CN113615229A

CN113615229A - Relay device

Info

Publication number: CN113615229A
Application number: CN201980094364.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 樋口翔一; 柿岛佑一
Original assignee: NTT Docomo Inc
Current assignee: NTT Docomo Inc
Priority date: 2019-03-29
Filing date: 2019-03-29
Publication date: 2021-11-05
Also published as: WO2020202401A1

Abstract

Provided is a relay device provided with: a reception unit that receives an uplink signal from a node device; a control unit that measures the quality of the uplink signal; and a transmitting unit that transmits the measured quality. Further, the relay device includes a transmission unit that transmits a downlink signal to a node device, measures a quality of the downlink signal by the node device, and transmits the measured quality by the node device.

Description

Relay device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a relay device in a wireless communication system.

Background

In 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), in order to increase system capacity, increase data transmission rate, and reduce delay in radio zones, studies on radio communication schemes called nr (new radio) and 5G have been made (for example, non-patent document 1). In NR, various radio technologies have been studied in order to satisfy a requirement condition that throughput (throughput) of 10Gbps or more is realized and delay in a radio section is 1ms or less.

Documents of the prior art

Non-patent document

Non-patent document 1: 3GPP TS 38.300V15.0.0(2017-12)

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

When transmitting data from a transmitter to a receiver, a technique called Multi-Hop communication (Multi-Hop communication) is known as a technique for performing communication via a relay Node (relay Node).

However, the conventional NR does not support a mechanism for transmitting data from a Source (Source) to a Destination (Destination) via a plurality of links, and requires establishment of various element technologies.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for measuring and reporting link quality in multi-hop communication of NR.

Means for solving the problems

According to the disclosed technology, there is provided a relay device having: a reception unit that receives an uplink signal from a node device; a control unit that measures the quality of the uplink signal; and a transmitting unit that transmits the measured quality.

According to another aspect, there is provided a relay device including a transmission unit configured to transmit a downlink signal to a node device, measure a quality of the downlink signal by the node device, and transmit the measured quality by the node device.

Effects of the invention

According to the disclosed technology, a technology for measuring and reporting link quality in multi-hop communication of NR can be provided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating multi-hop communication.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating a system model for multi-hop communication.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of signaling indicating measurement of link quality.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the numerical expression of the angle spread.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the numerical expression of the delay spread.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the numerical expression of the K-factor.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between angle spread/delay spread and LOS/NLOS.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of reporting the link quality for each relay.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of reporting by combining link qualities of a plurality of relays.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the base station apparatus 10.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the user apparatus 20.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the relay device 30.

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the relay apparatus 30.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment (present embodiment) of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are merely examples, and embodiments to which the present invention is applied are not limited to the embodiments described below.

The radio communication system in the following embodiments is basically assumed to be based on NR, but this is merely an example, and the radio communication system in the present embodiment may be based on a radio communication system other than NR (e.g., LTE) in part or all of the radio communication system.

(System Integrated configuration)

Fig. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a wireless communication system according to the present embodiment. As shown in fig. 1, the radio communication system according to the present embodiment includes a base station apparatus 10 and a user apparatus 20. Fig. 1 shows 1

base station device

10 and 1 user device 20, respectively, but this is merely an example and there may be a plurality of base station devices and user devices.

The user device 20 is a communication device having a wireless communication function, such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal, or a communication module for M2M (Machine-to-Machine), and is wirelessly connected to the base station device 10 to use various communication services provided by a wireless communication system. The base station apparatus 10 is a communication apparatus that provides one or more cells and performs wireless communication with the user apparatus 20. Both the user apparatus 20 and the base station apparatus 10 can perform beamforming and transmit/receive signals. The user equipment 20 may be referred to as UE and the base station apparatus 10 may be referred to as gNB.

In the present embodiment, the Duplex (Duplex) mode may be a TDD (Time Division Duplex) mode or an FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) mode.

Since the technique of the present embodiment relates to multi-hop communication, first, multi-hop communication will be described.

(Multi-hop communication)

Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining multi-hop communication.

