WO2024065416A1

WO2024065416A1 - Switch method and apparatus for repeater

Info

Publication number: WO2024065416A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/122694
Authority: WO
Inventors: 田妍; 蒋琴艳; 张磊
Original assignee: 富士通株式会社; 田妍; 蒋琴艳; 张磊
Priority date: 2022-09-29
Filing date: 2022-09-29
Publication date: 2024-04-04

Abstract

A switch method and apparatus for a repeater. The method comprises: a receiving unit of a repeater receiving switch information from a network device; and a forwarding unit of the repeater enabling or disabling forwarding at a first time according to an instruction of the switch information.

Description

Switching method and device of repeater

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications.

Background technique

Compared with the traditional 2G (second generation mobile communication technology), 3G (third generation mobile communication technology), and 4G (fourth generation mobile communication technology) systems, the 5G (fifth generation mobile communication technology) system can provide a larger bandwidth and a higher data rate, and can support more types of terminals and vertical services. To this end, the frequency band range/working bandwidth supported by the 5G system is significantly larger than that of the 2G, 3G, and 4G systems, and the 5G system supports a higher carrier frequency. For example, the 5G system can be deployed in the millimeter wave band.

However, the higher the carrier frequency, the more severe the signal fading during transmission. Therefore, in the actual deployment of 5G systems, especially in the millimeter wave band, how to better enhance cell coverage has become an urgent problem to be solved.

It should be noted that the above introduction to the technical background is only for the convenience of providing a clear and complete description of the technical solutions of the present application and facilitating the understanding of those skilled in the art. It cannot be considered that the above technical solutions are well known to those skilled in the art simply because they are described in the background technology section of the present application.

Summary of the invention

In order to better solve the coverage problem of cellular mobile communication systems in actual deployment, the use of RF repeaters to amplify and forward signals between devices is a common deployment method. RF repeaters are widely used in the actual deployment of 2G systems, 3G systems and 4G systems. Their advantages are low cost, easy deployment, and no excessive delay. Generally speaking, a traditional RF repeater is a device that amplifies and forwards signals between devices in the RF domain. In other words, a traditional RF repeater is a non-regenerative type of relay node, which simply amplifies and forwards all received signals.

The RF repeater proposed in the Rel-17 3GPP study can forward the transmission between the base station and the terminal to enhance the network coverage of the 5G system. However, the RF repeater is transparent to the base station and the terminal and is not controlled by the base station. Therefore, the RF repeater in Rel-17 causes interference to other devices and cannot control its energy consumption, and needs to be in a state of monitoring and forwarding all the time.

In the research of Rel-18, it is proposed that the network-controlled repeater (NCR) can receive the control information (side control information) from the network side. NCR includes NCR-MT (also called communication unit) and NCR-Fwd (also called forwarding unit), among which NCR-MT can communicate with the base station and control the forwarding of NCR-Fwd according to the control information sent by the base station. NCR-Fwd is the part of NCR that realizes the forwarding between the base station and the terminal, including the backhaul link (BH-link) connecting NCR and the base station and the access link (AC-link) on the terminal side.

In order to reduce the interference of NCR to other devices and better reduce energy consumption, in Rel-18, the switch (on-off) of NCR forwarding is configured through control information. NCR-Fwd can forward the communication between the base station and the terminal during the on state, and cannot forward the communication between the base station and the terminal during the off state.

The inventors found that in the prior art, there is no description of the application time of the on-off information indicated by the base station, that is, there is no description of when the NCR turns on or off forwarding, resulting in the inability to reasonably apply the on-off information indicated by the base station, thereby failing to reduce the energy consumption of the NCR and reduce the interference of the NCR to other devices.

In order to solve one or more of the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a switching method and device for a repeater. That is, for one or more of the above problems, the embodiments of the present application propose corresponding solutions.

According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a switching device of a repeater is provided, wherein the device is arranged in the repeater, and the device comprises: a receiving unit, which receives switch (on/off) information from a network device; and a forwarding unit, which turns on or off forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a device for indicating switch (on/off) information of a repeater is provided, and the device is arranged in a network device, and the device comprises: a first indication unit, which indicates switch (on/off) information to a receiving unit of the repeater, so that the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off forwarding at the first time according to the indication of the switch information.

