CN108736946A

CN108736946A - A kind of wave beam feedback method and equipment

Info

Publication number: CN108736946A
Application number: CN201710267534.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马梦瑶; 黄磊; 韩霄
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-04-21
Filing date: 2017-04-21
Publication date: 2018-11-02
Anticipated expiration: 2037-04-21
Also published as: WO2018192575A1; CN108736946B

Abstract

A kind of wave beam feedback method and equipment, the wave beam to realize between the devices in system for using high-frequency band to communicate are fed back.Method includes：First equipment receives the request message for acquisition request optimal beam direction of one or more second equipment transmission, the optimal beam direction for the second equipment to the first equipment transmission data when top-quality beam direction；For first equipment using identical transmissions beam direction to one or more second equipment transmission wave beam feedback information, which is used to indicate the optimal beam direction of second equipment or the optimal beam direction of each the second equipment in multiple second equipment.

Description

Beam feedback method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, to a beam feedback method and apparatus.

Background

The use of high frequency band communication requires the use of narrow radiation beams corresponding to high antenna gain to overcome the high path loss drawback corresponding to millimeter wave transmission, the so-called Beam Forming (Beam Forming) technique. In the beamforming technology, the sending-end device needs to determine the beam direction information with the best quality when transmitting data to the receiving-end device according to the beam feedback information provided by the receiving-end device.

The use of high frequency band communication is one of hot research technologies of a New Radio (NR) system and a Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi) system of 5G. For NR systems, there is no wave velocity feedback scheme for NR systems in the current standards. For a Wi-Fi system, an association beam Training (a-BFT) process in the Wi-Fi 802.11ad standard includes a beam Feedback process, in which an Access Point (AP) can only send a Sector scan Feedback Frame (SSW-Feedback Frame) within a Sector scan time period (SSW Slot), and the SSW-Feedback Frame can only feed back beam Feedback information to one user Station (Station, STA), so that when the AP feeds back Sector scan results to multiple STAs, the code stream length of the beam Feedback information total to the multiple STAs is long.

In summary, for a system using high frequency band communication, there is no effective beam feedback scheme in the current standard.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a beam feedback method and device, which are used for realizing beam feedback between devices in a system using high-frequency band communication.

In a first aspect, a beam feedback method provided in an embodiment of the present application includes:

a first device receives a request message which is sent by one or more second devices and used for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction, wherein the optimal beam direction is the beam direction with the best quality when the second devices send data to the first device;

the first device transmits beam feedback information to the one or more second devices using the same transmission beam direction, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of the one second device or an optimal beam direction of each of the plurality of second devices.

In the method, the plurality of second devices may receive the beam feedback information transmitted from the first device using the same transmission beam direction, so that the first device may simultaneously transmit the beam feedback information indicating the optimal beam direction of each of the plurality of second devices to the plurality of second devices using the same transmission beam direction.

The method can be applied to a system based on high-frequency band communication, and beam feedback is required to be carried out between devices in the system based on high-frequency band communication. The method can realize that the first device feeds back the optimal beam direction to one second device or simultaneously feeds back the optimal beam direction to a plurality of second devices. Compared with the prior art that the first device can only feed back the optimal beam direction to one second device at a time, in the method, the first device can feed back the optimal beam direction to a plurality of second devices at the same time at each time, and the code stream length of the total beam feedback information of the plurality of second devices when the first device feeds back the optimal beam direction to the plurality of second devices is further shortened. If the first device needs to perform idle channel detection before feeding back the beam feedback information to the second device, in order to implement that the first device feeds back the beam feedback information to the plurality of second devices, in the prior art, the first device needs to perform idle channel detection once every time the first device feeds back the beam feedback information to one second device, and in the method, the first device only needs to perform idle channel detection once before feeding back the beam feedback information to the plurality of second devices by sending the beam feedback information, so that the total overhead of channel detection when the first device feeds back the beam feedback information to the plurality of second devices is saved.

In a possible implementation manner, the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of the second device or an optimal beam direction of each of the second devices, and specifically includes:

the beam feedback information includes at least one beam feedback sub-information, each beam feedback sub-information includes a beam index and an identifier of each of at least one second device, the at least one second device corresponds to the same beam index, and the beam index is used for indicating the optimal beam direction.

The beam feedback information includes one or more beam feedback sub-information, and the number of the second devices included in each beam feedback sub-information may be the same or different.

When the beam feedback method is applied to a 5G NR system based on high-frequency band communication, the first device is an eNB, and the second device is UE; when the beam feedback method is applied to a Wi-Fi system based on high-frequency band communication, the first device is an AP (access point), and the second device is an STA (station).

In a possible implementation manner, when the beam feedback method is applied to a 5G NR system, the beam index used for indicating the best beam direction of the second device may be a physical random access channel PRACH transmission opportunity index or another beam index capable of indicating the best beam direction of the second device.

When the beam index is the PRACH transmission opportunity index, the second device may pre-record a beam direction used by each PRACH transmission opportunity, so that the first device may determine a beam direction according to the PRACH transmission opportunity index only by indicating one PRACH transmission opportunity index to the second device through the beam feedback information, and the determined beam direction is the optimal beam direction fed back to the second device by the first device. The beam feedback information may indicate that a plurality of second devices correspond to the same PRACH transmission opportunity index, but the optimal beam directions of the second devices respectively determined by the plurality of second devices according to the PRACH transmission opportunity indexes may be the same or different.

In a possible implementation manner, when the beam feedback method is applied to a 5G NR system, the receiving, by a first device, a request message sent by one or more second devices for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction includes: the first equipment receives a random access request message sent by the one or more second equipment;

the first device sending beam feedback information to the one or more second devices, including: the first device transmits a random access response message including the beam feedback information to the one or more second devices.

In this way, the beam feedback method may be applied to a random access process in a 5G NR system, so that the second device may obtain the beam feedback information through the random access response message, and further determine the optimal beam direction according to the beam index included in the beam feedback information, and the second device may use the optimal beam direction to send subsequent data to the first device.

In a possible implementation manner, when the beam feedback method is applied to a 5G NR system, the beam feedback information may be carried in a PDU body or a PDU header of a protocol data unit.

In another implementation, when the beam feedback information is carried in a PDU header, the PDU header includes one or a combination of the following subheader types:

a random access preamble RAPID subheader type, wherein the RAPID subheader type is used for indicating a random access preamble index;

a beam index RABID subheader type, the RABID subheader type being used to indicate a beam index, the beam index being used to indicate the best beam direction;

a backoff direction BI subheader type for indicating a backoff direction;

a BI + RABID subheader type for indicating a backoff direction and a beam index.

In the beam feedback method, one of the four sub-header types or different combinations is used, so that the beam feedback method can be applied not only to a scenario in which the first device needs to feed the beam index back to the second device, for example, a random access process in a 5G NR system in a high-frequency band communication scenario, but also to a scenario in which the first device does not need to feed the beam index back to the second device, for example, a random access process in a 5G NR system in a low-frequency band communication scenario, or a scenario in which both the first device and the second device have uplink and downlink reciprocity in a high-frequency band communication scenario, and the like.

In a possible implementation manner, when the beam feedback method is applied to a Wi-Fi system based on high-frequency band communication, a beam index in the beam feedback information may be an identifier of a sector scanning frame in a sector scanning time period.

Each sector sweep frame in a sector sweep period has a unique identification. It should be noted that the identifier of the sector sweep frame is an identifier of the sector sweep frame in one sector sweep period, and is not an identifier of the sector sweep frame sent by the second device, that is, the first device and the second device calculate the identifiers of the sector sweep frame in a consistent manner.

Optionally, the second device may further record a sector index and an antenna index used when each sector sweep frame is sent in one sector sweep period, so that the first device only needs to indicate an identifier of a best-quality sector sweep frame in one sector sweep period to the second device through the beam feedback information, and the second device may determine the sector and the antenna corresponding to the identifier of the sector sweep frame. The beam feedback information may indicate that a plurality of second devices correspond to the same sector sweep frame identifier, but the sectors and antennas determined by the plurality of second devices according to the sector sweep frame identifier may be the same or different.

In a possible implementation manner, when the beam feedback method is applied to a Wi-Fi system based on high frequency band communication, the receiving, by a first device, a request message sent by one or more second devices for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction by the first device includes: the first device receives a sector scanning frame sent by the one or more second devices in a sector scanning time period;

the first device sending beam feedback information to the one or more second devices, including: the first device transmits a sector sweep feedback set frame including the beam feedback information to the at least one second device.

