Signal transmission method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a signal transmission method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) apparatus receiving a signal from at least one first communication apparatus; and sending the signal to at least two second communication apparatuses by means of multiple beams, wherein beam vectors of the multiple beams are determined on the basis of a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each of the at least two second communication apparatuses. By means of the method or apparatus in the present application, a plurality of second communication apparatuses can be served at the same time by means of an RIS apparatus, thereby improving a system capacity.

Description

Signal transmission method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on March 4, 2024, with application number 202410246897.X, and priority to the Chinese patent application entitled “Signal Transmission Method and Communication Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a signal transmission method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technology leverages spatial resources to achieve array gain, multiplexing and diversity gain, and interference cancellation gain in space without increasing system bandwidth, exponentially increasing the capacity and spectral efficiency of communication systems. However, with the increasing demand for high-speed, high-reliability, and low-latency communications, modern communication systems continue to face challenges in achieving greater capacity, wider coverage, and lower latency. To address these challenges, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) have emerged as a promising technology and are being widely researched. How to use RIS to simultaneously serve multiple users is a worthy consideration. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a signal transmission method and a communication device, which can realize simultaneous service for multiple users based on RIS.

[0005] In a first aspect, a signal transmission method is provided. The method can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a RIS (referred to as a RIS device), or a chip or circuit for a RIS, which is not limited in this application. The following description uses a RIS device as an example.

[0006] The method may include: receiving a signal from at least one first communication device; and sending the signal to at least two second communication devices via multiple beams, wherein the beam vector of the multiple beams is determined based on the beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each of the at least two second communication devices.

[0007] Based on the above technical solution, RIS can send (or forward, reflect) signals to multiple communication devices (i.e., second communication devices) at the same time through multiple beams, wherein the beam vector of the multiple beams is determined based on the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device. In this way, multiple second communication devices can be served simultaneously through RIS, thereby improving system capacity.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the beam vector of the multi-beam is determined based on the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device in the at least two second communication devices, including: the beam vector of the multi-beam is determined based on the first beam vector and an offset, and the offset is determined based on the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device in the at least two second communication devices.

[0009] Based on the above technical solution, the beam vector of multiple beams can be determined based on the beam vector and offset of a single beam. In this way, when indicating the beam vector of multiple beams, the beam vector and offset of a single beam can be directly indicated, saving signaling overhead.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving first indication information, where the first indication information indicates the offset; or determining the offset.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the first beam vector; or determining the first beam vector.

[0012] Optionally, the second indication information includes an index of the first beam vector.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the offset includes: a phase offset and / or an amplitude offset.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the beam vector of the multi-beam is determined based on the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device of the at least two second communication devices, including: the beam vector of the multi-beam is determined based on the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device, and the first strategy.

[0015] Based on the above technical solution, the beam vector of the multi-beam can be determined according to the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device and the strategy (i.e., the first strategy). In this way, when indicating the beam vector of the multi-beam, the beam information of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device can be directly indicated. The RIS device can determine the beam vector of the multi-beam based on the beam information of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device and the first strategy.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving third indication information, wherein the third indication information indicates the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device; or, determining the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device.

[0017] Optionally, the third indication information includes a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to at least one second communication device.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving fourth indication information, the fourth indication information indicating the first strategy; or, the first strategy is predefined; or, determining the first strategy.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first strategy includes a phase processing strategy and / or an amplitude processing strategy.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the amplitude offset is 1 / sqrt(N), where N is the number of beams of the multi-beam, and the sqrt() function is a square root function.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, before sending the signal to at least two second communication devices through multiple beams, the method also includes: sending a reference signal to the second communication device; receiving fifth indication information, the fifth indication information indicating the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to the second communication device, and the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to the second communication device is measured based on the reference signal.

[0022] Based on the above technical solution, the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to the second communication device can be obtained through measurement.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending capability information of the RIS device, the capability information of the RIS device including at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams supported by the RIS device, and information of the synthetic beams supported by the RIS device.

[0024] As an example, the maximum number of beams supported by the RIS device is: the maximum number of beams supported simultaneously by the RIS device.

[0025] As an example, the information of the synthetic beam supported by the RIS device includes one or more of the following: the angular resolution of the synthetic beam, the beam width of the synthetic beam (such as the maximum beam width, the minimum beam width, and the average beam width), the beam angle of the synthetic beam (such as the maximum beam angle, the minimum beam angle, and the average beam angle), and the beam radian value of the synthetic beam (such as the maximum beam radian value, the minimum beam radian value, and the average beam radian value).

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, sending the signal to at least two second communication devices through multiple beams includes: sending the signal to N second communication devices through N beams, the N beams corresponding one-to-one to the N second communication devices, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0027] In a second aspect, a signal transmission method is provided, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a terminal device or a network device, or a chip or circuit used in a terminal device or a network device, which is not limited in this application. The following description uses a control device as an example.

[0028] The method may include: sending first indication information or third indication information, the first indication information indicating an offset, the offset being determined based on the beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each second communication device in at least two second communication devices, and the third indication information indicating the beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each second communication device.

[0029] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the first beam vector.

[0030] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the offset includes: a phase offset and / or an amplitude offset.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the amplitude offset is 1 / sqrt(N), where N is the number of beams of the multi-beam, and the sqrt() function is a square root function.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information indicates the first strategy.

[0033] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first strategy includes a phase processing strategy and / or an amplitude processing strategy.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving capability information of the RIS device, the capability information of the RIS device including at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams supported by the RIS device, and information of the synthetic beams supported by the RIS device.

[0035] In a third aspect, a signal transmission method is provided, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a terminal device or a network device, or a chip or circuit used in a terminal device or a network device, which is not limited in this application. The following description uses the second communication device as an example.

[0036] The method may include: receiving a signal from at least one first communication device via a receive beam, wherein a beam vector of the receive beam is determined according to a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each of at least two second communication devices.

[0037] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the beam vector of the receiving beam is determined based on the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device in the at least two second communication devices, including: the beam vector of the receiving beam is determined based on the first beam vector and an offset, and the offset is determined based on the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device in the at least two second communication devices.

[0038] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the offset includes: a phase offset and / or an amplitude offset.

[0039] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the beam vector of the receiving beam is determined based on the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device of the at least two second communication devices, including: the beam vector of the receiving beam is determined based on the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device, and the first strategy.

[0040] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first strategy includes a phase processing strategy and / or an amplitude processing strategy.

[0041] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the amplitude offset is 1 / sqrt(N), where N is the number of beams of the receiving beam, and the sqrt() function is a square root function.

[0042] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, before receiving a signal from at least one first communication device through a receiving beam, the method further includes: receiving a reference signal; sending fifth indication information, wherein the fifth indication information indicates a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to the second communication device, and the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to the second communication device is measured based on the reference signal.

[0043] Regarding the beneficial effects and possible designs of the second and third aspects, please refer to the relevant description in the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0044] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device being configured to execute the method of any possible implementation of the first to third aspects. Specifically, the device may include units and / or modules, such as a processing unit and / or a communication unit, for executing the method of any possible implementation of the first to third aspects.

[0045] In one implementation, the apparatus is a communication device (e.g., a terminal device, a network device, or a RIS). When the apparatus is a terminal device, the communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface; the processing unit may be at least one processor. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0046] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit for a communication device (e.g., a terminal device, a network device, or a RIS). When the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit for a terminal device, the communication unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0047] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor configured to execute a computer program or instructions to perform the method of any possible implementation of aspects 1 to 3. Optionally, the device further comprises a memory configured to store the computer program or instructions. Optionally, the device further comprises a communication interface, through which the processor reads the computer program or instructions.

[0048] In one implementation, the device is a communication device (such as a terminal device, a network device, or a RIS).

[0049] In another implementation, the device is a chip, a chip system, or a circuit used in a communication device (such as a terminal device, a network device, or a RIS).

[0050] In a sixth aspect, a processor is provided for executing the methods provided in the first to third aspects above.

[0051] For the operations such as sending and acquiring / receiving involved in the processor, unless otherwise specified, or if they do not conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant descriptions, they can be understood as processor output, reception, input and other operations, and can also be understood as sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and antenna. This application does not limit this.

[0052] Optionally, the device further includes: a memory for storing programs; accordingly, at least one processor is used to execute computer programs or instructions in the memory.

[0053] Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface, which is coupled to the processor and can be used to input information to the processor or output information from the processor.

[0054] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a program code for execution by a device, wherein the program code includes a method for executing any possible implementation of the first to third aspects above.

[0055] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method in any possible implementation of the first to third aspects above.

[0056] In the ninth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor reads instructions on the memory through the communication interface and executes the method provided by any of the above-mentioned implementation methods of any of the above-mentioned first to third aspects.

[0057] Optionally, as an implementation method, the chip also includes a memory, in which a computer program or instruction is stored, and the processor is used to execute the computer program or instruction on the memory. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided in any one of the above implementation methods of any one of the first to third aspects.

[0058] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method provided by any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the first aspect.