Multihop (Multi-Hop) refers to the following technique: when data is transmitted from a transmitter (Source) to a receiver (Destination), communication is performed via a relay device (relay node). As shown by solid arrows in fig. 2, data is transmitted from the transmitter 100 to the receiver 200 via the 2 relay devices 30. In particular, in a communication environment using a high frequency band, in Non-multihop communication, transmission characteristics are significantly degraded by the influence of an NLOS (Non-line of sight) environment (see a dotted arrow in fig. 2). In such a case, it is considered effective to relay an LOS (Line of sight) link by multi-hop communication. By means of multi-hop communication, the coverage in high frequency bands can be extended. Further, by the multi-hop communication, a stable link from the transmitter to the receiver can be established.

However, the conventional NR does not specify a mechanism for transmitting data from a transmitter to a receiver via a plurality of links. Therefore, it is considered that various element technologies need to be established.

Examples of the element technology to be established include measurement and report of link quality, establishment and notification of a route, and control signal signaling (retransmission control, resource allocation, and the like).

In embodiments of the present invention, techniques related to measurement and reporting of link quality in multi-hop communications in NR are provided.

In fig. 2, the transmitter 100 may be the base station apparatus 10(gNB), but may be the user equipment 20(UE), or may be another type of node apparatus. The relay device 30 may be the user device 20, but may be the base station device 10, or may be another type of node device. For example, the node apparatus may be a type of node apparatus that is neither the base station apparatus 10 nor the user apparatus 20. Further, the receiver 200 may be the user device 20, but may also be other kinds of node devices. Therefore, the direction of the multi-hop communication shown in fig. 2 is a direction from the base station apparatus 10 toward the user apparatus 20, but is not limited to this direction. For example, the direction from the user equipment 20 to the base station apparatus 10 may be the other direction. In the present embodiment, the relay device may include a node device as a Source (Source) and a node device as a Destination (Destination).

(System model)

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating a system model for multi-hop communication.

Fig. 3 shows a system model for single relay (see the upper part of fig. 3) and a system model for multiple relays (see the lower part of fig. 3) as examples of a system model for multi-hop communication. The single relay system model of fig. 3 includes 1 relay device 1(30) and transmits data from a transmitter (100) to a receiver (200) via the relay device 1 (30). The multi-relay system model shown in fig. 3 includes 3 relay devices (relay device 1(30), relay device 2(30), and relay device 3(30)), and data is transmitted from the transmitter (100) to the receiver (200) via the relay device 1(30), the relay device 2(30), and the relay device 3 (30).

In the example of fig. 3, an image in which multi-hop communication is applied to the downlink is shown, but is not limited thereto. Multi-hop communication may also be applied to uplinks, sidelinks (sidelinks), IABs (Integrated access backhaul), etc. Note that the type of node apparatus forming each communication link is not limited, and any node apparatus may be the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, or another node apparatus.

(measurement of Link quality: downstream Signal)

As an embodiment of the present invention, measurement of link quality in multi-hop communication of NR using a downlink signal is considered.

For example, the measurement of the link quality between node apparatuses may be performed using a CSI-RS (Channel state information reference signal). In addition, other synchronization/reference signals/channels may be used. For example, the Positioning can be performed using SS (Synchronization signal), TRS (Tracking reference signal), DM-RS (Demodulation reference signal), PRS (Positioning reference signal), or the like.

When the link quality is measured in the multi-hop communication in NR using the downlink signal, if it is assumed that the node apparatus constituting the multi-hop communication is the user apparatus 20, the user apparatus 20 that does not transmit the downlink signal in the conventional NR is a case of transmitting the downlink signal. For example, in the existing NR, the user equipment 20 does not have a function of transmitting CSI-RS.

The downlink signal transmission method used for the measurement may be any one of periodic (periodic), semi-continuous (semi-periodic), and aperiodic (aperiodic).

In the case of semi-persistent or aperiodic, the downstream signal used in the measurement may be sent according to a predetermined trigger. The trigger signal may be a mac (medium access control) ce (control element), a DCI (Downlink control information), or a combination thereof.

In addition, when it is assumed that the node apparatus which transmits the downlink signal used in the measurement is the user apparatus 20, the user apparatus 20 which does not start the semi-persistent (semi-persistent) or aperiodic (aperiodic) signal transmission according to the predetermined trigger in the existing NR becomes a case of starting the signal transmission according to the predetermined trigger. That is, while the predetermined trigger in the present embodiment is a trigger for instructing the user apparatus 20 to start signal transmission, the predetermined trigger in the conventional NR is a trigger for instructing the user apparatus 20 to start signal reception, and the nature of the trigger signal differs from this.