Thus, the beam feedback method can be applied to an a-BFT process in a Wi-Fi system, so that the second device can obtain beam feedback information through the sector scanning feedback aggregation frame, and further determine a sector scanning result according to the beam feedback information, where the sector scanning result can indicate an optimal beam direction, and the second device can use the optimal beam direction to send subsequent data to the first device.

In a second aspect, a beam feedback method provided in an embodiment of the present application includes:

a second device sends a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction to a first device, wherein the optimal beam direction is the beam direction with the best quality when the second device sends data to the first device;

the second device receives beam feedback information sent by the first device, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one device or an optimal beam direction of each of multiple devices, where the one device or the multiple devices include the second device, and the multiple devices are capable of receiving the beam feedback information sent by the first device in the same sending beam direction.

In the above method, the second device may receive beam feedback information sent by the first device, where the beam feedback information may indicate an optimal beam direction of other devices in addition to the optimal beam direction of the second device.

In a possible implementation manner, the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one device or an optimal beam direction of each of a plurality of devices, and specifically includes:

the beam feedback information includes at least one beam feedback sub-information, each beam feedback sub-information includes a beam index and an identifier of each of at least one device, the at least one device corresponds to the same beam index, and the beam index is used for indicating the optimal beam direction.

In a possible implementation manner, when the beam feedback method is applied to a 5G NR system, the sending, by the second device, a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction to the first device includes: the second device sends a random access request message to the first device;

the second device receives the beam feedback information sent by the first device, and the method includes: the second device receives a random access response message including the beam feedback information sent by the first device.

In this way, the beam feedback method may be applied to a random access process in a 5G NR system, the second device may obtain the beam feedback information through the random access response message, and further determine the optimal beam direction according to the beam index included in the beam feedback information, and the second device may use the optimal beam direction to send subsequent data to the first device.

In a possible implementation manner, when the beam feedback method is applied to a 5G NR system, the beam feedback information is carried in a PDU body or a PDU header of a protocol data unit.

a backoff direction BI subheader type for indicating a backoff direction;

In a possible implementation manner, when the beam feedback method is applied to a Wi-Fi system based on high-frequency band communication, the sending, by the second device, a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction to the first device includes: the second device sends a sector scanning frame to the first device within a sector scanning time period;

the second device receives the beam feedback information sent by the first device, and the method includes: the second device receives a sector sweep feedback set frame including the beam feedback information sent by the first device.

Thus, the beam feedback method can be applied to an a-BFT process in a Wi-Fi system, the second device may obtain the beam feedback information through the sector scanning feedback aggregation frame, and further determine the sector scanning result according to the beam feedback information, where the sector scanning result may indicate an optimal beam direction, and the second device may send subsequent data to the first device using the optimal beam direction.

In a third aspect, a first device provided in an embodiment of the present application includes:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a request message sent by one or more second devices and used to request to acquire an optimal beam direction, where the optimal beam direction is a beam direction with the best quality when the second device sends data to the first device;

a sending unit, configured to send, after the receiving unit receives the request message, beam feedback information using the same sending beam direction for the one or more second devices, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of the one second device or an optimal beam direction of each of the multiple second devices.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit is specifically configured to: receiving a random access request message sent by the one or more second devices;

the sending unit is specifically configured to: transmitting a random access response message including the beam feedback information to the one or more second devices after the receiving unit receives the random access request message.

In one possible implementation, the beam feedback information is carried in a PDU body or a PDU header.

In a possible implementation manner, when the beam feedback information is carried in a PDU header, the PDU header includes one or a combination of the following subheader types:

a backoff direction BI subheader type for indicating a backoff direction;

In one possible implementation, the beam index includes an identification of a sector sweep frame within one sector sweep period.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit is specifically configured to: receiving a sector scanning frame sent by the one or more second devices in a sector scanning time period;

the sending unit is specifically configured to: transmitting a sector sweep feedback set frame including the beam feedback information to the at least one second device after the receiving unit receives the sector sweep frame.

In a fourth aspect, a first device provided in an embodiment of the present application includes: a processor, a memory, and a transceiver;

the transceiver is used for receiving and transmitting data;

the memory is to store instructions;

the processor is configured to execute the instructions in the memory to perform the method performed by the first device provided in the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a computer storage medium for storing computer software instructions for the first device in the above aspect, which contains a program for executing the program designed in the fourth aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a second apparatus, including:

a sending unit, configured to send a request message for requesting to obtain an optimal beam direction to a first device, where the optimal beam direction is a beam direction with the best quality when the second device sends data to the first device;

a receiving unit, configured to receive, after the sending unit sends the request message, beam feedback information sent by the first device, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one device or an optimal beam direction of each of multiple devices, where the one device or the multiple devices include the second device, and the multiple devices are capable of receiving the beam feedback information sent by the first device in the same sending beam direction.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending unit is specifically configured to: sending a random access request message to the first device;

the receiving unit is specifically configured to: after the sending unit sends the random access request message, receiving a random access response message including the beam feedback information sent by the first device.

a backoff direction BI subheader type for indicating a backoff direction;

In a possible implementation manner, the sending unit is specifically configured to: transmitting a sector sweep frame to the first device within a sector sweep period;

the receiving unit is specifically configured to: after the transmitting unit transmits a sector sweep frame, receiving a sector sweep feedback set frame including the beam feedback information transmitted by the first device.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a second apparatus, including: a processor, a memory, and a transceiver;

the transceiver is used for receiving and transmitting data;

the memory is to store instructions;

the processor is configured to execute the instructions in the memory and perform the method performed by the second device provided by the second aspect.

In an eighth aspect, this embodiment of the present application further provides a computer storage medium for storing computer software instructions for the second device in the above aspect, which contains a program for executing the program designed in the seventh aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a diagram illustrating a contention-based random access procedure in an LTE system;

fig. 1B is a diagram illustrating a non-contention based random access procedure in an LTE system;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a beam feedback method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4A is a schematic diagram of a second device requesting to obtain an optimal beam direction from a first device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4B is a schematic diagram illustrating a first device sending beam feedback information to a second device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a beam feedback method based on a 5G NR system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6A is a schematic structural diagram of a PDU provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6B is a schematic structural diagram of another PDU provided in this application;

fig. 7A is a schematic structural diagram of an RAR MAC PDU in an LTE system;

FIG. 7B is a schematic structural diagram of an E/T/RAPID MAC header type;

FIG. 7C is a schematic diagram of an E/T/R/R/BI MAC header type structure;

fig. 8A is a schematic structural diagram of a RAPID header type according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8B is a schematic structural diagram of a RABID header type according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8C is a schematic structural diagram of a BI sub header type according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8D is a schematic structural diagram of a BI + RABID leader type provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9A is a schematic structural diagram of an RARMAC PDU applied to a scenario where an eNB needs to feed a beam index back to a UE according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9B is a schematic structural diagram of an RAR MAC PDU applied to a scenario where an eNB does not need to feed a beam index back to a UE according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a beam feedback method based on a Wi-Fi system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11A is a schematic structural diagram of a sector scanning feedback set frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 11B is a schematic structural diagram of another sector scanning feedback set frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a first apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of another first apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a second apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another second apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The embodiment of the application provides a beam feedback method and device, which are used for realizing beam feedback between devices in a system using high-frequency band communication. The method and the device are based on the same inventive concept, and because the principles of solving the problems of the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be mutually referred, and repeated parts are not repeated.

The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to a system using high frequency band communication, such as a 5G NR system and a Wi-Fi system, and the following describes the 5G NR system and the Wi-Fi system in a related manner, respectively.

Both the 5G NR system and the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system are cellular networks, and the random access process is an important process in the cellular networks. The random access procedure may be triggered by various events, such as an event of a User Equipment (UE) initial access or connection re-establishment, uplink synchronization, uplink resource request, handover, and the like. The LTE system includes a contention Random Access procedure and a non-contention Random Access procedure, which are respectively shown in fig. 1A and fig. 1B, where in both the step S101 in the contention Random Access procedure shown in fig. 1A and the step S111 in the non-contention Random Access procedure shown in fig. 1B, the UE sends a Random Access preamble (Random Access preamble) to a base station (eNB) on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), and in both the step S102 in the contention Random Access procedure shown in fig. 1A and the step S112 in the non-contention Random Access procedure shown in fig. 1B, the eNB returns a MAC Protocol data unit (MAC Protocol data unit, PDU) including a Medium Access Control (MAC) Random Access Response (RAR) to the UE. Since both random access procedures are prior art, the embodiments of the present application do not describe these two random access procedures in detail.