[0059] According to an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising one or more of the aforementioned RIS device, the first communication device, and the second communication device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0061] Figure 2 (a) and (b) are schematic diagrams applicable to RIS MU-MIMO.

[0062] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a signal transmission method 300 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0063] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of RIS MU-MIMO applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0064] FIG5 is a schematic flowchart of a signal transmission method 500 applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0065] FIG6 is a schematic flowchart of a signal transmission method 600 applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0066] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0067] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of another communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0068] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0070] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, etc. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to device to device (D2D) communication, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine to machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to low-frequency scenarios, high-frequency scenarios, terahertz, optical communications, licensed frequency bands, and unlicensed frequency bands. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems such as intersatellite communication and satellite communication. As an example, a satellite communication system includes a satellite base station and terminal devices. The satellite base station provides communication services to the terminal devices. The satellite base station can also communicate with other base stations. Satellites can function as both base stations and terminal devices. Satellites can refer to drones, hot air balloons, low-orbit satellites, medium-orbit satellites, high-orbit satellites, and other satellites. Satellites can also refer to non-ground base stations or non-ground devices.

[0071] A device in a communication system can send signals to or receive signals from another device. These signals may include information, signaling, or data. The term "device" can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, network element, communication device, communication module, node, communication node, and the like. This disclosure uses devices as examples for description. For example, a communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. A network device can send downlink signals to a terminal device, and / or a terminal device can send uplink signals to a network device.

[0072] The terminal devices in the embodiments of the present application include various devices with wireless communication functions, which can be used to connect people, objects, machines, etc. The terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as: cellular communication, D2D, V2X, peer to peer (P2P), M2M, MTC, IoT, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery, etc. The terminal device can be a terminal in any of the above scenarios, such as an MTC terminal, an IoT terminal, etc. The terminal device may be a user equipment (UE) of the third generation partnership project (3GPP) standard, a terminal, a fixed device, a mobile station device or a mobile device, a subscriber unit, a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a SIP phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a computer, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a wireless modem, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a smart book, a vehicle, a satellite, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a target tracking device, an aircraft (such as a drone, a helicopter, a multi-copter, a quadcopter, or an airplane), a ship, a remote control device, a smart home device, an industrial device, or a device built into the above-mentioned device (such as a communication module, a modem or a chip in the above-mentioned device), or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. For ease of description, the terminal device will be described below by taking the terminal or UE as an example.

[0073] It should be understood that in some scenarios, a UE can also be used to act as a base station. For example, a UE can act as a scheduling entity that provides sidelink signals between UEs in scenarios such as V2X, D2D, or P2P.

[0074] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal device, i.e., the terminal device, can be the terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system or chip, which can be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0075] The network device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, and may also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device may be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. The base station can broadly cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmission point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), transmission point, master station, auxiliary station, multi-standard radio (motor slide retainer, MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. In one possible design, the processing unit for implementing the baseband function in the BBU is called a baseband high layer (BBH) unit, and the processing unit for implementing the baseband function in the RRU / AAU / RRH is called a baseband low layer (BBL) unit. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station can also refer to a communication module, a modem or a chip for being set in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs the base station function in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, a network side device in a future communication system, a device that performs the base station function in a future communication system, and the like. The base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network equipment.

[0076] In some deployments, the network devices mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may include a CU, a DU, or both a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), and a DU node. For example, the network devices may include a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP, and a gNB-DU.

[0077] In some deployments, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functionality. For example, a RAN node can be a CU, DU, CU-CP, CU-UP, or radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be separate or included in the same network element, such as the BBU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio unit, such as an RRU, AAU, or RRH.

[0078] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, the radio access network may also be an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture. In the ORAN system, CU may also be called an open CU (open CU, O-CU), DU may also be called an open DU (open DU, O-DU), CU-CP may also be called an open (open CU-CP, O-CU-CP), CU-UP may also be called an open (open CU-UP, O-CU-UP), and RU may also be called an open RU (open RU, O-RU). Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0079] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move based on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a device that communicates with another base station.

[0080] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the network device can be a network device, or a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system or chip, which can be installed in the network device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. In the embodiments of the present application, only the device for implementing the function of the network device is a network device as an example for description, and does not constitute a limitation on the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0081] Network devices and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on the water surface; they can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and satellites in the air. The embodiments of this application do not limit the scenarios in which network devices and terminal devices are located. In addition, terminal devices and network devices can be hardware devices, or they can be software functions running on dedicated hardware, software functions running on general-purpose hardware, such as virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform), or entities including dedicated or general-purpose hardware devices and software functions. This application does not limit the specific forms of terminal devices and network devices.

[0082] First, a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application is briefly introduced as follows.

[0083] Refer to FIG1 , which is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0084] As shown in Figure 1, the wireless communication system includes at least one network device, such as the network device 110 shown in Figure 1, and the wireless communication system may also include at least one terminal device, such as the terminal device 120 shown in Figure 1. Both the network device and the terminal device may be configured with multiple antennas, and the network device and the terminal device may communicate using multi-antenna technology.

[0085] As shown in Figure 1, the wireless communication system also includes a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) 130. The RIS can be used to facilitate communication between devices, such as between a network device and a terminal device. For example, if a transmitter (e.g., a network device or a terminal device) and a receiver (e.g., a network device or a terminal device) cannot communicate directly with each other, or if the signal is weak during direct communication, such as when there is an obstacle between the transmitter and the receiver, communication can be achieved through the RIS.

[0086] RIS, also known as a RIS device, intelligent reflective surface (IRS), or large intelligent surface (LIS), is a subwavelength artificial two-dimensional material typically composed of metal, dielectric, and tunable elements. It can be equivalently characterized as a radio link control (RLC) circuit. By adjusting the physical properties of electromagnetic units, such as capacitive reactance, impedance, or inductive reactance, the radiation characteristics of the RIS can be altered, enabling unconventional physical phenomena such as irregular reflection, negative refraction, absorption, focusing, and polarization conversion, thereby dynamically controlling electromagnetic waves. RIS can generate the desired electromagnetic behavior of each electromagnetic unit by controlling the bias voltage of varactor diodes, PIN switches, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches, liquid crystals, graphene, and other materials.

[0087] The RIS can be considered a reflective panel, a smart panel comprising multiple antenna elements 131 (referred to as elements). Each element acts as a passive reflector. By flexibly configuring each element's parameters (such as amplitude and / or phase), wireless channel fading can be controlled and a desired directional beam can be formed. The term "RIS element" or "RIS array" used below refers to an element on or within the RIS.

[0088] RIS can be installed in a variety of environments. For example, RIS can be installed on large surfaces (e.g., indoor walls or ceilings, outdoor buildings or signs) to reflect radio frequency (RF) energy around obstacles and create a virtual line of sight (LoS) propagation path between the communication source and target. For example, the advantages of RIS include the following:

[0089] 1) Enhanced Spectral Efficiency: RIS can further improve the communication quality of wireless links through intelligent array control, enhance the useful signal strength at the receiving end, reduce channel interference intensity, and provide an entry point for the realization of future overall intelligent networks.

[0090] 2) Reduced energy consumption and device complexity: RIS can passively reflect received signals. There is no need to configure transmitting and receiving units on the RIS side, and no need to encode and decode data. Therefore, the actual hardware complexity of RIS can be greatly reduced compared to network equipment and terminal equipment, thereby achieving the goal of reducing the system energy consumption of the wireless network.

[0091] 3) Easy to deploy: Because it only includes passive reflective electromagnetic components, the RIS can be easily deployed on various building surfaces, indoor walls, platforms, roadside billboards, highway signs, car windows, and other devices. Furthermore, the RIS can be removed or redeployed at any time based on network needs.

[0092] 4) Compatibility: RIS can be considered as a supplementary device to the existing network. Therefore, it will not affect the existing protocols and does not require changes to existing equipment, thus ensuring compatibility.

[0093] 5) Full-duplex: Compared to relay systems that operate in half-duplex mode, RIS can only perform passive reflection and can therefore operate in full-duplex mode, thereby improving spectrum efficiency.

[0094] The above description of the RIS is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the present embodiments. Furthermore, the following embodiments primarily utilize the RIS as an example, but any device or apparatus capable of implementing the functions of the RIS is applicable to the present embodiments. Furthermore, the following embodiments primarily utilize RIS signal transmission as an example. It should be understood that the term "RIS signal transmission" can also be replaced by a RIS reflected signal or a RIS forwarded signal.

[0095] In addition, Figure 1 is only a schematic diagram. The wireless communication system may also include other devices, such as core network devices, wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices, as well as a larger number of network devices, terminal devices, etc., which are not drawn in Figure 1.

[0096] In order to facilitate a better understanding of the technical solution of this application, some related technologies involved in the technical solution of this application are introduced.

[0097] 1. Signal: A symbol, data, or message transmitted via a medium (e.g., electromagnetic waves, light waves, sound waves, etc.) that can be decoded and understood by the receiver. Signals can be analog or digital.