With respect to the predetermined trigger, one signaling may become a trigger for a plurality of node apparatuses.

As shown in fig. 4, one control signal from the transmitter 100 may be a trigger for a plurality of node apparatuses, the relay apparatuses 2(30), and the relay apparatuses 3 (30). The relay device 2(30) may switch to a state of transmitting the reference signal triggered by the control signal from the transmitter 100, and the relay device 3(30) may switch to a state of receiving the reference signal triggered by the control signal from the transmitter 100. The trigger may be notified to a plurality of transmitters and receivers.

The control signal may contain information identifying the node device. For example, a Node index (Node index) identifying a Node apparatus may be included. For example, the node index to transition to the send state may be included. For example, it may also contain the index of the node that is transferred to the receiving state. For example, the index may be notified or identified as an RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identifier).

The node apparatus of the transmission source may notify the node apparatus of the transmission destination of a predetermined trigger.

In addition, the synchronization signal/reference signal/channel used in the measurement of the link quality may use a newly specified synchronization signal/reference signal/channel instead of the existing synchronization signal/reference signal/channel.

(measurement of Link quality: uplink Signal)

As an embodiment of the present invention, measurement of link quality in multi-hop communication in NR using an uplink signal is considered.

For example, the link quality between node apparatuses may be measured using an SRS (Sounding reference signal). In addition, other synchronization/reference signals/channels may be used. For example, DM-RS or the like may be used.

When the uplink signal is used to measure the link quality in the multi-hop communication in NR, if it is assumed that the node apparatus constituting the multi-hop communication is the user apparatus 20, the user apparatus 20 that does not receive the uplink signal in the conventional NR may receive the uplink signal. For example, in the conventional NR, the user equipment 20 does not have a function of receiving the SRS.

The transmission method of the uplink signal used for the measurement may be any one of a periodic (periodic), semi-continuous (semi-periodic), and aperiodic (aperiodic).

In the case of semi-persistent or aperiodic, an upstream signal used in measurement may be transmitted according to a predetermined trigger. The trigger signal may be a mac (medium access control) ce (control element), a DCI (Downlink control information), or a combination thereof.

As shown in fig. 4, one control signal from the transmitter 100 may be a trigger for a plurality of node apparatuses, the relay apparatuses 2(30), and the relay apparatuses 3 (30). The relay device 2(30) may switch to a state of transmitting the reference signal triggered by the control signal from the transmitter 100, and the relay device 3(30) may switch to a state of receiving the reference signal triggered by the control signal from the transmitter 100.

The node apparatus of the transmission source of the reference signal may notify the node apparatus of the transmission destination of the reference signal of a predetermined trigger.

In addition, the reference signal/channel used in the measurement of the link quality may use a newly defined reference signal/channel instead of using an existing reference signal/channel.

The resources of the reference signal used in the measurement of the (pre-configuration) link quality may be set in advance. For example, the node apparatus may autonomously transmit the reference signal using a predetermined resource. For example, the resource may contain time/frequency location of a reference signal, signal sequence information, transmission power information.

The link quality may use a measurement result of each link, or may use a measurement result obtained by combining the qualities of a plurality of relays (for example, the link quality of a plurality of hops). For example, a hop may be a link from a transmission Source (Source) to a transmission Destination (Destination).

In the case of multi-hop, the communication quality is limited by the worst link. For example, the link quality with the worst quality among the link qualities of the multiple hops may be notified.

(measurement of Link quality: measurement information)

The measurement of link quality may be made based on power information. For example, the processing may be performed based on RSRP (Reference Signal received power), RSRQ (Reference Signal received quality), SINR (Signal to interference plus noise ratio), or other reception quality information. The link quality measurement may be performed in layer 1, layer 3, or other layers.

As to link quality, CSI may be used. For example, some or all of RI (Rank indication), PMI (precoding matrix Indicator), CRI (CSI-RS resource Indicator), SSBRI (SS/PBCH block resource Indicator), and CQI (Channel Quality Indicator) may be used.

In particular, in consideration of the significant degradation of the NLOS link characteristics in the high frequency band, the LOS state and the NLOS state may be used for the link quality. Instead of using 2 LOS/NLOS states, 3 or more states may be used.

