Wireless device, communication apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

Provided is a wireless device that communicates with a communication device capable of transmitting a signal using any one of N transmit beams assigned a respective number from 1 to N, and that can receive a signal using any one of M receive beams assigned a respective number from 1 to M. The wireless device comprises: an acquisition means that acquires respective reception results in a plurality of detection areas, wherein each of the reception results is provided as a result of receiving a sensing signal in the corresponding detection area, wherein the sensing signal is transmitted from the communication device using one of the transmission beam and is received using one of the receive beams in the corresponding detection area, and wherein a combination of the number assigned to the transmit beam and the number assigned to the receive beam is used to identify each of the reception results; and a control means that controls transmission of each of the reception results acquired by the acquisition means in the corresponding detection area to the communication device, on the basis of a criterion for evaluation. Among N and M, one is an integer of at least 1 and the other is an integer of at least 2.

Description

Wireless device, communication apparatus and computer-readable storage medium

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless sensing technology.

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

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

[0004] WO 2023 / 205961

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

[0006] For example, as shown in FIG. 1, BS1 is configured to be able to transmit signals using N (N is an integer equal to or greater than 1) transmit beams T#1 to T#N, and WD2 is configured to be able to receive signals using M (M is an integer equal to or greater than 1) receive beams R#1 to R#M. Furthermore, BS1 is configured to be able to transmit a sensing signal using each of the N transmit beams at a transmission timing, which is a recurring timing. For example, a downlink reference signal (RS) specified in 3GPP can be used as the sensing signal. As an example, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a positioning reference signal (PRS) can be used as the sensing signal.

[0007] WD2 receives, with each of M receiving beams, the sensing signals transmitted by BS1 using each of N transmitting beams, thereby obtaining a total of N×M reception results. WD2 then feeds back to BS1 the total of N×M reception results for each combination of transmitting beams and receiving beams. The reception results that WD2 feeds back to BS1 may include information indicating the combination of transmitting beams and receiving beams that obtained the reception results, as well as the received power, propagation delay, and frequency Doppler shift amount of the received sensing signal. Note that the information indicating the combination of transmitting beams and receiving beams may be configured not to be explicitly included in the reception results, for example, by specifying it in the transmission order of the reception results.

[0008] BS1 and WD2 can detect the presence and approximate location of an obstacle based on the direction of the transmission beam used to transmit the sensing signal, the direction of the reception beam used to receive the sensing signal, and the delay between when BS1 transmits the sensing signal and when WD2 receives the sensing signal. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, if a sensing signal transmitted by transmission beam T#1 is received by WD2 by reception beam R#2, WD2 can determine that the sensing signal received by reception beam R#2 is a wave reflected by the obstacle, and can detect the presence of obstacle 3 shown in FIG. 2 based on the propagation delay. Note that the position of the obstacle detected by BS1 or WD2 is the relative position of obstacle 3 with respect to BS1 or WD2. Furthermore, if obstacle 3 is moving, the frequency of the sensing signal received by reception beam R#2 shifts due to the Doppler effect depending on the moving speed and direction of obstacle 3. Therefore, BS1 and WD2 can determine the moving speed and direction of obstacle 3 based on the Doppler shift of the sensing signal.

[0009] For example, when tracking an obstacle with a fast moving speed, it is necessary to shorten the transmission period of the sensing signal. However, the transmission periods of RSs such as CSI-RS and PRS, which are expected to be used as sensing signals, are defined by standards and are not sufficient to track an obstacle with a fast moving speed. For this reason, it is possible to define and use resources for new sensing signals with short transmission periods. However, transmitting sensing signals at short intervals even in situations where there is no need to track an obstacle with a fast moving speed increases the overhead for sensing. Furthermore, an increase in the frequency of sensing increases the amount of calculation at BS1 and WD2.

