Communication method, apparatus, storage medium and computer program product

Abstract

A communication method, an apparatus, a storage medium and a computer program product, which are used for improving the anti-interference capability of signals and improving the reliability of data transmission. In the present application, a network apparatus precodes B1 groups of second signals to obtain F1 groups of first signals, and the network apparatus sends the F1 groups of first signals to a relay apparatus, wherein B1 and F1 are both positive integers; and, on the basis of an association relationship between the F1 groups of first signals and F1 first antennas of the relay apparatus, the relay apparatus sends the F1 groups of first signals by means of the F1 first antennas. Since a signal sent by means of one first antenna is processed by using a precoding coefficient associated with a channel between the first antenna and a terminal apparatus corresponding to the signal, signals transmitted by means of first antennas can better resist the interference (for example, co-channel interference between beams) of channels between the first antennas and terminal apparatuses corresponding to the signals, thus improving transmission quality of signals.

Description

A communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202410825987.4, filed on June 24, 2024, and entitled “A communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product”, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product. BACKGROUND

[0004] Currently, the 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) technology is evolving from revision (R) 18 to R19. At the same time, the NR technology has entered the commercial deployment stage from the standardization stage. The NR standard protocol is a wireless communication technology designed for terrestrial cellular network scenarios (such as terrestrial networks (TN)), which can provide users with ultra-low latency, ultra-reliability, ultra-high rate, and ultra-quantity connection wireless communication services. Compared with TN communication, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication has the characteristics of large coverage area and flexible networking, and can achieve seamless global network coverage. NTN communication includes networking using unmanned aerial vehicles, high-altitude platforms, satellites, and other devices to provide data transmission, voice communication, and other services for user equipment (UE). In TN and / or NTN networks, how to improve the anti-interference capability in the data transmission process and improve the data transmission reliability is a problem that needs to be solved at present. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and computer program product for improving the anti-interference capability of signals and thereby improving the data transmission reliability.

[0006] In the data transmission process, the anti-interference capability of data can be improved by pre-encoding the data. However, in the scenario with a relay device, the relay device currently cannot control the beam according to the pre-encoded data, thereby resulting in that the current interference is not reduced by pre-encoding the data in this scenario.

[0007] In order to improve the anti-interference capability of data transmission, the application provides several schemes for processing data to improve the anti-interference capability in the data transmission process, thereby improving the data transmission reliability.

[0008] For example, in the downlink transmission process, the network device obtains a first signal of a first group F1 after precoding a second signal of a second group B1. The second signal of the second group B1 can be a signal corresponding to the service data sent by the network device to at least one terminal device. The first signal of the first group F1 can be a precoded signal of the second signal of the second group B1. The network device sends the first signal of the first group F1 to the relay device, and B1 and F1 are both positive integers. The relay device sends the first signal of the first group F1 through the F1 first antennas according to the association relationship between the first signal of the first group F1 and the F1 first antennas. Since the signal sent by a first antenna is processed using the precoding coefficient associated with the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, the relay device can send the signal according to the association relationship between the first signal and the first antenna, and then control the beam according to the precoded data, so that the signal transmitted through the first antenna can better resist the interference (such as inter-beam co-frequency interference) of the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0009] In another possible implementation, in the uplink transmission process, the relay device receives a third signal of a second group F2 through the F2 second antennas, and sends the third signal of the second group F2 to the network device. Wherein, the relay device sends a group of third signals received through a second antenna on the resource associated with the second antenna according to the association relationship between the resource occupied by the third signal of the second group F2 and the second antenna. The network device processes the third signal of the second group F2 through a first matrix to obtain a fourth signal of a second group B2. The third signal of the second group F2 can be a signal received by the relay device from at least one terminal device through the F2 second antennas, and these signals can be signals corresponding to the service data sent by at least one terminal device to the network device. The fourth signal of the second group B2 can be a signal processed by combining the third signal of the second group F2. Wherein, the network device can identify which second antenna is associated with the received third signal of the second group F2 according to the resource occupied by the received signal, and the coefficient in the first matrix used to process a group of third signals is associated with the second antenna associated with the group of third signals. Since the network device can use the coefficient corresponding to the channel between the second antenna and the terminal device to process the signal received by the second antenna, the processed signal can better resist the interference on the channel, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0010] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a relay device. The relay device can include a relay equipment or a chip (or chip system) inside the relay equipment. For example, the relay equipment can include a satellite or a relay equipment deployed on the ground.

[0011] The relay device receives F1 groups of first signals. F1 is a positive integer. The F1 groups of first signals are indicative of B1 groups of second signals pre-coded, and B1 is a positive integer. The relay device transmits the F1 groups of first signals. The F1 groups of first signals are transmitted by F1 first antennas, and there is an association between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas.

[0012] Since the relay device obtains the association between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas, in the association, a group of first signals is pre-coded by a pre-coding coefficient corresponding to a channel of a first antenna. Therefore, the signal transmitted by the first antenna can better resist the interference of the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal (for example, the inter-beam co-frequency interference), thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0013] For example, a network device pre-codes B1 groups of second signals to obtain F1 groups of first signals. The network device transmits the F1 groups of first signals to the relay device. The relay device transmits the F1 groups of first signals to one or more terminal devices by F1 first antennas. The antenna of the relay device for receiving the F1 groups of first signals from the network device can be a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) antenna, and the antenna of the relay device for transmitting the F1 groups of first signals to one or more terminal devices can be an antenna array. The set of antennas of the relay device for receiving the F1 groups of first signals and the set of the F1 first antennas of the relay device for transmitting the F1 groups of first signals can have no intersection or be different (or can also have an intersection or be the same).

[0014] Since the network device can pre-code the data to be transmitted, the relay device can transmit the F1 groups of first signals according to the association between the processed F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas. In this way, the signal transmitted by a first antenna is processed using the pre-coding coefficient associated with the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, so that the signal transmitted by the first antenna can better resist the interference of the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal (for example, the inter-beam co-frequency interference), thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0015] The scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application can also control the beam direction, and thus can solve the influence of satellite attitude change and satellite orbit change on the beam coverage area in the NTN scenario. For example, the coverage geographical areas of different beams are different, and the network device can estimate the channel according to the positional relationship between the beam coverage area and the F1 first antennas of the relay device, and then obtain the precoding coefficients associated with the channel of each beam, and thus the signals corresponding to each beam can have more concentrated energy in the expected beam coverage area, thereby achieving the effect of controlling the beam direction.

[0016] In another aspect, since the precoding is completed at the network device side, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the relay device. When the scheme is applied to the NTN scenario, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the satellite as the relay device, and thus can reduce the cost of the satellite.

[0017] In a possible implementation, for one of the F1 first antennas, the group of first signals associated with the first antenna is obtained by precoding the B1 groups of second signals by the B1 precoding coefficients associated with the first antenna. Since the group of first signals transmitted by the first antenna is precoded by the precoding coefficients associated with the channel corresponding to the first antenna, the transmission of the group of first signals by the first antenna can better resist the interference of the channel corresponding to the first antenna (such as inter-beam co-frequency interference), and thus improve the transmission quality of the signal.

[0018] In a possible implementation, for one of the B1 groups of second signals, the precoding coefficient used for precoding the group of second signals is also associated with the channel corresponding to the terminal device corresponding to the group of second signals. Since the group of first signals transmitted by the first antenna is precoded by the precoding coefficients associated with the channel corresponding to the first antenna, and the precoding coefficient used for precoding one of the second signals is also associated with the channel corresponding to the terminal device corresponding to the second signal, the transmission of the group of first signals by the first antenna can better resist the interference of the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the second signal (such as inter-beam co-frequency interference), and thus improve the transmission quality of the signal.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives information indicating the association between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas. The information indicating the association between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas can be configured or sent by the network device. Since the relay device receives the information indicating the association between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas, the relay device can send, according to the association, a group of first signals corresponding to a first antenna through the first antenna. Thus, the problem that the relay device sends a first signal through a wrong antenna can be avoided. Moreover, when the relay device sends a first signal through a correct antenna, since a group of first signals sent through the first antenna is precoded using the precoding coefficients associated with the first antenna, the group of first signals can better resist the interference of the channel corresponding to the first antenna, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives information indicating the association between the resources of the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas, and the association between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas is determined according to the association between the resources of the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas. The information indicating the association between the resources of the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas can be configured or sent by the network device. The information indicating the association between the resources of the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas can implicitly indicate the association between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas. In the case where the network device sends the information indicating the association between the resources of the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas, the network device can no longer send the information indicating the association between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives at least one of the following information: information indicating (or information indicating the resources of) the F1 groups of first signals; information indicating the number of signal groups of the F1 groups of first signals; or information indicating the F1 first antennas. The F1 first antennas belong to part or all of the antennas of the relay device. In this way, the relay device can determine the relevant information of the F1 groups of first signals through the above information, and then send the F1 groups of first signals based on the information. For example, the network device can indicate more reasonable F1 first antennas for the relay device in combination with the actual channel environment or the signal coverage range sent by the relay device, so as to improve the communication performance.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the information for indicating the number of signal groups of the first F1 group signal comprises: indication information of the number of signal groups of the first F1 group signal; or, information for indicating (or information for indicating receiving) the resource of the first F1 group signal. The information for indicating the resource of the first F1 group signal can implicitly indicate the number of signal groups of the first F1 group signal. When the network device sends the information for indicating the resource of the first F1 group signal, the network device can no longer send the indication information of the number of signal groups of the first F1 group signal, thereby saving resource overhead.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the resource of the first F1 group signal (or the resource for receiving the first F1 group signal) comprises at least one of the following: time domain resource occupied by the first F1 group signal, frequency domain resource occupied by the first F1 group signal, or polarization mode corresponding to the first F1 group signal. The relay device can receive the first F1 group signal according to the resource of the first F1 group signal.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the information for indicating the first F1 antennas comprises at least one of the following: identification information of the first F1 antennas; position information of the first F1 antennas; index number of the first F1 antennas; or, bitmap information, and a bit value of a bit associated with the first F1 antennas in the bitmap information is a specified value. For example, the specified value is 0 or 1. The relay device can determine the first F1 antennas indicated by the network device according to at least one of the information.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the relay device sends information for indicating antenna information of the relay device, and the antenna information of the relay device comprises antenna information of the first F1 antennas. For example, the antenna information of the relay device comprises at least one of the following: number of antennas of the relay device, antenna distribution form of the relay device, or spacing between two antennas of the relay device. For example, the antenna distribution form of the relay device comprises one of the following: rectangular grid distribution form, triangular grid distribution form, concentric circular ring distribution form, or elliptical ring grid distribution form. Since the network device can obtain the antenna information of the relay device, the network device can select the first F1 antennas for the relay device based on the received antenna information. In another aspect, the antenna information can also assist the network device to determine the precoding coefficients. For example, the network device can determine the positions of the antennas according to the antenna distribution form and / or the spacing between the antennas. Then, the network device determines the precoding coefficients corresponding to the channel between the antennas of the relay device and the terminal device based on the position of the terminal device and the position of the antennas, and then the network device precodes the signal based on the precoding coefficients, thereby improving the anti-interference capability of the signal and improving the communication performance.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the information for indicating the antenna information of the relay device includes: the antenna information of the relay device; and / or, an index number of the antenna information of the relay device. The relay device and the network device can respectively configure the association between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information. The association between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information on the side of the relay device can be agreed by a protocol, or pre-stored, or sent by the network device to the relay device. The association between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information on the side of the network device can be agreed by a protocol, or pre-stored. The network device can find the association between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information according to the received index number of the antenna information, so as to obtain the antenna information corresponding to the index number. This scheme can save the amount of information of the antenna information sent by the relay device, thereby saving the signaling overhead.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the first signals in the F1 group are signals obtained by precoding the second signals in the B1 group by using a precoding matrix.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the first signals in the F1 group satisfy: F1×1 F1×B1 B1×1 , where S F1×1 represents the first signals in the F1 group, W F1×B1 represents the precoding matrix of F1 rows and B1 columns, and S B1×1 represents the second signals in the B1 group.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the number of the second signals in the B1 group is the number of terminal devices corresponding to the second signals in the B1 group. In this way, one group of second signals can correspond to one terminal device. This scheme can control the granularity of the scheme at the terminal device level, thereby providing more personalized services for a single terminal device.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the number of the second signals in the B1 group is the number of beams corresponding to the second signals in the B1 group. In this way, one group of second signals can correspond to an area covered by one beam. This scheme can control the granularity of the scheme at the beam level, thereby providing services for a single beam coverage area, and the granularity is not too small, thereby reducing the resource overhead in the execution of the scheme.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the precoding matrix indicates at least one of the following: channel information between the terminal device and the network device; channel information between the terminal device, the antenna of the relay device, and the network device; channel information between the terminal device and the antenna of the relay device; or, position information of the terminal device. In this way, the precoding matrix can be more consistent with the actual channel situation, thereby enabling the data after precoding processing to better resist channel interference. ​​

[0032] In a possible implementation, the F1 group first signals are transmitted by the network device by at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. In this way, resource overhead can be saved, and data transmission efficiency can be improved.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the relay device can process the received signals by analog or digital filtering to obtain the F1 group first signals. In this way, the relay device can flexibly select a filtering manner based on its capability and applicable scenario.

[0034] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a network device. The network device can include a network equipment or a chip system inside the network equipment. For example, the network equipment can include a ground station or a satellite. The ground station can include a network equipment (for example, an access network equipment) deployed on the ground.

[0035] The network device obtains B1 group second signals, where B1 is a positive integer. The network device transmits F1 group first signals to the relay device, where F1 is a positive integer, the F1 group first signals indicate pre-coded signals of the B1 group second signals, and the F1 group first signals have a correlation relationship with F1 first antennas of the relay device.

[0036] For example, the network device pre-codes the B1 group second signals to obtain the F1 group first signals. The network device transmits the F1 group first signals to the relay device. The relay device transmits the F1 group first signals to the terminal device through the F1 first antennas. The set of antennas of the relay device that receive the F1 group first signals can be disjoint with, intersect with, or identical to the set of the F1 first antennas.

[0037] Since the network device can pre-code the data to be transmitted, the relay device can transmit the F1 group first signals according to the correlation relationship between the processed F1 group first signals and the F1 first antennas. In this way, the signal transmitted through a first antenna is processed by using the pre-coding coefficient associated with the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, and thus the signal transmitted through the first antenna can better resist the interference (for example, the same-frequency interference between beams) of the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0038] The scheme provided in the application can also control the beam direction, thereby solving the influence of satellite attitude change, satellite orbit change, etc. on the beam coverage area in the NTN scenario. For example, the coverage geographical areas of different beams are different, and the network device can estimate the channel according to the positional relationship between the beam coverage area and the F1 first antennas of the relay device, thereby obtaining the precoding coefficients associated with the channel of each beam, and then the signals corresponding to each beam can be more concentrated in the expected beam coverage area, thereby achieving the effect of controlling the beam direction.