Regarding link quality, angle spread information may be used. In general, the angle spread of the LOS environment becomes small compared to the NLOS environment. For example, the angular spread Δ may be expressed by a numerical expression shown in fig. 5. The angle spread information may be the original information of the angle spread or may be a discretely expressed value. The angle spread information may be information on the transmitting side, information on the receiving side, or information expressed by combining these pieces of information.

Regarding link quality, delay spread information may be used. In general, delay spread of an LOS environment becomes small compared to an NLOS environment. E.g. delay spread σ_τCan be expressed by the numerical expression shown in fig. 6.

As for the link quality, the power ratio of a path with strong reception power to a path with weak reception power may be used. For example, K-factor can be used. The K-factor can be expressed by the numerical expression shown in fig. 7. In general, the K-factor for an LOS environment is large compared to an NLOS environment. Further, the power ratio of multiple strong paths to multiple weak paths may be used. In addition, the power ratio may also use the ratio of the strong path to the full path.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between angle spread/delay spread and LOS/NLOS. As shown in fig. 8, in general, the angle spread of the LOS environment is smaller and the delay spread is also smaller than in the NLOS environment. The link quality may be calculated based on the angular spread. For example, either or both of the angular spread of the transmitter and the angular spread of the receiver may be used. The link quality may be calculated or used based on the delay spread or delay spread information.

A list of node devices may be used in reporting the measured link quality. Alternatively, a node apparatus index may be used. For example, a node apparatus capable of relaying with the node apparatus (capable of relaying with appropriate quality) may be used. For example, a plurality of high-quality node apparatuses may be used. The number of the plurality of upper node apparatuses may be specified. For example, information indicating whether or not the link whose link quality is measured can be relayed (or 3 or more pieces of state information indicating whether or not the link is relayed and other states) can be used.

In reporting the measured link quality, beam information applied in the node apparatus may be used. The beam information may be expressed as a beam index (beam index). It can also be expressed as a beam pair (beam pair) on the transmission/reception side.

The result of the CRC error may be used in reporting the measured link quality. Further, the quality may be judged to be good without CRC error.

As for the link quality between the node apparatuses, the newly specified link quality may be used.

As for the link quality, a link quality expressed by combining a plurality of pieces of measurement information shown previously may be used. For example, link quality expressed by combining node apparatus index and propagation quality may be used.

(report of Link quality)

In an embodiment of the present invention, it is considered that link quality is reported between SR (Source-Relay), RR (Relay-Relay), RD (Relay-Destination), and SD (Source-Destination). Note that the type of node apparatus forming each communication link is not limited, and any node apparatus may be the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, or another node apparatus.

From the viewpoint of reducing the number of hops in multi-hop communication, a case where the link quality is too good is not necessarily preferable (for example, when RSRP is too high, the transmission distance of the hop is considered to be short, but it is assumed that the transmission efficiency is not high). A report of a link quality with a medium link quality may be made. The quality of the link can be expressed, for example, by a position (distance) versus transmission/propagation quality tradeoff (tradeoff).

For example, consider a method of reporting a link quality that is a medium level of link quality. To define "medium", an upper limit value and a lower limit value may be specified. If the link quality is moderate, reporting may occur. By limiting the link quality that should be reported, the radio resources and/or power required for reporting can be suppressed. Thus, when the node device to be reported is the user device 20, the battery life of the user device 20 becomes good.

All the node apparatuses notified of the measurement of the link quality can report the link quality.

As for the reported link quality, the reception quality, the location information shown previously may be used. New measurement information derived by combining a plurality of link qualities between node apparatuses may also be used. A threshold for determining the link quality is determined for the reception quality, the position information, and the measurement information, and when the link quality is specified by increasing or decreasing the threshold, such specification can be used.

The reporting of the link quality may be done per relay. Further, the link quality (for example, the link quality of a plurality of relays) obtained by combining the qualities of a plurality of relays may be reported. The base station apparatus 10 may transmit signaling to the user apparatus 20, and the user apparatus 20 may report the link quality.

The identification of the node apparatuses forming each communication link may use a cell ID, various RNTIs (Radio Network Temporary identifiers), and the like. Further, a new ID (node apparatus ID) for performing multi-hop communication may also be used. The type of node apparatus forming each communication link is not limited, and any node apparatus may be the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, or another node apparatus.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of reporting the link quality for each relay. As shown in fig. 9, the receiver 200 may report the link quality between the relay apparatus 1(30) and the receiver 200 to the relay apparatus 1 (30).