[0010] Here, when tracking a specific obstacle, the amount of radio resources used to feed back the reception results can be reduced by feeding back to the wireless device only reception results that detect the obstacle to be tracked, or reception results that are highly likely to detect the obstacle to be tracked.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless device capable of receiving signals via each of M receiving beams from the first to the Mth, which communicates with a communication device capable of transmitting signals via each of N transmitting beams from the first to the Nth, comprises: an acquisition means for acquiring a reception result of a detection area identified by a combination of the number of the transmitting beam and the number of the receiving beam, wherein the reception result of the detection area is the result of receiving a sensing signal transmitted from the communication device via the transmitting beam of the detection area via the receiving beam of the detection area; and a control means for controlling the transmission of the reception result of each of the multiple detection areas acquired by the acquisition means to the communication device based on a judgment criterion, wherein one of N and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the other is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0012] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar elements are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0013] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a sensing configuration; a diagram showing an example of obstacle detection; a diagram for explaining first processing and second processing; a sequence diagram according to an embodiment; a diagram showing an example of a reception result; a diagram showing an example of a detection range; a flowchart of a determination processing executed by a wireless device; a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless device; a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station apparatus;

[0014] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are used for the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0015] FIG. 1 shows a sensing configuration used to explain the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, BS1 is configured to be able to transmit signals using N transmission beams T#1 to T#N. WD2 is also configured to be able to receive signals using M reception beams R#1 to R#M. Note that at least one of N and M is an integer of 2 or greater, and the remaining is an integer of 1 or greater. Alternatively, N and M are both integers of 2 or greater. The n in transmission beam T#n (n is an integer from 1 to N) is the number of the transmission beam, and the m in reception beam R#m (m is an integer from 1 to M) is the number of the reception beam.

[0016] WD2 feeds back to BS1 the reception results of the sensing signals transmitted by BS1. For example, if BS1 transmits sensing signals using each of N transmission beams and WD2 receives the sensing signals using each of M reception beams, WD2 feeds back N×M reception results to BS1. Note that although only one WD2 is shown in FIG. 1, BS1 can perform the sensing process described below individually with each of the multiple WD2s.

[0017] In this embodiment, the sensing process includes two processes, a first process and a second process. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between the first process and the second process. As shown in FIG. 3, the first process is repeated in a period T1. BS1 transmits a first sensing signal using each of N transmission beams in each period T1. The first sensing signal is, for example, a downlink RS such as a CSI-RS or a PRS, and the period T1 follows the period of the RS used as the first sensing signal, such as a CSI-RS or a PRS. WD2 receives the first sensing signal using each of M reception beams in each period T1 and feeds back N×M reception results to BS1. As a result, BS1 detects obstacles present within its service area in each period T1.

[0018] The second process is executed as needed, such as when tracking one or more obstacles detected in the first process. BS1 transmits a second sensing signal in the second process, and notifies WD2 of the resources used to transmit the second sensing signal each time. In FIG. 3, the second process is executed five times within the period T1 between the execution of the first process and the execution of the next first process. Therefore, obstacles moving at high speeds can be tracked. Furthermore, BS1 does not execute the second process constantly, but only as needed, thereby reducing the execution of unnecessary sensing processes. In other words, the frequency of sensing processes can be appropriately controlled.

[0019] 4 is a sequence diagram according to this embodiment. In the sequence of FIG. 4, S1 and S2 are the sequence of the first process, and S4 to S9 are the sequence of the second process. S3 is the process of determining whether or not to execute the second process.

[0020] In step S1, BS1 transmits a first sensing signal to WD2 using each of N transmission beams. As described above, in this embodiment, the first sensing signal is a downlink RS. In step S2, WD2 transmits to BS1 reception results (first reception results) for each of M reception beams of the first sensing signals transmitted using each of the N transmission beams. BS1 detects an obstacle based on a total of N x M first reception results.

[0021] FIG. 5A shows an example of a first reception result. In the following description, it is assumed that N=M=8. That is, BS1 is configured to transmit transmission beams T#1 to T#8, and WD2 is configured to receive reception beams R#1 to R#8. #nm (n and m are integers from 1 to 8) in FIG. 5A corresponds to the first reception result of the first sensing signal transmitted by transmission beam T#n and received by reception beam R#m. Hereinafter, the combination of the transmission beam number and the reception beam number, i.e., the first reception result indicated by #nm, will be referred to as first reception result #nm.