[0098] As an example, the signal is a reference signal (RS). A reference signal, which may also be called a pilot signal or a pilot, is a known signal. For example, a reference signal may be a signal provided by a transmitter to a receiver for channel estimation, channel detection, or data demodulation. For example, in a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system, each transmitting antenna (virtual antenna or physical antenna) has an independent data channel. Based on a predetermined reference signal, the receiver performs channel estimation for each transmitting antenna and restores the transmitted data based on this. Channel estimation refers to the process of reconstructing the received signal in order to compensate for channel fading and noise, and uses the reference signals known in advance by the transmitter and the receiver to track the time domain and frequency domain changes of the channel.

[0099] In the present application, the reference signals involved, as examples, may be any of the following: channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS), cell reference signal (CRS), etc. Among them, DMRS can be used for demodulation of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). CSI-RS can be used for channel information measurement and reporting of channel state information (CSI), which includes at least one of the following: precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indication (RI) and channel quality indicator (CQI).

[0100] There are multiple reference signals. As the standard continues to evolve, the names of the reference signals may change, and more reference signals may appear. There is no specific limitation on this.

[0101] As an example, a signal is data or a message. The data may be a data packet to be transmitted, modulated data, a frequency domain signal or a time domain signal generated after data is mapped to time-frequency resources, etc. The signal may also be control information, such as physical layer control information or upper layer control information.

[0102] 2. Beam: A communication resource. Different beams can be considered different resources. Different beams can send the same or different information.

[0103] The NR protocol uses a beam as a spatial domain filter, also known as a spatial filter or spatial parameter. The beam used to send signals is called a transmission beam (Tx beam), and the beam used to receive signals is called a reception beam (Rx beam).

[0104] The transmit beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after the signal is transmitted by the antenna, and the receive beam may refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space of the wireless signal received from the antenna.

[0105] Furthermore, the beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The beam forming technology can be beamforming technology or other technologies. The beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology.

[0106] A beam can correspond to one or more antenna ports, which are used to transmit data channels, control channels, and sounding signals. The one or more antenna ports corresponding to a beam can also be regarded as an antenna port set.

[0107] In the embodiments of the present application, "beam" and "beam vector" are mentioned many times. It can be understood that "beam" is the distribution of signal strength formed in a certain direction in space, and "beam vector" can be used to characterize the "beam". For example, "beam vector" can be understood as a mathematical expression of "beam", and a beam vector can be used to form a beam. Specifically, the transmitting end can precode one or more signals based on one or more predefined beam vectors, and send the precoded signals. The precoded signal has a certain directionality. Therefore, the precoded signal transmitted by the transmitting end based on one port can be understood as a beam in a specific direction.

[0108] 3. RIS Precoding / Beamforming: Similar to the precoding technology used in traditional multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) systems, precoding can effectively utilize channel state information and preprocess the transmitted signal to improve reception performance. For example, by adjusting the parameters of each electromagnetic element in the RIS (such as phase and / or amplitude), the beam can be oriented in a specific direction, thereby reducing the transmission power of the desired signal, improving spectral efficiency, expanding coverage, and simultaneously reducing interference.

[0109] Beamforming design primarily involves precoding and equalization matrices for multi-antenna transceivers to achieve directional signal transmission. The introduction of RIS complicates system beamforming design. Due to its programmable nature, RIS can function as an external analog precoder, designing the corresponding phase shift matrix. This means that RIS uses analog beamforming to control the reflection of signals from the transmitter.

[0110] 4. RIS communication enhancement application scenarios: including coverage enhancement and blind spot filling. For example, deploying one or more RIS at the cell edge or in coverage blind spots caused by obstruction or deep attenuation can extend coverage and fill blind spots.

[0111] Another potential application scenario for RIS is rank enhancement. RIS can proactively change channels, providing more transmission paths with controllable gain. Network devices can leverage RIS to proactively control the quality of the wireless channel between them and UEs (e.g., enhancing link gain, increasing the number of characteristic subchannels, etc.). RIS also offers the potential for improving communication rank. Particularly at centimeter-wave frequencies (e.g., 10 GHz), RIS-MIMO systems offer lower path loss and richer scattering compared to higher frequencies. Beyond coverage enhancement, rank enhancement may be one of the key potential features of centimeter-wave RIS-MIMO systems. RIS MU-MIMO will be a design consideration for centimeter-wave RIS-MIMO systems. RIS MU-MIMO refers to the simultaneous service of multiple users based on RIS; in other words, RIS transmits signals to multiple users simultaneously.

[0112] Referring to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of implementing RIS MU-MIMO, there are two possible implementations of RIS MU-MIMO.

[0113] Method 1: Constructing a wide beam to serve multiple users. As shown in Figure 2 (a), RIS can serve multiple UEs using a single wide beam. This method has limitations on the physical location of the multiple users. Specifically, a single wide beam can only serve multiple users when the users are physically close together. However, close proximity can lead to significant interference between users, which can affect system performance.

[0114] Method 2: Construct multiple single beams for multiple users. As shown in Figure 2(b), when the network device transmits signals to UE1 through RIS, RIS transmits signals through the beam corresponding to UE1. Send this signal; when the network device transmits the signal to UE2 through RIS, RIS passes the beam corresponding to UE2 This method requires the size of the RIS array. Specifically, the RIS array is divided into multiple sections, each corresponding to a user equipment (UE). The UE's single beam is trained based on the array corresponding to the UE. This results in fewer arrays per UE. However, the reduced array size reduces array gain, weakening the RIS's coverage enhancement.

[0115] This application proposes a solution for synthesizing multiple beams by designing the reflection coefficients (also known as transmission coefficients, weight coefficients, weight vectors, or weight matrices) of the RIS array. Specifically, for multiple users, the reflection coefficients of the RIS array when serving each user individually (that is, the beam vectors of the single beams corresponding to each user) are used to determine the reflection coefficients of the RIS array when serving multiple users simultaneously (that is, the beam vectors of the multiple beams corresponding to these multiple users). This not only enables RIS to serve multiple users and improve system capacity, but also does not weaken the coverage enhancement effect of the RIS compared to the above-mentioned method 2.

[0116] Before introducing the solution of this application, the following points are explained.

[0117] (1) In this application, “indication” may include direct indication, indirect indication, explicit indication, and implicit indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0118] In this application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be achieved with the help of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, stipulated by the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. In addition, the information to be indicated can be sent together as a whole, or it can be divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different.

[0119] (2) In this application, “sending” and “receiving” refer to the direction of signal transmission. For example, “sending information to XX” can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, as well as indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. “Receiving information from YY” can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through the air interface, as well as indirect receiving from YY through the air interface from other units or modules. “Sending” can also be understood as the “output” of the chip interface, and “receiving” can also be understood as the “input” of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be performed between devices, for example, between a network device and a terminal device, or can be performed within a device, for example, between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device through a bus, a line, or an interface. In addition, unless otherwise specified, “transmitting” includes receiving and / or sending. For example, transmitting a signal can include receiving a signal and / or sending a signal.

[0120] (3) In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0121] (4) In this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used for convenience of description only and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. They are not used to describe the order or precedence of features. It should be understood that the terms described in this manner may be interchangeable, where appropriate, to describe solutions other than the embodiments of this application.

[0122] (5) In this application, “predefined” may mean predefined by a standard protocol, or may also mean pre-agreed or pre-negotiated between devices.

[0123] (6) The formulas used in the various embodiments of this application are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application. In calculating the various parameters mentioned above, calculations may be performed according to the aforementioned formulas, or based on variations of the aforementioned formulas, or in other ways to satisfy the results of the formulas.

[0124] The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment provided by the present application can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG1 above without limitation.

[0125] Referring to Figure 3, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a signal transmission method 300 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 300 shown in Figure 3 may include the following steps. The following embodiments primarily use RIS as an example, but any device or apparatus capable of implementing RIS functionality is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0126] 310. The RIS receives a signal from at least one first communication device.

[0127] The RIS may receive signals from the same first communication device, or may receive signals from multiple different first communication devices, which is not limited.

[0128] As an example, a signal is any of the following: data, message, or reference signal. For more information about the signal, please refer to the description in the previous term explanation section, which will not be repeated here.

[0129] 320. The RIS sends signals to the T second communication devices via W beams. Accordingly, the T second communication devices receive the signals. The beams used by the T second communication devices to receive signals (e.g., receive beams) are beams corresponding to the W beams.

[0130] Wherein, T is an integer greater than 1, and W is an integer greater than 1. W may be greater than or equal to T, or W may be less than or equal to T. As an example, W=T.

[0131] The T second communication devices represent the second communication devices served simultaneously by the RIS, that is, the RIS sends signals to the T second communication devices simultaneously.

[0132] In one possible scenario, the first communication device is a network device or a component of a network device (such as a chip or a circuit), and the second communication device is a terminal device or a component of a terminal device (such as a chip or a circuit).

[0133] In another possible scenario, the first communication device is a terminal device or a component of a terminal device (such as a chip or a circuit), and the second communication device is a network device or a component of a network device (such as a chip or a circuit).