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of reporting combining link qualities of a plurality of relays. As shown in fig. 10, the receiver 200 may report the link quality obtained by combining the link qualities of the plurality of relays to the transmitter 100.

In addition, in fig. 9 and 10, reports of link quality of the downlink are shown, but not limited to the downlink. The method can also be applied to the report of the link quality of the uplink and the side link. In addition, technically, the type of the node apparatus forming each communication link is not limited, and any node apparatus may be the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, or another node apparatus.

(utilization of positional information)

Position information of node devices forming each communication link may be measured. The location information may be measured using absolute location information for latitude/longitude, for example. For example, GPS (Global Position System: Global positioning System) can be used. Furthermore, the location information may also be measured using relative information between node devices (e.g., angle and distance). It can be determined that the link quality between node apparatuses having a short distance is good.

The measurement information regarding the location information may be measured using GPS. Reference signals (e.g., PRS, CSI-RS, SS) may also be used for measurements. PRS (Positioning Reference signal) is a Reference signal for position measurement discussed in NR of release 16.

The location information may be measured based on the angle of radiation/arrival of the beam, or may be measured (estimated) using beam information (e.g., CRI, SSBRI, SRI).

For the measurement of the position information, the transmission source of the reference signal may notify the transmission destination of the transmission power, and the transmission destination may measure the position information based on the transmission/reception power. The location information may be measured using, for example, the amount of attenuation of the power. The position information may be measured using a delay time until the reference signal is transmitted from the transmission source to be received. Other methods of obtaining location information may also be used.

The location information may be used in combination with map information.

The accuracy of the position information can be improved by collectively using a plurality of position information.

(remarks)

The embodiment of the invention can be applied regardless of the distinction of the uplink and downlink transceiving. In this case, the uplink signal/channel and the downlink signal/channel can be replaced with each other. In addition, the uplink feedback information and the downlink control signaling can be replaced with each other.

In the present disclosure, a channel and a signaling scheme of a New Radio (NR) are mainly described as a premise, but the embodiments of the present invention can also be applied to a channel and a signaling scheme having the same function as the NR. For example, it can be applied in LTE/LTE-A. In the embodiments of the present invention, link quality measurement based on CSI-RS is described, but the present invention may be applied to other synchronization/reference signals and physical channels instead of CSI-RS. Further, an uplink signal may be applied for the purpose of uplink propagation path estimation. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with respect to the link quality measurement method based on SRS, the present invention can be applied to other uplink reference signals and physical channels instead of SRS. For example, DM-RS may be used. Further, the downlink signal may be applied for the purpose of downlink propagation path estimation. Various signaling examples are shown in the above, but they are not limited to explicit methods, may be implicitly notified, and may be uniquely specified by specification. Various signaling examples are shown in the above, but the embodiments are not limited to the examples shown. They may use signaling of different layers such as RRC, MAC CE, DCI, etc., or MIB, SIB, etc. For example, RRC and DCI may be combined, RRC and MAC CE may be combined, and RRC, DCI, and MAC CE may be combined. The invention can be used for CSI measurement, channel detection, Beam management (Beam management) and other applications, and can also be applied to link control of other Beam control and the like. The above-described embodiments and modifications may be combined with each other, and the features shown in these examples may be combined with each other in various combinations. The present invention is not limited to the specific combinations disclosed in this specification. The node apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention may be an NW node, a Relay (Relay) node, a UE, or any other kind. In the embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of the apparatus for performing the relay is described, but the technique can be applied to a case other than the relay and also to a case of one-hop (one-hop) communication. For example, it can be applied to V2X and IAB.

(device construction)

Next, functional configuration examples of the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the relay apparatus 30 that execute the processing and operation described above will be described. The base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the relay apparatus 30 include functions to implement the above-described embodiments. However, the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the relay apparatus 30 may have only some of the functions in the embodiments.

< base station apparatus 10 >

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the base station apparatus 10. As shown in fig. 11, the base station apparatus 10 includes a transmission unit 110, a reception unit 120, a setting unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional configuration shown in fig. 11 is merely an example. The names of the function division and the function unit may be arbitrary as long as the operation of the present embodiment can be performed.