[0022] As is clear from the obstacle detection principle shown in Figure 2, the position of an obstacle that can be detected using the first reception result #nm is determined by the direction of the transmission beam T#n and the direction of the reception beam R#m, that is, the combination of the transmission beam number n and the reception beam number m. In other words, the spatial region (detection region) in which an obstacle can be detected is determined by the combination of the transmission beam number n and the reception beam number m. In this way, the combination of the transmission beam number and the reception beam number identifies the detection region of the obstacle, and hereinafter, the region in which an obstacle can be detected using the first reception result #nm will also be referred to as the detection region #nm.

[0023] The shaded first reception results #32 and #67 in Fig. 5A indicate first reception results in which obstacles were detected. That is, in the example of Fig. 5A, a first obstacle was detected in detection area #32, and a second obstacle different from the first obstacle was detected in detection area #67.

[0024] In S3, BS1 determines whether or not there is an obstacle to be tracked based on the first reception result received in S2, according to a predetermined criterion. For example, assume that BS1 is configured to track a vehicle, such as an automobile, traveling at a speed faster than a predetermined speed. Because the surface of an automobile has a high reflectivity for wireless signals, if the obstacle is an automobile, the received power of the first sensing signal received by WD2 will be high. Furthermore, if the obstacle is traveling at a speed faster than the predetermined speed, the absolute value of the Doppler shift of the first sensing signal received by WD2 will be large. Therefore, BS1 can determine a vehicle traveling at a speed faster than the predetermined speed based on the received power of the first sensing signal at WD2 and the absolute value of the Doppler shift. If there is no obstacle to be tracked, the second process is not performed, and therefore, steps S4 to S9 are omitted. If there is an obstacle to be tracked, BS1 determines the detection range and determination criteria in S4. In the following description, it is assumed that BS1 has decided in S3 to track the first obstacle detected in the first reception result #32 in FIG. 5A.

[0025] First, the detection range will be described. BS1 estimates multiple detection areas in which the first obstacle is likely to exist at the timing of next transmitting the second sensing signal, and determines the estimated multiple detection areas as the detection range. As an example, BS1 estimates the moving speed and moving direction of the first obstacle based on the Doppler shift amount of the first reception result #32, and estimates one or more detection areas in which the first obstacle is likely to exist at the timing of next transmitting the second sensing signal based on the estimated moving speed and moving direction.

[0026] FIG. 5B shows an example of a detection range determined by BS1. The shaded areas in FIG. 5B indicate the detection ranges. According to FIG. 5B, BS1 has set detection areas #43 to #45, #53 to #55, and #63 to #65 as its detection ranges. The size of the detection range (the number of detection areas) can be dynamically set based on the movement speed of the first obstacle. As an example, the detection range can be configured to be larger as the movement speed of the first obstacle increases.

[0027] Next, the determination criteria will be explained. In the second process, WD2 receives the second sensing signal within the detection range notified by BS1 and detects an obstacle. For example, when the detection range shown in FIG. 5B is notified by BS1, WD2 receives the second sensing signals transmitted by the transmission beams T#4 to T#6, respectively, by the reception beams R#3 to R#5, respectively, and obtains a total of nine second reception results.

[0028] If the detection range set by BS1 is appropriate, WD2 will detect the first obstacle in one of the nine second reception results. However, it is possible that an obstacle other than the first obstacle will enter the detection range at the time the next second sensing signal is transmitted. For example, it is possible that the second obstacle detected in reception result #67 of FIG. 5A has moved within the detection range at the time the next second sensing signal is transmitted. Furthermore, it is possible that an obstacle that was not detected when the first reception result of FIG. 5A was obtained has moved within the detection range at the time the next second sensing signal is transmitted. Furthermore, if the detection range set by BS1 is inappropriate, it is possible that the first obstacle, which is the tracking target, is outside the detection range at the time the next second sensing signal is transmitted, and another obstacle that is not the tracking target is within the detection range.