Since the LTE system uses low frequency band communication, the eNB does not need to transmit beam feedback information to the UE. Considering that the 5G NR system uses high frequency band communication, the eNB needs to send beam feedback information to the UE, so that the UE determines the uplink beam direction with the best quality when transmitting data to the eNB according to the beam feedback information, and the beam feedback scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to the 5G NR system. In the embodiment of the present application, by designing the PDU, the eNB sends the beam feedback information to the UE through the PDU, for example, the eNB may send the beam feedback information to the UE through the MAC RAR PDU.

The a-BFT procedure in Wi-Fi systems includes a training procedure for beam direction and a beam feedback procedure. In the a-BFT procedure, the STA may scan the transmission beam sector and antenna in different directions, the AP omni-directional reception beam sector and antenna, or the STA fixed direction transmission beam sector and antenna while the AP scans the beam sector and antenna in different directions. In each A-BFT process, a STA randomly selects one SSW Slot to send a sector scanning Frame (SSW Frame), and the STA in each SSW Slot can send at least one SSW Frame to the AP. And indicating that the number of SSW frames sent by the STA in one SSW Slot cannot exceed the number of the SSW frames sent by the AP, and indicating the number of the SSW frames which are allowed to be sent to the AP by the STA in one SSW Slot by the AP through a Beacon Frame (DMG Beacon Frame). If the SSW Frame required to be sent by the STA cannot be sent in one SSW Slot, the STA can continue to send the SSW Frame in the next SSW Slot. After the STA sends one or more SSW frames in one SSW Slot, the AP replies a sector scan Feedback Frame (SSW-Feedback Frame) to the STA based on the detected SSW Frame result. And the AP replies the SSW-Feedback Frame at the end of one SSW Slot, wherein the time for the AP to reply the SSW-Feedback Frame needs to ensure that the STA can finish sending the maximum number of SSW frames. At present, in the Wi-Fi 802.11ad standard, an AP in an SSW Slot can only send one SSW-Feedback Frame, and the SSW-Feedback Frame can only feed back beam Feedback information to one STA, which results in a longer code stream length of total beam Feedback information of multiple STAs when the AP feeds back sector scanning results to the multiple STAs. If the AP needs to perform idle channel detection before sending the SSW-Feedback Frame, in the prior art, the AP needs to perform idle channel detection once every time the AP sends one SSW-Feedback Frame, so that the total overhead of channel detection is large when the AP feeds back beam Feedback information to multiple STAs.

Based on the above problems in the Wi-Fi system, the beam feedback scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the Wi-Fi system. In the embodiment of the application, by designing a Sector scan Feedback Set Frame (SSW-Feedback Set Frame), the AP realizes Feedback of beam Feedback information of one STA or simultaneous Feedback of beam Feedback information of multiple STAs by sending one Sector scan Feedback Set Frame, and when the AP realizes simultaneous Feedback of beam Feedback information of multiple STAs by sending one Sector scan Feedback Set Frame, compared with a beam Feedback scheme in an existing Wi-Fi system, the technical scheme provided in the embodiment of the application shortens a code stream length of total beam Feedback information of multiple STAs when the AP feeds back Sector scan results to the multiple STAs. If the AP needs to perform idle channel detection before feeding beam feedback information back to the STAs, in order to implement that the AP feeds back beam feedback information to multiple STAs, in the prior art, the AP needs to perform idle channel detection once every time the AP sends a sector scanning feedback frame to feed back beam feedback information to one STA, but in the technical scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application, the AP needs to perform idle channel detection only once before sending a sector scanning feedback set frame to feed back beam feedback information to multiple STAs, so that the overhead of total channel detection when the AP feeds back beam feedback information to multiple STAs is saved.

The network architecture according to the embodiment of the present application is shown in fig. 2, and includes a first device 201 and a second device 202. The second device 202 is a device that directs to the first device 201 to request to acquire beam feedback information, the second device 202 may be one second device or multiple second devices, and the first device 201 is a device that directs to the second device 202 to feed back beam feedback information. When the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is applied to a 5G NR system, the first device in the embodiment of the application is an eNB, and the second device is UE; when the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is applied to a Wi-Fi system, the first device in the embodiment of the application is an AP, and the second device is an STA.

The first device referred to in the embodiments of the present application may be a network device, or an access point, or may refer to a device in an access network that communicates with wireless terminals over the air interface through one or more sectors. The first device may be configured to interconvert received air frames and Internet Protocol (IP) packets as a router between the wireless terminal and a remainder of an access network, which may include an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The first device may also coordinate management of attributes for the air interface. For example, the first device may be a network device (BTS) in Global system for Mobile Communications (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), a network device (NodeB) in Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), or an evolved Node B (eNB) in LTE, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

The second device referred to in the embodiments of the present application is a terminal, and may be a device providing voice and/or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device corresponding to a wireless connection function, or another processing device connected to a wireless modem. A wireless terminal, which may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile telephone (or "cellular" telephone) and a computer corresponding to the mobile terminal, e.g., a portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, may communicate with one or more core networks via a Radio Access Network (RAN), and may exchange language and/or data with the RAN. Examples of such devices include Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). The wireless Terminal may also be referred to as a system, a Subscriber Unit (Subscriber Unit), a Subscriber Station (Subscriber Station), a Mobile Station (Mobile), a Remote Station (Remote Station), an Access Point (Access Point), a Remote Terminal (Remote Terminal), an Access Terminal (Access Terminal), a User Terminal (User Terminal), a User Agent (User Agent), a User Device (User Device), or a User Equipment (User Equipment), which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are described below.

Example one

As shown in fig. 3, an embodiment of the present application provides a beam feedback method, in which an interaction process between a first device and a second device is as follows:

s301, the one or more second devices send a request message to the first device for requesting to acquire the best beam direction.

In S301, the best beam direction is the beam direction with the best quality when the second device transmits data to the first device. The plurality of second devices in S301 may receive beam feedback information transmitted using the same transmission beam direction from the first device, so that the first device may simultaneously transmit beam feedback information indicating an optimal beam direction of each of the plurality of second devices to the plurality of second devices using the same transmission beam direction.

S302, the first device transmits beam feedback information to one or more second devices using the same transmission beam direction, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one second device or an optimal beam direction of each of the plurality of second devices.

Compared with the prior art that the first device can only feed back the optimal beam direction to one second device at a time, in this embodiment, the first device can feed back the optimal beam direction to a plurality of second devices at a time, and thus the code stream length of the total beam feedback information of the plurality of second devices when the first device feeds back the optimal beam direction to the plurality of second devices is shortened. If the first device needs to perform idle channel detection before feeding back the beam feedback information to the second device, in order to implement that the first device feeds back the beam feedback information to the multiple second devices, in the prior art, the first device needs to perform idle channel detection once every time the first device feeds back the beam feedback information to one second device, but in the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the first device only needs to perform idle channel detection once before feeding back the beam feedback information to the multiple second devices by sending the beam feedback information, so that the total channel detection overhead when the first device feeds back the beam feedback information to the multiple second devices is saved.

In other implementation manners, the beam feedback information in S302 includes at least one beam feedback sub-information, each beam feedback sub-information includes a beam index and an identifier of each of the at least one second device, indicating that the at least one second device included in the one beam feedback sub-information corresponds to the beam index included in the beam feedback sub-information, and the beam index is used to indicate the best beam direction of the second device corresponding to the beam index. The number of the second devices included in each beam feedback sub-information in the beam feedback information may be the same or different. The beam feedback information including the beam feedback sub-information can be classified into the following cases:

the first condition is as follows: the beam feedback information includes a beam feedback sub-information, and the beam feedback sub-information includes a beam index and an identifier of a second device corresponding to the beam index, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of the second device.

Case two: the beam feedback information includes a beam feedback sub-information, and the beam feedback sub-information includes a beam index and the identifiers of the plurality of second devices corresponding to the beam index, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate the optimal beam direction of each of the plurality of second devices.

Case three: the beam feedback information includes a plurality of beam feedback sub-information, each beam feedback sub-information includes a beam index and an identifier of one or more second devices corresponding to the beam index, and the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of each of the plurality of second devices.