[0134] In another possible scenario, the first communication device is a terminal device or a component of the terminal device (such as a chip or a circuit), and the second communication device is a terminal device or a component of the terminal device (such as a chip or a circuit).

[0135] In another possible scenario, the first communication device is a network device or a component of a network device (such as a chip or a circuit), and the second communication device is a network device or a component of a network device (such as a chip or a circuit).

[0136] The W beams represent the beams used by the RIS to transmit signals to the T second communication devices. In other words, they represent the set of beams used by the RIS to transmit signals to each second communication device. For example, if T = 2, the T second communication devices include second communication device #1 and second communication device #2. The RIS transmits signals to second communication device #1 via a first beam, and the RIS transmits signals to second communication device #2 via a second beam. In this case, the W beams include the first beam and the second beam. The first beam can be considered a single beam corresponding to second communication device #1, and the second beam can be considered a single beam corresponding to second communication device #2.

[0137] In step 320, the signals sent by the RIS to different second communication devices may be the same or different, which is not limited to the present invention.

[0138] In one possible scenario, in step 310, the RIS receives a signal from a first communication device; in step 320, the RIS transmits the signal to T second communication devices via multiple beams.

[0139] In another possible scenario, in step 310, the RIS receives signal #1 from the first communication device #1 and receives signal #2 from the first communication device #2; in step 320, the RIS transmits signal #1 to the second communication device #1 and transmits signal #2 to the second communication device #2 via multi-beam.

[0140] Optionally, before step 310 , method 300 further includes step 301 .

[0141] 301. The RIS determines beam vectors of W beams.

[0142] The beam vectors of the W beams are determined according to the beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each of the T second communication devices.

[0143] See Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of RIS MU-MIMO applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, when a first communication device sends a signal to two second communication devices via RIS, the RIS sends the signal to the two second communication devices via two beams, and the beam vectors of the two beams (such as φ) are based on the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device (such as and ) is certain, that is Here, f represents a function.

[0144] The following first introduces the beam vector.

[0145] In the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, a beam vector represents the beam vector of the RIS. The elements in the beam vector (or vector elements) correspond to the arrays of the RIS, meaning each array can correspond to an element. The elements corresponding to an array can also be referred to as the reflection coefficients or weight coefficients of that array. The term "beam vector" can also be replaced by: a matrix, a weight coefficient vector, a weight coefficient matrix, a weight codebook (or simply a codebook), a weight codeword (or simply a codeword), a weight vector, or a vector. Hereinafter, the term "beam vector" will be used to describe the beam vector.

[0146] The beam vector of the RIS is the beam vector corresponding to the RIS, or the beam vector corresponding to the array on the RIS, or the beam vector corresponding to the RIS beam (i.e., the beam used by the RIS when transmitting signals). The beam vector of the RIS can be X-dimensional, where X is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0147] In one possible implementation, the beam vector of the RIS is a preset codebook, such as a pre-configured or protocol-predefined codebook.

[0148] In another possible implementation, the RIS beam vector is a preset or preconfigured X-dimensional vector, with each element of the X-dimensional vector corresponding one-to-one to each RIS element. For example, if the number of RIS elements is P, the beam vector can be a P*1 one-dimensional vector, meaning each element corresponds to one element. Alternatively, the beam vector can be a P*P two-dimensional vector, meaning each RIS element corresponds to P elements of the two-dimensional vector, such as the P diagonal elements. Alternatively, the beam vector can exist in the form of a codeword, which is not limited to this.

[0149] In the following embodiments, the beam vector of the RIS is described as a two-dimensional vector of M×N. Here, M is the number of rows, N is the number of columns, and both M and N are integers greater than 1. For example, M*N=P, where P is the number of RIS arrays.

[0150] In the embodiment of the present application, the beam vectors of RIS include two categories: single-beam beam vectors and multi-beam beam vectors. For simplicity, the beam vector of a single beam is referred to as beam vector #A, and the beam vector of a multi-beam is referred to as beam vector #B. Among them, beam vector #A can be considered as a vector in the basic vector (or first-level beam vector, or first-layer beam vector, or preset vector), and beam vector #B can be considered as determined based on the basic vector and indication information #A. Among them, indication information #A can indicate at least one of the following: at least one beam vector #A, a first strategy, and an offset. The indication information #A and various parameters will be described in detail later in conjunction with Scheme 1 and Scheme 2. They are described separately below.

[0151] 1. Beam vector #A

[0152] Beam vector #A represents the beam vector of a single beam corresponding to a second communication device. Beam vector #A can be used for transmission and / or measurement for a single user (per UE). Each second communication device can have a corresponding beam vector #A. In other words, T second communication devices can correspond to T beam vectors #A.

[0153] The beam vector #A corresponding to the second communication device may represent the beam vector of the RIS when the first communication device communicates with the second communication device via the RIS. In other words, it may represent the beam vector used by the RIS when transmitting signals to the second communication device, or the beam vector used by the RIS when solely serving the second communication device. Optionally, the beam vector #A corresponding to the second communication device may be related to the relative positions of the RIS and the second communication device.

[0154] In one possible implementation, beam vector #A is taken from a predefined beam vector set (or a preset codebook, or a steering vector set). Any two beam vectors in the beam vector set are different. For example, each beam vector in the beam vector set has a corresponding index (or identifier, or number), so that the corresponding beam vector can be obtained by transmitting the index, reducing signaling overhead. The beam vector set can be referred to as a base vector (or a first-level beam vector, or a first-layer beam vector). In other words, beam vector #A belongs to the base vector set.

[0155] As an example, the RIS can obtain the set of beam vectors. For example, the set of beam vectors can be preconfigured at the RIS, predefined, or indicated to the RIS in advance. Thus, when the RIS obtains the index of a beam vector, it can determine the beam vector based on the index. Furthermore, the set of beam vectors can optionally be time-constrained. For example, the set of beam vectors can be periodically updated at the RIS; in other words, the base vectors can be updated at regular intervals.

[0156] Optionally, the beam vector #A is determined by measurement. Based on this, the beam vector #A corresponding to the T second communication devices can be determined by measurement performed by each of the T second communication devices. Taking a second communication device as an example, a possible implementation method is that the first communication device sends a reference signal to the second communication device through RIS, and the second communication device performs measurement (or channel measurement, beam measurement) based on the received reference signal, and sends the measurement result to the first communication device (the measurement result can also be called beam measurement result or channel measurement result); the first communication device can obtain the beam vector #A corresponding to the second communication device based on the measurement result. The second communication device sends the measurement result to the first communication device, including: the second communication device directly sends the measurement result to the first communication device, or the second communication device sends the measurement result to the first communication device through RIS. In one example, the measurement result may include (or be expressed as) at least one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP) corresponding to the reference signal resource, signal to noise ratio (SNR) corresponding to the reference signal resource, and signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) corresponding to the reference signal resource. In another example, the measurement result may include an index of at least one beam vector.

[0157] For example, a first communication device transmits L reference signals to a second communication device via a RIS. The L reference signals (or L reference signal resources) correspond to L beam vectors of the RIS, where L is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The second communication device performs measurements based on the received L reference signals and transmits measurement results to the first communication device. The measurement results may include the index of at least one beam vector, where the at least one beam vector is a beam vector corresponding to a reference signal having a signal quality greater than or equal to a preset threshold, and the at least one beam vector is beam vector #A corresponding to the second communication device. For example, the measurement result includes the index of the beam vector corresponding to the reference signal with the highest signal quality. The L reference signals corresponding to the L beam vectors of the RIS can also be replaced by: the L reference signals corresponding to L codewords of a preset codebook of the RIS, or the L reference signals corresponding to L weight coefficient vectors of the RIS, or the L reference signals corresponding to L vectors of basis vectors.

[0158] As an example, signal quality can be characterized by at least one of the following: RSRP, SNR, or SINR. Furthermore, optionally, beam vector #A is time-constrained. Specifically, for a second communication device, beam vector #A corresponding to the second communication device can be associated with a time period during which beam vector #A is valid. That is, during this time period, the RIS can transmit signals to the second communication device using beam vector #A. Alternatively, the RIS can determine beam vectors for multiple beams based on beam vector #A. Beam vector #A was described above, and beam vector #B will be described below.

[0159] 2. Beam vector #B

[0160] Beam vector #B represents the beam vector that forms W beams, which are used for multi-user multi-stream transmission and / or measurement. T second communication devices may correspond to one beam vector #B. Beam vector #B corresponding to T second communication devices (or beam vector that forms W beams) may represent the beam vector of the RIS when at least one first communication device simultaneously communicates with T second communication devices via the RIS. In other words, it represents the beam vector used when the RIS simultaneously transmits signals to the T second communication devices. In other words, the elements of beam vector #B are the reflection coefficients of the RIS array when the RIS simultaneously transmits signals to the T second communication devices.

[0161] The beam vectors #B corresponding to the T second communication devices are related to the beam vectors #A of the T communication devices. Specifically, the beam vector #B is determined based on the T beam vectors #A. Two implementation methods are described below.