According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a repeater is provided, wherein the repeater includes the device according to the first aspect of an embodiment of the present application.

According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a network device is provided, wherein the network device includes the apparatus according to the second aspect of an embodiment of the present application.

According to the fifth aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a communication system is provided, which includes the repeater according to the third aspect of the embodiment of the present application and/or the network device according to the fourth aspect of the embodiment of the present application, and a terminal device.

According to the sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a switching method for a repeater is provided, the method comprising: a receiving unit of the repeater receives switching information from a network device; and a forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off forwarding at the first time according to an instruction of the switching information.

According to the seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a method for indicating switch information of a repeater is provided, the method comprising: a network device indicates switch (on/off) information to a receiving unit of the repeater, so that the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off forwarding at the first time according to the indication of the switch information.

According to the eighth aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable program is provided, wherein when the program is executed in a switching device or a repeater of a repeater, the program causes the switching device or the repeater of the repeater to execute the switching method of the repeater described in the sixth aspect of the embodiment of the present application.

According to the ninth aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a storage medium storing a computer-readable program is provided, wherein the computer-readable program enables the switching device of the repeater or the repeater to execute the switching method of the repeater described in the sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present application.

According to the tenth aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable program is provided, wherein when the program is executed in a switching device or a network device of a repeater, the program causes the switching device or the network device of the repeater to execute the method for indicating the switch information of the repeater described in the seventh aspect of the embodiment of the present application.

According to the eleventh aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a storage medium storing a computer-readable program is provided, wherein the computer-readable program enables the switching device or network equipment of the repeater to execute the method for indicating the switch information of the repeater described in the seventh aspect of the embodiment of the present application.

One of the beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application is:

According to the instructions of the switch information received from the network device, the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off the forwarding at the first time, that is, the repeater turns on or off the forwarding of the forwarding unit at a determined time. Therefore, the energy consumption of the repeater can be reduced and the interference of the repeater to other devices can be reduced.

With reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, the specific embodiments of the present application are disclosed in detail, indicating the way in which the principles of the present application can be adopted. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are not limited in scope. Within the scope of the spirit and clauses of the appended claims, the embodiments of the present application include many changes, modifications and equivalents.

Features described and/or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same or similar manner in one or more other embodiments, combined with features in other embodiments, or substituted for features in other embodiments.

It should be emphasized that the term “include/comprises” when used herein refers to the presence of features, integers, steps or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The included drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present application, which constitute a part of the specification, are used to illustrate the implementation methods of the present application, and together with the text description, explain the principles of the present application. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor. In the drawings:

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a logical schematic diagram of a repeater according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a switching method of a repeater according to Embodiment 1 of the present application;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a switching cycle indicated by switching information according to Embodiment 1 of the present application;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a method for indicating switch information of a repeater according to Embodiment 2 of the present application;

FIG6 is an interactive diagram of a switching method for implementing a repeater according to Embodiment 2 of the present application;

FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a switch device of a repeater according to Embodiment 3 of the present application;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a device for indicating switch information of a repeater according to Embodiment 4 of the present application;

FIG9 is a schematic block diagram of a system structure of a repeater according to Embodiment 5 of the present application;

Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram of the system structure of the network device of Example 6 of the present application.

Detailed ways

With reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other features of the present application will become apparent through the following description. In the description and the accompanying drawings, specific embodiments of the present application are specifically disclosed, which show some embodiments in which the principles of the present application can be adopted. It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the described embodiments. On the contrary, the present application includes all modifications, variations and equivalents falling within the scope of the attached claims.

In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish different elements from the title, but do not indicate the spatial arrangement or time order of these elements, etc., and these elements should not be limited by these terms. The term "and/or" includes any one and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms. The terms "comprising", "including", "having", etc. refer to the existence of the stated features, elements, components or components, but do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components or components.

In the embodiments of the present application, the singular forms "a", "the", etc. may include plural forms and should be broadly understood as "a kind" or "a type" rather than being limited to the meaning of "one"; in addition, the term "said" should be understood to include both singular and plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In addition, the term "according to" should be understood as "at least in part according to...", and the term "based on" should be understood as "at least in part based on...", unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

In the embodiments of the present application, "plurality" or "multiple" refers to at least two (two or more) or at least two.