Illustratively, in the network architecture diagram shown in FIG. 4A, T₁、T₂、…T_NN second devices respectively send request messages for requesting to acquire the optimal beam direction to the first device, and the N second devices can receive the request messagesBeam feedback information transmitted from the first device using the same transmission beam direction, N being an integer greater than or equal to 1. The different ellipses on the left side of each second device in fig. 4A represent different beam directions of the second device, and the shaded ellipses represent the optimal beam directions of the second device.

As shown in the network architecture diagram of fig. 4B, the first device sends beam feedback information to the N second devices, where the beam feedback information includes M beam feedback sub-information, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Taking the beam feedback sub-information 1 as an example, the beam feedback sub-information 1 includes a beam index 1 and the second device T₁To T_iAnd information of i second devices, wherein i is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the information of the second devices includes but is not limited to the identification of the second devices. The beam feedback sub-information 1 is used to indicate the second device T₁To T_iCorresponding to the same beam index 1, the second device T₁To T_iEach second device can determine its own optimal beam direction by the beam index 1. Similarly, the beam feedback sub-information 2 is used to indicate the second device T_i+1To T_i+kCorresponding to the same beam index 2, and so on, the beam feedback sub-information M is used to indicate the second device T_jTo T_NCorresponding to the same beam index M. It should be noted that the optimal beam directions determined by the same beam index by different second devices are not necessarily the same beam direction, and the second device T is used₁And T₂For example, T₁And T₂T corresponds to the same beam index 1₁Optimal beam direction and T determined from beam index 1₂The optimal beam direction determined from the beam index 1 may be the same beam direction or may be a different beam direction.

It should be noted that the beam feedback information may be implemented in a variety of ways, for example, a way including the at least one beam feedback sub-information may be adopted, and this way, while the first device simultaneously feeds back the optimal beam direction to the multiple second devices, may also shorten a code stream length of the total beam feedback information of the multiple second devices when the first device feeds back the optimal beam direction to the multiple second devices. The beam feedback information may also be in other manners, for example, the beam feedback information includes the identification of one or more second devices and the optimal beam direction of each second device, which may also enable the first device to feed back the optimal beam direction to one second device or to feed back the optimal beam direction to multiple second devices at the same time.

The feedback of beam feedback information from the first device to one or more second devices may be achieved by a beam feedback method as shown in fig. 3. The beam feedback method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described below with respect to a scenario in which the beam feedback method provided by the embodiment of the present application is applied to a 5G NR system and a Wi-Fi system, respectively.

When the beam feedback method provided by the embodiment of the present application is applied to a 5G NR system, a first device is an eNB, a second device is a UE, and the embodiment of the present application realizes that the eNB feeds back an optimal beam direction to one or more UEs by designing a PDU. As shown in fig. 5, in the beam feedback method provided in the embodiment of the present application, an interaction process between an eNB and a UE is as follows:

s501, one or more UEs transmit a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction to an eNB.

In S501, the best beam direction is the beam direction with the best quality when the UE transmits data to the eNB. The multiple UEs may receive the PDU including the beam feedback information, which is sent by the eNB in the same downlink transmission beam direction, so that the eNB may simultaneously feed back the optimal beam direction corresponding to each UE of the multiple UEs to the multiple UEs, and the eNB may obtain the downlink transmission beam direction, which is used when the PDU including the beam feedback information is sent to the UEs, through random access or other manners.

S502, the eNB transmits a PDU including beam feedback information to one or more UEs, wherein the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one UE or an optimal beam direction of each of the UEs.

In other implementations, the beam feedback information includes at least one beam feedback sub-information, and each beam feedback sub-information includes a beam index and an identity of at least one UE, indicating that at least one UE included in one beam feedback sub-information corresponds to the same beam index, and the beam index is used to indicate the best beam direction of the UE.

The beam index may be a Physical Random Access CHannel (PRACH) transmission opportunity index or other beam indexes capable of indicating a best beam direction of the UE. When the beam index is the PRACH transmission opportunity index, the UE may pre-record a beam direction used by each PRACH transmission opportunity, so that the eNB may determine a beam direction according to the PRACH transmission opportunity index only by indicating one PRACH transmission opportunity index to the UE through the beam feedback information, and the determined beam direction is the optimal beam direction fed back to the UE by the eNB. The beam feedback information may indicate that multiple UEs correspond to the same PRACH transmission opportunity index, but the optimal beam directions of the UEs respectively determined by the multiple UEs according to the PRACH transmission opportunity index may be the same or different.

In this embodiment, the implementation manner of the eNB sending the PDU to one or more UEs includes, but is not limited to, the following two manners:

the first method is as follows: the beam feedback information is carried in the PDU body.

As shown in fig. 6A, in the PDU, the beam feedback sub-information 1 to the beam feedback sub-information M included in the beam feedback information are sequentially arranged in the PDU body, and Padding may be last in the PDU (Padding). Each beam feedback sub-information contains similar information, taking beam feedback sub-information 1 as an example, beam feedback sub-information 1 sequentially includes within a PDU: beam index 1(Beam Ind1) and information (UE 1Info, UE 2Info … UE i Info) of each of at least one UE corresponding to the Beam index 1. In order to enable the eNB to feed back the optimal beam direction to the UE, the information of the UE at least includes identification information of the UE, such as an index of a random access preamble and/or a UE identity (UE ID), and the information of the UE may further include information of UE uplink time estimated by the eNB, resources allocated to the UE by the eNB, an identity allocated to the UE by the eNB, and the like.

The second method comprises the following steps: the beam feedback information is carried in a PDU Header (Header).

The PDU shown in fig. 6B sequentially includes: PDU Header, information of N UEs (UE 1Info, UE 2Info … UE N Info), and Padding (Padding) may be finally included in the PDU. The beam feedback sub-information 1 to the beam feedback sub-information M included in the beam feedback information are sequentially arranged in the PDU Header, and the information included in each beam feedback sub-information is similar, taking the beam feedback sub-information 1 as an example, the beam feedback sub-information 1 sequentially includes: a beam index 1(BeamInd 1) and sub header (Subheader) information (UE1Subheader, UE 2Subheader … UE i Subheader) of each of at least one UE corresponding to the beam index 1. In order to enable the eNB to feed back the optimal beam direction to the UE, the UE header information at least includes identification information of the UE, such as an index of a random access preamble and/or a UE identity (UE ID); the information of the UE may include information such as UE uplink time information estimated by the eNB, resources allocated by the eNB to the UE, and identities allocated by the eNB to the UE, and the information included in the information of the UE is not limited in this embodiment. The UE Subheader information and the UE information are in one-to-one correspondence, and the UE can find the corresponding UE information in the PDU through the Subheader information of the UE.

For example, the beam feedback method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be applied to a random access procedure in a 5G NR system. In the random access process, firstly, an eNB may determine a beam index for indicating the optimal beam direction of a UE through a random access preamble transmitted by the UE, a PRACH resource selected by the UE, or other manners, where the beam index may be a PRACH transmission opportunity index or a beam index of other manners; the UE may determine the best beam direction, i.e. the best uplink transmission beam direction, through the beam index. If the Random Access Response (RAR) returned by the eNB to the UE includes the beam feedback information, the UE may determine the optimal beam direction according to the beam index included in the beam feedback information, and then use the optimal beam direction to send subsequent data to the eNB.

For a scenario in which the beam feedback method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to a random access process in a 5G NR system, in S501, one or more UEs send a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction to an eNB, specifically: one or more UEs send a random access request message to the eNB, that is, the request message for requesting to acquire the best beam direction may be a random access request message; in S502, the eNB sends a PDU including beam feedback information to one or more UEs, specifically: the eNB may transmit a random access response message including the beam feedback information to one or more UEs, i.e., the PDU including the beam feedback information may be a random access response message including the beam feedback information.

In this embodiment, the RAR MAC PDU in the 5G NR system is designed based on the RAR MAC PDU in the LTE system, and the purpose of the designed RAR MAC PDU is to support the eNB in the 5G NR system to feed back the optimal beam direction to the UE. Fig. 7A shows an RAR MAC PDU in the LTE system, where two types of headers included in the RAR MAC PDU in the LTE system are an E/T/RAPID MAC header type shown in fig. 7B and an E/T/R/BI MAC header type shown in fig. 7C, respectively, and the RAR MAC PDU and the header types in the LTE system are not described herein again. In this embodiment, the PDU shown in fig. 6B is refined, and two types of subheaders included in the RAR MAC PDU are extended into four types of subheaders, so that the eNB in the 5G NR system feeds back the optimal beam direction to the UE through the RAR MAC PDU. Four types of subheaders included in the RAR MAC PDU in this embodiment are shown in fig. 8A to 8D, and the relevant description of the fields in the four types of subheaders is as follows:

p: a Preamble (Preamble) field, which occupies one bit to indicate whether the Subheader contains a random access Preamble index. For example, 1 indicates that the Subheader contains a random access preamble index, that is, the Subheader is rapidspuader, 0 indicates that the Subheader does not contain a random access preamble index, and the Subheader contains a beam index and/or a backoff indicator, that is, the Subheader is of a type other than RAPID Subheader; or vice versa.