[0029] Therefore, if an obstacle is detected in one or more of the nine second reception results, WD2 determines whether the first obstacle is included in the one or more obstacles detected in the one or more second reception results, and if so, determines which of the second reception results detects the first obstacle.

[0030] The determination criterion is a criterion for determining and distinguishing the first obstacle from one or more obstacles detected within the detection range of the WD 2. In this embodiment, the determination criterion is either one or both of the received power of the second sensing signal and the Doppler shift amount of the second sensing signal.

[0031] Based on the received power of the first sensing signal indicated in the first reception result #32 indicating that the first obstacle was detected and the estimated position of the first obstacle at the timing of the next transmission of the second sensing signal, BS1 estimates the received power at WD2 of the second sensing signal reflected by the first obstacle, and determines a range including the estimated received power (hereinafter referred to as the received power range). For example, BS1 determines the received power range as P1 to P2 (P2>P1).

[0032] The received power of the first sensing signal indicated in the first reception result #32 varies depending on the reflectivity of the radio signal of the first obstacle. The reflectivity of the radio signal at an obstacle may vary depending on the obstacle. For example, the reflectivity of the radio signal differs between a vehicle and a person. Furthermore, even if the obstacle is a vehicle, the reflectivity of the radio signal may differ depending on the type of vehicle. Because BS1 determines the received power range based on the received power of the first sensing signal indicated in the first reception result #32, it can determine that an obstacle detected based on a second sensing signal received at a received power outside the received power range is different from the first obstacle.

[0033] The width of the received power range, i.e., the value of P2-P1, may be fixed, but can be configured to be wider as the reflectivity of the first obstacle decreases. The lower the reflectivity, the lower the estimation accuracy of the received power at WD2 of the second sensing signal reflected by the first obstacle. Therefore, by widening the received power range, it is possible to reduce the probability of erroneously determining that the first obstacle is not the first obstacle even though it is detected.

[0034] BS1 can determine the approximate location of the first obstacle based on the direction of the transmitted beam and the direction of the received beam from which the first reception result #32 was obtained, and the propagation delay. Therefore, BS1 can evaluate the magnitude of the reflectivity of the first obstacle based on the received power of the first sensing signal indicated by the first reception result #32. Furthermore, since the received power of the first sensing signal indicated by the first reception result #32 increases as the reflectivity of the first obstacle increases and decreases as the reflectivity decreases, a configuration can be adopted in which the received power range is narrowed as the received power of the first sensing signal increases and widened as the received power of the first sensing signal decreases.

[0035] Similar to the reception power range, BS1 determines the range of the Doppler shift of the second sensing signal reflected by the first obstacle (hereinafter referred to as the shift range) based on the Doppler shift of the first sensing signal indicated in the first reception result #32 that detected the first obstacle and the estimated position of the first obstacle at the timing of next transmitting the second sensing signal. For example, BS1 determines the shift range as D1 to D2 (D2>D1).

[0036] Since the moving speed and direction of each obstacle vary, an obstacle detected based on a second sensing signal whose Doppler shift amount falls outside the shift amount range can be determined to be different from the first obstacle. The width of the shift amount range, i.e., the value of D2-D1, may be fixed, but can be configured to be wider as the moving speed of the first obstacle increases, i.e., the Doppler shift amount of the first sensing signal indicated in the first reception result #32 increases. Since the faster the moving speed, the lower the accuracy of estimating the Doppler shift amount of the second sensing signal reflected by the first obstacle. Therefore, by widening the shift amount range, it is possible to reduce the probability of erroneously determining that a first obstacle is not the first obstacle even when it is detected.

[0037] Returning to Fig. 4, BS1 notifies WD2 of the tracking configuration for the first obstacle in S5. The tracking configuration includes an identifier (target ID) assigned to the first obstacle by BS1, radio resources used to transmit the second sensing signal in S6, and the detection range and judgment criteria determined in S4. The target ID is used to identify an obstacle when tracking multiple obstacles, and is included in the second reception result transmitted by WD2 in S8. The radio resources are represented by a combination of time resources and frequency resources.