In an embodiment of the present application, the term "communication network" or "wireless communication network" may refer to a network that complies with any of the following communication standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), enhanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), and the like.

Furthermore, communication between devices in the communication system may be carried out according to communication protocols of any stage, such as but not limited to the following communication protocols: 1G (generation), 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G and future 5G, New Radio (NR), etc., and/or other communication protocols currently known or to be developed in the future.

In the embodiments of the present application, the term "network device" refers to, for example, a device in a communication system that connects a user device to a communication network and provides services for the user device. The network device may include, but is not limited to, the following devices: a base station (BS), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a broadcast transmitter, a mobile management entity (MME), a gateway, a server, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), and the like.

Among them, base stations may include but are not limited to: Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB) and 5G base station (gNB), etc., and may also include remote radio heads (RRH, Remote Radio Head), remote radio units (RRU, Remote Radio Unit), relays or low-power nodes (such as femto, pico, etc.). And the term "base station" may include some or all of their functions, and each base station can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area. The term "cell" can refer to a base station and/or its coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

In the embodiments of the present application, the term "user equipment" or "terminal equipment" (TE) refers to, for example, a device that accesses a communication network through a network device and receives network services. The user equipment may be fixed or mobile, and may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a terminal, a subscriber station (SS), an access terminal (AT), a station, and the like.

Among them, user devices may include but are not limited to the following devices: cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDA, Personal Digital Assistant), wireless modems, wireless communication devices, handheld devices, machine-type communication devices, laptop computers, cordless phones, smart phones, smart watches, digital cameras, etc.

For another example, in scenarios such as the Internet of Things (IoT), the user device can also be a machine or device for monitoring or measuring, such as but not limited to: machine type communication (MTC) terminal, vehicle-mounted communication terminal, device-to-device (D2D) terminal, machine-to-machine (M2M) terminal, and the like.

In the embodiment of the present application, the term "repeater" is a relay device, for example, a relay device set in a service cell corresponding to a network device, which is used to forward transmission signals between the network device and the terminal device. In addition, it can also be called a repeater or a repeater node.

In an embodiment of the present application, forwarding by the repeater includes uplink forwarding and/or downlink forwarding, wherein the uplink forwarding includes forwarding channels and/or signals transmitted by the terminal device to the network device; the downlink forwarding includes forwarding channels and/or signals transmitted by the network device to the terminal device.

In an embodiment of the present application, the repeater has a communication function, that is, the repeater can receive information (including channels and/or signals) from the network device, i.e., downlink transmission, and/or send information (including channels and/or signals) to the network device, i.e., uplink transmission.

The receiving information (downlink transmission) includes at least one of the processes of detecting sequence, demodulating, descrambling, decoding and interpreting information; the sending information (uplink transmission) includes at least one of the processes of generating information, generating sequence, scrambling, encoding, modulating, mapping to time-frequency resources, etc. The process of forwarding information (uplink forwarding and/or downlink forwarding) does not include at least one of the above processes included in the receiving information (downlink transmission) and/or sending information (uplink transmission).

In the embodiment of the present application, the communication between the repeater and the network device is also referred to as transmission of the repeater.

In the embodiment of the present application, the repeater may be referred to as a network-controlled repeater (NCR). However, other names may also be used, and the various names of the repeater are not limitations on the embodiment of the present application.

In an embodiment of the present application, the repeater may include a communication unit (NCR-MT, also referred to as an MT unit) and a forwarding unit (NCR-Fwd, also referred to as an RU module), the communication unit being used to support the communication function between the repeater and the network device (such as the above-mentioned receiving and/or sending information), and the communication unit for example includes a receiving unit and a sending unit; the forwarding unit is used to support the forwarding function of the repeater.

In an embodiment of the present application, the link between the network device and the communication module is a communication link or a control link. Through the communication link or the control link, the communication unit or the receiving unit of the repeater can receive information from the network device, and the communication link or the control link can be based on the existing Uu interface. In addition, the communication unit or the receiving unit of the repeater can apply the information received from the network device to the repeater unit through the internal operation of the repeater.

The following describes the scenarios and existing problems of the embodiments of the present application through examples, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG1 , a communication system 100 may include a network device 101 , a terminal device 102 , and a repeater 103 .