B: and a Beam (Beam) field, occupying one bit, for indicating whether the first byte of the Subheader contains a Beam index. For example, 1 indicates that the first byte of the Subheader contains a beam index, that is, the Subheader is of a RABID Subheader type, and 0 indicates that the first byte of the Subheader does not contain a beam index and contains a backoff indicator, that is, the Subheader is a BI Subheader or a BI + RABID Subheader; or vice versa.

N: a Number field (Number) occupying one bit for indicating the Number of bytes occupied by the Subheader. For example, 0 indicates that the Subheader occupies one byte, that is, the Subheader is of a BI Subheader type, and 1 indicates that the Subheader occupies two bytes, that is, the Subheader is BI + RABID Subheader; or vice versa.

E: an Extension field (Extension) occupies a bit to indicate whether there are other subheaders following the Subheader. For example, 1 indicates that there is at least one sub header following the sub header, and 0 indicates that the sub header is followed by the MAC RAR or Padding (Padding). It is noted that in some embodiments, the padidspuader may be followed by at least one RAPID sub-header, which does not require an extension field.

RAPID field: a Random Access Preamble Index (PAPID) field occupies 6 bits for indicating a Random Access Preamble Index, which is the same as a RAPID field in an E/T/RAPID header in the LTE system.

RABID domain: a Beam Index (RABID) field, which occupies 6 bits, for indicating a Beam index.

BI domain: a Backoff Indicator (BI) field, which occupies 4 bits for indicating the loading of the eNB, is similar to the BI field in the E/T/R/BI Subheader in the LTE system.

R: reserved (Reserve) field, occupying 1 bit, configured as 0.

These four Subheader types are described below.

Fig. 8A shows a RAPID header, where the RAPID header is used to indicate a Random Access Preamble Index (Random Access Preamble Index), which is equivalent to the UE identifier, and the RAPID header occupies one byte. The RAPID Subheader has a structure similar to that of the E/T/RAPID Subheader in the LTE system, and the first two domains in the RAPID Subheader are changed relative to the first two domains in the E/T/RAPID Subheader in the LTE system.

As shown in fig. 8B, RABID header is used to indicate a beam index, which is used to indicate the best beam direction of the UE during the random access procedure. The RAR MAC PDU may include one or more RABID subheaders and a RABID Subheader corresponding to each RABID Subheader, and generally, one RABID Subheader is located before the RABID Subheader corresponding to the RABID Subheader, and the RABID Subheader corresponding to the RABID Subheader and the RABID Subheader indicate that the UE indicated in the RABID Subheader corresponding to the RABID Subheader uses the beam index indicated in the RABID Subheader.

As shown in fig. 8C, the BI Subheader is used to indicate a backoff indicator (backoff indicator), the BI Subheader may occupy one byte, and a BI field in the BI Subheader is used to indicate a load condition of an omni-directional beam or all beams of the eNB. And the UE generates a random number according to the backoff guide indicated by the BI Subheader and performs backoff based on the random number. And when the RAR MAC PDU includes the BI Subheader but does not include the RAPID Subheader corresponding to the BI Subheader, indicating that all the UEs receiving the RAR MAC PDU use the back-off direction indicated in the BI Subheader. When the RAR MAC PDU includes a BI Subheader and a RAPID Subheader, if the BI Subheader does not correspond to the RAPID Subheader, the BI Subheader indicates that all UEs receiving the RAR MAC PDU use the back-off direction indicated therein, and the RAPID Subheader may follow the definition in LTE to indicate information of the UEs, for example, uplink resources allocated by the eNB to the UEs; if the BI Subheader corresponds to part or all of the UEs indicated in the RAPID Subheader, it indicates that part or all of the UEs corresponding to the BI Subheader in the RAPIDSubheader use the backoff direction indicated in the BISUBheader corresponding to the RAPID Subheader, and no UE corresponding to the BI Subheader in the RAPID Subheader can follow the definition in the LTE for indicating the information of the UE. The BI Subheader has a structure similar to that of the E/T/R/R/BI Subheader in the LTE system, and the first four domains in the BI Subheader are modified relative to the first four domains in the E/T/R/R/BI Subheader in the LTE system.

As shown in fig. 8D, BI + RABID Subheader is used to indicate backoff direction and beam index, and BI + RABID Subheader occupies two bytes. And when the beam index indicated in the BI + RABID Subheader is the PRACH transmission opportunity index, the BI field in the BI + RABID Subheader is used for indicating the load condition of the PRACH transmission opportunity indicated by the PRACH transmission opportunity index. And when the RAR MAC PDU includes the BI + RABID Subheader but does not include the RAPID Subheader corresponding to the BI + RABID Subheader, indicating that all the UEs receiving the RAR MAC PDU use the backoff indicator and the beam index indicated in the BI + RABID Subheader. Taking the beam index as the PRACH transmission opportunity index as an example, BI + RABID header indicates that the UE performs backoff according to the backoff indicator in the PRACH transmission opportunity indicated by the PRACH transmission opportunity index. When the RAR MAC PDU includes the BI + RABID Subheader and the RAPID Subheader corresponding to the BI + RABID Subheader, generally, the BI + RABID Subheader is located before the RAPID Subheader, which means that the UE indicated in the RAPID Subheader uses the backoff indicator and the beam index indicated in the BI + RABID Subheader corresponding to the RAPID Subheader until the next RAPID Subheader or the BI + RABID Subheader appears.

When the RAR MAC PDU includes BI Subheader, BI + RABID Subheader, and RAPID Subheader, one meaning of the RAR MAC PDU is: the BI Subheader indicates that all the UE receiving the PAR MAC PDU uses the back-off guide indicated in the BI Subheader; if the BI + RABID Subheader does not correspond to the RAPID Subheader, the BI + RABID Subheader indicates that all the UEs receiving the RAR MAC PDU use the back-off direction and the beam index indicated therein, and the RAPID Subheader can follow the definition in LTE and is used for indicating the information of the UEs; if the BI + RABIDSubheader corresponds to part or all of the UEs indicated by the RAPID Subheader, it indicates that part or all of the UEs corresponding to the BI + RABID Subheader in the RAPID Subheader use the backoff indicator and the beam index indicated in the BI + RABID Subheader, and the UEs not corresponding to the BI + RABID Subheader in the RAPID Subheader can follow the definition in the LTE and are used for indicating the information of the UEs.

When the RAR MAC PDU includes a BI Subheader, a BI + RABID Subheader and a RAPID Subheader, the other meaning of the RAR MAC PDU is as follows: the BI + RABID header indicates that all UEs receiving the RAR MAC PDU use the backoff indicator and the beam index indicated in the BI + RABID header, and the BI header corresponds to part or all of the UEs indicated in the rabidsbheader, which may be referred to as the description below in fig. 8C, and is not described herein again.

By using different combinations of the four types of subheaders, the MAC RAR PDU can be applied not only to a scenario in which the eNB needs to feed a beam index back to the UE, for example, a random access process in a high-frequency band communication scenario, but also to a scenario in which the eNB does not need to feed a beam index back to the UE, for example, a random access process in a low-frequency band communication scenario, or a scenario in which both the eNB and the UE have uplink and downlink reciprocity in a high-frequency band communication scenario. The following illustrates a random access procedure in which different combinations of subheaders included in a MAC RAR PDU are applied to a system using high-frequency band communication and a system using low-frequency band communication, respectively.

For example, one: the method is applied to a scene that the eNB needs to feed back the beam index to the UE.

As shown in fig. 9A, in the MAC RAR PDU, RAPID Subheader 1 to RAPID Subheader i correspond to RAPID Subheader, which indicates that i UEs indicated by RAPID Subheader 1 to RAPID Subheader i correspond to beam indexes indicated by RAPID Subheader; RAPID Subheader i +1 to RAPID Subheader N correspond to BI + RAPID Subheader, which means that UEs indicated by RAPID Subheader i +1 to RAPID Subheader N use the beam index and backoff indicator indicated by BI + RAPID Subheader.