The transmitter 110 has a function of generating a signal to be transmitted to a node apparatus including the user apparatus 20 and the relay apparatus 30 and transmitting the signal wirelessly. The reception unit 120 has a function of receiving various signals transmitted from a node apparatus including the user apparatus 20 and the relay apparatus 30 and acquiring, for example, higher layer information from the received signals.

The setting unit 130 stores preset setting information and various kinds of setting information transmitted to the node devices including the user device 20 and the relay device 30 in the storage device, and reads the setting information from the storage device as necessary.

The control unit 140 may include a function unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 140 in the transmission unit 110, and include a function unit related to signal reception in the control unit 140 in the reception unit 120.

< user device 20 >

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the user apparatus 20. As shown in fig. 12, the user device 20 includes a transmission unit 210, a reception unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240. The functional configuration shown in fig. 12 is merely an example. The names of the function sections and the function division may be arbitrary as long as the operation of the embodiment of the present invention can be performed.

The transmission unit 210 generates a transmission signal from the transmission data and wirelessly transmits the transmission signal. The receiving unit 220 receives various signals wirelessly and acquires a signal of a higher layer from the received signal of the physical layer.

The setting unit 230 stores various kinds of setting information received by the receiving unit 220 from the node apparatus including the base station apparatus 10 and the relay apparatus 30 in the storage apparatus, and reads the information from the storage apparatus as necessary. The setting unit 230 also stores preset setting information.

The control unit 240 may include a function unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 240 in the transmission unit 210, and may include a function unit related to signal reception in the control unit 240 in the reception unit 220.

< Relay device 30>

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the relay device 30. As shown in fig. 13, the relay device 30 includes a transmission unit 310, a reception unit 320, a setting unit 330, and a control unit 340. The functional configuration shown in fig. 13 is merely an example. The names of the function division and the function unit may be arbitrary as long as the operation of the present embodiment can be performed.

The transmission unit 310 includes a function of generating a signal to be transmitted to a node apparatus including the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the other relay apparatus 30, and transmitting the signal wirelessly. The reception unit 320 includes a function of receiving various signals transmitted from node apparatuses including the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the other relay apparatuses 30 and acquiring, for example, higher layer information from the received signals.

The setting unit 330 stores preset setting information and various kinds of setting information transmitted to node apparatuses including the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the other relay apparatuses 30 in a storage device, and reads out the setting information from the storage device as necessary.

The control unit 340 may include the function unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 340 in the transmission unit 310, and may include the function unit related to signal reception in the control unit 340 in the reception unit 320.

(hardware construction)

The functional configuration diagrams (fig. 11, 12, and 13) used in the above description of the embodiments of the present invention show blocks in units of functions. These functional blocks (structural parts) are realized by any combination of hardware and/or software. Note that means for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be implemented by one device in which a plurality of elements are physically and/or logically combined, or may be implemented by a plurality of devices in which two or more physically and/or logically separated devices are directly and/or indirectly (for example, by wire and/or wireless) connected.

For example, each of the node apparatuses including the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the relay apparatus 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention may function as a computer that performs the processing according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a wireless communication apparatus that is a node apparatus including the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the relay apparatus 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The node devices including the base station device 10, the user device 20, and the relay device 30 may be physically configured as computer devices including a processor 1001, a storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, and the like.

In the following description, the term "device" may be replaced with "circuit", "device", "unit", and the like. The hardware configuration of the base station apparatus 10 and the user apparatus 20 may include one or more of the respective apparatuses 1001 to 1006 shown in the drawing, or may not include some of the apparatuses.

Each function of the node apparatus including the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the relay apparatus 30 is realized by the following method: when predetermined software (program) is read into hardware such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002, the processor 1001 performs an operation to control communication of the communication device 1004 and reading and/or writing of data from and to the storage device 1002 and the auxiliary storage device 1003.

The processor 1001 operates, for example, an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU) including an interface with a peripheral device, a control device, an arithmetic device, a register, and the like.