[0162] In a first possible implementation, beam vector #B is obtained by processing the phases of T beam vectors #A, for example, beam vector #B is obtained by combining T beam vectors #A in the angle domain.

[0163] Take two second communication devices as an example, for distinction, they are respectively referred to as second communication device #1 and second communication device #2. Assume that the index of the beam vector included in the measurement result fed back by the second communication device #1 is 1, and the beam vector with index 1 is That is, the beam vector #A corresponding to the second communication device #1 is The measurement result fed back by the second communication device #2 includes a beam vector with an index of 2, and the beam vector with an index of 2 is That is, the beam vector #A corresponding to the second communication device #2 is Assumptions Based on this implementation, and The beam vector #B can be obtained by processing the phase of the beam vector #B. As an example, the element φ in the beam vector #B mn Satisfies formula 1.

[0164] in, Indicates the beam vector #A corresponding to the second communication device #1 Specifically, express The element at row m and column n in ; Indicates the beam vector #A corresponding to the second communication device #2 Specifically, express The element in the mth row and nth column in . m is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M, and n is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0165] In a second possible implementation, the beam vector #B is obtained by processing the amplitudes of T beam vectors #A.

[0166] Still taking the above two second communication devices as an example, based on this implementation, by and The beam vector #B can be obtained by processing the amplitude of the beam vector #B. As an example, the element φ in the beam vector #B mn Satisfies formula 2.

[0167] Among them, P r (k) represents the amplitude of the beam, such as the amplitude of the kth beam among W beams; w k represents the signal power, such as the power when the signal is transmitted through the kth beam among the W beams; θ r Indicates the angle or radian value corresponding to the beam center; argmax represents the function for finding the maximum value, and argmax can also be replaced by max; W is the number of beams described in step 320; represents the intermediate variable, Δθ k It represents the angle or radian value corresponding to the 3dB beam width, that is, the angle between the beam center direction and the direction corresponding to half the power in the beam center direction.

[0168] Beam vector #A and beam vector #B have been described above. As previously mentioned, beam vector #B can be considered to be determined based on the base vector and indication information #A. The following describes two possible solutions using RIS to determine beam vector #B as an example.

[0169] As an example, RIS determines the beam vector #B, including the following two schemes:

[0170] Solution 1: RIS determines beam vector #B based on T beam vectors #A and the first strategy;

[0171] In solution 2, RIS determines beam vector #B based on one beam vector #A (for distinction, beam vector #A is referred to as beam vector #C) and an offset, where the offset is determined based on T beam vectors #A. Beam vector #C can be one of the T beam vectors #A; alternatively, beam vector #C can be determined based on T beam vectors #A.

[0172] The following describes these two options in detail.

[0173] Solution 1: RIS determines beam vector #B based on T beam vectors #A and the first strategy.

[0174] In this solution, indication information #A may include T beam vectors #A and a first strategy, where the T beam vectors #A are vectors within the base vector. Specifically, T beam vectors #A are determined from the base vector, for example, based on measurements (i.e., the channel measurements or beam measurements described above). The RIS then determines beam vector #B based on indication information #A (i.e., the T beam vectors #A and the first strategy). The first strategy may also be referred to as an overlay rule or overlay strategy, and its naming does not limit the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application.

[0175] The first strategy includes a phase processing strategy and / or an amplitude processing strategy. The phase processing strategy may indicate the phase of beam vector #B or how it should be adjusted when beam vector #B is determined based on T beam vectors #A. The amplitude processing strategy may indicate the amplitude and / or power of beam vector #B or how it should be adjusted when beam vector #B is determined based on T beam vectors #A. Three examples are described below.

[0176] Example 1: The first strategy includes a phase processing strategy.

[0177] The phase processing strategy satisfies, for example, the above formula 1. Specifically, the RIS can determine the elements in the beam vector #B according to the T beam vectors #A and the above formula 1, thereby obtaining the beam vector #B.

[0178] Example 2: The first strategy includes an amplitude processing strategy.

[0179] The amplitude processing strategy satisfies, for example, the above formula 2. Specifically, the RIS can determine the elements in the beam vector #B according to the T beam vectors #A and the above formula 2, thereby obtaining the beam vector #B.

[0180] Example 3: The first strategy includes a phase processing strategy and an amplitude processing strategy.

[0181] The phase processing strategy satisfies the above formula 1, for example.

[0182] The amplitude processing strategy indicates the amplitude and / or power of each element in the beam vector #B. For example, the amplitude processing strategy indicates that the amplitude of each element in the beam vector #B is w k and / or power p k , where k∈[1,2,...,W], and W is the number of beams described in step 320. In one example, the amplitude and power of each element in the beam vector #B are the same, such as w k =1 / sqrt(W), p k =1 / W. In another example, the amplitude and power of at least two elements in the beam vector #B are different, such as the w of each element in the beam vector #B can be dynamically indicated. k and / or power p k . Among them, the sqrt() function is the square root function.

[0183] Specifically, RIS can determine the elements in beam vector #B based on T beam vectors #A and the above formula 1, and determine the amplitude of each element in beam vector #B based on the amplitude processing strategy, thereby obtaining the beam vector #B.

[0184] In solution 1, the RIS can determine the T beam vectors #A by itself, or can determine the T beam vectors #A based on instructions. The following describes two methods.

[0185] In Method 1, the RIS determines T beam vectors #A on its own. For example, if the RIS is deployed on the control device (e.g., the first communication device), it can determine the beam vector #A corresponding to each second communication device based on the measurement results fed back by each second communication device. The control device can be a terminal device or a network device.

[0186] In mode 2, the RIS receives indication information #1 (i.e., an example of the third indication information), where the indication information #1 indicates T beam vectors #A. Accordingly, the control device (e.g., the first communication device) sends indication information #1.

[0187] For example, the indication information #1 includes the indexes of the T beam vectors #A. In other words, the indication information #1 includes the index of each beam vector #A in the T beam vectors #A.

[0188] For another example, indication information #1 includes indices of some beam vectors #A among the T beam vectors #A. For example, assuming that the indices of the T beam vectors #A are continuous, the T beam vectors #A can be determined using the indices of some beam vectors #A (e.g., the index of the first beam vector #A, the index of the last beam vector #A, or the index of the intermediate beam vector #A) contained in indication information #1 and other information (e.g., the number T of beam vectors #A). T can be a default value or can be carried in indication information #1 without limitation.

[0189] As an example, indication information #1 may be carried in at least one of the following signaling: radio resource control (RRC), media access control (MAC) (such as media access control-control element (MAC CE)), or control information (such as downlink control information (DCI)).

[0190] In solution 1, the RIS may determine the first policy itself, or may determine the first policy based on an instruction. Two methods are described below.

[0191] Mode 1: The RIS determines the first policy itself. For example, the RIS pre-stores the first policy itself; or, for another example, pre-defines or pre-configures the first policy.

[0192] In mode 2, the RIS receives instruction information #2 (ie, an example of the fourth instruction information), where the instruction information #2 indicates the first policy. Accordingly, the control device (eg, the first communication device) sends instruction information #2.

[0193] For example, indication information #2 indicates a first strategy, which includes a phase processing strategy and an amplitude processing strategy. The amplitude processing strategy indicates the amplitude and / or power of each element in beam vector #B. The phase processing strategy and the amplitude processing strategy can be carried in the same signaling or in different signalings, without limitation.

[0194] For another example, indication information #2 indicates a first strategy, which includes a phase processing strategy. In this case, the RIS can determine beam vector #B based on T beam vectors #A and the phase processing strategy (e.g., according to Formula 1). Further, as an example, the amplitude and power of each element in beam vector #B can be predefined or default, such as the amplitude w of each element in beam vector #B. k = 1 / sqrt(W), power p kis 1 / W.

[0195] For another example, indication information #2 indicates a first strategy, which includes an amplitude processing strategy. In this case, the RIS can determine beam vector #B based on the T beam vectors #A and the amplitude processing strategy (e.g., according to Formula 2). Alternatively, in this case, the phase processing strategy is predefined, and the RIS can determine beam vector #B based on the T beam vectors #A and the phase processing strategy (e.g., according to Formula 1), combined with the amplitude and / or power of each element in beam vector #B indicated by indication information #2.

[0196] As an example, the indication information #2 may be carried in at least one of the following signaling: RRC, MAC CE, or control information (such as DCI).

[0197] The indication information #1 and the indication information #2 may be carried in one signaling, or may be carried in different signalings, which is not limited.

[0198] Solution 2: RIS determines beam vector #B based on beam vector #C and offset.

[0199] The offset, which can also be called a second-layer beam vector, a second-level beam vector, a compensation vector, an offset vector, or an adjustment vector, is related to the paired second communication device. Specifically, the offset corresponding to when the RIS simultaneously transmits signals to T1 second communication devices may be different from the offset corresponding to when the RIS simultaneously transmits signals to T2 second communication devices. The T1 second communication devices and the T2 second communication devices are not identical, and T1 and T2 are integers greater than 1. The offset can be a vector, a matrix, a scalar, etc., depending on the form of the beam vector.

