows that the network device configures the relay device to forward signals through beam a on panel A for the 3rd to 6th symbols in the time slot, and forward signals through beam b on panel B for the 1st to 14th symbols in the time slot. The relay device does not support simultaneous transmission from multiple panels, resulting in a forwarding conflict for the 3rd to 6th symbols in the same time slot. In this case, it is necessary to define forwarding priorities corresponding to different panels or different forwarding resource configuration information.

[0164] To address this situation, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining the forwarding priority corresponding to each forwarding resource configuration information in combination with the forwarding resource type. The specific implementation can be referred to the following example.

[0165] For example, if the priorityFlag is not enabled for periodic or semi-persistent forwarding resources, the priority order is defined as aperiodic resources > semi-persistent resources > periodic resources. Based on this, when the time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information overlap, such as in conflicting time slots, the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a higher priority will forward normally during the conflicting time slot, while the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a lower priority will fail during the entire conflicting time slot. Alternatively, the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a higher priority will forward normally during the conflicting time slot, while the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a lower priority will forward at other non-conflicting times. Alternatively, the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a higher priority will forward normally during the conflicting time slot, while the panel corresponding to the forwarding resource configuration information with a lower priority will forward in the next time slot. Furthermore, when different panels have the same forwarding resource type corresponding to the conflicting time slot, the relay device can provide error feedback or the network device can dynamically assign the panel forwarding priority.

[0166] Based on the same concept, referring to FIG8 , an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device 800, which includes a processing module 801 and a communication module 802. The communication device 800 can be a relay device, or a communication device applied to or used in conjunction with a relay device, capable of implementing a method for transmitting a precoding matrix executed by the relay device; or the communication device 800 can be a network device, or a communication device applied to or used in conjunction with a network device, capable of implementing a method for transmitting a precoding matrix executed by the network device.

[0167] The communication module may also be referred to as a transceiver module, transceiver, transceiver, or transceiver device. The processing module may also be referred to as a processor, processing board, processing unit, or processing device. Optionally, the communication module is used to perform the sending and receiving operations on the relay device side or the network device side in the above method. The device in the communication module that implements the receiving function can be considered a receiving unit, and the device in the communication module that implements the sending function can be considered a sending unit. That is, the communication module includes a receiving unit and a sending unit.

[0168] When the communication device 800 is applied to a relay device, the processing module 801 can be used to implement the processing functions of the relay device in the example shown in FIG3 , and the communication module 802 can be used to implement the transceiver functions of the relay device in the example shown in FIG3 . Optionally, the communication device can also be understood with reference to the possible designs of the fourth and tenth aspects of the present invention.

[0169] When the communication device 800 is applied to a network device, the processing module 801 can be used to implement the processing function of the network device in the example shown in FIG3 , and the communication module 802 can be used to implement the transceiver function of the network device in the example shown in FIG3 . Optionally, the communication device can also be understood with reference to the fifth aspect and possible designs of the fifth aspect in the Summary of the Invention.

[0170] In addition, it should be noted that in one possible design, the aforementioned communication module and / or processing module can be implemented through a virtual module. For example, the processing module can be implemented through a software functional unit or a virtual device, and the communication module can be implemented through a software function or a virtual device. In another possible design, the processing module or the communication module can also be implemented through a physical device. For example, if the device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the communication module can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface that performs input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operations) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operations); the processing module is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

[0171] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various examples of the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules may be implemented in either hardware or software functional modules.

[0172] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 900. For example, the communication device 900 can be a chip or a chip system. Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0173] The communication device 900 can be used to implement the functions of any network element in the communication system described in the above examples. The communication device 900 may include at least one processor 910. Optionally, the processor 910 is coupled to a memory, and the memory may be located within the device; or the memory may be integrated with the processor; or the memory may be located outside the device. For example, the communication device 900 may also include at least one memory 920. The memory 920 stores the necessary computer programs, computer programs or instructions and / or data for implementing any of the above examples; the processor 910 may execute the computer program stored in the memory 920 to complete the method in any of the above examples.

[0174] The communication device 900 may also include a communication interface 930, and the communication device 900 can exchange information with other devices through the communication interface 930. Exemplarily, the communication interface 930 can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other types of communication interfaces. When the communication device 900 is a chip-type device or circuit, the communication interface 930 in the device 900 can also be an input-output circuit that can input information (or receive information) and output information (or send information). The processor is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit or logic circuit, and the processor can determine output information based on the input information.

[0175] The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 910 may operate in conjunction with the memory 920 and the communication interface 930. The specific connection medium between the processor 910, memory 920, and communication interface 930 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0176] Optionally, referring to FIG9 , the processor 910, the memory 920, and the communication interface 930 are interconnected via a bus 940. The bus 940 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus may be classified as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG9 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0177] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams of the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the methods of the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0178] In an embodiment of the present application, the memory may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device that can implement a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0179] In one possible implementation, the communication device 900 can be applied to a relay device. Specifically, the communication device 900 can be a relay device, or a device that can support a relay device and implement the functions of the relay device in any of the examples mentioned above. The memory 920 stores a computer program (or instruction) and / or data that implements the functions of the relay device in any of the above examples. The processor 910 can execute the computer program stored in the memory 920 to complete the method performed by the relay device in any of the above examples. If the communication device is applied to a relay device, the communication interface in the communication device 900 can be used to interact with a network device, send information to the network device, or receive information from the network device.