[0039] In another aspect, since the precoding is completed at the network device side, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the relay device. When the scheme is applied to the NTN scenario, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the satellite as the relay device, thereby reducing the cost of the satellite.

[0040] In a possible implementation, for one of the F1 first antennas: the first signal associated with the first antenna is obtained by precoding the B1 second signals through at least one precoding coefficient associated with the first antenna. In a possible implementation, for one of the B1 second signals: the precoding coefficient used for precoding the second signal is also associated with the channel corresponding to the terminal device associated with the second signal. For related descriptions and benefits, refer to the descriptions in the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the network device sends information indicating the association relationship between the F1 first signals and the F1 first antennas.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the network device sends information indicating the association relationship between the resources of the F1 first signals and the F1 first antennas, and the association relationship between the F1 first signals and the F1 first antennas is determined according to the association relationship between the resources of the F1 first signals and the F1 first antennas.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the network device sends at least one of the following information: information indicating the resources of the F1 first signals (or information indicating the resources of the F1 first signals received); information indicating the number of signal groups of the F1 first signals; or, information indicating the F1 first antennas. The F1 first antennas belong to part or all of the antennas of the relay device.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the network device receives information indicating the antenna information of the relay device, and the antenna information of the relay device includes the antenna information of the F1 first antennas.

[0045] The descriptions of the various information transmitted and received by the network device and the benefits are described in the foregoing possible implementation manners of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0046] The descriptions of the F1 group of first signals, the transmission manners of the F1 group of first signals, the B1 group of second signals, the precoding matrix, and the F1 first antennas are described in the foregoing possible implementation manners of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0047] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a relay device. The relay device can include a relay equipment or a chip (or chip system) inside the relay equipment. For example, the relay equipment can include a satellite or a relay equipment deployed on the ground.

[0048] The relay device receives an F2 group of third signals through F2 second antennas, and F2 is a positive integer. The relay device transmits the F2 group of third signals, and the resources occupied by the transmitted F2 group of third signals are associated with the F2 second antennas.

[0049] For example, the F2 group of third signals are used to make the network device use a first matrix to process the F2 group of third signals to obtain a B2 group of fourth signals, and B2 is a positive integer. The first matrix is associated with the F2 second antennas. For example, the relay device transmits the third signals received on the F2 second antennas according to the association between the resources occupied by the F2 group of third signals and the F2 second antennas. The network device processes the F2 group of third signals through the first matrix to obtain the B2 group of fourth signals. The set of antennas used by the relay device to transmit the F2 group of third signals can be disjoint with, intersect with, or the same as the set of F2 second antennas.

[0050] Since the network device can use the coefficient corresponding to the channel between the second antenna and the terminal device to process the signal received by the second antenna, the processed signal can better resist the interference on the channel, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0051] In another aspect, since the merging processing is completed at the network device side, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the relay device. When the scheme is applied to the NTN scenario, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the satellite as the relay device, and in turn can reduce the cost of the satellite.

[0052] In a possible implementation, for a group of the fourth signals in the B2 groups of the fourth signals: the group of the fourth signals is obtained by processing the F2 groups of the third signals by using F2 coefficients in the first matrix, and the F2 coefficients are associated with the channels corresponding to the F2 second antennas. Since the signal received by a second antenna is processed by using the coefficient corresponding to the channel of the second antenna, the processed signal can better resist the interference of the channel corresponding to the second antenna, thereby improving the data transmission quality.

[0053] In a possible implementation, for a group of the third signals in the F2 groups of the third signals: the coefficients used for processing the group of the third signals are associated with the channels corresponding to the second antennas used for receiving the group of the third signals and at least one terminal device corresponding to the group of the third signals. Since the signal received by a second antenna is processed by using the coefficient corresponding to the channel between the second antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, the processed signal can better resist the interference of the channel between the second antenna and the terminal device, thereby improving the data transmission quality.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the first matrix is determined according to at least one of the following: channel information between the terminal device and the network device; channel information between the terminal device, the antennas of the relay device, and the network device; channel information between the terminal device and the antennas of the relay device; or, location information of the terminal device. In this way, the first matrix can be more consistent with the actual channel situation, thereby enabling the processed data to better resist channel interference.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the F2 groups of the third signals satisfy: B2×1 B2×F2 F2×1 . Wherein S F2×1 represents the F2 groups of the third signals, W B2×F2 represents the first matrix with B2 rows and F2 columns, S B2×1 represents the B2 groups of the fourth signals.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the number of the B2 groups of the fourth signals is the number of terminal devices corresponding to the B2 groups of the fourth signals, so that one group of the fourth signals can correspond to one terminal device. This scheme can control the granularity of the scheme at the terminal device level, thereby providing more personalized services for a single terminal device.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the number of the B2 groups of the fourth signals is the number of beams corresponding to the B2 groups of the fourth signals. In this way, one group of the fourth signals can correspond to an area covered by one beam. This scheme can control the granularity of the scheme at the beam level, thereby providing services for a single beam coverage area, and the granularity is not too small, thereby reducing resource consumption in the execution of the scheme.​​

[0058] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives information indicating an association between the F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas. In this way, the relay device can transmit the F2 groups of third signals according to the association between the F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas. Then the network device can identify the second antenna corresponding to the third signal according to the resource occupied by the received third signal, and then the coefficient in the first matrix associated with the second antenna corresponding to the third signal is processed, thereby improving the ability of the signal to resist interference in the channel of the second antenna, and then improving the data transmission reliability.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives information indicating the F2 second antennas, and the F2 second antennas belong to part or all of the antennas of the relay device. In this way, the network device can indicate more reasonable F2 second antennas to the relay device in combination with the actual channel environment or the signal coverage range of the relay device, so as to improve the communication performance.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the information indicating the F2 second antennas includes at least one of the following: identification information of the F2 second antennas; position information of the F2 second antennas; index numbers of the F2 second antennas; or bitmap information. The bit value of the bit associated with the F2 second antennas in the bitmap information is a specified value. The specified value is 0 or 1.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the relay device receives information indicating the resource occupied by the transmitted F2 groups of third signals. In a possible implementation, the resource occupied by the F2 groups of third signals includes at least one of the following: time domain resource occupied by the F2 groups of third signals, frequency domain resource occupied by the F2 groups of third signals, or polarization mode corresponding to the F2 groups of third signals.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the relay device transmits information indicating the antenna information of the relay device, and the antenna information of the relay device includes the antenna information of the F2 second antennas. Since the network device can obtain the antenna information of the relay device, the network device can select the F2 second antennas for the relay device based on the received antenna information. On the other hand, the antenna information can also assist the network device to determine the coefficients in the first matrix (or referred to as the merged matrix). For example, the network device can determine the position of the antenna according to the distribution form and / or the spacing of the antenna. Then the network device can determine the coefficient in the first matrix (or referred to as the merged matrix) corresponding to the channel between the antenna of the relay device and the terminal device based on the position of the antenna and the position of the terminal.

[0063] For example, the antenna information of the relay device comprises at least one of: the number of antennas of the relay device, the antenna distribution form of the relay device, or the spacing between two antennas of the relay device. For another example, the antenna distribution form of the relay device comprises one of: a rectangular grid distribution form, a triangular grid distribution form, a concentric circular ring distribution form, or an elliptical ring grid distribution form. Since the network device can obtain the antenna information of the relay device, the network device can determine the coefficients in the first matrix corresponding to the channels between the antennas of the relay device and the terminal device based on the received antenna information, and then the network device processes the signal based on the coefficients, so that the anti-interference capability of the signal can be improved, and the communication performance can be improved.

[0064] In a possible implementation, the information used to indicate the antenna information of the relay device comprises: the antenna information of the relay device; and / or, an index number of the antenna information of the relay device. The relay device and the network device can respectively configure the association relationship between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information. The association relationship between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information on the side of the relay device can be agreed by a protocol, pre-stored, or sent by the network device to the relay device. The association relationship between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information on the side of the network device can be agreed by a protocol or pre-stored. The network device can find the association relationship between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information according to the received index number of the antenna information, so as to obtain the antenna information corresponding to the index number. This scheme can save the amount of information of the antenna information sent by the relay device, so that the signaling overhead can be saved.

[0065] In a possible implementation, the relay device sends the F2 groups of third signals in at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. In this way, resource overhead can be saved, and data transmission efficiency can be improved.

[0066] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a network device. The network device can comprise a network equipment or a chip system inside the network equipment. For example, the network equipment can comprise a ground station or a satellite. The ground station can comprise a network equipment (for example, an access network equipment) deployed on the ground.

[0067] The network device receives F2 groups of third signals, and the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals are associated with F2 second antennas of the relay device. The F2 groups of third signals are received by the relay device through the F2 second antennas. The network device obtains B2 groups of fourth signals, B2 is a positive integer, and the B2 groups of fourth signals indicate signals processed by a first matrix on the F2 groups of third signals, and the first matrix is associated with the F2 second antennas.

[0068] For example, the network device processes the F2 groups of third signals by using a first matrix to obtain B2 groups of fourth signals, B2 is a positive integer, the first matrix is associated with the F2 second antennas. For example, the relay device sends the third signals received on the F2 second antennas according to the association between the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas. The network device processes the F2 groups of third signals by using the first matrix to obtain B2 groups of fourth signals. The set of antennas sending the F2 groups of third signals and the set of F2 second antennas can be disjoint, or have intersection, or be the same.

[0069] Since the network device can process the signals received by the second antennas by using the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the second antennas and the terminal devices, the processed signals can better resist the interference on the channels, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signals.

[0070] In another aspect, since the processing is completed at the network device side, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the relay device. When the scheme is applied to the NTN scenario, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the satellite as the relay device, and then can reduce the cost of the satellite.

[0071] In a possible implementation, for a group of fourth signals in the B2 groups of fourth signals: the group of fourth signals is obtained by processing the F2 groups of third signals by using F2 coefficients in the first matrix, the F2 coefficients are associated with the channels corresponding to the F2 second antennas. In a possible implementation, for a group of third signals in the F2 groups of third signals: the coefficients used for processing the group of third signals are associated with the second antennas used for receiving the group of third signals, and the channels corresponding to at least one terminal device corresponding to the group of third signals. For related descriptions and benefits, refer to the descriptions in the possible implementations of the third aspect, which will not be described here.

[0072] In a possible implementation, the network device sends information indicating the association between the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas.

[0073] In a possible implementation, the network device sends information indicating the F2 second antennas, and the F2 second antennas belong to part or all of the antennas of the relay device.

[0074] In a possible implementation, the network device sends information indicating the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals sent.

[0075] In a possible implementation, the network device receives information indicating the antenna information of the relay device, and the antenna information of the relay device includes the antenna information of the F2 second antennas.

[0076] The relevant descriptions and benefits of the various information transmitted and received by the network device are described in the foregoing possible implementation manners of the third aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0077] The first matrix, the F2 group of third signals, and the B2 group of fourth signals. The relevant descriptions and benefits are described in the foregoing possible implementation manners of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0078] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication device can include a communication unit and a processing unit to perform any of the aforementioned first to fourth aspects, or perform any of the possible implementation manners of the first to fourth aspects. The communication unit is configured to perform functions related to transmission and reception. The communication unit can be referred to as a transceiver unit. Optionally, the communication unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. In one design, the communication device is a communication chip, and the processing unit can be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication unit can be an input / output circuit, an input / output interface, or an antenna port of the communication chip.

[0079] In another design, the communication unit can be a transmitter and a receiver, or the communication unit is a transmitter and a receiver.

[0080] Optionally, the communication device further includes various modules that can be used to perform any of the aforementioned first to fourth aspects, or perform any of the possible implementation manners of the first to fourth aspects.

[0081] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication device can include a processor. In one possible implementation manner, the communication device can further include a memory. The communication device can perform any of the aforementioned first to fourth aspects, or perform any of the possible implementation manners of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the communication device further includes a transceiver, the memory is configured to store a computer program or instructions, and the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program or instructions from the memory. When the processor executes the computer program or instructions in the memory, the communication device performs any of the aforementioned first to fourth aspects, or performs any of the possible implementation manners of the first to fourth aspects.

[0082] Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

[0083] Optionally, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory is disposed separately from the processor.

[0084] Optionally, the transceiver can include a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

[0085] In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the aforementioned relay device or network device. The communication apparatus can include a processor to implement any of the aforementioned first aspect to fourth aspect, or any possible implementation of the first aspect to fourth aspect. The processor is coupled to a memory. Optionally, the communication apparatus further includes the memory. Optionally, the communication apparatus further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0086] In an implementation form, when the communication apparatus is the relay device or the network device, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0087] In yet another implementation form, when the communication apparatus is a chip or chip system, the communication interface can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuitry, etc. on the chip or chip system. The processor can also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0088] In an eighth aspect, a system is provided, which includes the aforementioned relay device.

[0089] In a possible implementation form, the system can further include a network device and a terminal device.

[0090] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instructions), which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to implement any of the aforementioned first aspect to fourth aspect, or any possible implementation of the first aspect to fourth aspect.

[0091] In a tenth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instructions), which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to implement any of the aforementioned first aspect to fourth aspect, or any possible implementation of the first aspect to fourth aspect.

[0092] In an eleventh aspect, a processing apparatus is provided, which includes an interface circuit and a processing circuit. The interface circuit can include an input circuit and an output circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit, and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that any of the aforementioned first aspect to fourth aspect, or any possible implementation of the first aspect to fourth aspect is implemented.

[0093] In the implementation process, the processing device can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by a receiver, for example, but not limited to. The output signal output by the output circuit can be output to a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter, for example, but not limited to. The input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times, respectively. The specific implementation of the processor and various circuits is not limited in the present application.

[0094] In an implementation, the communication device is a relay device or a network device. The interface circuit can be a radio frequency processing chip in the relay device or the network device, and the processing circuit can be a baseband processing chip in the relay device or the network device.