[0200] In this solution, beam vector #C belongs to the base vector, and indication information #A includes an offset. For example, beam vector #C and an offset are determined based on T beam vectors #A and the first strategy; RIS determines beam vector #B based on beam vector #C and the offset. As an example, the element φ in beam vector #B is mn Satisfies Formula 3.

[0201] in, represents the elements in the beam vector #C, Represents the element at offset.

[0202] The offset includes a phase offset and / or an amplitude offset. The amplitude offset can also be referred to as the amplitude size. Three examples are described below.

[0203] Example 1: The offset includes a phase offset.

[0204] The phase offset is used to adjust the phase in beam vector #C. For example, each element in the phase offset (e.g., element #1) corresponds to an element in beam vector #C (e.g., element #2), and element #1 is the phase adjustment for element #2. Specifically, the RIS can determine the elements in beam vector #B based on beam vector #C and the phase offset using Equation 3, thereby obtaining beam vector #B.

[0205] Example 2: The offset includes an amplitude offset.

[0206] The amplitude offset indicates the amplitude of each element in beam vector #C. For example, each element in the amplitude offset (e.g., element #3) corresponds to an element in beam vector #C (e.g., element #2), and element #3 is the amplitude of element #2. Specifically, the RIS can determine beam vector #B based on beam vector #C and the amplitude offset. In this case, the elements in beam vector #C and beam vector #B have the same values ​​but different amplitudes.

[0207] As an example, the element in the amplitude offset is w k , where k∈[1,2,...,W]. For example, the elements in the amplitude offset are the same, such as w k =1 / sqrt(W). For another example, at least two elements in the amplitude offset are different.

[0208] Example 3: The offset includes a phase offset and an amplitude offset.

[0209] At this time, the RIS can determine the beam vector #B based on the beam vector #C, the phase offset, and the amplitude offset. For details, please refer to the previous two examples.

[0210] In Solution 2, as an example, regarding the beam vector #C, the following situations are included.

[0211] In one possible scenario, beam vector #C is one of T beam vectors #A.

[0212] In another possible scenario, beam vector #C does not belong to the T beam vectors #A, and beam vector #C is a beam vector determined based on the T beam vectors #A and the first strategy. For example, this beam vector belongs to one of the basis vectors and is relatively similar to beam vector #B. In other words, the elements in this beam vector are mostly the same as those in beam vector #B. For another example, this beam vector does not belong to the basis vectors.

[0213] In solution 2, the RIS can determine the beam vector #C itself, or it can determine the beam vector #C based on an instruction. The following describes two methods.

[0214] Method 1: The RIS determines beam vector #C on its own. For example, if the RIS is deployed on the control device (e.g., the first communication device), it can obtain the beam vector #A corresponding to each second communication device based on the measurement results fed back by each second communication device, and then determine beam vector #C, as described in the previous two scenarios.

[0215] In mode 2, the RIS receives indication information #3 (i.e., an example of the second indication information), where the indication information #3 indicates the beam vector #C. Accordingly, the control device (e.g., the first communication device) sends indication information #3.

[0216] For example, indication information #3 includes the index of beam vector #C.

[0217] As an example, indication information #3 may be carried in at least one of the following signaling: RRC, MAC CE, or control information (such as DCI).

[0218] In solution 2, the RIS can determine the offset itself, or it can determine the offset based on an indication. The following describes two methods.

[0219] Method 1: The RIS determines the offset itself. For example, if the RIS is deployed on the control device (e.g., the first communication device), the RIS can obtain the beam vector #A corresponding to each second communication device based on the measurement results fed back by each second communication device, and then determine the offset.

[0220] In mode 2, the RIS receives indication information #4 (ie, an example of the first indication information), which indicates the offset. Accordingly, the control device (eg, the first communication device, or the terminal device or the network device) sends indication information #4.

[0221] For example, indication information #4 indicates an offset, which includes a phase offset and an amplitude offset. In this case, the phase offset and the amplitude offset can be carried in one signaling or in different signalings, without limitation.

[0222] For another example, indication information #4 indicates an offset, which includes a phase offset. In this case, the RIS can determine beam vector #B based on the beam vector #C and the phase offset according to the above formula 3. Further, as an example, the amplitude and power of each element in beam vector #B can be predefined or default, such as the amplitude w of each element in beam vector #B. k = 1 / sqrt(W), power p k is 1 / W.

[0223] For another example, indication information #4 indicates an offset, which includes an amplitude offset. In this case, the RIS can determine beam vector #B based on beam vector #C and the amplitude offset. In this case, the elements in beam vector #C and beam vector #B have the same values ​​but different amplitudes.

[0224] As an example, indication information #4 may be carried in at least one of the following signaling: RRC, MAC CE, or control information (such as DCI).

[0225] Indication information #3 and indication information #4 may be carried in one signaling, or may be carried in different signalings, which is not limited.

[0226] The above description uses the example of the RIS determining beam vector #B, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, other devices may also determine beam vector #B. After determining beam vector #B, the other devices may indicate beam vector #B to the RIS. In this way, the RIS may transmit signals to the T second communication devices based on beam vector #B.

[0227] The above two solutions are provided as examples, and variations of these solutions are also applicable to the embodiments of the present application. For example, beam vector #B can be determined based on a portion of beam vectors #A among the T beam vectors #A and the first strategy. For another example, if beam vector #B is a base vector, the index of beam vector #B can also be directly indicated.

[0228] Further optionally, method 300 further includes: the RIS sending RIS capability information (or simply referred to as capability information). Accordingly, the control device (e.g., the first communication device, or a terminal device or network device) receives the RIS capability information. It will be appreciated that if the RIS is deployed on the control device (e.g., the first communication device), the RIS can determine the RIS capability information itself, i.e., there is no need to send the RIS capability information to the control device.

[0229] The RIS capability information can be used by the control device to determine information related to multi-beam transmission. The information related to multi-beam transmission includes, for example, at least one of the following: a value of W, a value of T, a first strategy, or a basis vector.

[0230] As an example, the capability information of the RIS includes at least one of the following information: angular resolution of the RIS, information of synthetic beams supported by the RIS, size of the RIS, or number of beams supported by the RIS.

[0231] The angular resolution of the RIS includes the angular resolution of a single beam of the RIS and / or the angular resolution of multiple beams of the RIS (or the angular resolution of a composite beam).

[0232] The size of the RIS may include, for example, the number of arrays in the RIS (ie, the number of arrays contained in the RIS).

[0233] The number of beams supported by the RIS includes, for example, the maximum number of beams that the RIS can simultaneously support and / or the minimum number of beams that the RIS can simultaneously support. The maximum number of beams that the RIS can simultaneously support is, for example, W in step 320.

[0234] Among them, the information of the synthesized beam supported by the RIS represents information related to the synthesized beam of the RIS. As an example, the information of the synthesized beam supported by the RIS includes one or more of the following: the angular resolution of the synthesized beam, the beam width of the synthesized beam (such as the maximum beam width, the minimum beam width, and the average beam width), the beam angle of the synthesized beam (such as the maximum beam angle, the minimum beam angle, and the average beam angle), and the beam radian value of the synthesized beam (such as the maximum beam radian value, the minimum beam radian value, and the average beam radian value). Among them, the synthesized beam is, for example, the beam corresponding to the beam vector #B mentioned above. In a possible description, the angular resolution of the synthesized beam may also include one or more of the following: the beam width of the synthesized beam, the beam angle of the synthesized beam, and the beam radian value of the synthesized beam. For ease of understanding, the following takes the first communication device as a network device and the second communication device as a terminal device as an example to introduce the specific process applicable to the embodiment of the present application. It can be understood that the process described below is only an example description, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. For matters not described in detail below, please refer to the description of method 300 and will not be repeated below.

[0235] 5 , which is a schematic flow chart of a signal transmission method 500 applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The method 500 can be used to implement the above-mentioned solution 1. The method 500 shown in FIG5 may include the following steps.

[0236] 510. The RIS sends RIS capability information to the network device.

[0237] For the capability information of RIS, please refer to the relevant description in method 300, which will not be described in detail here.

[0238] 520. The network device sends the first policy to the RIS.

[0239] The first strategy includes: a phase processing strategy and / or an amplitude processing strategy. For details about the first strategy, please refer to the relevant description in method 300, which will not be described in detail here.

[0240] The first strategy may also be predefined. In this case, the method 500 may not include step 520 .

[0241] The network device may determine the beam vector #A for each of the T terminal devices. Specifically, the network device performs measurements (also known as channel measurements, beam measurements, or RIS beam measurements) with each terminal device to determine the beam vector #A corresponding to each terminal device. Taking one terminal device as an example, the measurement includes the following steps 531-533.

[0242] 531. The network device sends a CSI-RS to the terminal device via the RIS.

[0243] Specifically, the network device sends a CSI-RS, and after receiving the RIS, the RIS sends the CSI-RS to the terminal device.

[0244] 532. The terminal device performs measurement according to the CSI-RS and obtains a measurement result.

[0245] 533. The terminal device sends the measurement result to the network device.