In the embodiment of the present application, existing services or services that can be implemented in the future can be carried out between the network device 101 and the terminal device 102. For example, these services include but are not limited to: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC), etc.

As shown in Figure 1, the repeater 103 receives a first RF signal from the network device 101, amplifies the first RF signal to obtain a first forwarding signal and sends it to the terminal device 102, and/or, the repeater 103 receives a second RF signal from the terminal device 102, amplifies the second RF signal to obtain a second forwarding signal and sends it to the network device 101.

In addition, as shown in Figure 1, the repeater 103 and the network device 101 can also communicate through a communication link (Down C-link, Down Communication-link) and/or an up communication link (Up C-link, Up Communication-link).

Fig. 2 is a logical schematic diagram of a repeater of an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Fig. 2, the repeater 103 includes NCR-MT (also called a communication unit) and NCR-Fwd (also called a forwarding unit), wherein NCR-MT can communicate with the network device 101 and control the forwarding of NCR-Fwd according to the control information sent by the network device 101, for example, NCR-MT includes a receiving unit and a sending unit, the receiving unit receives the control information from the network device 101, and the sending unit sends the relevant information to the network device 101; NCR-Fwd is the part that realizes the forwarding between the network device 101 and the terminal device 102, including the backhaul link (backhaul link, BH-link) connecting the repeater 103 to the network device 101 and the access link (access link, AC-link) connected to the terminal device 102.

Various implementations of the embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. These implementations are only exemplary and are not intended to limit the present application.

Example 1

The embodiment of the present application provides a switching method of a repeater, which is applied to a repeater, for example, to the repeater 103 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 .

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a switching method of a repeater according to Embodiment 1 of the present application. As shown in FIG3 , the method includes:

Step 301: The receiving unit of the repeater receives switch information from a network device; and

Step 302: The forwarding unit of the forwarder turns on or off the forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

In this way, according to the instructions of the switch information received from the network device, the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off the forwarding at the first time, that is, the repeater turns on or off the forwarding of the forwarding unit at a determined time. Therefore, the energy consumption of the repeater can be reduced and the interference of the repeater to other devices can be reduced.

In some embodiments, the repeater is a network controlled repeater, ie, NCR.

In some embodiments, the receiving unit of the repeater is NCR-MT or a part of NCR-MT; the forwarding unit of the repeater is NCR-Fwd. For example, see the relevant structure in FIG2 .

In some embodiments, the first time refers to the time when the configuration of the switch information is applied, or the time when the configuration of the switch information takes effect. That is, turning on or off forwarding at the first time includes: the forwarder applies the configuration of the switch information at the first time, or the configuration of the switch information takes effect at the first time.

In some embodiments, the first time is a time point after a first reference time by a first time interval. For example, t is used to represent the first reference time, and T is used to represent the first time interval.

In step 301, a receiving unit of a repeater receives switch information (on/off information) from a network device. The switch information may also be referred to as on/off information, or start/close information, or switch-related information.

In some embodiments, the switch information is indicated by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling. That is, the network device indicates the switch information by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the switch information indicates that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched from on to off, and/or indicates that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched from off to on. For example, the switch information is switch (on/off) state switching information.

In some embodiments, the switch information also indicates the duration of the forwarding of the forwarding unit being switched off or on, or, after the switch information indicates that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched off or on, it lasts until the receiving unit of the forwarder receives the next switch information indicating the turning on or off of forwarding.

That is to say, for example, indicating that a forwarding unit switches from an on state to an off state may include indicating the duration after the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched to the off state, and may also include the duration of not indicating that the forwarding unit is in the off state until the next switch information indicates switching between on and off or not switching.

For example, indicating that a forwarding unit switches from an off state to an on state may include the duration after indicating that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched to the on state, and may also include the duration of not indicating that the forwarding unit is in the on state until the next switch information indicates switching between on and off or not switching.

In some embodiments, the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch cycle or pattern. For example, the switch information is switch (on/off) configuration information.

In some embodiments, the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch cycle, including at least one of the following:

The switch information indicates the cycle of turning on and off the forwarding unit;

The switch information indicates a time offset between a start position of the forwarding start of the forwarding unit and a start position of the cycle; and

The switch information indicates the duration (on duration) of the forwarding on of the forwarding unit.