[0095] In another implementation, the communication device can be part of a device in a relay device or a network device, such as a system chip or a communication chip, and the like integrated circuit products. The interface circuit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit on the chip or chip system. The processing circuit can be a logic circuit on the chip. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0096] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0097] FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0098] FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0099] FIG. 1D is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0100] FIG. 1E is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0101] FIG. 1F is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0102] FIG. 1G is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0103] FIG. 1H is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0104] FIG. 1I is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0105] FIG. 2 is a possible flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] FIG. 3 is a possible flow diagram of a method of downlink signal transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] FIG. 4 is a possible flow diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] FIG. 5 is a possible structure diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG. 6 is another possible structure diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] FIG. 7 is another possible structure diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0111] The following introduces terms and names related to embodiments of the present application.

[0112] (1) Resource.

[0113] The resource in the embodiments of the present application may, for example, include at least one of a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, and a polarization mode corresponding to a signal.

[0114] (1.1) Time domain resource.

[0115] The time domain resource may, for example, include at least one of a radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a mini slot, or a symbol (for example, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), for example, discrete fourier transform (DFT)-spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM), orthogonal time frequency and space (OTFS), etc.).

[0116] A time unit can include one radio frame, one subframe, one slot, one mini slot, or one OFDM symbol. A time unit can also include a resource aggregated by multiple radio frames or multiple subframes or multiple slots or multiple mini slots or multiple OFDM symbols. Among them, one radio frame can include multiple subframes, one subframe can include one or more slots, and one slot can include at least one symbol. Alternatively, one radio frame can include multiple slots, and one slot can include at least one symbol. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, one OFDM symbol can also be referred to as one symbol.

[0117] According to different subcarrier spacings, the length of each symbol can be different, and therefore the length of a slot can be different. For example, the length of a slot corresponding to a subcarrier spacing of 15 kilo mega hertz (kHz) is 1 ms, the length of a slot corresponding to a subcarrier spacing of 60 kHz is 0.5 ms, and so on.

[0118] In the embodiments of the present application, the time unit can also be replaced by a time domain resource unit or a time domain unit.

[0119] (1.2) Frequency domain resource

[0120] In the frequency domain, the frequency domain resource can include one or more frequency domain units. Among them, one frequency domain unit can be one resource block (RB), one physical resource block (PRB), one subcarrier, one resource block group (RBG), one predefined subband, one precoding resource block group (PRG), a resource pool, one bandwidth part (BWP), one resource element (RE) (also referred to as a resource unit or a resource particle), one carrier, or one serving cell. Among them, PRB and RB can be replaced by each other. Optionally, the resource pool can include one or more resources, which can include at least one of a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a code domain resource, or a space domain resource. The number and size of the resources included in the resource pool can be predetermined or configured by signaling.

[0121] A subcarrier or RE refers to a smallest frequency domain unit on a specific symbol in a multi-carrier system. Sub-carrier spacing (SCS) is the interval between the center positions or peak positions of two adjacent subcarriers in the frequency domain in an OFDM system. In 5G NR, multiple subcarrier spacings are introduced, and different carriers can have different subcarrier spacings. The baseline is 15 kHz, which can be 15 kHz x 2 n , and n is an integer from 3.75, 7.5 to 480 kHz. In the embodiments of the present application, RE can refer to a resource unit of a time-frequency resource, which can be regarded as the smallest time-frequency resource unit. In the present application, subcarriers and REs can be used interchangeably, and they contain the same.

[0122] A subchannel is the smallest unit of frequency domain resources occupied by a physical sidelink shared channel, and a subchannel can include one or more resource blocks (RBs). The bandwidth of a wireless communication system in the frequency domain can include multiple RBs, for example, in the possible bandwidths of the LTE system, the included physical resource blocks (PRBs) can be 6, 15, 25, 50, etc. In the frequency domain, an RB can include a number of subcarriers, for example, in the LTE system, an RB includes 12 subcarriers, and each subcarrier interval can be 15 kHz. Of course, other subcarrier intervals can also be used, such as 3.75 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, or 120 kHz subcarrier intervals, which are not limited here.

[0123] A frequency domain unit can include one RE, one RB, one channel, one subchannel, one carrier, or one bandwidth part (BWP), etc. A frequency domain unit can also include resources aggregated by multiple REs or multiple RBs or multiple subchannels or multiple carriers or multiple BWPs. In the embodiments of the present application, a channel can be replaced by a resource block set (RB set), and the frequency domain bandwidth of an RB set can be 20 megahertz (MHz).

[0124] In the embodiments of the present application, a frequency domain unit can also be replaced by a frequency domain resource unit or a frequency unit, etc.

[0125] One set of frequency domain resources can include one or more frequency domain units. A set of frequency domain resources can also be referred to as a frequency domain resource collection, a frequency domain resource group, etc. One set of frequency domain resources may, for example, include a set of resource blocks (RB set), one RB, one subchannel, one resource pool, one carrier, one BWP.

[0126] (1.2) Polarization mode.

[0127] The polarization mode can include left-handed polarization (or left-handed circular polarization) and right-handed polarization (or right-handed circular polarization). For example, right-handed polarization refers to a polarization mode in which the electric field vector of an electromagnetic wave rotates clockwise along the direction of propagation. Left-handed polarization refers to a polarization mode in which the electric field vector of an electromagnetic wave rotates counterclockwise along the direction of propagation.

[0128] FIG. 1A illustrates an architecture of a communication system 1000 to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1A, the communication system includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 can further include an Internet 300. The radio access network 100 can include at least one radio access network device (e.g., 110a and 110b in FIG. 1A) and at least one terminal device (e.g., 120a-120j in FIG. 1A). The terminal devices are connected to the radio access network devices by wireless means, and the radio access network devices are connected to the core network by wireless or wired means. The core network device and the radio access network device can be independent and different physical devices, or can be integrated into the same physical device. The terminal device and the terminal device, and the radio access network device and the radio access network device can be connected to each other by wired or wireless means. FIG. 1A is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system can further include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in FIG. 1A.

[0129] The network device involved in the embodiments of the present application, for example, includes a radio access network (RAN) device. The radio access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB for short), a transmission reception point (TRP), a transmission point (TP), a base station in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access node in a WiFi system, and the like; or can be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of a base station, for example, can be a central unit (CU), can also be a distributed unit (DU), and can also be a radio unit (RU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence layer protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete part of the physical layer or the entire physical layer; the specific description of the above-mentioned protocol layers can refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, for example, in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). In different systems, the CU, the DU, or the RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an open-CU (O-CU), the DU can also be referred to as an open-DU (O-DU), and the RU can also be referred to as an open-RU (O-RU).Any of the CU (or CU control plane (CU-CP), CU user plane (CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. The CU-CP can also be referred to as an open CU-CP (O-CU-CP), and the CU-UP can also be referred to as an open CU-UP (O-CU-UP).

[0130] FIG. 1B exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of an O-RAN system architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application. The O-RAN system in the embodiment provided in the present application can include other components in addition to the components shown in FIG. 1B. As shown in FIG. 1B, an access network device (RAN, which can be an eNB or a next generation NodeB (gNB) or an access network device in a future mobile communication system) communicates with a core network (CN) through a backhaul link and communicates with a user equipment (UE) through an air interface. For example, a baseband unit (BBU) in the access network device communicates with the core network through the backhaul link, and a radio unit (RU) in the access network device communicates with at least one UE through the air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU through a front-haul link, and the BBU and the RU can be co-located or not co-located. The BBU includes at least one control unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU), which can communicate through at least one mid-haul link. In the embodiment of the present application, the first network device can send signaling for scheduling the first network device and / or the auxiliary communication device to the terminal device (for example, the UE), and the sending of the signaling can be performed by the CU and / or the DU in the first network device to the terminal device.

[0131] FIG. 1C illustrates an O-RAN system architecture provided by embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1C, the O-RAN can include an O-CU-CP, an O-CU-UP, an O-DU, and an O-RU. The system architecture can also include an open cloud (O-cloud), a service management and orchestration framework, an open eNB (O-eNB), and near (near)-real time (RT) RIC and non-real time (RT) RIC. The non-RT RIC can implement monitoring, configuration, management, and control of radio resources of at least one of the O-CU-CP, the O-CU-UP, the DU, or the O-eNB. As shown in FIG. 1C, interfaces defined by 3GPP include, for example, El, Fl (e.g., Fl-c, Fl-u), NG (e.g., NG-c, NG-u), Xn (e.g., Xn-c, Xn-u), and X2 (e.g., X2-c, X2-u). For example, the O-RAN communication system also includes some interfaces, such as Ol, O2, E2, Al, Open-front hual (FH) (e.g., Open-FH control (M)-plane, and Open-FH control, user, and synchronization (CUS)-plane). The names of the interfaces and the connection modes of the various units shown in FIG. 1C are examples, and in actual applications, the O-RAN system can include more or fewer interfaces, or more or fewer units.

[0132] The radio access network device can be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in FIG. 1A), a micro base station or an indoor station (e.g., 110b in FIG. 1A), a relay device, a relay node, a donor node, or the like. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the radio access network device. For ease of description, the following describes a base station as an example of the radio access network device.

[0133] The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal device, etc. The terminal device can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, a sensor, etc. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the terminal device.

[0134] The terminal device can establish a connection with the operator network through an interface (such as N1, etc.) provided by the operator network, and use data and / or voice services provided by the operator network. The terminal device can also access the domain name system (DNS) through the operator network, use operator services deployed on the DNS, and / or services provided by a third party. The third party can be a service provider other than the operator network and the terminal device, and can provide the terminal device with data and / or voice services. The specific form of the third party can be determined according to the actual application scenario, which is not limited here.

[0135] The base station and the terminal device can be fixed in position or mobile. The base station and the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and artificial satellites in the air. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal device.

[0136] The roles of the base station and the terminal device can be relative. For example, the helicopter or the drone 120i in FIG. 1A can be configured as a mobile base station, and for the terminal device 120j that accesses the wireless access network 100 through the 120i, the terminal device 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the 120i is a terminal device, that is, the 110a and the 120i communicate through a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, the 110a and the 120i can also communicate through a base station-to-base station interface protocol, and in this case, the 120i is also a base station relative to the 110a. Therefore, the base station and the terminal device can be collectively referred to as a communication device, and the 110a and the 110b in FIG. 1A can be referred to as a communication device with a base station function, and the 120a-120j in FIG. 1A can be referred to as a communication device with a terminal device function.

[0137] The base station and the terminal device, the base station and the base station, and the terminal device and the terminal device can communicate through a licensed frequency spectrum, an unlicensed frequency spectrum, or both. They can communicate through a frequency spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), a frequency spectrum above 6 GHz, or both. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the frequency spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0138] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station can also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station or a control subsystem containing base station functions. The control subsystem containing base station functions herein can be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grids, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. The functions of the terminal device can also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device or a device containing terminal device functions.

[0139] In the present application, the base station sends a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel; the terminal device sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with a cell controlled by the base station. The cell that establishes a wireless connection with the terminal device is called a service cell of the terminal device. When the terminal device communicates with the service cell, it will also be interfered by signals from neighboring cells.

[0140] The core network involved in the embodiments of the present application can include network devices for processing and forwarding signaling and data of a user. For example, it can include core network devices such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane gateway, a positioning management device, and the like. The user plane gateway can be a server having functions of mobility management, routing, forwarding, and the like for user plane data, and is generally located at the network side, such as a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (PGW), a user plane function (UPF), or the like. The AMF and the SMF are equivalent to a mobility management entity (MME) in a long term evolution (LTE) system. The AMF is mainly responsible for admission, and the SMF is mainly responsible for session management. Of course, other network elements can also be included in the core network, which are not listed here.

[0141] Based on the content shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, FIG. 1D also exemplarily shows another system architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1D, the communication system includes a terminal device (for example, a UE), a network device (for example, a base station), and a relay device. The UE shown in FIG. 1D can be replaced by any terminal device shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, or 1C. The base station shown in FIG. 1D can be replaced by the network device (for example, an access network device) shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, or 1C. The relay device shown in FIG. 1D can be the network device shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, or 1C, and the relay device has the capability of forwarding data. Data can be transmitted and received in the form of a signal, so the signal in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by data, and the data can be replaced by a signal.

[0142] In FIG. 1D, the relay device is taken as an example of a network-controlled repeater (NCR). The NCR transparent device can access a base station (parent node) as a UE to receive control signaling (the control signaling controls the behavior of the NCR for data forwarding) from the base station. The NCR can also amplify and forward the signals between the UE and the base station.

[0143] Based on the content shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C and FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E further exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a system architecture to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1E, the communication system includes terminal devices (e.g., UEs), network devices (e.g., base stations), and relay devices. The UE shown in FIG. 1E can be replaced by any terminal device shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C or FIG. 1D. The base station shown in FIG. 1D can be replaced by the network device (e.g., access network device) shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C or FIG. 1D. The relay device shown in FIG. 1E can be the network device shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C or FIG. 1D, and the relay device has the capability of forwarding data.

[0144] As shown in FIG. 1E, the relay device (e.g., NCR, satellite or other relay device) includes two functional entities, a mobile termination (MT) entity (the relay device is NCR, and the MT entity can also be referred to as an NCR MT (also denoted as NCR-MT) entity) and a forwarding (Fwd) entity (the relay device is NCR, and the Fwd entity can also be referred to as an NCR Fwd (also denoted as NCR-Fwd) entity).

[0145] The MT entity can be defined as a functional entity that communicates with the base station through a control link (C-link) to exchange control information. The C-link can be based on the NR Uu interface, i.e., the NCR-MT entity is connected to the gNB through the Uu interface, and the base station uses the C-link to control the relay device. For example, the relay device can receive control information (e.g., side information for controlling the Fwd entity), beam control information (e.g., beam control information for the control link, backhaul link or access link), switching of the relay device (i.e., the on and off state of the NCR), or NCR signal transmission power control, etc. from the base station through the C-link. The relay device amplifies and forwards the data between the base station and the UE without decoding the data, etc.

[0146] The Fwd entity is defined as a functional entity that performs amplification and forwarding of uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) radio frequency (RF) signals between the base station and the UE through the backhaul link and the access link. The behavior of the Fwd entity can be controlled according to the control information received from the base station.

[0147] FIG. 1F and FIG. 1G exemplarily show network architecture diagrams of several communication systems to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. The communication system can include satellites, network devices, terminal devices, and the like. The communication system can also include gateways and core network devices. FIG. 1F and FIG. 1G exemplarily show a converged network architecture of an NTN and a terrestrial network. The following is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0148] The satellite can be a highly elliptical orbiting (HEO) satellite, a geosynchronous orbit (GSO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, and a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the working mode of the satellite, for example, the working mode of the satellite can be a transparent mode or a regenerative mode. FIG. 1F is a schematic diagram taking the working mode of the satellite as the transparent mode, and FIG. 1G is a schematic diagram taking the working mode of the satellite as the regenerative mode.