Further, the processor 1001 reads out a program (program code), a software module, or data from the auxiliary storage device 1003 and/or the communication device 1004 to the storage device 1002, and executes various processes according to the read program. As the program, a program that causes a computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above embodiments is used. For example, the transmission unit 110, the reception unit 120, the setting unit 130, and the control unit 140 of the base station apparatus 10 shown in fig. 11 may be realized by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. The transmission unit 210, the reception unit 220, the setting unit 230, and the control unit 240 of the user device 20 shown in fig. 12 may be realized by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and operated by the processor 1001, for example. Further, for example, the transmission unit 310, the reception unit 320, the setting unit 330, and the control unit 340 of the relay device 30 shown in fig. 13 may be realized by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. Although the above various processes are described as being executed by 1 processor 1001, the above various processes may be executed by 2 or more processors 1001 at the same time or sequentially. The processor 1001 may be mounted by 1 or more chips. In addition, the program may be transmitted from a network via an electric communication line.

The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be configured by at least one of a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The storage 1002 may also be referred to as a register, cache, main memory (primary storage), or the like. The storage device 1002 can store a program (program code), a software module, and the like that can be executed to implement the processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The auxiliary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be constituted by at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-rom (compact Disc rom), a hard disk drive, a Floppy disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact Disc, a digital versatile Disc, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc, a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a Key drive), a Floppy (registered trademark) Disc, a magnetic stripe, and the like.

The communication device 1004 is hardware (a transmitting/receiving device) for performing communication between computers via a wired and/or wireless network, and may be referred to as a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, or the like, for example. For example, the transmission unit 110 and the reception unit 120 of the base station apparatus 10 can be realized by the communication apparatus 1004. The transmission unit 210 and the reception unit 220 of the user device 20 may be implemented by the communication device 1004.

The input device 1005 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a key, a sensor, and the like) that receives an input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, or the like) that outputs to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrally formed (for example, a touch panel).

Further, the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002 are connected to each other via a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be constituted by a single bus or may be constituted by different buses between devices.

The node Device including the base station Device 10, the user Device 20, and the relay Device 30 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and a part or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be installed through at least 1 of these hardware.

(summary of the embodiment)

As described above, according to the present embodiment, there is provided a relay device including: a reception unit that receives an uplink signal from a node device; a control unit that measures the quality of the uplink signal; and a transmitting unit that transmits the measured quality.

Further, the relay device includes a transmission unit that transmits a downlink signal to a node device, measures a quality of the downlink signal by the node device, and transmits the measured quality by the node device.

With the above relay apparatus, a technique capable of measuring and reporting link quality in multi-hop communication of NR is provided.

(supplement to embodiment)

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the disclosed invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications, alternatives, and substitutions will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Although specific numerical examples are used to facilitate understanding of the present invention, these numerical values are merely examples and any appropriate values may be used unless otherwise specified. The distinction of items in the above description is not essential to the present invention, and items described in two or more items may be used in combination as necessary, or items described in one item may be applied to items described in other items (as long as there is no contradiction). The boundaries of the functional units or the processing units in the functional block diagrams do not necessarily correspond to the boundaries of the physical components. The operation of a plurality of functional units may be physically performed by one component, or the operation of one functional unit may be physically performed by a plurality of components. In the processing described in the embodiment, the order of processing may be changed without contradiction. For convenience of explanation of the processing, the base station apparatus 10, the user apparatus 20, and the relay apparatus 30 have been explained using functional block diagrams, but such apparatuses may be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Software that operates by a processor provided in the base station apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, software that operates by a processor provided in the user apparatus 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and software that operates by a processor provided in the relay apparatus 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be stored in a Random Access Memory (RAM), a flash memory, a Read Only Memory (ROM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a register, a hard disk (HDD), a removable disk, a CD-ROM, a database, a server, and any other suitable storage medium.

Note that the information is not limited to the form and embodiment described in the present specification, and may be notified by another method. For example, the notification of the Information may be implemented by physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI (Downlink Control Information), UCI (Uplink Control Information)), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, MAC (Medium Access Control) signaling, broadcast Information (MIB (Master Information Block), SIB (System Information Block)), other signals, or a combination of these.

The forms/embodiments described in this specification can also be applied to LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-a (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G, 5G, FRA (Future Radio Access), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA 2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband: Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-wide band: Ultra wide band), Bluetooth (Bluetooth) (registered trademark), systems using other suitable systems, and/or next generation systems extended accordingly.

The order of the processing procedures, sequences, flows, and the like of the respective forms and embodiments described in this specification may be changed without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, elements of the various steps are presented in an exemplary order for the methods described in this specification, but are not limited to the specific order presented.