[0038] In S6, BS1 transmits a second sensing signal using the resource notified to WD2 in S5. Note that the second sensing signal may be configured to be transmitted only using a transmission beam included in the detection range. After acquiring the nine second reception results indicated as the detection range, WD2 executes a determination process in S7 to determine whether the obstacle detected in the nine second reception results is the first obstacle. This determination process also determines which of the nine second reception results to transmit to BS1 in S8. Note that if no obstacle is detected in the nine second reception results, WD2 notifies BS1 in S8 that the first obstacle was not detected, i.e., that there are no second reception results to transmit to BS1.

[0039] Next, the determination process in S7 will be described. For example, if only the reception power range is notified as the determination criterion, WD2 determines, among the obstacles detected by the second sensing signal, those whose reception power of the second sensing signal was within the reception power range. If the number of obstacles whose reception power of the second sensing signal was within the reception power range is zero, WD2 notifies BS1 in S8 that the first obstacle was not detected, i.e., that there is no second reception result to be transmitted to BS1.

[0040] If there is only one obstacle whose reception power of the second sensing signal is within the reception power range, the WD2 determines that obstacle to be the first obstacle. In this case, the WD2 transmits to the BS1 in S8 an identifier (target ID) of the first obstacle and a second reception result indicating that the first obstacle has been detected. For example, if the first obstacle is detected in the second reception result #65 of FIG. 5B , the BS1 transmits to the BS1 in S8 the second reception result #65 together with the identifier of the first obstacle.

[0041] If there are multiple obstacles for which the received power of the second sensing signal is within the received power range, the WD2 determines these multiple obstacles as candidates for the first obstacle. In this case, the WD2 transmits to the BS1 in S8 the identifier of the first obstacle and second reception results in which each of the multiple first obstacle candidates is detected. For example, if two first obstacle candidates are detected in the second reception results #43 and #54 in FIG. 5B , the BS1 transmits to the BS1 in S8 the identifier of the first obstacle and the second reception results #43 and #54.

[0042] When only the shift amount range is notified as the determination criterion, the WD2 determines obstacles detected by the second sensing signal whose Doppler shift amount is within the shift amount range. The subsequent processing performed by the WD2 according to the number of determined obstacles is the same as when only the received power range is notified as the determination criterion.

[0043] When both the received power range and the shift amount range are notified as the determination criteria, the WD2 determines obstacles detected by the second sensing signal, the received power of which is within the received power range and the Doppler shift amount of which is within the shift amount range. The processing that the WD2 subsequently performs according to the number of determined obstacles is the same as when only the received power range is notified as the determination criterion.

[0044] When both the received power range and the shift amount range are notified as the determination criteria, the WD2 can perform the determination process according to the flowchart shown in Fig. 6. In S10, the WD2 determines whether the received power of the second sensing signal is within the received power range. If the number of obstacles determined in S10 is zero (Yes in S11), the WD2 determines in S16 that the first obstacle has not been detected. In this case, the WD2 notifies the BS1 that the first obstacle has not been detected in S8 of Fig. 4.

[0045] If the number of obstacles determined in S10 is 1 (Yes in S12), the WD2 determines that the obstacle is a first obstacle in S15. In this case, the WD2 transmits to the BS1 an identifier of the first obstacle and a second reception result indicating that the first obstacle has been detected in S8 of Fig. 4 .

[0046] If the number of obstacles determined in S10 is not one (No in S12), that is, if the number of obstacles determined in S10 is multiple, the WD2 determines in S13 which of the obstacles determined in S10 has a Doppler shift amount of the second sensing signal that is within the shift amount range. If the number of obstacles determined in S10 is one whose Doppler shift amount of the second sensing signal is within the shift amount range, the WD2 determines that this obstacle is a first obstacle in S15. In this case, the WD2 transmits to the BS1 the identifier of the first obstacle and a second reception result indicating that the first obstacle has been detected in S8 of FIG. 4 .