[0180] In another possible implementation, the communication device 900 can be applied to a network device. Specifically, the communication device 900 can be a network device, or a device that can support a network device and implement the functions of the network device in any of the examples mentioned above. The memory 920 stores a computer program (or instruction) and / or data that implements the functions of the network device in any of the above examples. The processor 910 can execute the computer program stored in the memory 920 to complete the method performed by the network device in any of the above examples. If the communication device is applied to a network device, the communication interface in the communication device 900 can be used to interact with a relay device, send information to the relay device, or receive information from the relay device.

[0181] Since the communication device 900 provided in this example can be applied to a network device to implement the method executed by the network device, or applied to a relay device to implement the method executed by the relay device, the technical effects that can be achieved can be referred to the above method examples and will not be repeated here.

[0182] Based on the same technical concept, the present application also provides a communication device 1000. As shown in FIG10 , the communication device 1000 can be a relay device, a processor of a relay device, or a chip. The communication device 1000 can be used to perform the operations performed by the relay device in the above method embodiment.

[0183] When the communication device 1000 is a relay device, Figure 10 shows a simplified schematic diagram of the relay device structure. As shown in Figure 10, the relay device includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The memory can store computer program code, and the transceiver includes a transmitter 1031, a receiver 1032, a radio frequency circuit (not shown), an antenna 1033, and input and output devices (not shown).

[0184] The processor is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control relay devices, execute software programs, and process software program data. Memory is primarily used to store software programs and data. Radio frequency circuits are primarily used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. Antennas are primarily used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices. For example, touch screens, displays, and keyboards are primarily used to receive user input and output data to the user. It should be noted that some types of relay devices may not have input / output devices.

[0185] When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, and then outputs the baseband signal to the RF circuit. The RF circuit performs RF processing on the baseband signal and then sends the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the relay device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data. For ease of explanation, Figure 10 shows only one memory, processor, and transceiver. In an actual relay device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be set independently of the processor or integrated with the processor, and this is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0186] In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and radio frequency circuit with transceiver functions can be regarded as the transceiver module of the relay device, and the processor with processing function can be regarded as the processing module of the relay device.

[0187] As shown in Figure 10, the relay device includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020, and a transceiver 1030. The processor 1010 may also be referred to as a processing unit, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc., and the transceiver 1030 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc.

[0188] Alternatively, the device in transceiver 1030 that implements the receiving function may be considered a receiving module, and the device in transceiver 1030 that implements the transmitting function may be considered a transmitting module. That is, transceiver 1030 includes a receiver and a transmitter. A transceiver may also be sometimes referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver module, or a transceiver circuit. A receiver may also be sometimes referred to as a receiver, a receiving module, or a receiving circuit. A transmitter may also be sometimes referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting module, or a transmitting circuit.

[0189] For example, the processor 1010 is used to perform processing actions on the relay device side in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , and the transceiver 1030 is used to perform transceiver actions on the relay device side in FIG. 3 .

[0190] It should be understood that FIG10 is merely an example and not a limitation, and the relay device including the transceiver module and the processing module may not rely on the structure shown in FIG10 .

[0191] When the communication device 1000 is a chip, the chip includes a processor and a transceiver. The transceiver can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processor can be a processing module, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. The transmission operation of the relay device in the above method embodiment can be understood as the chip's output, and the reception operation of the relay device in the above method embodiment can be understood as the chip's input.

[0192] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1100. The communication device 1100 can be a network device or a chip. The communication device 1100 can be used to perform the operations performed by the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0193] When the communication device 1100 is a network device, for example, a base station. Figure 11 shows a simplified schematic diagram of the base station structure. The base station includes part 1110, part 1120, and part 1130. Part 1110 is mainly used for baseband processing, controlling the base station, etc.; part 1110 is usually the control center of the base station, which can usually be called a processor, and is used to control the base station to perform the processing operations on the network device side in the above method embodiment. Part 1120 is mainly used to store computer program code and data. Part 1130 is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals into baseband signals; part 1130 can usually be called a transceiver module, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc. The transceiver module of part 1130 can also be called a transceiver or a transceiver, etc., which includes an antenna 1133 and a radio frequency circuit (not shown in the figure), wherein the radio frequency circuit is mainly used for radio frequency processing. Alternatively, the device for implementing the receiving function in section 1130 may be considered a receiver, and the device for implementing the transmitting function may be considered a transmitter, that is, section 1130 includes a receiver 1132 and a transmitter 1131. A receiver may also be referred to as a receiving module, a receiver, or a receiving circuit, and a transmitter may be referred to as a transmitting module, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit.

[0194] Sections 1110 and 1120 may include one or more boards, each of which may include one or more processors and one or more memories. The processor is used to read and execute programs in the memory to implement baseband processing functions and control the base station. If multiple boards are present, the boards may be interconnected to enhance processing capabilities. As an optional implementation, multiple boards may share one or more processors, multiple boards may share one or more memories, or multiple boards may simultaneously share one or more processors.