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a switch cycle indicated by switch information of Example 1 of the present application. As shown in FIG4, the switch information indicates that the forwarding unit switches on and off the forwarding from the first time, i.e., the moment t+T, and the on and off cycle of the forwarding unit is shown in FIG4. In addition, as shown in FIG4, within a cycle, the starting position of the forwarding on is offset from the starting position of the cycle. In addition, FIG4 shows the duration of the forwarding on of the forwarding unit.

In some embodiments, the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch pattern, including: the switch information indicates a pattern of turning on and off the forwarding unit in a cycle.

For example, a pattern is configured for each symbol in a time slot, for example, "on" or "off" is configured for each symbol in a time slot.

Table 1 is a schematic diagram of a configuration pattern in a time slot of Example 1 of the present application. As shown in Table 1, for symbols numbered 0 to 13 in a time slot, "on" or "off" are configured respectively. In addition, for different formats 0 to 5, the configuration of each symbol may be different.

Table 1 Configuration pattern within a time slot

In some embodiments, the switch information may also be indicated in an implicit manner.

For example, the switch information is other configuration information, such as beam indication information. That is, the switch information can be indicated by other configuration information sent by the network device.

In some embodiments, the switch information may indicate the switch (on/off) configuration of an access link beam (AC-link beam), or may indicate the switch configuration of multiple access link beams.

After the receiving unit of the repeater receives the switch information, in step 302, the forwarding unit of the repeater immediately turns on or off the forwarding according to the instruction of the switch information.

As described above, the first time may be a time point after the first reference time by a first time interval. For example, t represents the first reference time, and T represents the first time interval. That is, the first time interval T is the time offset from the time of applying the switch information to the first reference time t.

In some embodiments, the first reference time t is one of the following times:

The time when the repeater receives the switch information;

The end time of the time slot in which the switch information is received by the transponder;

The end time of the frame containing the switch information received by the repeater;

The end time of receiving the PDCCH or PDSCH containing the switch information by the repeater;

The time when the repeater receives the PDCCH or PDSCH containing the switch information;

The repeater feeds back the sending time or ending time of the PUCCH where the HARQ information of the PDSCH carrying the switch information is located; and

The default reference time point.

For example, the default reference time point refers to a time point of a generally recognized reference point specified by default.

In some embodiments, the first time interval is greater than or equal to the processing delay of the repeater. That is, the size of T is guaranteed to be no less than the processing delay of the repeater.

In some embodiments, the processing delay of the repeater includes at least the processing delay of the switch information and the delay of switching the switch state. For example, Ta is used to represent the processing delay of the switch information, that is, the delay of processing the on-off information, and Tb is used to represent the delay of switching the switch (on-off) state.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, in addition to the processing delay of the switch information and the delay of switching the switch state, the processing delay of the repeater may also include other processing time.

In some embodiments, the unit of the first time interval T is at least one of a time slot, a symbol or a millisecond (ms).

In some embodiments, when the unit of the first time interval is a time slot or a symbol, the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the time slot or symbol corresponding to the first time interval is determined by the subcarrier spacing indicated by the high-layer signaling and/or the physical layer signaling;

For example, RRC signaling or MAC CE indicates the subcarrier spacing corresponding to T;

For another example, the subcarrier spacing corresponding to T is indicated in the DCI.

Alternatively, the subcarrier spacing of the time slot or symbol corresponding to the first time interval is determined according to the physical layer resources or the configured subcarrier spacing, that is, the subcarrier spacing of the time slot or symbol corresponding to the first time interval is determined in a predefined manner.

For example, the SCS of the PDCCH/PDSCH indicating the switch information; or the SCS of the PUCCH where the HARQ feedback corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the switch information is located; or the SCS of the activated BWP; or the maximum or minimum SCS of the configured BWP; or the SCS of the UL-DL TDD configuration; or the SCS corresponding to the switch information.

In some embodiments, the first time interval is indicated by a network device, or the first time interval is a fixed value, or the first time interval is a value in a first set, or the first time interval is a value obtained according to a calculation method.

In some embodiments, for the case where the first time interval is indicated by the network device, the first time interval is a value in the second set indicated by the network device. For example, the network device determines the value in the second set as the first time interval based on the capability reported by the repeater. That is, the network device determines T based on the capability reported by the repeater and indicates it to the repeater. Alternatively, the network device may also determine the value in the second set as the first time interval based on the physical layer resources or the configured subcarrier spacing.