[0047] If there is more than one obstacle among the obstacles determined in S10 whose Doppler shift amount of the second sensing signal is within the shift amount range, the WD2 determines in S14 that the multiple obstacles determined in S10 are candidates for the first obstacle. In this case, the WD2 transmits to the BS1 the identifier of the first obstacle and a second reception result indicating that each of the multiple first obstacle candidates has been detected in S8 of Fig. 4. Note that in S14, instead of the multiple obstacles determined in S10, multiple obstacles whose Doppler shift amount of the second sensing signal is also within the shift amount range may be determined to be candidates for the first obstacle.

[0048] The determination process in FIG. 6 uses the received power as the main criterion and the Doppler shift as the secondary criterion. In other words, if the received power alone cannot narrow down the obstacle to one, the Doppler shift is used to narrow down the obstacle to one. If the Doppler shift alone cannot narrow down the obstacle to one, multiple obstacles determined based on the received power may be selected as candidates for the first obstacle. In FIG. 6, the received power is used as the main criterion and the Doppler shift as the secondary criterion, but it is also possible to use the Doppler shift as the main criterion and the received power as the secondary criterion.

[0049] When the BS1 receives the detection result of the first obstacle candidate from the WD2 in S8, the BS1 may execute a process of determining the first obstacle from the first obstacle candidate. For example, when the BS1 is performing the second process for tracking the first obstacle also between the BS1 and another WD2, the BS1 can determine the first obstacle from the first obstacle candidate using the second reception result received from the other WD2.

[0050] In S9, BS1 determines whether to continue the second process. For example, BS1 may continue the second process if it is able to track the first obstacle, and may stop the second process if it is unable to track the first obstacle. For example, if BS1 receives a second detection result for the first obstacle from WD2 in S8, BS1 may determine that it is able to track the first obstacle. Furthermore, if BS1 receives multiple second detection results for candidates for the first obstacle from WD2 in S8, but is able to identify the first obstacle from the candidates based on the second reception results from other WD2, BS1 may determine that it is able to track the first obstacle. Even if it is able to track the first obstacle, BS1 may stop the second process if it is determined that the first obstacle has moved outside the N×M detection areas at the time of next transmitting the second sensing signal.

[0051] Furthermore, when the BS1 receives the second detection result from the WD2 indicating that the first obstacle could not be detected, the BS1 may stop the second process, assuming that the first obstacle could not be tracked. Note that when the BS1 receives the second detection result from the WD2 indicating that the first obstacle could not be detected, but can determine the position and movement speed of the first obstacle based on the second reception result from another WD2, the BS1 may determine to continue the second process with the WD2.

[0052] If the second process is to be continued, the BS 1 repeats the process from S4.

[0053] <Other Forms> In the above embodiment, when tracking the first obstacle, BS1 notifies WD2 of the detection range and reduces the number of reception results acquired by WD2 to less than N × M. However, a configuration is possible in which the detection range is not notified and WD2 acquires N × M reception results. Also, in the above embodiment, the sensing signals used in the first process and the second process are different, but the sensing signals used in the first process and the second process may be the same. Also, if the wireless resources to be used in the second process are determined in advance, BS1 does not need to notify the wireless resources in S5.

[0054] Furthermore, in the first process, WD2 transmitted all N×M first reception results to BS1, but can be configured to transmit only first reception results in which an obstacle was detected to BS1. Whether an obstacle was detected in the reception results can be determined based on whether a sensing signal reflected by an obstacle was received, based on the direction of the transmission beam and the direction of the reception beam, as shown in FIG. 2 . Conversely, in the second process, WD2 determined second reception results in which an obstacle was detected and fed back to BS1 those reception results that met the determination criteria among the determined second reception results. However, a configuration is also possible in which WD2 feeds back to BS1 those reception results that met the determination criteria among all second reception results within the detection range. In other words, WD2 can be configured not to determine whether an obstacle was detected based on the reception results.