In the present specification, it is assumed that the specific operation performed by the base station apparatus 10 is sometimes performed by an upper node (upper node) thereof in some cases. It is apparent that, in a network including one or more network nodes (network nodes) having the base station apparatus 10, various operations performed for communication with the user apparatus 20 can be performed by the base station apparatus 10 and/or other network nodes (for example, MME, S-GW, or the like is considered, but not limited thereto) other than the base station apparatus 10. In the above description, the case where there is one network node other than the base station apparatus 10 is exemplified, but a combination of a plurality of other network nodes (e.g., MME and S-GW) may be employed.

The respective forms and embodiments described in this specification may be used alone, may be used in combination, or may be switched depending on execution.

With respect to user equipment 20, those skilled in the art will also sometimes refer to subscriber stations, mobile units, subscriber units, wireless units, remote units, mobile devices, wireless communication devices, remote devices, mobile subscriber stations, access terminals, mobile terminals, wireless terminals, remote terminals, handsets, user agents (user agents), mobile clients, or some other suitable terminology.

The Base Station apparatus 10 is sometimes referred to by those skilled in the art by nb (nodeb), enb (evolved nodeb), gNB, Base Station (Base Station), or some other appropriate terminology.

Terms such as "determining" and "determining" used in the present specification may include various operations. The terms "determining" and "decision" may include, for example, a case where the determination (judging), calculation (calculating), processing (processing), derivation (deriving), investigation (investigating), search (looking up) (for example, a search in a table, a database, or another data structure), and confirmation (ascertaining) are regarded as being performed. The terms "determination" and "decision" may include a case where the items received (for example, received information), transmitted (for example, transmitted information), input (input), output (output), and access (for example, access to data in the memory) are regarded as the items "determination" and "decision". The "judgment" and "decision" may include cases in which the "judgment" and "decision" are performed, such as a case in which the "resolution" (resolving), selection (selecting), selection (breathing), establishment (evaluating), and comparison (comparing) are performed. That is, "determining" or "determination" may include considering some actions as "determining" or "determination".

As used herein, the term "according to" is not intended to mean "only according to" unless explicitly stated otherwise. In other words, the statement "according to" means both "according to only" and "according to at least".

As long as "including", "including" and variations thereof are used in the present specification or claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive in the same manner as the term "comprising". Also, the term "or" as used in the specification or claims means not exclusive or.

In the entirety of the present disclosure, for example, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in english, a plurality may be included with respect to the articles if it is not explicitly stated from the context that this is not the case.

While the present invention has been described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in the present specification. The present invention can be embodied as modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way.

Description of the reference symbols

10: a base station device;

110: a transmission unit;

120: a receiving section;

130: a setting unit;

140: a control unit;

20: a user device;

210: a transmission unit;

220: a receiving section;

230: a setting unit;

240: a control unit;

30: a relay device;

310: a transmission unit;

320: a receiving section;

330: a setting unit;

340: a control unit;

1001: a processor;

1002: a storage device;

1003: a secondary storage device;

1004: a communication device;

1005: an input device;

1006: and an output device.

Claims

1. A relay device includes:

a reception unit that receives an uplink signal from a node device;

a control unit that measures the quality of the uplink signal; and

a transmitting unit that transmits the measured quality.

2. A relay device, wherein,

the relay device includes a transmission unit that transmits a downlink signal to the node device,

the quality of the downlink signal is measured by the node apparatus,

the measured quality is transmitted by the node apparatus.

3. The relay device according to claim 1 or 2,

the quality comprises at least one of the following information: power information, information using channel state information which is CSI, information indicating line-of-sight/non-line-of-sight states which are LOS/NLOS, angle spread information, delay spread information, power ratio information of a path having strong reception power and a path having weak reception power, list information of node devices, beam information applied to the node devices, and information of CRC errors.

4. The relay device according to claim 1 or 2,

the quality is transmitted and received between a source and the relay device, between the relay device and another relay device, between the relay device and a transmission destination, or between the source and the transmission destination.

5. The relay device according to claim 1 or 2,

the quality includes a link quality between a transmission source and the relay apparatus, a link quality between the relay apparatus and another relay apparatus, a link quality between the relay apparatus and a transmission destination, or a predetermined combination of these link qualities.

6. The relay device according to claim 1 or 2,

the quality includes location information of a node device including a transmission source, the relay device, and a transmission destination.