[0149] When the satellite works in the transparent mode, the satellite has the function of transparent forwarding of relaying. The gateway has the function of a network device (such as a base station) or part of the function of a network device (such as a base station), at this time, the gateway can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station). Alternatively, the network device (such as a base station) can be deployed separately from the gateway, and then the delay of the feeder link includes the delay of the satellite to the gateway and the delay of the gateway to the gNB. The transparent mode discussed later is an example taking the case that the gateway and the gNB are together or close to each other, and for the case that the gateway is far away from the gNB, the delay of the feeder link is the sum of the delay of the satellite to the gateway and the delay of the gateway to the gNB.

[0150] When the satellite works in the regenerative mode, the satellite has data processing capability, has the function of a network device (such as a base station) or part of the function of a network device (such as a base station), at this time, the satellite can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station).

[0151] The satellite can perform wireless communication with the terminal device through broadcast communication signals and navigation signals, and the like. Optionally, each satellite can provide communication services, navigation services, positioning services, and the like for terminal devices through multiple beams. For example, each satellite uses multiple beams to cover a service area, and the relationship between different beams can be one or more of time division, frequency division, and space division.

[0152] A gateway (or ground station, earth station, interface station, interface station) can be used to connect a satellite and a ground network device (such as a ground base station). One or more satellites can be connected to one or more ground network devices (such as ground base stations) through one or more gateways, which is not limited herein. The link between a satellite and a terminal device is referred to as a service link, and the link between a satellite and a gateway is referred to as a feeder link. The network device can be deployed separately from the gateway, and the delay of the feeder link can include the delay of the satellite to the gateway and the gateway to the network device.

[0153] The network device in the embodiments of the present application can include a network device deployed on a satellite (such as a satellite base station), can include a network device deployed on a gateway, and can include a network device deployed on the ground (such as a ground base station). For example, the network device can be a radio access network (RAN) node, a RAN node in an O-RAN system, and the like shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0154] The core network (CN) is a device disposed on the ground and capable of communicating with the NTN device in the NTN system. For example, the CN can be the CN involved in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0155] The terminal device can be the terminal device involved in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0156] The embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to other communication system architectures, such as an air to ground (ATG) communication system, which includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal device. The high-altitude terminal device includes, for example, a high-altitude aircraft and an on-board terminal device. The satellite in the above-mentioned FIGS. 1F and 1G can be replaced by other relay devices, such as a high altitude platform station (HAPS) or other NTN device. The communication system shown in FIG. 1F or FIG. 1G is an example and does not limit the communication system to which the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable.

[0157] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to an air to ground (ATG) communication system. As an example, please refer to FIG. 1H, which is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of another communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one high-altitude terminal device. Data forwarding between the network device and the high-altitude terminal device can also be performed through a relay device. The high-altitude terminal device includes, for example, a high-altitude aircraft and an on-board terminal device.

[0158] FIG. 1I exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another communication system architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1I, the communication system includes a gateway, a satellite, a relay device deployed on the ground, a UE located on the ground, a UE located in the high altitude (for example, a high-altitude aircraft or an on-board terminal device, etc.), and a relay device located in the high altitude (for example, the satellite shown in FIG. 1I, which can be an NCR / including an integrated access and backhaul (IAB)-MT entity).

[0159] As shown in FIG. 1I, the gateway can transmit a base station signal to the relay device deployed on the ground through the satellite, and the relay device deployed on the ground can forward the base station signal to the UE on the ground, the UE in the sky / space (for example, an aircraft, a satellite device (for example, a satellite including an IAB-MT entity), etc.). The relay device deployed on the ground can also forward the base station signal to the next relay device, which can be deployed on the ground or in the air. In FIG. 1I, the next relay device is exemplarily shown as a satellite in the air, which can be an NCR and forward the received data (which can also be forwarded to other UEs or other relay devices). The base station signal can come from a ground base station or a satellite base station, etc.

[0160] In another example, the gateway can transmit a base station signal to the relay device deployed on the ground through the satellite, and the relay device deployed on the ground can forward a signal from a UE (for example, a UE deployed on the ground, an aircraft in the air, or a satellite configured to include an IAB-MT entity) or another relay device (for example, the satellite configured as an NCR in the figure) to the gateway (for example, through the satellite to the gateway, or directly to the gateway), and the gateway sends the received UE signal to the base station. The UE signal can come from a ground UE or a high-altitude UE.

[0161] Based on the content shown in at least one of FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G, 1H and 1I and the other content described above, FIG. 2 exemplarily shows a possible flow diagram of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. For ease of understanding, the interaction between the terminal device, the relay device and the network device is taken as an example for introduction in FIG. 2.

[0162] The terminal device in FIG. 2 can be a terminal device or a chip system inside the terminal device in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 1H, and FIG. 1I. The terminal device can be located on the ground or in the air (for example, an aerial vehicle or an on-board terminal device). The network device in FIG. 2 can be a network device or a chip system inside the network device in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 1H, and FIG. 1I. The network device can be an access network device. The network device can be deployed on the ground or in the air (for example, a satellite).

[0163] The relay device in FIG. 2 can be a relay device or a chip system inside the relay device with a data forwarding function. The relay device can be a network device. The relay device can be an NCR deployed on the ground or in the air. For example, the relay device is a satellite. For example, the relay device is a satellite that can work in a transparent mode. For example, the satellite enables a relay transparent forwarding function. The satellite can not work in (or support) a regenerative mode (for example, the satellite can not perform a decoding operation on received forwarding data, or does not have a decoding capability for forwarding data, etc.).

[0164] In the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device and the network device can include one relay device, or can include multiple relay devices. The terminal device and the network device can also include or not include other communication devices. For example, the network device and the relay device can perform signal transmission through an air interface, or the network device and the relay device can perform signal transmission through a link formed by one or more other communication devices. For example, the terminal device and the relay device can perform signal transmission through an air interface, or the terminal device and the relay device can perform signal transmission through a link formed by one or more other communication devices. In the embodiments of the present application, one terminal device and one relay device between the network device are taken as an example for introduction. The schemes of other relay devices can refer to the related content of the relay device introduced in the embodiments of the present application, and will not be described here.

[0165] The scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable to downlink data transmission (the downlink data transmission refers to the transmission of signals sent by the network device to the terminal device), and is also applicable to uplink data transmission (the uplink data transmission refers to the transmission of signals sent by the terminal device to the network device). The following FIG. 2 takes the downlink data transmission as an example for introduction. The uplink data transmission will be described in detail in the subsequent content, which will not be described here.

[0166] The following will be introduced with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0167] At step 201, the relay device sends information indicating antenna information of the relay device to the network device.

[0168] Correspondingly, the network device receives the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device.

[0169] In a possible implementation, the antenna information of the relay device includes antenna information of F1 first antennas involved later. The description of the F1 first antennas can be referred to the content involved later, and is not described here.

[0170] Since the network device can obtain the antenna information of the relay device, the network device can select F1 first antennas for the relay device based on the received antenna information. In another aspect, the antenna information can also assist the network device to determine the precoding coefficients. For example, the network device can determine the positions of the antennas according to the distribution form of the antennas and / or the spacing of the antennas. Then, the network device can determine the precoding coefficients corresponding to the channels between the antennas of the relay device and the terminal device based on the positions of the antennas and the position of the terminal device, and then the network device precodes the signal based on the precoding coefficients, so that the anti-interference capability of the signal can be improved and the communication performance can be improved.

[0171] For example, one antenna of the relay device can include / be one physical antenna port or multiple physical antenna ports. Alternatively, one antenna of the relay device can include / be one logical antenna port, and one logical antenna port can include / be one or more physical antenna ports. The antenna (for example, the first antenna and / or the second antenna involved later) in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by: an antenna element, an antenna feed, an antenna feed element, a feed, a feed element, an antenna port, a port, a physical antenna port, or a logical antenna port. The above-mentioned replacement manners of the antenna can be replaced with each other, for example, the feed element signal can be replaced by the antenna element signal.

[0172] In a possible implementation, the antenna of the relay device for receiving the signal (for example, the F1 first signals) from the network device can be a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) antenna. The antenna of the relay device for sending the signal (for example, the F1 first signals) to one or more terminal devices can be an antenna array. The set of the antennas of the relay device for receiving the signal from the network device and the set of the antennas of the relay device for sending the signal to the terminal device can be disjointed or different (or can also be intersected or the same).

[0173] For example, in step 201, the relay device can send to the network device antenna information of antennas used by the relay device to send signals to one or more terminal devices. For another example, the relay device can report to the network device antenna information of antennas used by the relay device to send / receive signals. For another example, the relay device can send to the network device antenna information of antennas (e.g., the maximum number of antennas that can be used) that can be used by the relay device to forward signals. For another example, the relay device can report to the network device antenna information of antenna capability (e.g., the distribution of antennas) that the relay device has.

[0174] In a possible implementation, the antenna information of antennas sent by the relay device can include at least one of the following information A-1 (the number of antennas of the relay device), information A-2 (the distribution of antennas of the relay device), and information A-3 (the spacing between two antennas of the relay device).

[0175] Information A-1, the number of antennas of the relay device.

[0176] Information A-2, the distribution of antennas of the relay device.

[0177] The distribution of antennas of the relay device includes one of the following:

[0178] Rectangular grid distribution, triangular grid distribution, concentric circular ring distribution, or elliptical ring grid distribution.

[0179] The distribution of antennas of the relay device can further include more contents, for example, including 2*2 rectangular grid, 2*4 rectangular grid, and the like. The present embodiment exemplarily lists some examples of the distribution of antennas, and in the future, there can be more distributions of antennas, which are not limited in the present embodiment.

[0180] Information A-3, the spacing between two antennas of the relay device.

[0181] For example, the value of parameter #3 can include the spacing between two adjacent antennas of the relay device.

[0182] For example, if the two antennas are physical antenna ports, the spacing between the two antennas can be the spacing between the two physical antenna ports.

[0183] For example, if the two antennas are logical antenna ports, the spacing between the two logical antenna ports can be the spacing between the center points of the two logical antenna ports, or the spacing between two physical antenna ports respectively belonging to the two logical antenna ports, and the like.

[0184] In another possible implementation, the antenna information of the relay device includes / is: information used for determining a precoding matrix. The relay device can report parameters according to requirements of an algorithm for calculating the precoding matrix. For example, the algorithm for the precoding matrix requires reporting information A-1 and information A-2, and the relay device can report the information A-1 and the information A-2.

[0185] In step 201, the relay device sends information indicating the antenna information of the relay device in various forms. For example, the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device includes / is the antenna information of the relay device (implementation B-1), or the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device includes / is an index number of the antenna information of the relay device (implementation B-2), so that the network device finds the antenna information of the relay device corresponding to the index number from a preconfigured association between index numbers of antenna information and antenna information. The following describes the implementation B-1 and the implementation B-2.

[0186] In the implementation B-1, the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device includes / is the antenna information of the relay device.

[0187] For example, the relay device sends a message to the network device, and the message carries a parameter #1. The value of the parameter #1 can be the number of antennas of the relay device. The parameter #1 can be referred to as Feed_num.

[0188] For another example, the relay device sends a message to the network device, and the message carries a parameter #2. The value of the parameter #2 can be identification information or an index number of an antenna distribution form of the relay device. The relay device side and the network device side can preconfigure several antenna distribution forms. The antenna distribution form of the relay device belongs to one of the preconfigured several antenna distribution forms. The relay device includes the identification information or the index number of the antenna distribution form. The network device can determine the corresponding antenna distribution form according to the identification information or the index number of the antenna distribution form.

[0189] For example, the relay device sends a message to the network device, and the message carries a parameter #3. The value of the parameter #3 can include the spacing between antennas of the relay device.

[0190] In the implementation B-2, the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device includes / is an index number of the antenna information of the relay device.

[0191] The relay device and the network device can respectively configure the association relationship between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information. The association relationship between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information on the side of the relay device can be agreed by a protocol, pre-stored, or sent by the network device to the relay device. The association relationship between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information on the side of the network device can be agreed by a protocol or pre-stored. The relay device can send the index number of the antenna information to the network device, and the network device can find the association relationship between the index number of the antenna information and the antenna information according to the received index number of the antenna information, so as to obtain the antenna information corresponding to the index number. This scheme can save the amount of information of the antenna information sent by the relay device, thereby saving the signaling overhead.

[0192] Table 1 exemplarily introduces an example of the index number of the antenna information and the association relationship between the antenna information. As shown in Table 1, the antenna information corresponding to the index number 1 of the antenna information has an antenna quantity of 4 and a distribution form of a 2*2 rectangular grid. The meanings of the remaining contents in the table are similar, and will not be described again.

[0193] Table 1 exemplarily introduces an example of the index number of the antenna information and the association relationship between the antenna information. As shown in Table 1, the antenna information corresponding to the index number 1 of the antenna information has an antenna quantity of 4 and a distribution form of a 2*2 rectangular grid. The meanings of the remaining contents in the table are similar, and will not be described again.

[0194] Step 201 can be executed or not executed. For example, when step 201 is not executed, the network device learns the antenna information of the relay device through other manners, for example, the antenna information of the relay device can be pre-configured on the side of the network device.

[0195] In step 202, the network device sends first information to the relay device.

[0196] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the first information.

[0197] For example, the network device can transmit the first information to the relay device through a control link.

[0198] In a possible implementation, the first information can include at least one of the following information: information C-1 (information for indicating the signal group quantity of the F1 group first signal), information C-2 (information for indicating the resource of the F1 group first signal), information C-3 (information for indicating the F1 first antenna), information C-4 (information for indicating the association relationship between the F1 group first signal and the F1 first antenna), or information C-5 (information for indicating the association relationship between the resource of the F1 group first signal and the F1 first antenna). Multiple information in the information C-1, the information C-2, the information C-3, the information C-4, and the information C-5 can be carried in the same message or multiple messages.

[0199] Information C-1, information for indicating the number of signal groups of the F1 group first signal.

[0200] The information for indicating the number of signal groups of the F1 group first signal can comprise: indication information of the number of signal groups of the F1 group first signal; and / or information for indicating the resource of the F1 group first signal (e.g. the resource of the F1 group first signal transmitted by the network device).

[0201] For example, the relay device receives the information for indicating the resource of the F1 group first signal (e.g. the resource of the F1 group first signal transmitted by the network device), and the relay device can infer the number of signal groups of the F1 group first signal according to the information of the resource of the F1 group first signal. The information for indicating the resource of the F1 group first signal can implicitly indicate the number of signal groups of the F1 group first signal, and in this implementation, the network device can no longer additionally transmit the information for indicating the number of signal groups of the F1 group first signal, thereby saving resource overhead.