[0055] <Configuration of WD2> Fig. 7 shows an example of the configuration of WD2. Note that Fig. 7 shows only the parts necessary for explaining the embodiment, and parts of WD2 that are not necessary for explaining the embodiment are omitted. The transmitter 21 is configured to transmit a signal using at least one transmission beam. The receiver 22 is configured to be able to receive signals using M reception beams.

[0056] The acquisition unit 23 acquires the reception results for the detection area. The detection area is identified by a combination of the transmission beam number and the reception beam number. The reception result for the detection area is the result of receiving, by the reception beam for the detection area, a sensing signal transmitted from BS1 by the transmission beam for the detection area. As an example, the acquisition unit 23 acquires the reception results for all N×M detection areas in the first process, and acquires the reception results for the detection areas within the detection range specified by BS1 in the second process.

[0057] The control unit 24 controls, based on a determination criterion, the transmission to the BS 1 of the second reception results for each of the plurality of detection areas acquired by the acquisition unit 23. If there are no second reception results to be transmitted to the BS 1 according to the determination criterion, the control unit 24 transmits to the BS 1 a message indicating that there are no reception results to be transmitted. The determination criterion is based on at least one of a first range of reception power and a second range of Doppler shift amount.

[0058] <Configuration of BS1> Fig. 8 shows an example of the configuration of BS1. Note that Fig. 8 shows only parts necessary for explaining the embodiment, and parts of BS1 that are not necessary for explaining the embodiment are omitted. The transmitter 11 is configured to be able to transmit signals including a sensing signal using each of a plurality of transmission beams. The receiver 12 is configured to receive signals using at least one reception beam.

[0059] The detection unit 13 obtains the reception results of the detection area from the WD2 and detects obstacles. The detection area is identified by a combination of the transmission beam number and the reception beam number. The reception results of the detection area are the results of the sensing signal transmitted by the transmission beam of the detection area being received by the WD2 by the reception beam of the detection area.

[0060] When tracking an obstacle detected in the reception results for the first detection area, the notification unit 14 notifies WD2 of a determination criterion used by WD2 to determine the reception results to be transmitted to BS1 from the reception results for each of the multiple detection areas acquired by WD2. The determination criterion is based on at least one of a first range of reception power when WD2 receives a sensing signal reflected by the obstacle to be tracked, and a second range of Doppler shift amount when WD2 receives a sensing signal reflected by the obstacle to be tracked. The first range may be wider as the reception power of the sensing signal indicated by the reception results for the first detection area increases, and the second range may be wider as the Doppler shift amount of the sensing signal indicated by the reception results for the first detection area increases. The notification unit 14 may further notify WD2 of multiple detection areas from which WD2 acquires reception results, among the N×M detection areas.

[0061] The BS1 may be realized by a single device, or may be composed of multiple devices located in different locations, such as a radio unit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), a central unit (CU), a baseband unit (BBU), and a remote radio unit (RRU). Furthermore, while the BS (base station device) 1 has been described as transmitting a sensing signal, the device transmitting the sensing signal is not limited to a base station device in a mobile communication network, but may be a wireless communication device such as a wireless LAN access point device. Furthermore, the WD2 is not limited to a wireless device in a mobile communication network, but may be any wireless device that accesses a wireless communication device such as the BS1 according to any wireless communication standard.

[0062] The present disclosure further provides a program executable on one or more processors. The program includes instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to function as, for example, a communication apparatus such as BS1 or a wireless device such as WD2. The present disclosure also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having the program stored thereon. The present disclosure also provides a sensing method according to the contents described in Figures 3 and 4. The present disclosure also provides a program for causing an apparatus having one or more processors to execute the method, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having the program stored thereon.