The example is two: the method is applied to a scene that the eNB does not need to feed back the beam index to the UE.

As shown in fig. 9B, in the MAC RAR PDU, N UEs indicated by RAPID Subheader 1 to RAPID Subheader N need to perform backoff according to the backoff direction indicated by BI Subheader.

Through the method, the UE can analyze the RAR MAC PDU through the domain in the header contained in the RAR MAC PDU, and the UE is informed of parameters required for analyzing the PDU without extra system broadcast overhead, so that the broadcast overhead can be reduced.

It should be noted that the PDU related in this embodiment includes, but is not limited to, part or all of each domain included in the above PDU, and the number of bits occupied by each domain, the number of each domain, and the position of each domain in the PDU included in the above PDU are not limited to what is described in this embodiment.

In summary, the beam feedback method provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to a 5G NR system, and by designing the PDU, the eNB may send beam feedback information to the UE through the PDU designed in the embodiment of the present application, so that the eNB may feed back an optimal beam direction to one UE or feed back optimal beam directions to multiple UEs at the same time.

When the beam feedback method provided by the embodiment of the application is applied to a Wi-Fi system, the first device is an AP, and the second device is an STA. The beam feedback method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be specifically applied to an a-BFT process of a Wi-Fi system, and the embodiment of the present application designs a sector scanning feedback aggregation frame, so that an AP can simultaneously feed back beam feedback information of multiple STAs through the sector scanning feedback aggregation frame, where the beam feedback information refers to a sector scanning result of the STA, and the sector scanning result may indicate an optimal beam direction of the STA. It should be noted that the sector sweep feedback set frame designed in the embodiment of the present application is different from the existing sector sweep feedback frame.

As shown in fig. 10, the interaction process between the AP and the STA in the beam feedback method provided in the embodiment of the present application is as follows:

s1001, the plurality of STAs transmit a sector sweep frame to the AP.

The sector scanning frame in S1001 is used to request the AP to feed back a sector scanning result to the STA, and the sector scanning frame is equivalent to the request message in S301 for requesting to acquire the optimal beam direction. The process of the plurality of STAs transmitting the sector sweep frame to the AP in S1001 roughly includes: one A-BFT process contains one or more SSW slots, in each A-BFT process, a STA randomly selects one SSW Slot to send a sector scanning Frame (SSW Frame), and the STA in each SSW Slot can send at least one SSW Frame to the AP. And the number of SSW frames sent by the STA in one SSW Slot cannot exceed the indication of the AP. If the SSW Frame required to be sent by the STA cannot be sent in one SSW Slot, the STA can continue to send the SSW Frame in the next SSW Slot.

After the STA sends one or more SSW frames in an SSW Slot, the AP replies a sector scan Feedback Set Frame (SSW-Feedback Set Frame) to the STA based on the SSWFrame result, i.e., performs S1002. In S1001, the multiple STAs may receive the sector scanning feedback set frame including the beam feedback information, which is sent by the AP in the same downlink sending beam direction, so as to implement that the AP simultaneously feeds back the sector scanning results of the STAs to the multiple STAs.

S1002, the AP transmits a sector scanning feedback set frame including beam feedback information to the plurality of STAs.

The sector scanning feedback set frame transmitted by the AP in S1002 may be at the end of one sector scanning period, so that the STA can transmit as many sector scanning frames as possible before the time of the sector scanning feedback set frame transmitted by the AP.

The sector scanning feedback set frame sent by the AP includes beam feedback information, where the beam feedback information includes at least one beam feedback sub-information, and each beam feedback sub-information includes a beam index and an identifier of each STA of at least one STA, and indicates that at least one STA included in one beam feedback sub-information corresponds to the same beam index, and the beam index is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of the STA. When the AP simultaneously feeds back the beam feedback information of multiple STAs by sending a sector scanning feedback set frame, compared to a beam feedback scheme in the existing Wi-Fi system, the technical scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application shortens the code stream length of the total beam feedback information of multiple STAs when the AP feeds back sector scanning results to multiple STAs. If the AP needs to perform idle channel detection before feeding beam feedback information back to the STAs, in order to implement that the AP feeds back beam feedback information to multiple STAs, in the prior art, the AP needs to perform idle channel detection once every time the AP sends a sector scanning feedback frame to feed back beam feedback information to one STA, but in the technical scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application, the AP needs to perform idle channel detection only once before sending a sector scanning feedback set frame to feed back beam feedback information to multiple STAs, so that the overhead of total channel detection when the AP feeds back beam feedback information to multiple STAs is saved.

The beam index in the beam feedback information may be an identifier of a sector sweep frame in a sector sweep period, and each sector sweep frame in a sector sweep period has a unique identifier. It should be noted that the identifier of the sector sweep frame is an identifier of the sector sweep frame in one sector sweep period, and is not an identifier of the sector sweep frame sent by the STA, that is, the calculation manner of the identifier of the sector sweep frame by the STA and the AP is consistent. For example, the identifier of the sector sweep frame may be calculated based on the air interface transmission delay between the STA and the AP, information in the sector sweep frame, and the like, and the calculation method is not within the discussion range of the embodiment of the present application, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited by the calculation method. Optionally, the STA may further record a sector index and an antenna index used when each sector scanning frame is sent in one sector scanning period, so that the AP may determine, only by indicating, to the STA, an identifier of a sector scanning frame with the best quality in one sector scanning period through the beam feedback information, the sector and the antenna that are used by the identifier of the sector scanning frame, correspondingly. The beam feedback information may indicate that a plurality of STAs correspond to the same identifier of the sector sweep frame, but the sectors and antennas determined by the plurality of STAs according to the identifier of the sector sweep frame may be the same or different.

The sector scanning feedback set frame designed in this embodiment may implement that the AP feeds back the sector scanning result to multiple STAs at the same time, and certainly may also implement that the AP feeds back the sector scanning result to one STA, that is, the sector scanning feedback set frame sent by the AP to the STA only includes the sector scanning result of one STA.

For example, as shown in fig. 11A, the sector sweep Feedback set Frame designed in this embodiment is a sector sweep Feedback set Frame, and as shown in fig. 11A (a), the sector sweep Feedback set Frame may include a Frame Control (Frame Control) field, a Duration (Duration) field, a transmitting end address (TA) field, one or more sector sweep information Subset (SSW Feedback Subset) fields, and a Frame detection sequence (FCS) field. A part of the fields included in the sector scanning feedback set frame are described below, and the undescribed fields may refer to the fields corresponding to the existing sector scanning feedback frame, which is not described herein again.

Frame Control field: the Frame in the Frame Control field in this embodiment is a sector scanning feedback set Frame, and the sector scanning feedback set Frame may implement that a sector scanning result is fed back to multiple STAs at the same time. The bold font in the following table one is defined as a Frame Control field corresponding to the SSW Feedback Set Frame.

Watch 1

SSW Feedback Subset domain: the newly defined field in this embodiment represents a sector sweep information Subset, and an SSW Feedback Subset field is equivalent to one beam Feedback sub-information in the beam Feedback information in this embodiment. The SSW Feedback Subset is used to indicate a sector scanning result of an STA or a sector scanning result of each STA of the STAs, where the sector scanning result corresponding to the STA may be an identifier of a sector scanning frame in a sector scanning period, and the identifiers of the sector scanning frames corresponding to the STAs in the SSW Feedback Subset are the same. As shown in fig. 11A (b), the SSW Feedback Subset domain includes an SSW Feedback Subset Common domain and one or more SSWFeedback STA domains, and the SSW Feedback Subset Common domain will be described below with reference to fig. 11A (c).

As shown in fig. 11A (c), the SSW Feedback Subset Common field in the SSW Feedback Subset field includes Common information of the scanning results of the multiple STAs in the SSW Feedback Subset field, where the Common information includes three fields, i.e., an SSW ID field, a More Subset field, and a Reserved field. Illustratively, the SSW ID field occupies 4 bits, and is used to indicate the identifier of the sector scanning frame with the best quality in the scanning of all STAs in the SSW Feedback Subset in the sector scanning period; the More Subset field occupies 1 bit and is used for indicating whether there are other SSW Feedback subsets after the SSWFeedback Subset of the More Subset field, for example, 1 indicates present, 0 indicates not present, or vice versa; the Reserved field is a Reserved field, and occupies 3 bits. In another implementation, as shown in fig. 11B (c), the SSWFeedback Subset Common may include an STA Num field, where the STA Num field is used to indicate that the SSW Feedback Subset includes the number of SSW Feedback STAs, and the SSW Feedback STA field may not include a More STA field. In other implementations, when the SSW Feedback STAs included in the SSW Feedback Subset are a fixed number, the domain of the SSW Feedback STA may not include a More STA, and the domain of the SSW Feedback Subset Common may not include a STA Num.