[0195] In one implementation, the transceiver module in section 1130 is used to execute the transceiver-related processes executed by the network device in the embodiment shown in FIG3 . The processor in section 1110 is used to execute the processing-related processes executed by the network device in the embodiment shown in FIG3 .

[0196] It should be understood that FIG11 is merely an example and not a limitation, and the network device including the processor, memory, and transceiver may not rely on the structure shown in FIG11 .

[0197] When the communication device 1100 is a chip, the chip includes a transceiver and a processor. The transceiver can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processor can be a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. The network device's sending operation in the above method embodiment can be understood as the chip's output, and the network device's receiving operation in the above method embodiment can be understood as the chip's input.

[0198] The present application also provides a communication system including the relay device and the network device described in the above embodiment. The relay device is configured to execute all or part of the steps in the embodiment shown in FIG3 . The network device is configured to execute all or part of the steps in the embodiment shown in FIG3 .

[0199] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a relay device, a network device, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium.

[0200] In the embodiments of the present application, under the premise that there is no logical contradiction, the examples can reference each other, for example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments can reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments can reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device examples and method examples can reference each other.

[0201] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the embodiments of the present application and their equivalents, the embodiments of the present application are intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A relay communication method, characterized in that, Including: The network device sends multiple forwarding resource configuration information to the relay device. The multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device. Each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams; The network device sends first indication information to the relay device. The first indication information is used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information. Wherein, the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device; The relay device forwards the first signal according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds one-to-one with the multiple beam sets of the relay device. Each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a beam set and an identifier of a forwarding resource.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first indication information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource in the first forwarding resource configuration information or an identifier of a beam set in the first forwarding resource configuration information.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set. The one forwarding resource set corresponds to at least one beam set of the relay device. The multiple forwarding resources in the one forwarding resource set correspond one-to-one with the multiple beams included in each beam set in the at least one beam set.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The first indication information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set in the first forwarding resource configuration information and identifiers of at least one beam set. Wherein, the first forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to the at least one beam set.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different, and / or the frequency domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are the same. The subbands corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different. Each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a subband.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, Further including: The network device receives beam configuration information from a third-party network element; and / or, The relay device receives beam configuration information from a third-party network element; Wherein, the beam configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: The identifier of each beam set included in the relay device; The identifier of each beam included in each beam set; The identifier of the quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Further including: The network device determines the forwarding priorities corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information according to the forwarding resource types corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information.

10. A communication device, characterized in that, Applied to a relay device, including: A communication module, configured to receive multiple forwarding resource configuration information from a network device. The multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device. Each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams; The communication module is further configured to receive first indication information from the network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein, the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device. The processing module is configured to forward the first signal through the communication module according to the beam set corresponding to the first forwarding resource configuration information.

11. A communication device, characterized in that, Applied to a network device, it includes: The processing module is configured to send multiple forwarding resource configuration information to a relay device through the communication module, where the multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to multiple beam sets of the relay device, and each beam set in the multiple beam sets includes multiple beams. The processing module is further configured to send first indication information to the relay device through the communication module, where the first indication information is used to indicate forwarding a first signal based on a beam set corresponding to first forwarding resource configuration information among the multiple forwarding resource configuration information; wherein, the first signal comes from a terminal device or the network device.

12. The device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The multiple forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to the multiple beam sets of the relay device one by one, and each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a beam set and an identifier of a forwarding resource.

13. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first indication information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource in the first forwarding resource configuration information or an identifier of a beam set in the first forwarding resource configuration information.

14. The device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, Each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set, where the one forwarding resource set corresponds to at least one beam set of the relay device, and multiple forwarding resources in the one forwarding resource set correspond to multiple beams included in each beam set in the at least one beam set one by one.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that, The first indication information includes an identifier of a forwarding resource set in the first forwarding resource configuration information and identifiers of at least one beam set; wherein, the first forwarding resource configuration information corresponds to the at least one beam set.

16. The device according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that, The time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different, and / or, the frequency domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different.

17. The device according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that The time domain resources corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are the same, the subbands corresponding to different forwarding resource configuration information are different, and each forwarding resource configuration information in the multiple forwarding resource configuration information includes an identifier of a subband.

18. The device according to any one of claims 10-17, characterized in that, The communication module is further configured to: Receive beam configuration information from a third-party network element; wherein, the beam configuration information is used to configure one or more of the following: Identifiers of each beam set included in the relay device; Identifiers of each beam included in each beam set; Identifiers of quasi-co-location information corresponding to each beam.

19. The device according to any one of claims 10 to 18, characterized in that The processing module is further configured to: Determine the forwarding priorities corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information according to the forwarding resource types corresponding to the multiple forwarding resource configuration information.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes: A processor for executing a computer program or instructions in a memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-9.

21. A communication system, characterized in that, Comprising a communication device according to any one of claims 10 and 12-19, and a communication device according to any one of claims 11-19.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Instructions are stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-9.

23. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes a circuit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-9.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that, Comprising a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-9.

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