[0063] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

[0064] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-135028, filed August 13, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A wireless device capable of receiving signals via each of M receiving beams from 1st to Mth, which communicates with a communication device capable of transmitting signals via each of N transmitting beams from 1st to Nth, wherein one of N and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the other is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the wireless device comprising: an acquisition means configured to acquire a reception result for a detection area identified by a combination of the transmission beam number and the receiving beam number, the reception result for the detection area being the result of receiving a sensing signal transmitted from the communication device via the transmission beam for the detection area via the receiving beam for the detection area; and a control means configured to control the transmission of the reception results for each of the multiple detection areas acquired by the acquisition means to the communication device based on a judgment criterion.

2. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the determination criterion indicates a first range, the reception results for each of the plurality of detection areas include the reception power of the sensing signal, and the control means is further configured to transmit to the communication device the reception results for which the reception power of the sensing signal is within the first range.

3. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the determination criterion indicates a second range, the reception results for each of the plurality of detection areas include a Doppler shift amount of the sensing signal, and the control means is further configured to transmit to the communication device a reception result in which the Doppler shift amount of the sensing signal is within the second range.

4. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the judgment criteria indicate a first range and a second range, the reception results for each of the plurality of detection areas include the reception power and Doppler shift amount of the sensing signal, and the control means is further configured to transmit to the communication device the reception results in which the reception power of the sensing signal is within the first range and the Doppler shift amount of the sensing signal is within the second range.

5. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the judgment criteria indicate a first range and a second range, and the reception results for each of the plurality of detection areas include the reception power and Doppler shift amount of the sensing signal, and the control means is further configured to: if there is one reception result in which the reception power of the sensing signal is within the first range, transmit the one reception result to the communication device; if there are multiple reception results in which the reception power of the sensing signal is within the first range but there is one reception result in which the reception power of the sensing signal is within the first range and the Doppler shift amount of the sensing signal is within the second range, transmit the one reception result to the communication device; otherwise, transmit to the communication device the reception result in which the reception power of the sensing signal is within the first range.

6. The wireless device according to claim 1, wherein the reception result for each of the plurality of detection areas includes a propagation delay of the sensing signal.

7. A wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control means detects an obstacle based on the reception results from each of the plurality of detection areas, and the reception results transmitted to the communication device are reception results indicating that the obstacle has been detected.

8. The wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the criteria are notified by the communication device.

9. A wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the plurality of detection areas from which the acquisition means acquires reception results among the N x M detection areas are notified by the communication device.

10. A wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the control means is further configured to, when there is no reception result to be transmitted to the communication device, transmit a message to the communication device indicating that there is no reception result to be transmitted to the communication device.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed by one or more processors of a device having one or more processors, causes the device to function as a wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A communication device capable of transmitting signals using each of N transmission beams from 1st to Nth, which communicates with a wireless device capable of receiving signals using each of M reception beams from 1st to Mth, wherein one of N and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the other is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the communication device comprising: detection means configured to detect an obstacle by acquiring a reception result for a detection area identified by a combination of the transmission beam number and the reception beam number, the reception result for the detection area being the result of receiving a sensing signal transmitted from the communication device using the transmission beam for the detection area using the reception beam for the detection area; and notification means configured to notify the wireless device of a judgment criterion for the wireless device to judge the reception result to be transmitted to the communication device from the reception results for each of multiple detection areas acquired by the wireless device when tracking an obstacle detected by the first reception result for a first detection area.

13. The communication device of claim 12, wherein the determination criterion is based on at least one of a first range of received power when the wireless device receives the sensing signal reflected by the obstacle, and a second range of Doppler shift amount when the wireless device receives the sensing signal reflected by the obstacle.

14. The communication device described in claim 13, wherein the first range becomes narrower as the received power of the sensing signal indicated by the first reception result becomes greater, and the second range becomes wider as the Doppler shift amount of the sensing signal indicated by the first reception result becomes greater.

15. A communication device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the notification means is further configured to notify the wireless device of the plurality of detection areas from which the wireless device obtains reception results among the N x M detection areas when tracking the obstacle.

16. A computer-readable storage medium containing a program that, when executed by one or more processors of a device having one or more processors, causes the device to function as a communications device according to any one of claims 12 to 15.

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