[0202] The information of the number of groups of the first signal can enable the relay device to know the number of groups of the first signal that need to be received, and transmit the corresponding multiple groups of the first signal through the corresponding antennas, thereby preventing the relay device from transmitting less than a certain group or several groups of the first signal, and thereby avoiding the anti-interference effect brought by precoding being greatly reduced, and also avoiding additional increase of the inter-beam or inter-UE co-frequency interference. For example, the relay device receives indication of transmission of four groups of the first signal, but the relay device first receives three groups of the first signal, and if the relay device transmits the three groups of the first signal, it will cause additional co-frequency interference, and in this case, the relay device can not transmit the three groups of the first signal, but wait until the fourth group of the first signal is received, and then transmit the four groups of the first signal, thereby improving the signal resistance to interference.

[0203] Information C-2, information for indicating the resource of the F1 group first signal.

[0204] The information for indicating the resource of the F1 group first signal can be replaced by information for indicating the resource of receiving the F1 group first signal, or by information of the resource used by the network device to transmit the F1 group first signal. The relay device can receive the F1 group first signal on the resource indicated by the information for indicating the resource of the F1 group first signal.

[0205] For example, the resource of the F1 group first signal includes at least one of the following: time domain resource occupied by the F1 group first signal, frequency domain resource occupied by the F1 group first signal, or polarization mode corresponding to the F1 group first signal. The polarization mode may, for example, include left-hand polarization and right-hand polarization. The time domain resources corresponding to two groups of first signals in the F1 group first signal can be the same or different. The frequency domain resources corresponding to two groups of first signals in the F1 group first signal can be the same or different. The polarization resources corresponding to two groups of first signals in the F1 group first signal can be the same or different.

[0206] In a possible implementation, when the resources (for example, time domain resources) corresponding to multiple groups of first signals in the F1 group first signal are the same, the multiple groups of first signals can multiplex the same indication information of the resource (for example, indication information of the time domain resource), so that signaling overhead can be saved.

[0207] Information C-3 for indicating F1 first antennas.

[0208] The F1 first antennas belong to part or all of the antennas of the relay device. F1 is a positive integer.

[0209] After the relay device receives the information for indicating the F1 first antennas, the relay device can determine the antennas needed for transmitting the F1 group first signals, and then can transmit, through one first antenna, a signal processed by the corresponding precoding of the first antenna, so that the precoding-processed signal can better resist interference in the channel corresponding to the first antenna, thereby improving the data transmission quality.

[0210] The information for indicating the F1 first antennas includes at least one of the following: identification information of the F1 first antennas; position information of the F1 first antennas; index numbers of the F1 first antennas; or bitmap information.

[0211] For example, the 16 first antennas of the relay device are numbered in a predetermined order as 0-15, and 0-15 are the index numbers of the 16 first antennas. For example, the F1 first antennas are 0-7, and the information for indicating the F1 first antennas is the index numbers 0-7 of the first antennas.

[0212] For another example, the bitmap information includes 16 bits, one bit corresponding to one first antenna of the relay device, and the 16 bits corresponding to the 16 first antennas. For example, the F1 first antennas are 0-7, and the bit values of the bits associated with the F1 first antennas (the 8 first antennas) in the bitmap information are specified values. For example, the specified value is 1, and the values of the bits corresponding to the other 8-15 first antennas are non-specified values (for example, 0). For another example, the specified value is 0, and the values of the bits corresponding to the other 8-15 first antennas are non-specified values (for example, 1).

[0213] For another example, the position information of the first antenna can be given in the form of coordinates. For example, the position information of the first antenna is (1, 1), which indicates that the first antenna is located in the first row and the first column in the antenna area of the relay device. For another example, the position information of the first antenna is (1, 2), which indicates that the first antenna is located in the first row and the second column in the antenna area of the relay device.

[0214] Information C-4 is information for indicating the association relationship between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas.

[0215] For example, one group of first signals is associated with one first antenna, and one first antenna is associated with one group of first signals.

[0216] In the embodiments of the present application, the F1 groups of first signals can be obtained by pre-coding the B1 groups of second signals. The relay device can subsequently send the F1 groups of first signals through the F1 first antennas according to the association relationship between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas. For example, F1 is 4, and the 4 groups of first signals are group #11, group #12, group #13 and group #14. Group #11 is associated with first antenna #11, group #12 is associated with first antenna #12, group #13 is associated with first antenna #13, and group #14 is associated with first antenna #14. The relay device can send the first signals of group #11 through first antenna #11, send the first signals of group #12 through first antenna #12, send the first signals of group #13 through first antenna #13, and send the first signals of group #14 through first antenna #14.

[0217] In a possible implementation, the association relationship between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas can be predefined, or pre-stored by the network device and the relay device or agreed through a protocol / technical standard / technical specification.

[0218] For one (or each) of the F1 first antennas: the group of first signals associated with the first antenna is obtained by pre-coding the B1 groups of second signals through the B1 pre-coding coefficients associated with the first antenna. Since the relay device can send the group of signals processed by pre-coding corresponding to the first antenna through the first antenna, the group of signals can better resist interference in the channels corresponding to the F1 first antennas in combination with other groups of signals, thereby improving the data transmission quality.

[0219] Information C-5 is information for indicating the association relationship between the resources of the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas.

[0220] The information for indicating the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas can include / be: information for indicating the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals sent by the network device and the F1 first antennas.

[0221] In the embodiments of the present application, for the resources of a group of first signals in the F1 group of first signals, the resources (for example, frequency domain resources, or polarization modes) used by the network device to send the group of first signals can be the same as or different from the resources (for example, frequency domain resources, or polarization modes) used by the relay device to send the group of first signals.

[0222] The information for indicating the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas can be used to determine the association relationship between the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas. The information for indicating the association relationship between the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas can implicitly indicate or agree on the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas. In this implementation, the network device can no longer send the information for indicating the association relationship between the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas, thereby saving signaling overhead. Alternatively, the above information C-4 can be replaced by information C-5.

[0223] For example, there is an association relationship (the association relationship in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by a corresponding relationship, a mapping relationship, etc.) between the frequency domain resources of the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas. For example, the first antenna #11 is mapped with the frequency domain resources RB#0-RB#1, and the relay device needs to extract the signals carried by RB#0-RB#1 from the signals from the network device, and then send the signals through the first antenna #11, and the frequency domain resources used by the relay device to send the signals can be RB#0-RB#1 or can not be RB#0-RB#1. For example, the first antenna #12 is mapped with the frequency domain resources RB#2-RB#3, and the relay device needs to extract the signals carried by RB#2-RB#3 from the signals from the network device, and then send the signals through the first antenna #12, and the frequency domain resources used by the relay device to send the signals can be RB#2-RB#3 or can not be RB#2-RB#3.

[0224] In a possible implementation, the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas can be predefined, or pre-stored by the network device and the relay device or agreed upon through a protocol / technical standard / technical specification.

[0225] An example of the index number of a group of first signals, the time domain resource used by the network device to send the group of first signals, the frequency domain resource, the polarization mode, and the association relationship of the first antenna corresponding to the first signal is given in Table 2. The association relationship given in Table 2 can be sent by the network device to the relay device through one message or multiple messages. As shown in Table 2, for the group of first signals with the index number 1, the time domain resource used by the network device to send the group of first signals is time slots x1-y1, the frequency domain resource used by the network device to send the group of first signals is RB z1-w1, the polarization mode used by the network device to send the group of first signals is left-handed polarization, and the first antenna used by the relay device to send the group of first signals is the antenna located at the first row and the first column of the antenna area of the relay device. The meanings of the remaining contents in the table are similar, and are not described herein.

[0226] An example of the index number of a group of first signals, the time domain resource used by the network device to send the group of first signals, the frequency domain resource, the polarization mode, and the association relationship of the first antenna corresponding to the first signal is given in Table 1.

[0227] In a possible implementation, the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas can be predefined, or pre-stored or agreed by the network device and the relay device through a protocol / technical standard / technical specification.

[0228] In step 203, the network device acquires the B1 group of second signals.

[0229] B1 is a positive integer. For example, B1 is 1 or an integer greater than 1.

[0230] For the sake of distinction, the signal acquired by the network device and needed to be transmitted to the terminal device is referred to as a second signal in the embodiments of the present application. A group of second signals can include one or more second signals. The number of second signals included in two groups of second signals can be equal or unequal. The B1 group of second signals can be replaced by other names in the embodiments of the present application, for example, replaced by B1 second signals, a set of B1 second signals, etc.

[0231] In a possible implementation, the second signal in the B1 group of second signals can be a signal corresponding to the data sent by the network device to at least one terminal device. For example, it can be a signal corresponding to the service data sent by the network device to at least one terminal device. For another example, it can be a signal corresponding to the service data sent by the network device to the terminal device based on the service request sent by the terminal device. The F1 group of first signals are signals after the pre-coding processing of the B1 group of second signals.

[0232] The second set of signals can be signals that a terminal device needs to receive, or signals that one or more terminal devices in a region corresponding to a beam need to receive. The following examples one and two are used for illustrative purposes.

[0233] Example one: the number of the second set of signals B1 can be the number of terminal devices corresponding to the second set of signals B1. For example, the second set of signals B1 are signals corresponding to B1 terminal devices. The signals corresponding to a terminal device can be referred to as a second set of signals. In this way, a second set of signals can correspond to a terminal device. This scheme can control the granularity of the scheme at the terminal device level, thereby providing more personalized services for individual terminal devices.

[0234] For example, B1 is 4, and the four second sets of signals are marked as set #21, set #22, set #23, and set #24. The second signals in set #21 correspond to terminal device #1, and the second signals in set #21 are signals that terminal device #1 needs to receive (or decode), or the second signals in set #21 are signals that the network device needs to send to terminal device #1. Similarly, the second signals in set #22 correspond to terminal device #2, the second signals in set #23 correspond to terminal device #3, and the second signals in set #24 correspond to terminal device #4. For related content, see the description of set #21, which is not repeated here.

[0235] Example two: the number of the second set of signals B1 can be the number of beams corresponding to the second set of signals B1. For example, the second set of signals B1 are signals corresponding to B1 beams. The signals corresponding to a beam can be referred to as a second set of signals. In this way, a second set of signals can correspond to a beam coverage area. This scheme can control the granularity of the scheme at the beam level, thereby providing services for individual beam coverage areas, and the granularity will not be too small, thereby reducing resource overhead during scheme execution.

[0236] For example, B1 is 4, and the four second sets of signals are marked as set #21, set #22, set #23, and set #24. The second signals in set #21 correspond to beam #1, and the second signals in set #21 are signals that one or more terminal devices in the region corresponding to beam #1 need to receive, or the second signals in set #21 are signals that the network device needs to send to one or more terminal devices in the region corresponding to beam #1. In the embodiments of the present application, there can be one or more terminal devices in the region corresponding to a beam. Similarly, the second signals in set #22 correspond to beam #2, the second signals in set #23 correspond to beam #3, and the second signals in set #24 correspond to beam #4. For related content, see the description of set #21, which is not repeated here.

[0237] Step 204: the network device sends F1 first signals to the relay device.

[0238] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the F1 set of first signals.

[0239] In a possible implementation, the network device can perform first processing on the B1 set of second signals through one or more precoding coefficients to obtain the F1 set of first signals. In the embodiments of the present application, the first processing performed by the network device on the B1 set of second signals can include / be: precoding, or digital beamforming (DBF), or analog beamforming, or beamforming. In the embodiments of the present application, the first processing is taken as precoding processing as an example for description, and the precoding processing can be replaced by DBF, analog beamforming, or beamforming, etc.

[0240] The one or more precoding coefficients can be in the form of a precoding matrix. The F1 set of first signals is a signal obtained by precoding the B1 set of second signals through the precoding matrix.

[0241] The F1 set of first signals can include one or more sets of first signals. The number of first signals included in the two sets of first signals can be equal or unequal. In the embodiments of the present application, the F1 set of first signals can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by: F1 first signals, a set of F1 first signals, etc. Each set of first signals in the F1 set of first signals can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by: a set of signals after precoding, a set of signals after encoding, a set of feed element signals, a set of feed signals, a set of antenna element signals, a set of antenna signals, or a set of signals corresponding to one antenna feed (source) / antenna element, etc.

[0242] The F1 set of first signals and the F1 first antennas of the relay device have a correlation relationship. For example, the F1 set of first signals can correspond to the F1 first antennas of the relay device in one-to-one correspondence, one set of first signals corresponds to one first antenna, one first antenna corresponds to one set of first signals, and the relay device can send the set of first signals corresponding to the first antenna through the first antenna. For example, the F1 set of first signals satisfies the following formula (1): F1×1 = W F1×B1 *S B1×1 …… Formula (1)

[0243] In formula (1), S F1×1 represents the F1 set of first signals, W F1×B1represents the precoding matrix of F1 rows and B1 columns, S B1×1 represents the B1 groups of second signals. In the embodiments of the present application, represents multiplication, and no further description is given for other positions.

[0244] For the convenience of understanding, taking F1 as 3 and B1 as 3 as an example, the above formula (1) can be converted into the following formula (2):

[0245] In formula (2), F 11 , F 21 and F 31 are three groups of first signals (S F1×1 ) sent by the relay device through the first antenna #11, the first antenna #12 and the first antenna #13 respectively, one first antenna is used to send one group of first signals, B 11 , B 21 and B 31 are B1 groups of second signals (W F1×B1 ) of F1 rows and B1 columns.

[0246] As can be seen from the above formula (2), F 11 =(W 11 *B 11 +W 12 *B 21 +W 13 *B 31 ), F 21 =(W 21 *B 11 +W 22 *B 21 +W 23 *B 31 ), F 31 =(W 31 *B 11 +W 32 *B 21 +W 33 *B 31 ). For example, F 11 may be sent through the first antenna #11 of the relay device, F 21 may be sent through the first antenna #12 of the relay device, and F 31 may be sent through the first antenna #13 of the relay device. For example, W 11 , W 21 , W 31 may be regarded as coefficients determined according to the channel between the first antenna #11, the first antenna #12, the first antenna #13 and the corresponding terminal device of the signal B 11 . W 12, W 22 , W 32 may be considered as the first antenna #11, the first antenna #12, the first antenna #13 and the signal B 12 corresponding to the channel determined between the terminal devices. In another possible implementation, the determination of the precoding coefficients of a certain terminal device can also take into account the channel conditions between the other terminal devices and the antennas. 13 , W 23 , W 33 may be considered as the first antenna #11, the first antenna #12, the first antenna #13 and the signal B 13 corresponding to the channel determined between the terminal devices. In another possible implementation, the determination of the precoding coefficients of a certain terminal device can also take into account the channel conditions between the other terminal devices and the antennas.