[0246] The terminal device may send the measurement result to the network device directly or through the RIS, without limitation.

[0247] As an example, if the terminal device sends a measurement result to the network device via the RIS, the RIS may record or save the measurement result.

[0248] The measurement results can be referred to the relevant description in method 300 and will not be described in detail here.

[0249] 540. The network device indicates T beam vectors #A to the RIS.

[0250] Specifically, the network device sends indication information #1 to the RIS, where the indication information #1 indicates T beam vectors #A. For example, the indication information #1 includes the indexes of the T beam vectors #A, so that the RIS can determine the T beam vectors #A according to the indexes of the T beam vectors #A.

[0251] For indication information #1, please refer to the relevant description in method 300, which will not be repeated here.

[0252] It can be understood that if the RIS is deployed on the network device side, the RIS can directly determine T beam vectors #A.

[0253] 550. RIS determines beam vector #B according to T beam vectors #A and the first strategy.

[0254] In one possible scenario, the first strategy includes a phase processing strategy. In this case, in step 550, the RIS may determine beam vector #B based on the T beam vectors #A and the above formula 1. Further, as an example, the amplitude and power of each element in beam vector #B may be predefined, defaulted, or indicated (such as indicated by the network device). For example, the amplitude w of each element in beam vector #B is k = 1 / sqrt(W), power p k = 1 / W. For another example, at least two elements in the beam vector #B have different amplitudes.

[0255] In another possible scenario, the first strategy includes an amplitude processing strategy. In this case, in step 550, the RIS may determine the beam vector #B based on the T beam vectors #A and the above formula 2.

[0256] In another possible scenario, the first strategy includes a phase processing strategy and an amplitude processing strategy. In this case, in step 550, the RIS may determine the elements of beam vector #B based on the T beam vectors #A and the above formula 1, and determine the amplitude of each element in beam vector #B based on the amplitude processing strategy, thereby obtaining beam vector #B.

[0257] The above is a simple explanation. For details, please refer to Solution 1 in Method 300, which will not be described in detail here.

[0258] 560, the network device transmits data to the terminal device via RIS.

[0259] For example, a network device sends data to T terminal devices via the RIS. For example, the network device sends data, the RIS receives the data, and sends the data to the T terminal devices via the beam vector #B in step 550 .

[0260] The network devices that send data to different terminal devices may be the same or different, and this is not limited.

[0261] The data sent by the network device to different terminal devices may be the same or different, and this is not limited.

[0262] Based on the above technical solution, the network device can dynamically indicate to the RIS the T beam vectors #A corresponding to the T terminal devices. Based on these T beam vectors #A and the first strategy, the RIS can determine the beam vector to use when simultaneously transmitting data to the T terminal devices. This not only enables multi-beam combining, improving the spatial freedom of the RIS-MIMO system, but also increases system capacity.

[0263] 6 , which is a schematic flow chart of a signal transmission method 600 applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The method 600 can be used to implement the above-mentioned solution 2. The method 600 shown in FIG6 may include the following steps.

[0264] 610. The RIS sends RIS capability information to the network device.

[0265] For the capability information of RIS, please refer to the relevant description in method 300, which will not be described in detail here.

[0266] The network device may determine the beam vector #A for each of the T terminal devices. Specifically, the network device performs measurements (also known as channel measurements, beam measurements, or RIS beam measurements) with each terminal device to determine the beam vector #A corresponding to each terminal device. Taking one terminal device as an example, the measurement includes the following steps 621-623.

[0267] 621. The network device sends a CSI-RS to the terminal device via the RIS.

[0268] 622. The terminal device performs measurement according to the CSI-RS and obtains a measurement result.

[0269] 623. The terminal device sends the measurement result to the network device.

[0270] Steps 621-623 may refer to steps 531-533 and are not described in detail here.

[0271] 630. The network device indicates the beam vector #C and the offset to the RIS.

[0272] Specifically, the network device sends indication information #3 and indication information #4 to the RIS. Indication information #3 indicates beam vector #C, and indication information #4 indicates an offset. For example, indication information #3 includes the index of beam vector #C, so that the RIS can determine beam vector #C based on the index of beam vector #C. Indication information #3 and indication information #4 can be carried in the same signaling or in different signaling, which is not limited to this.

[0273] The offset includes a phase offset and / or an amplitude offset. For details about the offset, please refer to the relevant description in method 300, which will not be described in detail here.

[0274] 640. RIS determines beam vector #B based on beam vector #C and the offset.

[0275] In one possible scenario, the offset includes a phase offset. In this case, in step 640, the RIS may determine the elements of beam vector #B according to the beam vector #C and the phase offset according to the above formula 3, thereby obtaining beam vector #B. Further, as an example, the amplitude and power of each element in beam vector #B may be predefined, defaulted, or indicated (such as indicated by the network device). For example, the amplitude w of each element in beam vector #B is k = 1 / sqrt(W), power p k = 1 / W. For another example, at least two elements in the beam vector #B have different amplitudes.

[0276] In another possible scenario, the offset includes an amplitude offset. In this case, in step 640, the RIS can determine the beam vector #B based on the beam vector #C and the amplitude offset. In this case, the elements in the beam vector #C and the beam vector #B have the same value but different amplitudes. For example, the element in the amplitude offset is w k , where k∈[1,2,...,W]. For example, the elements in the amplitude offset are the same, such as w k =1 / sqrt(W). For another example, at least two elements in the amplitude offset are different.

[0277] In another possible scenario, the offset includes a phase offset and an amplitude offset. In this case, in step 640, the RIS may determine the beam vector #B based on the beam vector #C, the phase offset, and the amplitude offset.

[0278] The above is a simple explanation. For details, please refer to Solution 2 in Method 300, which will not be described in detail here.

[0279] 650, the network device transmits data with the terminal device via RIS.

[0280] Step 650 may refer to step 560 and will not be described in detail here.

[0281] Based on this technical solution, the network device can dynamically indicate to the RIS the reference vector (i.e., beam vector #C) and the offset to adjust it. Based on this, the RIS can determine the beam vector to use when simultaneously transmitting data to T terminal devices. This not only enables multi-beam combining, improving the spatial freedom of the RIS-MIMO system, but also increases system capacity.

[0282] It can be understood that although FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 above illustrate one terminal device as an example, in actual communication, the RIS can simultaneously send signals to multiple terminal devices through the beam vector #B.

[0283] It can also be understood that in the above-mentioned various method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by the device can also be implemented by components of the device (such as chips or circuits), without limitation.

[0284] The method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above with reference to Figures 3 to 6 . Below, the apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail with reference to Figures 7 to 9 . It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for matters not described in detail, reference can be made to the method embodiment above, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0285] Referring to Figure 7, Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Device 700 includes a transceiver unit 710. Transceiver unit 710 can be used to implement corresponding communication functions. Transceiver unit 710 can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit. Optionally, device 700 also includes a processing unit 720. Processing unit 720 can be used to perform processing, such as determining a beam vector.

[0286] Optionally, the device 700 may further include a storage unit, which may be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 720 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit so that the device implements the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0287] Optionally, the transceiver unit 710 may include a receiving unit and a sending unit, wherein the receiving unit may be used to perform reception-related operations (such as receiving data or messages), and the sending unit may be used to perform transmission-related operations (such as sending data or messages).

[0288] In a first possible design, the device 700 may be the RIS in the aforementioned embodiment, and the device 700 may implement the steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the RIS in the aforementioned method embodiment. Specifically, the transceiver unit 710 may be configured to perform transceiver-related operations (e.g., operations of sending and / or receiving data or messages) in the aforementioned method embodiment. For example, the transceiver unit 710 may be configured to perform steps 310 and 320 in the embodiment shown in FIG3 , or the transceiver unit 710 may be configured to perform transceiver-related operations in the RIS in the embodiments shown in FIG5 or FIG6 . The processing unit 720 may be configured to perform processing-related operations in the RIS in the aforementioned method embodiment, or operations other than transceiver operations (e.g., operations other than sending and / or receiving data or messages). For example, the processing unit 720 may be configured to perform processing-related operations in the RIS in the embodiment shown in FIG3 , or step 550 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , or step 640 in the embodiment shown in FIG6 .

[0289] In a second possible design, the device 700 may be the first communication device in the aforementioned embodiment, and the device 700 may implement the steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the first communication device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver unit 710 may be used to perform the transceiver-related operations of the first communication device in the above method embodiment (such as the operations of sending and / or receiving data or messages), such as the transceiver unit 710 may be used to perform step 310 in the embodiment shown in FIG3 , or the transceiver unit 710 may be used to perform the transceiver-related operations of the network device in the embodiment shown in FIG5 or FIG6 . The processing unit 720 may be used to perform the processing-related operations of the first communication device in the above method embodiment, or operations other than transceiver (such as operations other than sending and / or receiving data or messages), such as the processing unit 720 may be used to perform the processing-related operations of the first communication device in the embodiment shown in FIG3 , or the processing unit 720 may be used to perform the processing-related operations of the network device in the embodiment shown in FIG5 or FIG6 .