For example, the forwarder reports its processing delay capability, such as N ms, to the network device; the network device can determine the capability level of the forwarder based on the capability reported by the forwarder, and further determine the value of T based on the capability level of the forwarder, and indicate the value of T to the forwarder. The second set includes a set of values of T corresponding to each capability level.

Table 2 is a corresponding table of the value of T determined by the network device in Example 1 of the present application according to the repeater capability. As shown in Table 2, different ranges of repeater capability, i.e., processing delay capability, correspond to different capability levels and T values. For example, different values of T constitute the second set [0.5, 1, 1.5, 2], in ms, and the network device determines the corresponding level and the corresponding value of T according to the capability reported by the repeater. For example, the capability reported by the repeater is 0.3ms, and the network device determines that the repeater capability level is 0, and the corresponding value of T is 0.5ms in the second set [0.5, 1, 1.5, 2]; for another example, the capability reported by the repeater is 1.8ms, and the network device determines that the repeater capability level is 3, and the corresponding value of T is 2ms in the second set [0.5, 1, 1.5, 2].

Table 2 Correspondence table for determining the value of T according to the forwarder capability

转发器能力(ms)Transponder Capacity (ms)	等级grade	T(ms)T(ms)
0<N＝<0.50<N＝<0.5	00	0.50.5
0.5<N＝<10.5<N＝<1	11	11
1<N＝<1.51<N＝<1.5	22	1.51.5
1.5<N＝<21.5<N＝<2	33	22

In some embodiments, for the case where the first time interval is a fixed value, for example, the forwarding is turned on or off 3ms (i.e., T=3ms) after the moment (i.e., moment t) of receiving the PDCCH carrying the switch information, or the forwarder sends the PUCCH of the HARQ feedback corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the switch information in the time slot n.

The first time slot after

is the number of frames in a time slot, and μ is the SCS of the PUCCH.

In some embodiments, for the case where the first time interval is a value in the first set, the value in the first set as the first time interval is determined based on physical layer resources or a configured subcarrier spacing,

For example, the larger the subcarrier spacing μ is, the larger the corresponding first time interval is.

Table 3 is a corresponding table of determining the value of T according to the subcarrier spacing in Example 1 of the present application. As shown in Table 3, different values of T constitute the first set [8,14], the unit is symbol (symbols), and different subcarrier spacings μ correspond to the values of T in the first set [8,14]. For example, the subcarrier spacing is 1, and the corresponding value of T is 8 symbols in the first set [8,14].

Table 3 Corresponding table for determining the value of T according to the subcarrier spacing

μμ	T(符号)T(symbol)
00	88
11	88
22	1414

In some embodiments, the subcarrier spacing μ is determined by a predefined manner, for example, the SCS of the PUCCH that feeds back the switch information, or μ is the SCS of the PDCCH or PDSCH where the switch information is received, or is the same as the subcarrier spacing μ of T, or is the same as the subcarrier spacing μ of the UL-DL TDD configuration.

In some embodiments, the subcarrier spacing μ is indicated by the network device, for example, the network device indicates the subcarrier spacing μ corresponding to T, for example, the same as the time SCS in the switch information.

In some embodiments, when the first time interval is a value in the first set, the value in the first set as the first time interval may also be determined according to the capability reported by the forwarder. For example, a level corresponding to the capability of the forwarder is determined according to the capability reported by the forwarder; and the value in the first set as the first time interval is determined according to the level.

For example, it is stipulated by default that different forwarder capabilities correspond to different levels, and different levels correspond to values of T. For specific correspondence, for example, refer to Table 2 above.

In some embodiments, the first time interval is a value obtained according to a calculation method, for example, a calculation method of a default specified T value.

As described above, in some embodiments, the first time interval is greater than or equal to the processing delay of the repeater. The processing delay of the repeater includes at least the processing delay of the switch information and the delay of switching the switch state. For example, Tmin is used to represent the processing delay of the repeater, Ta is used to represent the processing delay of the switch information, that is, the delay of processing on-off information, and Tb is used to represent the delay of switching the switch (on-off) state.