[0247] In one possible implementation, for one of the F1 first antennas (e.g. the first antenna #11):

[0248] The set of first signals (e.g. F 11 ) associated with the first antenna (e.g. the first antenna #11) is obtained by precoding the B1 set of second signals (e.g. B 11 , B 12 and B 13 ) with the B1 precoding coefficients (e.g. W 11 , W 21 and W 31 ) associated with the first antenna (e.g. the first antenna #11) (e.g. F 11 = (W 11 *B 11 + W 12 *B 21 + W 13 *B 31 ). The description of F 21 and F 31 can be referred to the description of F 11 , which is similar and thus will not be repeated. For one of the B1 set of second signals (e.g. B 11 ), the precoding coefficient (e.g. W 11 ) used for precoding the set of second signals (e.g. B 11 ) is also associated with the channel corresponding to the at least one terminal device associated with the set of second signals (e.g. B 11 ). As can be seen from the above formula, W 11 is used for precoding B 11 , W 11 may be determined according to the channel between the terminal device (one or more terminal devices) corresponding to the first antenna #11 and the signal B 11 , thus W 11 is used for precoding B 11Pre-coding can be used to combat interference in the channel and improve the quality of the transmitted signal. Similarly, W 12 Pre-coding can be used to combat interference in the channel and improve the quality of the transmitted signal. Similarly, W 12 Pre-coding can be used to combat interference in the channel and improve the quality of the transmitted signal. Similarly, W 13 Pre-coding can be used to combat interference in the channel and improve the quality of the transmitted signal. Similarly, W 13 Pre-coding can be used to combat interference in the channel and improve the quality of the transmitted signal. Similarly, W 11 Pre-coding can be used to combat interference in the channel and improve the quality of the transmitted signal. Similarly, W

[0249] In one possible implementation, the pre-coding coefficients corresponding to the two terminal devices can be different or the same. For example, the pre-coding coefficients W 11 and W 12 may be different or the same. In another possible implementation, for a region, e.g. a region corresponding to a beam, the channel states corresponding to the multiple terminal devices associated with the same first antenna in the region can be similar, and thus the multiple terminal devices associated with the same first antenna in the region can use the same pre-coding coefficient (e.g. W 11 and W 12 are the same). For example, the multiple terminal devices associated with the same first antenna in the region can also use different pre-coding coefficients (e.g. W 11 and W 12 are different).

[0250] In one possible implementation, the pre-coding matrix is determined based on at least one of the following: channel information between the terminal device and the network device; channel information between the terminal device, the antenna of the relay device and the network device; channel information between the terminal device and the antenna of the relay device; or, location information of the terminal device. For example, the network device can obtain at least one of the above information (e.g. obtain channel information (e.g. channel state information) between the terminal device and the network device, or obtain location information of the terminal device), and then determine the pre-coding matrix based on the obtained information. For another example, the network device can receive a pre-coding matrix indication (PMI) from the terminal device, and then determine the pre-coding matrix based on the PMI. The pre-coding coefficients used by the two groups of second signals can be different or the same. For example, the network device can configure a better pre-coding matrix (or pre-coding coefficient) based on the channel condition of the terminal device or the region corresponding to the beam. Or the network device can determine a better pre-coding matrix (or pre-coding coefficient) based on the location relationship between the relay device and the terminal device (the region corresponding to the beam).

[0251] In a possible implementation, the network device can send the F1 group first signals through the backhaul link. For example, the F1 group first signals are sent by the network device through at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. For example, the F1 group first signals sent by the network device occupy the same time domain resources but different frequency domain resources and / or different polarization manners. In this way, resource overhead can be saved, and data transmission efficiency can be improved. Correspondingly, the relay device can obtain the F1 group first signals through at least one of frequency division demultiplexing, time division demultiplexing, or polarization demultiplexing. For example, frequency division demultiplexing of the relay device can be implemented in an analog domain or a digital domain.

[0252] In another possible implementation, the relay device can process the received signals through analog or digital filtering to obtain (or extract) the F1 group first signals. In this way, the relay device can flexibly select a filtering manner based on its capability and applicable scenario.

[0253] In step 205, the relay device sends the F1 group first signals to at least one terminal device.

[0254] Correspondingly, the one or more terminal devices receive the F1 group first signals.

[0255] The F1 group first signals are associated with the F1 first antennas of the relay device. For example, the F1 group first signals can be in one-to-one correspondence with the F1 first antennas of the relay device, and the relay device can send a group of first signals corresponding to one first antenna through the first antenna. For example, the first signal F 11 may be sent through the first antenna #11 of the relay device, the first signal F 21 may be sent through the first antenna #12 of the relay device, the first signal F 31 may be sent through the first antenna #13 of the relay device.

[0256] One first antenna of the relay device can include / be one antenna of the relay device. For example, one first antenna can include / be one physical antenna port or a plurality of physical antenna ports. Alternatively, one first antenna of the relay device can include / be one logical antenna port, and one logical antenna port can include / be one or more physical antenna ports.

[0257] For ease of understanding, FIG. 3 exemplarily shows a possible method flow diagram of downlink data transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, a network device (for example, a base station or a gateway deployed on the ground) acquires a B1 set of second signals. The B1 set of second signals in the embodiments of the present application can be generated by the network device or received by the network device from other devices. The network device performs first processing (for example, precoding processing is taken as an example for illustration in FIG. 3) on the B1 set of second signals to obtain a F1 set of first signals. The network device transmits the F1 set of first signals by at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing or polarization multiplexing. The F1 set of first signals is transmitted through an air interface.

[0258] FIG. 3 takes a satellite as an example for illustration of the relay device, which can include two parts, an MT entity and a forwarding entity. The link between the MT entity of the relay device and the network device is a control link, and the link between the forwarding (Fwd) entity and the network device is a backhaul link. The link between the forwarding entity and the terminal device is an access link. For related solutions, refer to the related description of FIG. 1E.

[0259] In a possible implementation, the relay device can include two function units, a feed signal separation and extraction unit and a feed signal and feed mapping unit. The relay device can process the received signals by analog or digital filtering to obtain the F1 set of first signals (or extract, or sort or extract the F1 set of first signals). The feed signal separation and extraction unit of the relay device can then be used to obtain each set of first signals in the F1 set of first signals by at least one of de-frequency division multiplexing, de-time division multiplexing or de-polarization multiplexing. The feed signal and feed mapping unit can be used to input the F1 set of first signals into the first antennas corresponding to each set of first signals, and transmit to the terminal device.

[0260] For example, when the network device uses frequency division multiplexing to transmit multiple sets of signals to be transmitted, the relay device can perform de-frequency division multiplexing on the received signals. When the network device uses time division multiplexing to transmit multiple sets of signals to be transmitted, the relay device can perform de-time division multiplexing on the received signals. When the network device uses polarization multiplexing to transmit multiple sets of signals to be transmitted, the relay device can perform de-polarization multiplexing on the received signals. Multiple multiplexing and de-multiplexing methods can be combined for use. For example, when the network device uses frequency division multiplexing and polarization multiplexing to transmit multiple sets of signals to be transmitted, the relay device can perform de-frequency division multiplexing and de-polarization multiplexing on the received signals. Other combination methods are similar and will not be described here.

[0261] In the prior art, in the scenario where the relay device transmits data, the relay device cannot control the beam according to the precoded data, and thus the interference cannot be reduced by precoding the data in the scenario.

[0262] To solve the above problem, in the embodiments of the present application, the network device can perform first processing (such as precoding, DBF, analog beamforming, or beamforming) on the data to be transmitted, and the relay device can transmit the F1 groups of first signals according to the association between the F1 groups of first signals and the F1 first antennas. Since the signal transmitted by one first antenna is processed using the precoding coefficient associated with the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal, the relay device can transmit the signal according to the association between the first signal and the first antenna, and thus can control the beam according to the precoded data. Therefore, the signal transmitted by the first antenna can better resist the interference of the channel between the first antenna and the terminal device corresponding to the signal (such as the co-frequency interference between beams), and thus the transmission quality of the signal is improved.

[0263] In another aspect, the scheme provided in the embodiments of the present application can also control the direction of the beam, and thus can solve the influence of the satellite attitude change and the satellite orbit change on the beam coverage area in the NTN scenario. For example, the coverage areas of different beams are different, the network device can estimate the channel according to the positional relationship between the beam coverage area and the F1 first antennas of the relay device, and then obtain the precoding coefficient associated with the channel of each beam, and thus the energy of the signal corresponding to each beam can be more concentrated in the expected beam coverage area, thereby achieving the effect of controlling the direction of the beam.

[0264] In another aspect, since the first processing (such as precoding, DBF, analog beamforming, or beamforming) is completed at the network device side, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the relay device. When the scheme is applied to the NTN scenario, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the satellite as the relay device, and thus the cost of the satellite is reduced.

[0265] In another aspect, the network device can periodically or aperiodically update the precoding matrix, so that the dynamic precoding processing, or the dynamic DBF, or the dynamic analog beamforming, or the dynamic beamforming provided in the embodiments of the present application is realized, and thus the precoded data can better resist the interference of the channel, and thus the data transmission quality is further improved.

[0266] In another aspect, the network device can perform filtering in the analog domain, and the processing complexity is low.

[0267] Based on the content shown in at least one of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 1H, FIG. 1I, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and other content described above, FIG. 4 exemplarily shows a possible flow diagram of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. For the convenience of understanding, FIG. 4 takes the interaction of a terminal device, a relay device and a network device as an example for introduction. The related content of FIG. 4 can be referred to the description of the terminal device, the relay device and the network device in the foregoing FIG. 2, and will not be repeated here. The difference between FIG. 4 and FIG. 2 is that FIG. 2 takes the downlink data transmission as an example for introduction, while FIG. 4 takes the uplink data transmission as an example for introduction.

[0268] The following will be introduced in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0269] In step 401, the relay device sends information indicating the antenna information of the relay device to the network device.

[0270] Correspondingly, the network device receives the information indicating the antenna information of the relay device.

[0271] Since the network device can obtain the antenna information of the relay device, the network device can determine the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the antennas of the relay device and the terminal device based on the received antenna information, and then the network device processes the signal (for example, data combining) based on the coefficients, so as to improve the anti-interference capability of the signal and improve the communication performance.

[0272] The content of step 401 can be referred to the content of the foregoing step 201. In step 401, the relay device can send the antenna information of the antennas used for receiving (or, receiving / transmitting) the access link signals to the network device. For example, the relay device can send the antenna information of the F2 second antennas to the network device. The antenna information of the antennas sent by the relay device to the network device can also include at least one of information A-1, information A-2 and information A-3, and the related content can be referred to the foregoing description.

[0273] Since the network device can obtain the antenna information of the relay device, the network device can select the F2 second antennas for the relay device based on the received antenna information. On the other hand, the antenna information can also assist the network device to determine the coefficients in the first matrix (or, combining matrix). For example, the network device can determine the positions of the antennas according to the distribution form and / or the interval of the antennas. Then the network device can determine the coefficients in the first matrix (or, combining matrix) corresponding to the channels between the antennas of the relay device and the terminal device based on the received antenna information. In order to distinguish, the coefficients in the first matrix (or, combining matrix) can be called weighting coefficients or combining coefficients.

[0274] Step 401 can be performed or not performed. For example, when step 401 is not performed, the network device learns the antenna information of the relay device through other manners, for example, the antenna information of the relay device can be pre-configured on the network device side.

[0275] Step 402, the network device sends second information to the relay device.

[0276] Correspondingly, the relay device receives the second information.

[0277] For example, the network device can transmit the second information to the relay device through a control link.

[0278] In a possible implementation, the second information can include at least one of the following information: information D-1 (information used to indicate resources occupied by F2 groups of third signals sent by the relay device), information D-2 (information used to indicate F2 second antennas), information D-3 (information used to indicate an association relationship between resources used by the relay device to send F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas). Multiple information in the information D-1, the information D-2 and the information D-3 can be carried in the same message or multiple messages.

[0279] Information D-1, information used to indicate resources occupied by F2 groups of third signals sent by the relay device.

[0280] For example, the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals sent by the relay device include at least one of the following: time domain resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals, frequency domain resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals, or a polarization mode corresponding to the F2 groups of third signals. The polarization mode may, for example, include left-handed polarization and right-handed polarization. Time domain resources corresponding to two groups of third signals in the F2 groups of third signals can be the same or different. Frequency domain resources corresponding to two groups of third signals in the F2 groups of third signals can be the same or different. Polarization resources corresponding to two groups of third signals in the F2 groups of third signals can be the same or different.

[0281] In a possible implementation, when resources (for example, time domain resources) corresponding to multiple groups of third signals in the F2 groups of third signals are the same, the multiple groups of third signals can multiplex the same indication information of the resources (for example, indication information of the time domain resources), so that signaling overhead can be saved.

[0282] Information D-2, information used to indicate F2 second antennas.

[0283] The F2 second antennas belong to part or all of the antennas of the relay device.

[0284] In a possible implementation, the network device can indicate more reasonable F2 second antennas to the relay device in combination with the actual channel environment or the signal coverage range of the relay device, so as to improve the communication performance.

[0285] After the relay device receives the information for indicating the F2 second antennas, the relay device can determine the antennas needed for transmitting the F2 groups of third signals, and then can transmit the third signals through one second antenna, so that the network device side processes the signals using the coefficients (for example, combining coefficients) corresponding to the second antenna, thereby making the processed signals better resist the interference in the channel corresponding to the second antenna, and thereby improving the data transmission quality.

[0286] The information for indicating the F2 second antennas includes at least one of the following: identification information of the F2 second antennas; position information of the F2 second antennas; index numbers of the F2 second antennas; or bitmap information. In the embodiments of the present application, the information for indicating the F2 second antennas is similar to the information for indicating the F1 first antennas, and can be referred to each other, and will not be described herein.

[0287] The information D-3 is information for indicating the association relationship between the resources used by the relay device for transmitting the F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas.

[0288] In the embodiments of the present application, for the resources of one group of third signals in the F2 groups of third signals, the resources (for example, frequency domain resources or polarization modes) used by the relay device for transmitting the group of third signals and the resources (for example, frequency domain resources or polarization modes) used by the relay device for receiving the group of third signals can be the same or different.