[0290] In a third possible design, the device 700 may be the second communication device in the aforementioned embodiment, and the device 700 may implement the steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the second communication device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver unit 710 may be used to perform the transceiver-related operations of the second communication device in the above method embodiment (such as the operations of sending and / or receiving data or messages), such as the transceiver unit 710 may be used to perform step 320 in the embodiment shown in FIG3 , or the transceiver unit 710 may be used to perform the transceiver-related operations of the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG5 or FIG6 . The processing unit 720 may be used to perform the processing-related operations of the second communication device in the above method embodiment, or operations other than transceiver (such as operations other than sending and / or receiving data or messages), such as the processing unit 720 may be used to perform the processing-related operations of the second communication device in the embodiment shown in FIG3 , or the processing unit 720 may be used to perform the processing-related operations of the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG5 or FIG6 .

[0291] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0292] It should also be understood that the device 700 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here can refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor, etc.) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a combined logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 700 can be specifically the communication device in the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the communication device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. To avoid repetition, they will not be described here.

[0293] The apparatus 700 of each of the above-described solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the communication device in the above-described method. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the transmitting unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing unit, can be replaced by a processor to respectively perform the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0294] In addition, the transceiver unit 710 may also be a transceiver circuit (for example, may include a receiving circuit and a sending circuit), and the processing unit may be a processing circuit.

[0295] It should be noted that the apparatus in FIG7 can be the communication device in the aforementioned embodiment, or it can be a chip or chip system, such as a system on chip (SoC). The transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit can be a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. This is not limited here.

[0296] Referring to FIG8 , FIG8 is a schematic diagram of another communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 800 includes a processor 810, which is coupled to a memory 820. The memory 820 is configured to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The processor 810 is configured to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 820, or read data stored in the memory 820, to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0297] Optionally, there are one or more processors 810 .

[0298] Optionally, there are one or more memories 820 .

[0299] Optionally, the memory 820 is integrated with the processor 810 or provided separately.

[0300] Optionally, as shown in Figure 8, the apparatus 800 further includes a transceiver 830, which is configured to receive and / or transmit signals. For example, the processor 810 is configured to control the transceiver 830 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0301] As an example, the processor 810 may have the function of the processing unit 720 shown in FIG. 7 , the memory 820 may have the function of a storage unit, and the transceiver 830 may have the function of the transceiver unit 710 shown in FIG. 7 .

[0302] As a solution, the device 800 is used to implement the operations performed by the communication device in the above various method embodiments.

[0303] For example, the processor 810 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions, such as executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 820, to implement the relevant operations of the RIS in the above various method embodiments.

[0304] For another example, the processor 810 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions, such as executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 820, to implement relevant operations of the first communication device or the second communication device in the above various method embodiments.

[0305] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0306] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0307] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0308] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to comprise, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0309] 9 , which is a schematic diagram of a chip system 900 according to an embodiment of the present application, wherein the chip system 900 (or also referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 910 and an input / output interface 920 .

[0310] The logic circuit 910 may be a processing circuit in the chip system 900. The logic circuit 910 may be coupled to a storage unit and call instructions in the storage unit so that the chip system 900 can implement the methods and functions of the various embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface 920 may be an input / output circuit in the chip system 900, outputting information processed by the chip system 900 or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 900 for processing.

[0311] Alternatively, the logic circuit 910 may be implemented by one or more processors, including the one or more processors or a processing portion in the one or more processors.

[0312] Optionally, the input / output interface 920 may include a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, an input / output circuit, or a communication interface.

[0313] As a solution, the chip system 900 is used to implement the operations performed by the communication device (such as the RIS, the first communication device, and the second communication device) in the above various method embodiments.

[0314] For example, the logic circuit 910 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the communication device (such as the RIS, the first communication device, and the second communication device) in the above method embodiments; the input / output interface 920 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the communication device (such as the RIS, the first communication device, and the second communication device) in the above method embodiments.

[0315] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for implementing the methods executed by a communication device (such as a RIS, a first communication device, or a second communication device) in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0316] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the methods performed by the communication device (such as the RIS, the first communication device, or the second communication device) in each embodiment of the above method.

[0317] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the methods performed by a communication device (such as a RIS, a first communication device, or a second communication device) in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0318] The present application also provides a communication system, comprising at least one of the RIS, the first communication device, and the second communication device described in the above embodiments. For example, the system comprises at least one of the RIS, the first communication device, and the second communication device described in Figure 2. For another example, the system comprises at least one of the RIS, the network device, and the terminal device described in Figures 5 or 6.

[0319] The explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be repeated here.

[0320] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0321] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it 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 process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. 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 by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)). For example, the aforementioned available medium includes, but is not limited to, various media that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0322] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A signal transmission method, characterized in that: Applied to the configurable smart surface RIS device side, including: receiving a signal from at least one first communication device; The signal is transmitted to at least two second communication devices via multiple beams, wherein a beam vector of the multiple beams is determined according to a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each of the at least two second communication devices.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The beam vector of the multi-beam is determined according to the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device of the at least two second communication devices, including: The beam vector of the multi-beam is determined according to the first beam vector and an offset, and the offset is determined according to the beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each second communication device of the at least two second communication devices.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving first indication information, where the first indication information indicates the offset; or The offset is determined.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the first beam vector; or The first beam vector is determined.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The second indication information includes an index of the first beam vector.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that The offset includes: a phase offset and / or an amplitude offset.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The beam vector of the multi-beam is determined according to the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device of the at least two second communication devices, including: The beam vector of the multi-beam is determined according to the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device and the first strategy.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving third indication information, where the third indication information indicates a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each second communication device; or Determine a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each second communication device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The third indication information includes a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to at least one second communication device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information indicates the first policy; or The first strategy is predefined; or, The first strategy is determined.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that The first strategy includes a phase processing strategy and / or an amplitude processing strategy.

12. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The amplitude offset is 1 / sqrt(N), where N is the number of beams of the multi-beam, and the sqrt() function is a square root function.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that Before transmitting the signal to at least two second communication devices using multiple beams, the method further includes: sending a reference signal to the second communication device; Receive fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information indicates a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to the second communication device, where the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to the second communication device is obtained by measuring based on the reference signal.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: The capability information of the RIS device is sent, where the capability information of the RIS device includes at least one of the following: a maximum number of beams supported by the RIS device, and information of synthesized beams supported by the RIS device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that The sending the signal to at least two second communication devices by using multiple beams includes: The signal is sent to N second communication devices via N beams, where the N beams correspond one-to-one to the N second communication devices, and N is an integer greater than 1.

16. A signal transmission method, characterized in that: include: Send first indication information or third indication information, where the first indication information indicates an offset, and the offset is determined based on the beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each second communication device in at least two second communication devices; the third indication information indicates the beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each second communication device.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second indication information is sent, where the second indication information indicates the first beam vector.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The second indication information includes an index of the first beam vector.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that The offset includes: a phase offset and / or an amplitude offset.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The amplitude offset is 1 / sqrt(N), where N is the number of beams of the multi-beam, and the sqrt() function is a square root function.

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, characterized in that The method further comprises: Fourth indication information is sent, where the fourth indication information indicates the first strategy.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The first strategy includes a phase processing strategy and / or an amplitude processing strategy.

23. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, characterized in that The method further comprises: Capability information of a RIS device is received, where the capability information of the RIS device includes at least one of the following: a maximum number of beams supported by the RIS device, and information of synthesized beams supported by the RIS device.

24. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, characterized in that The third indication information includes a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to at least one second communication device.

25. A signal transmission method, characterized in that: include: A signal from at least one first communication device is received through a receive beam, wherein a beam vector of the receive beam is determined according to a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each of at least two second communication devices.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The beam vector of the receive beam is determined according to the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device of the at least two second communication devices, including: The beam vector of the receive beam is determined according to the first beam vector and an offset, and the offset is determined according to the beam vector of a single beam corresponding to each second communication device of the at least two second communication devices.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that The offset includes: a phase offset and / or an amplitude offset.

28. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The beam vector of the receive beam is determined according to the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device of the at least two second communication devices, including: The beam vector of the receiving beam is determined according to the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to each second communication device and the first strategy.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that The first strategy includes a phase processing strategy and / or an amplitude processing strategy.

30. The method according to claim 27, wherein The amplitude offset is 1 / sqrt(N), where N is the number of the receive beams and the sqrt() function is a square root function.

31. The method according to any one of claims 25 to 30, characterized in that Before receiving a signal from at least one first communication device through a receiving beam, the method further includes: receiving a reference signal; Send fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information indicates a beam vector of a single beam corresponding to the second communication device, where the beam vector of the single beam corresponding to the second communication device is obtained by measuring based on the reference signal.

32. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises modules or units for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 31.

33. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor configured to execute a computer program or instructions so as to cause the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 31.

34. The device according to claim 33, characterized in that The apparatus further comprises a memory for storing the computer program or instructions; and / or, The device further includes a communication interface coupled to the processor, wherein the communication interface is configured to input and / or output information.

35. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 31.

36. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 31 .

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