As shown in (d) of fig. 11A, the SSW Feedback STA field in the SSW Feedback Subset field includes sector scanning Feedback information of one STA, and the SSW Feedback STA includes an RA field indicating a reception address, which is a unique identifier of the STA, and is similar to the definition of the RA field in the existing sector scanning Feedback frame. In other implementations, the SSW Feedback STA may further include six fields other than the RA field in the SSW Feedback STA field shown in fig. 11A (d). Wherein, the SNRRreport field represents the SNR of the sector scanning frame with the best quality in the sector scanning time period; the Poll required field represents a request for further communication; the BRP Request field represents a beam optimization Request; the Beamformed Link Maintenance domain represents beam Link Maintenance information; the More STA field occupies one bit, and indicates whether there is another SSW Feedback STA field after the SSW Feedback STA field where the More STA field is located, for example, 1 indicates there, 0 indicates nothing, or vice versa; the Reserved field is a Reserved field, and occupies 6 bits. In other implementations, as shown in fig. 11B (a), the sector scanning Feedback set frame may include a Subset Num field, where the Subset Num field is used to indicate the number of SSWFeedback Subset fields included in the sector scanning Feedback set frame, and at this time, the ssrw Feedback Subset Common may not include a MoreSubset field. In other implementation manners, when the SSW Feedback Subset in the sector scanning Feedback set frame is a fixed number, the More Subset field may not be included in the SSW Feedback Subset Common field, and the SubsetNum field may not be included in the sector scanning Feedback set frame.

It should be noted that the sector sweep set frame related in this embodiment includes, but is not limited to, part or all of the domains included in the sector sweep set frame, and the number of bits occupied by the domains, the number of the domains, and the positions of the domains in the sector sweep set frame are not limited to those described in this embodiment.

Through the sector scanning feedback aggregate frame designed by the embodiment, the AP can realize the simultaneous feedback of the beam feedback information of a plurality of STAs through the sector scanning feedback aggregate frame, the beam feedback information indicates the identification of the sector scanning frame with the best quality in a sector scanning time period to the STAs, and then the STAs can determine the sectors and the antennas according to the identification of the sector scanning frame.

In the existing Wi-Fi system, an AP in an SSW Slot can only send a sector scanning feedback frame, the sector scanning feedback frame can only feed back a sector scanning result to an STA, and the sector scanning result of the STA refers to beam feedback information of the STA, so that the problem that the code stream length of the total beam feedback information of a plurality of STAs is long when the AP feeds back the sector scanning result to the STAs is caused. Therefore, the beam feedback method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to a Wi-Fi system, and the sector scanning feedback set frame is designed in the embodiment of the application, so that the AP can realize the feedback of the sector scanning result of one STA or the simultaneous feedback of the sector scanning results of a plurality of STAs by sending one sector scanning feedback set frame, and compared with the beam feedback scheme in the existing Wi-Fi system, the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application shortens the code stream length of the total beam feedback information of the plurality of STAs when the AP feeds the sector scanning results back to the plurality of STAs by sending one sector scanning feedback set frame when the AP simultaneously feeds the sector scanning results back to the plurality of STAs. If the AP needs to perform idle channel detection before feeding beam feedback information back to the STAs, in order to implement that the AP feeds back beam feedback information to multiple STAs, in the prior art, the AP needs to perform idle channel detection once every time the AP sends a sector scanning feedback frame to feed back beam feedback information to one STA, but in the technical scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application, the AP needs to perform idle channel detection only once before sending a sector scanning feedback set frame to feed back beam feedback information to multiple STAs, so that the overhead of total channel detection when the AP feeds back beam feedback information to multiple STAs is saved.

Example two

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a first device, and the first device may perform the method on the first device side in the beam feedback method provided in the first embodiment. Referring to fig. 12, the first apparatus 1200 includes: a receiving unit 1201 and a transmitting unit 1202. Wherein,

a receiving unit 1201, configured to receive a request message sent by one or more second devices for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction, where the optimal beam direction is a beam direction with the best quality when the second device sends data to the first device 1200;

a sending unit 1202, configured to send, after the receiving unit 1201 receives the request message, beam feedback information using the same sending beam direction for one or more second devices, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one second device or an optimal beam direction of each of the multiple second devices.

In a possible implementation manner, the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one second device or an optimal beam direction of each of a plurality of second devices, and specifically includes:

the beam feedback information comprises at least one beam feedback sub-information, each beam feedback sub-information comprises a beam index and an identification of each of the at least one second device, the at least one second device corresponds to the same beam index, and the beam index is used for indicating the optimal beam direction.

When the first device 1200 is applicable to a 5G NR system based on high frequency band communication, the first device 1200 is an eNB, and the second device is a UE; when the first device 1200 is applied to a Wi-Fi system based on high frequency band communication, the first device 1200 is an AP, and the second device is an STA.

The first device 1200 described above is applied to a 5G NR system based on high frequency band communication.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit 1201 is specifically configured to: receiving random access request messages sent by one or more second devices;

the sending unit 1202 is specifically configured to: after the receiving unit 1201 receives the random access request message, a random access response message including beam feedback information is transmitted to the one or more second devices.

In one possible implementation, when the beam feedback information is carried in the PDU header, the PDU header includes one or a combination of the following subheader types:

random access preamble RAPID subheader type, the RAPID subheader type is used for indicating random access preamble index;

a beam index RABID subheader type, wherein the RABID subheader type is used for indicating the beam index, and the beam index is used for indicating the optimal beam direction;

a backoff guide BI subheader type, the BI subheader type being used to indicate a backoff guide;

a BI + RABID subheader type, the BI + RABID subheader type being used to indicate a backoff direction and a beam index.

The first device 1200 described above is applied to a Wi-Fi system based on high frequency band communication.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit 1201 is specifically configured to: receiving a sector scanning frame sent by one or more second devices in a sector scanning time period;

the sending unit 1202 is specifically configured to: after the receiving unit 1201 receives the sector sweep frame, the sector sweep feedback set frame including the beam feedback information is transmitted to the at least one second device.

It should be noted that, for specific functional descriptions of the above units, reference may be made to a beam feedback method provided in the first embodiment, and details are not described here again. The division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be substantially implemented or contributed to by the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method of the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

Based on the same inventive concept, the present application further provides a first device, where the first device may perform the method on the first device side in the beam feedback method provided in the first embodiment, and may be the same device as the first device shown in fig. 12. Referring to fig. 13, the first apparatus 1300 includes: a processor 1301, a transceiver 1302, and a memory 1303. Wherein,

the processor 1301 is configured to read the program in the memory 1303, and execute the following processes:

a processor 1301, configured to receive, through the transceiver 1302, a request message sent by one or more second devices to request to acquire an optimal beam direction, where the optimal beam direction is a beam direction with the best quality when the second device sends data to the first device 1300;

the processor 1301 is further configured to transmit, by the transceiver 1302, beam feedback information indicating an optimal beam direction of one second device or an optimal beam direction of each of the plurality of second devices using the same transmit beam direction for the one or more second devices.

In a possible implementation manner, when the processor 1301 receives, through the transceiver 1302, a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction, where the request message is sent by one or more second devices, the request message is specifically configured to: receiving, by the transceiver 1302, a random access request message transmitted by one or more second devices;

when the processor 1301 transmits the beam feedback information through the transceiver 1302 by using the same transmission beam direction to one or more second devices, the processor is specifically configured to: a random access response message including beam feedback information is transmitted to the one or more second devices through the transceiver 1302.

In a possible implementation manner, when the processor 1301 receives, through the transceiver 1302, a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction, where the request message is sent by one or more second devices, the request message is specifically configured to: receiving, by the transceiver 1302, a sector sweep frame transmitted by one or more second devices within one sector sweep period;

when the processor 1301 transmits the beam feedback information through the transceiver 1302 by using the same transmission beam direction to one or more second devices, the processor is specifically configured to: the sector sweep feedback set frame including beam feedback information is transmitted to at least one second device through the transceiver 1302.