[0289] The relay device receives the F2 groups of third signals from at least one terminal device through the F2 second antennas. Then, the relay device can determine the resources used by the relay device for transmitting the F2 groups of third signals according to the association relationship between the resources and the F2 second antennas, and then can make the relay device transmit the group of third signals corresponding to the second antenna on the resource corresponding to the second antenna, so that after the network device receives the group of third signals, the network device can determine through which second antenna of the relay device the group of third signals is received by the network device through the resources occupied by the group of third signals. For example, the relay device receives the third signal #31 through the second antenna #21, and the second antenna #21 is associated with the resource #21, the relay device can transmit the third signal #31 to the network device on the resource #21, so that the network device identifies the third signal #31 based on the resource #21. Then, the network device can process the signal received by the second antenna using the coefficients corresponding to the channel between the second antenna and the terminal device, so that the processed signal can better resist the interference on the channel, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0290] For example, the frequency domain resource of the third signal of the F2 group is associated with the F2 second antennas. For example, the second antenna #21 is mapped to the frequency domain resource RB #0~RB #1, and the third signal #31 received by the relay device through the second antenna #21 is a group of third signals. The relay device sends the third signal #31 to the network device on the frequency domain resource RB #0~RB #1. The network device extracts the signal carried by RB #0~RB #1 from the signal from the relay device to obtain the third signal #31. The network device determines that the third signal #31 is sent through the second antenna #21 according to the mapping relationship between the second antenna #21 and the frequency domain resource RB #0~RB #1, and then processes the third signal #31 using the second antenna #21 and the corresponding coefficient (for example, the combination coefficient) between the terminal device corresponding to the third signal #31. Because the network device can use the channel corresponding to the second antenna and the channel corresponding to the terminal device to process the signal received by the second antenna, the processed signal can better resist the interference on the channel, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0291] In a possible implementation, the association relationship between the resource used by the relay device to send the F2 groups of third signals to the network device and the F2 second antennas can be predefined, or pre-stored by the network device and the relay device or agreed by a protocol / technical standard / technical specification.

[0292] The following Table 3 gives an example of the association relationship between the group number of the third signal, the time domain resource used by the relay device to send the group of third signals to the network device, the frequency domain resource, the polarization mode, and the position information of the second antenna used by the relay device to receive the group of third signals. The association relationship given in Table 3 can be sent by the network device to the relay device through one message or multiple messages. As shown in Table 3, for the group of third signals with the group number 1, the time domain resource used by the relay device to send the group of third signals to the network device is time slot x1~y1, the frequency domain resource used by the relay device to send the group of third signals to the network device is RB z1~w1, the polarization mode used by the relay device to send the group of third signals to the network device is left-handed polarization, and the second antenna used by the relay device to receive the group of third signals is the antenna located at the first row and the first column of the antenna area of the relay device. The antenna used by the relay device to send the group of third signals and the antenna used by the relay device to receive the group of third signals can be different or the same, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The meanings of the remaining contents in the table are similar, and are not described herein.

[0293] Table 3: An example of the association relationship between the index number of a group of third signals, the time domain resource, the frequency domain resource, the polarization mode used by the relay device to transmit the group of third signals, and the position information of the second antenna used by the relay device to receive the group of third signals

[0294] Step 403: The at least one terminal device transmits a signal to the relay device.

[0295] Correspondingly, the relay device receives F2 groups of third signals through F2 second antennas.

[0296] The relay device receives F2 groups of third signals through F2 second antennas. F2 is a positive integer. There is an association relationship between the F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas of the relay device. For example, the F2 groups of third signals can correspond to the F2 second antennas of the relay device one by one, one group of third signals corresponding to one second antenna, and one second antenna corresponding to one group of third signals. For example, the signal received by one second antenna can be referred to as one group of third signals.

[0297] One group of third signals in the F2 groups of third signals can include one or more third signals. The number of third signals included in two groups of third signals can be equal or unequal. The F2 groups of third signals in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by: F2 third signals, a set of F2 third signals, etc. One group (or each group) of third signals in the F2 groups of third signals can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by: a group of signals, a group of feed element signals, a group of feed signals, a group of antenna element signals, a group of antenna signals, or a group of signals corresponding to one antenna feed (source) / antenna element, etc.

[0298] One second antenna in the F2 second antennas can include / be one antenna of the relay device. For example, one second antenna can include / be one physical antenna port or a plurality of physical antenna ports. Alternatively, one second antenna of the relay device can include / be one logical antenna port, and one logical antenna port can include / be one or more physical antenna ports.

[0299] Step 404: The relay device transmits the F2 groups of third signals to the network device.

[0300] Correspondingly, the network device receives the F2 groups of third signals.

[0301] In a possible implementation, the relay device can send the F2 group third signals through the backhaul link. For example, the F2 group third signals are sent by the relay device through at least one of frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, or polarization multiplexing. For example, the F2 group third signals sent by the relay device occupy the same time domain resources, but different frequency domain resources and / or different polarization manners.

[0302] In a possible implementation, the set of antennas of the relay device that sends the F2 group third signals can have an intersection, no intersection, or be the same as the set of antennas that receives the F2 group third signals (i.e., the set of F2 second antennas). Embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0303] In step 405, the network device obtains B2 group fourth signals according to the F2 group third signals.

[0304] In a possible implementation, the network device can perform second processing on the F2 group third signals through one or more coefficients (for example, combining coefficients) to obtain the B2 group fourth signals. In a possible implementation, the fourth signals in the B2 group fourth signals can be signals corresponding to data (or service data) sent by the at least one terminal device to the network device.

[0305] B2 is a positive integer. For example, B2 is 1 or an integer greater than 1. In embodiments of the present application, the second processing performed by the network device on the F2 group third signals can include / consist of combining processing, or combining and weighting processing, and the like. The one or more coefficients can be in the form of a first matrix, which can also be referred to as a combining matrix, and the like. The B2 group fourth signals indicate signals obtained by processing the F2 group third signals through the first matrix. The B2 group fourth signals can be signals obtained by processing the F2 group third signals through the first matrix.

[0306] For example, the B2 group fourth signals satisfy the following formula (3): B2×1 = W B2×F2 * S F2×1 … Formula (3)

[0307] In formula (3), S F2×1 represents the F2 group third signals, W B2×F2 represents a B2 row and F2 column first matrix, and S B2×1 represents the B2 group fourth signals.

[0308] For ease of understanding, taking F2 as 3 and B2 as 3 as an example, the above formula (3) can be converted into the following formula (4):

[0309] In formula (4), C 11 , C 21 , and C 31The fourth signals (S B2×1 ) received by the three groups of second antennas #21, #22 and #23 are respectively denoted as E 11 , E 21 and E 31 . F2×1 One second antenna receives one group of third signals, The first matrix (W B2×F2 ) of B2 rows and F2 columns is denoted as X 11 , X 12 and X 13 . 11 may be regarded as the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the second antennas #21, #22 and #23 and the terminal device corresponding to the signal C 21 may be regarded as the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the second antennas #21, #22 and #23 and the terminal device corresponding to the signal C 22 may be regarded as the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the second antennas #21, #22 and #23 and the terminal device corresponding to the signal C 23 may be regarded as the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the second antennas #21, #22 and #23 and the terminal device corresponding to the signal C 21 may be regarded as the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the second antennas #21, #22 and #23 and the terminal device corresponding to the signal C 31 may be regarded as the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the second antennas #21, #22 and #23 and the terminal device corresponding to the signal C 32 may be regarded as the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the second antennas #21, #22 and #23 and the terminal device corresponding to the signal C 33 may be regarded as the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the second antennas #21, #22 and #23 and the terminal device corresponding to the signal C 31 may be regarded as the coefficients corresponding to the channels between the second antennas #21, #22 and #23 and the terminal device corresponding to the signal C

[0310] As can be seen from the above formula (4), C 11 =(X 11 *E 11 +X 12 *E 21 +X 13 *E 31 ), C 21 =(X 21 *E 11 +X 22 *E 21 +X 23 *E 31 ), C 31 =(X 31 *E 11 +X 32 *E 21 +X 33 *E 31 . E 11 is received by the relay device through the second antenna #21, and the relay device sends E11 Similarly, E 21 The relay device receives the data through its second antenna #22. Based on the association between resource #2 and the second antenna #22, the relay device sends an E signal to the network device through resource #2. 21 E 31 The relay device receives the data through its second antenna #23. Based on the association between resource #3 and the second antenna #23, the relay device sends an E signal to the network device through resource #3. 31 The network device can determine the second antenna associated with each group of third signals based on the resources occupied by the received third signals and the relationship between the resources and the second antenna.

[0311] Based on the above examples, it can be seen that for one group (or each group) of fourth signals in group B2 (e.g., C) 11 The fourth signal in this group (e.g., C) 11 ) is obtained through the F2 coefficients (e.g., X) in the first matrix. 11 X 12 and X 13 For the third signal in group F2 (e.g., E) 11 E 21 and E 31 The F2 coefficients obtained after processing (e.g., X) 11 X 12 and X 13 ) and F2 second day lines (e.g. E) 11 E 21 and E 31 The corresponding channel association.

[0312] In conjunction with the above examples, another possible implementation involves a group of third signals (e.g., E) within the F2 group of third signals. 11 ), used for the third signal in this group (e.g., E) 11 The coefficients (e.g., X) are processed. 11 ) and used to receive the third signal in this group (e.g., E) 11 The second antenna (e.g., second antenna #21) and the third signal group (e.g., E) 11 The channel association corresponding to at least one terminal device. For example, E 11 The coefficient X used 11 It is related to the relay device receiving signal E 11 The antenna used and signal C 11 The corresponding terminal device location corresponds to the channel association (or the coefficient X). 11 (It is determined based on the channel). For example, E... 21 The coefficient X used 12 It is related to the relay device receiving signal E21 Antennas used and signal C 11 Corresponding to the position of the corresponding terminal device, the channel associated (or the coefficient X 12 is determined according to the channel). For example, a set of third signals can correspond to one terminal device, or can correspond to multiple terminal devices. 31 Coefficients X 13 used are received signals E 31 Antennas used and signal C 11 Corresponding to the position of the corresponding terminal device, the channel associated (or the coefficient X 13 is determined according to the channel). For example, a set of third signals can correspond to one terminal device, or can correspond to multiple terminal devices.

[0313] It can be seen that, since the network device can use the channel between the second antenna and the terminal device and the corresponding coefficient of the channel to process the signal received by the second antenna, the processed signal can better resist the interference on the channel, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signal.

[0314] In a possible implementation, the two coefficients in the first matrix can be different or the same, for example, the coefficients X 11 and X 21 may be different or the same. In another possible implementation, for a region, for example, a region corresponding to a beam, the channel states corresponding to multiple terminal devices corresponding to the same second antenna in the region can be relatively similar, and therefore the multiple terminal devices corresponding to the same second antenna in the region can use the same coefficient (for example, X 11 and X 21 are the same). For example, the multiple terminal devices corresponding to the same second antenna in the region can also use different coefficients (for example, X 11 and X 21 are different).

[0315] In a possible implementation, the first matrix indicates (or the first matrix is determined according to) at least one of the following: channel information between the terminal device and the network device; channel information between the terminal device, the antenna of the relay device, and the network device; channel information between the terminal device and the antenna of the relay device; or position information of the terminal device. For example, the network device can obtain at least one piece of information (for example, obtain channel information (for example, channel state information) between the terminal device and the network device, or obtain position information of the terminal device) used to determine the first matrix, and then determine the first matrix according to the obtained information. For example, the network device receives PMI from the terminal device, and then determines the first matrix according to the PMI.

[0316] The fourth signals in the B2 group in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by other names, for example, replaced by: B2 fourth signals, a set of B2 fourth signals, and the like.

[0317] The fourth signals in the B2 group can be signals sent by one terminal device, or signals sent by one or more terminal devices in a region corresponding to one beam. The following will be exemplarily introduced through example one and example two.

[0318] In example one, the number of the fourth signals in the B2 group can be the number of terminal devices corresponding to the fourth signals in the B2 group. For example, the fourth signals in the B2 group are signals corresponding to B2 terminal devices. The signals corresponding to one terminal device can be referred to as one group of fourth signals. For example, B2 is 2, and the fourth signals in the B2 group are marked as group #41 and group #42. The fourth signals in the group #41 correspond to terminal device #1, and the fourth signals in the group #41 are signals sent by the terminal device #1. Similarly, the fourth signals in the group #42 correspond to terminal device #2, and the fourth signals in the group #42 are signals sent by the terminal device #2.

[0319] In example two, the number of the fourth signals in the B2 group can be the number of beams corresponding to the fourth signals in the B2 group. For example, the fourth signals in the B2 group are signals corresponding to B2 beams. The signals corresponding to one beam can be referred to as one group of fourth signals. For example, B2 is 2, and the fourth signals in the B2 group are marked as group #41 and group #42. The fourth signals in the group #41 correspond to beam #1, and the fourth signals in the group #41 are signals sent by one or more terminal devices in a region corresponding to the beam #1. The fourth signals in the group #42 correspond to beam #2, and the fourth signals in the group #42 are signals sent by one or more terminal devices in a region corresponding to the beam #2.

[0320] In another possible implementation, the network device can process the received signals through analog or digital filtering to obtain (or extract) the F2 third signals. For example, the network device can obtain the F2 third signals through at least one of frequency demultiplexing, time demultiplexing, or polarization demultiplexing. For example, the frequency demultiplexing of the network device can adopt an analog domain processing manner, or a digital domain processing manner.

[0321] In another aspect, the relay device can send the F2 third signals according to an association relationship between a second antenna receiving the F2 third signals and a resource sending the F2 third signals. The network device can perform a second processing (for example, a combining processing, or a combining and weighting processing, and the like) on the received F2 third signals. Since the network device can process the signals received by the second antenna using the coefficients corresponding to the channel between the second antenna and the terminal device, the processed signals can better resist the interference on the channel, thereby improving the transmission quality of the signals.

[0322] In yet another aspect, since the second processing (e.g., the combining processing, or the combining and weighting processing, etc.) is completed at the network device side, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the relay device. When the scheme is applied to the NTN scenario, the scheme can reduce the processing complexity of the satellite as the relay device, and in turn can reduce the cost of the satellite.

[0323] In yet another aspect, the network device can update the first matrix periodically or aperiodically, so that the data processed by the first matrix can better resist the interference of the channel, thereby further improving the data transmission quality.

[0324] The signaling or information (such as the first information and / or the second information) sent by the network device in the embodiments of the present application can have multiple sending modes, such as any of the signaling or information can be carried in at least one of the broadcast information of the system information block (SIB) 1, SIB 19, other system information (OSI), master information block (MIB), or physical broadcast channel (PBCH) message, etc. The signaling or information (such as the first information and / or the second information) sent by the network device is broadcasted, multicast or unicast sent by the network device to the relay device. Broadcasting or multicasting the above signaling to the relay device can avoid scheduling different resources for different relay devices in order to send the above signaling, saving the signaling overhead of scheduling resources and reducing the system scheduling complexity.

[0325] In another possible implementation, if the signaling or information (such as the first information and / or the second information) sent by the network device is sent in the radio resource control (RRC) connection setup phase and the subsequent communication process, the signaling or information (such as the first information and / or the second information) sent by the network device can be carried in at least one of RRC signaling (for example, an RRC setup message, RRC reconfiguration signaling, RRC resume signaling, etc.), downlink control information (DCI), group DCI, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a timing advance command (TAC). The signaling or information (such as the first information and / or the second information) sent by the network device can be indicated by information or a table, or sent to the relay device through data transmission or in a separately allocated physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) bearer. The advantage of sending the above signaling to the UE individually or in groups is that the parameter values of each / each group of UEs can be flexibly controlled, and different parameter values are configured to the UE according to different locations or different areas where the UE is located to optimize system parameters and optimize the communication performance of the UE / system.

[0326] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device, the relay device, and the network device can include corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for performing the functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware, or software, or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0327] Based on the same concept, FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are structural diagrams of possible communication apparatuses provided by embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatuses shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 can be used to implement the functions of the relay device or the network device in the method embodiments described above, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the method embodiments described above. In embodiments of the present application, the communication apparatus can be a relay device or a chip (or chip system) inside a relay device as involved in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 1H, FIG. 1I or FIG. 1G, for example, the relay device is a satellite, or the relay device is an NCR deployed on the ground. The communication apparatus can be a network device or a chip (or chip system) inside a network device as involved in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 1E, FIG. 1F, FIG. 1G, FIG. 1H, FIG. 1I or FIG. 1G, for example, the network device is an access network device, which can be deployed on the ground or in the air.

[0328] As shown in FIG. 5, the communication apparatus 1300 includes a processing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320. The communication apparatus 1300 is used to implement the functions of the relay device or the network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4. The transceiver unit 1320 can also be referred to as a communication unit. The transceiver unit 1320 can include a sending unit and a receiving unit.

[0329] When the communication apparatus 1300 is used to implement the functions of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 2, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to receive the F1 group of first signals and send the F1 group of first signals through the transceiver unit 1320.

[0330] When the communication apparatus 1300 is used to implement the functions of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 2, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to receive information indicating the association relationship between the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas through the transceiver unit 1320.

[0331] When the communication apparatus 1300 is used to implement the functions of the relay device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 2, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to receive information indicating the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas through the transceiver unit 1320, and the association relationship between the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas is determined according to the association relationship between the resources of the F1 group of first signals and the F1 first antennas.

[0332] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: acquire the B1 group second signal, and send, through the transceiver unit 1320, the F1 group first signal to the relay device.

[0333] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: acquire the B1 group second signal, and send, through the transceiver unit 1320, the F1 group first signal to the relay device.

[0334] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: acquire the B1 group second signal, and send, through the transceiver unit 1320, the F1 group first signal to the relay device.

[0335] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: acquire the B1 group second signal, and send, through the transceiver unit 1320, the F1 group first signal to the relay device.

[0336] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: acquire the B1 group second signal, and send, through the transceiver unit 1320, the F1 group first signal to the relay device.

[0337] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: acquire the B1 group second signal, and send, through the transceiver unit 1320, the F1 group first signal to the relay device.

[0338] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 1310 is configured to: acquire the B1 group second signal, and send, through the transceiver unit 1320, the F1 group first signal to the relay device.

[0339] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive the F2 groups of third signals, and obtain B2 groups of fourth signals.

[0340] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive information indicating the association relationship between the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas.

[0341] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive information indicating the F2 second antennas.

[0342] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive information indicating the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals.

[0343] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive information indicating the association relationship between the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas.

[0344] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive the F2 groups of third signals, and obtain B2 groups of fourth signals.

[0345] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive information indicating the association relationship between the resources occupied by the F2 groups of third signals and the F2 second antennas.

[0346] In a possible implementation, when the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the processing unit 1310 is configured to, through the transceiver unit 1320: receive information indicating the F2 second antennas, and the F2 second antennas belong to part or all of the antennas of the relay device.

[0347] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to receive, by the transceiver 1320, information used for indicating the resources occupied by the transmitted F2 groups of third signals.

[0348] When the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement the function of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in one possible implementation, the processing unit 1310 is configured to receive, by the transceiver 1320, information used for indicating the antenna information of the relay device, the antenna information of the relay device including the antenna information of the F2 second antennas.

[0349] For more detailed description of the processing unit 1310 and the transceiver 1320, please refer to the description in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4.

[0350] As shown in FIG. 6, the communication apparatus 1400 includes a processor 1410 and an interface circuit 1420. The processor 1410 and the interface circuit 1420 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1420 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The input / output interface is used for inputting and / or outputting information, and the output can be understood as transmitting, and the input can be understood as receiving. Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 can further include a memory 1430, which is used for storing instructions executed by the processor 1410 or storing input data required by the processor 1410 for executing instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1410 executes instructions.

[0351] When the communication apparatus 1400 is configured to implement the method shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4, the processor 1410 is configured to implement the function of the processing unit 1310, and the interface circuit 1420 is configured to implement the function of the transceiver 1320.

[0352] Please refer to FIG. 7, the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 7 can also be a possible architecture of a baseband. As shown in FIG. 7, the communication apparatus can include a processing system, which can include one or more processors, and the processor can be configured to execute processes, such as process #1…process #N shown in FIG. 7.

[0353] The processing system can be implemented with a bus architecture, generally represented by the bus. The bus can include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application of the processing system and the overall design constraints. The bus communicatively couples various circuitry including one or more processors (generally represented by the processor), memory, and computer-readable media (generally represented by the computer-readable media, such as computer-readable media #1… computer-readable media #N shown in FIG. 7). The bus can also link various other circuitry, such as a timing source, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuitry, which are well-known in the art, and therefore, will not be further described. A bus interface provides an interface between the bus and a transceiver and between the bus and an interface.

[0354] The communication device can also include a transceiver (not shown in FIG. 7), which can also be replaced by interface circuitry or a communication interface, etc. The transceiver provides a communication interface or means for communicating with various other devices over a wireless transmission medium. The transceiver can be coupled to an antenna array, and the transceiver and antenna array can together be used for communicating with a corresponding network type. At least one interface (e.g., network interface and / or user interface) provides a communication interface or means for communicating over the internal bus or via an external transmission medium.

[0355] The processor is responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable media. The software, when executed by the processor, causes the processing system to perform the various functions described below for any particular apparatus. The functions of the processor, memory, and computer-readable media can include one or more of encoding, decoding, rate matching, de-rate matching, scrambling, de-scrambling, modulating, demodulating, layer mapping, fast fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT), inverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT), precoding, resource element (RE) mapping, channel equalization, de-RE mapping, digital beam forming (BF), adding a cyclic prefix (CP), de-CP, etc.

[0356] The signaling (such as the first information, the second information, the signal, etc.) involved in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by the processor, the memory, and the computer-readable media. For example, the above signaling sent by the network device to the relay device (such as a satellite) is processed by the processor, the memory, and the computer-readable media in FIG. 7, and then sent to the terminal device.

[0357] When the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 7 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4, the processor 1410 is configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 1310 described above, and the interface circuit 1420 is configured to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1320 described above.

[0358] When the communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 or FIG. 7) is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments described above. The terminal device chip receives information from a base station, which can be understood as the information being received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device first, and then being sent to the terminal device chip by these modules. The terminal device chip sends information to the base station, which can be understood as the information being sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device first, and then being sent to the base station by these modules.

[0359] When the communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 or FIG. 7) is a chip applied to a base station (for example, a satellite base station), the base station chip implements the functions of the network device in the method embodiments described above. The base station chip receives information from a terminal device, which can be understood as the information being received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station first, and then being sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the terminal device, which can be understood as the information being sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station first, and then being sent to the terminal device by these modules.

[0360] In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be that A sends directly to B, or A sends indirectly to B through other entities. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can be that entity B receives the information sent by entity A directly, or entity B receives the information sent by entity A indirectly through other entities. Here, entity A and B can be RAN nodes or terminal devices, or modules inside RAN nodes or terminal devices. The sending and receiving of information can be the information interaction between RAN nodes and terminal devices, for example, the information interaction between a base station and a terminal device; the sending and receiving of information can also be the information interaction between two RAN nodes, for example, the information interaction between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be the information interaction between different modules inside one device, for example, the information interaction between a terminal device chip and other modules in the terminal device, or the information interaction between a base station chip and other modules in the base station.

[0361] It is to be understood that the processor (e.g., the processor 1410 in FIG. 6 and / or the processor in the processing system in FIG. 7) in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor.

[0362] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. The ASIC can be located in the base station or the terminal device. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as a separate component in the base station or the terminal device.

[0363] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions of the embodiments are performed. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment or other programmable apparatus. The computer programs or instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired or wireless manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center and the like integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; or an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk. The computer readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile storage media.

[0364] In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0365] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the following cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of the present application, the character " / ", generally represents that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character " / ", represents that the associated objects before and after are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0366] It can be understood that various numbers (such as the numerical numbers "first", "second", such as the alphabetical numbers "information A-1", "embodiment B-1", and the like) involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of differentiation in description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the serial number of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to its function and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive the first signal of group F1, where F1 is a positive integer, and the first signal of group F1 indicates the signal after precoding the second signal of group B1, where B1 is a positive integer; The F1 group first signal is transmitted through the F1 first antennas of the relay device, and there is a correlation between the F1 group first signal and the F1 first antennas of the relay device.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, For one of the F1 first antennas: The first signal associated with the first antenna is obtained by precoding the second signal B1 using B1 precoding coefficients associated with the first antenna.

3. The method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, For one group of second signals in group B1: The precoding coefficients used to precode the second group of signals are also associated with a channel corresponding to at least one terminal device associated with the second group of signals.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive information indicating the association between the first signal of group F1 and the F1 first antennas; and / or, Receive information indicating the association between the resources of the first signal in group F1 and the first 1 ...

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive at least one of the following information: Information used to indicate the resources of the first signal of the F1 group; Information used to indicate the number of signal groups in the first signal of group F1; or, Information used to indicate the F1 first antennas, wherein the F1 first antennas belong to some or all of the antennas of the relay device.

6. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain the second signal of group B1, where B1 is a positive integer; The F1 group first signal is sent to the relay device, where F1 is a positive integer. The F1 group first signal indicates the signal after the pre-coded B1 group second signal. The F1 group first signal is associated with the F1 first antennas of the relay device.

7. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, For one of the F1 first antennas: The first signal associated with the first antenna is obtained by precoding the second signal of group B1 using at least one precoding coefficient associated with the first antenna.

8. The method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, For one of the second signals in group B1: The precoding coefficients used to precode the second signal are also associated with the channel corresponding to the terminal device associated with the second signal.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6-8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send information indicating the association between the first signal of group F1 and the F1 first antennas; and / or, Information is sent indicating the association between the resources of the first signal in the F1 group and the F1 first day lines, the association between the first signal in the F1 group and the F1 first day lines being determined based on the association between the resources of the first signal in the F1 group and the F1 first day lines.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6-9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send at least one of the following messages: Information used to indicate the resources of the first signal of the F1 group; Information used to indicate the number of signal groups in the first signal of group F1; or, Information used to indicate the F1 first antennas, wherein the F1 first antennas belong to some or all of the antennas of the relay device.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: F2 groups of third signals are received via F2 second antennas, where F2 is a positive integer; The third signal of the F2 group is sent, and the resources occupied by the third signal of the F2 group are related to the F2 second antennas.

12. The method as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The third signal of group F2 is used to enable the network device to process the third signal of group F2 using a first matrix to obtain the fourth signal of group B2, where B2 is a positive integer, and the first matrix is ​​associated with the second second line of group F2.

13. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that, For one group of fourth signals in group B2: The fourth signal is obtained by processing the third signal of the F2 group using the F2 coefficients in the first matrix. The F2 coefficients are associated with the channels corresponding to the F2 second antennas.

14. The method as described in claim 13, characterized in that, For one group of third signals in the F2 group: The coefficients used to process the third group of signals are associated with the second antenna used to receive the third group of signals and the channel corresponding to at least one terminal device corresponding to the third group of signals.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive information indicating the correlation between the resources occupied by the third signal of the F2 group and the second second line of the F2.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive information indicating the F2 second antennas, wherein the F2 second antennas belong to some or all of the antennas of the relay device; and / or, Receive information indicating the resources occupied by the third signal of the F2 group being transmitted.

17. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive the third signal of group F2, wherein the resources occupied by the third signal of group F2 are correlated with the second antennas of group F2 of the relay device; Obtain the fourth signal of group B2, where B2 is a positive integer. The fourth signal of group B2 indicates the signal after the third signal of group F2 has been processed by the first matrix, which is associated with the F2 second second lines.

18. The method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, For one group of fourth signals in group B2: The fourth signal is obtained by processing the third signal of the F2 group using the F2 coefficients in the first matrix. The F2 coefficients are associated with the channels corresponding to the F2 second antennas.

19. The method as described in claim 18, characterized in that, For one group of third signals in the F2 group: The coefficients used to process the third group of signals are associated with the second antenna used to receive the third group of signals and the channel corresponding to at least one terminal device corresponding to the third group of signals.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17-19, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send information indicating the correlation between the resources occupied by the third signal of the F2 group and the second second line of the F2.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17-20, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send information indicating that the F2 second antennas belong to some or all of the antennas of the relay device; and / or, Send information indicating the resources occupied by the third signal of the F2 group being sent.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, or includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 6 to 10, or includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 16, or includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 17 to 21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, or the method as described in any one of claims 6 to 10, or the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 16, or the method as described in any one of claims 17 to 21 through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a communication device, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, or the method as described in any one of claims 6 to 10, or the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 16, or the method as described in any one of claims 17 to 21.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product stores a computer program, the computer program including program instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, or the method as described in any one of claims 6 to 10, or the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 16, or the method as described in any one of claims 17 to 21.

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