The memory 1303 may store data used by the processor 1301 in performing operations, and the memory 1303 may be a memory of a physical host carrying the SDN controller, such as a hard disk, a usb disk, a Secure Digital (SD) card, and the like.

The present embodiment further provides a computer storage medium for storing computer software instructions for the first device of the foregoing embodiment, which includes a program designed to execute the foregoing embodiment, so as to implement the beam feedback method provided in the present embodiment.

EXAMPLE III

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a second device, and the second device may perform the method on the second device side in the beam feedback method provided in the first embodiment. Referring to fig. 14, the second apparatus 1400 includes: a transmission unit 1401 and a reception unit 1402. Wherein,

a sending unit 1401, configured to send a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction to a first device, where the optimal beam direction is a beam direction with the best quality when the second device 1400 sends data to the first device;

a receiving unit 1402, configured to receive, after the transmitting unit 1401 transmits the request message, beam feedback information transmitted by the first device, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one device or an optimal beam direction of each of a plurality of devices, where the one device or the plurality of devices includes the second device 1400, and the plurality of devices are capable of receiving beam feedback information transmitted by the first device using the same transmission beam direction.

the beam feedback information comprises at least one beam feedback sub-information, each beam feedback sub-information comprises a beam index and an identification of each device of at least one device, at least one device corresponds to the same beam index, and the beam index is used for indicating the optimal beam direction.

When the second device 1400 is applied to a 5G NR system based on high frequency band communication, the first device is an eNB, and the second device 1400 is a UE; when the second device 1400 is applied to a Wi-Fi system based on high-frequency band communication, the first device is an AP, and the second device 1400 is an STA.

The second device 1400 described above is applied to a 5G NR system based on high frequency band communication.

In one possible implementation, the sending unit 1401 is specifically configured to: sending a random access request message to a first device;

the receiving unit 1402 is specifically configured to: after the transmission unit 1401 transmits the random access request message, a random access response message including beam feedback information transmitted by the first device is received.

The second device 1400 is applied to a Wi-Fi system based on high frequency band communication.

In one possible implementation, the sending unit 1401 is specifically configured to: transmitting a sector sweep frame to a first device within a sector sweep period;

the receiving unit 1402 is specifically configured to: after the transmission unit 1401 transmits the sector sweep frame, the sector sweep feedback set frame including the beam feedback information transmitted by the first device is received.

Based on the same inventive concept, the present application further provides a second device, where the second device may perform the method on the second device side in the beam feedback method provided in the first embodiment, and may be the same device as the second device shown in fig. 14. Referring to fig. 15, a second apparatus 1500 includes: a processor 1501, a transceiver 1502, and a memory 1503. Wherein,

the processor 1501, which is configured to read the program in the memory 1503, executes the following processes:

a processor 1501, configured to send a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction to the first device through the transceiver 1502, where the optimal beam direction is a beam direction with the best quality when the second device 1500 sends data to the first device;

the processor 1501 is further configured to receive, through the transceiver 1502, beam feedback information transmitted by the first device, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one device or an optimal beam direction of each of a plurality of devices, where the one or more devices include the second device 1500, and the plurality of devices are capable of receiving beam feedback information transmitted by the first device using the same transmission beam direction.

In a possible implementation manner, when the processor 1501 sends a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction to the first device through the transceiver 1502, the processor is specifically configured to: transmitting a random access request message to the first device through the transceiver 1502;

the processor 1501, through the transceiver 1502, receives beam feedback information sent by the first device, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one device or an optimal beam direction of each of multiple devices, and specifically is used to: a random access response message including beam feedback information transmitted by the first device is received through the transceiver 1502.

In a possible implementation manner, when the processor 1501 sends a request message for requesting to acquire an optimal beam direction to the first device through the transceiver 1502, the processor is specifically configured to: transmitting, by the transceiver 1502, a sector sweep frame to the first device for a sector sweep period;

the processor 1501, through the transceiver 1502, receives beam feedback information sent by the first device, where the beam feedback information is used to indicate an optimal beam direction of one device or an optimal beam direction of each of multiple devices, and specifically is used to: a sector sweep feedback set frame including beam feedback information transmitted by a first device is received by a transceiver 1502.

The storage 1503 may store data used by the processor 1501 in performing operations, and the storage 1503 may be a memory of a physical host carrying the SDN controller, such as a hard disk, a usb disk, an SD card, and the like.

The present embodiment further provides a computer storage medium for storing computer software instructions for the second device of the foregoing embodiment, which includes a program designed to execute the foregoing embodiment, so as to implement the beam feedback method provided in the present embodiment.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While the preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the application.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiments of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to encompass such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for beam feedback, comprising:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the beam feedback information is used to indicate the optimal beam direction of the one second device or the optimal beam direction of each of the plurality of second devices, and specifically:

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first device receiving a request message sent by one or more second devices for requesting to acquire the best beam direction comprises:

the first equipment receives a random access request message sent by the one or more second equipment;

the first device sending beam feedback information to the one or more second devices, including:

the first device transmits a random access response message including the beam feedback information to the one or more second devices.

4. The method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the beam feedback information is carried in a protocol data unit, PDU, body or PDU header.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein when the beam feedback information is carried in a PDU header, the PDU header includes one or a combination of the following subheader types:

a backoff direction BI subheader type for indicating a backoff direction;

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the beam index comprises an identification of a sector sweep frame within one sector sweep period.

7. The method of any one of claims 1, 2 or 6, wherein the receiving, by the first device, a request message sent by one or more second devices for requesting acquisition of the best beam direction comprises:

the first device receives a sector scanning frame sent by the one or more second devices in a sector scanning time period;

the first device transmits a sector sweep feedback set frame including the beam feedback information to the at least one second device.

8. A method for beam feedback, comprising:

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the beam feedback information is used to indicate a best beam direction of one device or a best beam direction of each of a plurality of devices, specifically:

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the second device sending a request message to the first device requesting to acquire the best beam direction, comprises:

the second device sends a random access request message to the first device;

the second device receives the beam feedback information sent by the first device, and the method includes:

the second device receives a random access response message including the beam feedback information sent by the first device.

11. The method according to one of claims 8 to 10, wherein said beam feedback information is carried in a protocol data unit, PDU, body or PDU header.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein when the beam feedback information is carried in a PDU header, the PDU header comprises one or a combination of the following subheader types:

a backoff direction BI subheader type for indicating a backoff direction;

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the beam index comprises an identification of a sector sweep frame within one sector sweep period.

14. The method of any one of claims 8, 9 or 13, wherein the second device sending a request message to the first device requesting acquisition of the best beam direction, comprising:

the second device sends a sector scanning frame to the first device within a sector scanning time period;

the second device receives a sector sweep feedback set frame including the beam feedback information sent by the first device.

15. A first device, comprising:

16. The first device of claim 15, wherein the beam feedback information is used to indicate the best beam direction of the one second device or the best beam direction of each of the plurality of second devices, and specifically:

17. The first device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the receiving unit is specifically configured to: receiving a random access request message sent by the one or more second devices;

18. The first apparatus of any of claims 15 to 17, wherein the beam feedback information is carried in a protocol data unit, PDU, body or a PDU header.

19. The first apparatus of claim 18, wherein when the beam feedback information is carried in a PDU header, the PDU header comprises one or a combination of the following subheader types:

a backoff direction BI subheader type for indicating a backoff direction;

20. The first device of claim 18, wherein the beam index comprises an identification of a sector sweep frame within one sector sweep period.

21. The first device according to any of claims 15, 16 or 20, wherein the receiving unit is specifically configured to: receiving a sector scanning frame sent by the one or more second devices in a sector scanning time period;

22. A second apparatus, comprising:

23. The second device of claim 22, wherein the beam feedback information is used to indicate a best beam direction of one device or a best beam direction of each of a plurality of devices, and specifically:

24. The second device according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the sending unit is specifically configured to: sending a random access request message to the first device;

25. The second apparatus according to one of claims 22 to 24, wherein said beam feedback information is carried in a protocol data unit, PDU, body or PDU header.

26. The second apparatus of claim 25, wherein when the beam feedback information is carried in a PDU header, the PDU header comprises one or a combination of the following subheader types:

a backoff direction BI subheader type for indicating a backoff direction;

27. The second device of claim 23, wherein the beam index comprises an identification of a sector sweep frame within one sector sweep period.

28. The second device according to any of claims 22, 23 or 27, wherein the sending unit is specifically configured to: transmitting a sector sweep frame to the first device within a sector sweep period;