In some embodiments, similar to T, the unit of at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb is at least one of a time slot, a symbol, or a millisecond (ms).

In some embodiments, for the case where the unit of at least one of Tmin, Ta and Tb is a time slot or a symbol, the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of at least one of Tmin, Ta and Tb corresponding to the time slot or symbol is determined by the subcarrier spacing indicated by the higher layer signaling and/or the physical layer signaling;

For example, RRC signaling or MAC CE indicates at least one corresponding subcarrier spacing among Tmin, Ta, and Tb;

For another example, the DCI indicates at least one corresponding subcarrier spacing among Tmin, Ta and Tb.

Alternatively, the subcarrier spacing of at least one corresponding time slot or symbol among Tmin, Ta and Tb is determined according to the subcarrier spacing of the physical layer resources or configuration, that is, the subcarrier spacing of at least one corresponding time slot or symbol among Tmin, Ta and Tb is determined in a predefined manner.

In some embodiments, at least one of Tmin, Ta and Tb is indicated by a network device, or at least one of Tmin, Ta and Tb is a fixed value, or at least one of Tmin, Ta and Tb is a value in a third set, or at least one of Tmin, Ta and Tb is a value obtained according to a calculation method.

In some embodiments, for a case where at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb is indicated by a network device, at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb is a value in a fourth set indicated by the network device. For example, the network device determines the value in the fourth set as at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb based on the capability reported by the forwarder. That is, the network device determines at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb based on the capability reported by the forwarder and indicates it to the forwarder.

For example, the forwarder reports its processing delay capability, such as N ms, to the network device; the network device can determine the capability level of the forwarder based on the capability reported by the forwarder, and further determine the value of at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb based on the capability level of the forwarder, and indicate the value of at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb to the forwarder. Among them, the fourth set includes a set of values of at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb corresponding to each capability level. Ta is used as an example for explanation below.

Table 4 is a corresponding table of the value of Ta determined by the network device in Example 1 of the present application according to the repeater capability. As shown in Table 4, different ranges of repeater capability, i.e., processing delay capability, correspond to different capability levels and Ta values. For example, different values of Ta constitute the fourth set [0.5, 1, 1.5], in ms, and the network device determines the corresponding level and the corresponding value of Ta according to the capability reported by the repeater. For example, the capability reported by the repeater is 0.3ms, and the network device determines that the repeater capability level is 0, and the corresponding value of Ta is 0.5ms in the fourth set [0.5, 1, 1.5]; for another example, the capability reported by the repeater is 1.8ms, and the network device determines that the repeater capability level is 2, and the corresponding value of Ta is 1.5ms in the fourth set [0.5, 1, 1.5].

Table 4 Corresponding table for determining the value of Ta according to the forwarder capability

转发器能力(ms)Transponder Capacity (ms)	等级grade	Ta(ms)Ta(ms)
0～0.50～0.5	00	0.50.5
0.5～10.5～1	11	11
1～1.51～1.5	22	1.51.5

In some embodiments, for the case where at least one of Tmin, Ta and Tb is a value in a third set, a value in the third set as at least one of Tmin, Ta and Tb is determined based on physical layer resources or a configured subcarrier spacing.

For example, the larger the subcarrier spacing μ is, the larger at least one of the corresponding Tmin, Ta and Tb is.

Table 5 is a corresponding table of determining the value of Ta according to the subcarrier spacing in Example 1 of the present application. As shown in Table 5, different values of Ta constitute the third set [8,14], the unit is symbol (symbols), and different subcarrier spacings μ correspond to the values of Ta in the third set [8,14]. For example, the subcarrier spacing is 1, and the corresponding value of Ta is 8 symbols in the third set [8,14].

Table 5 Corresponding table for determining the value of Ta according to the subcarrier spacing

μμ	Ta(符号)Ta(symbol)
00	88
11	88
22	1414

In some embodiments, when at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb is a value in the third set, the value in the third set as at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb may also be determined according to the capability reported by the forwarder. For example, a level corresponding to the capability of the forwarder is determined according to the capability reported by the forwarder; and a value in the third set as at least one of Tmin, Ta, and Tb is determined according to the level.

For example, it is stipulated by default that different transponder capabilities correspond to different levels, and different levels correspond to at least one value of Tmin, Ta, and Tb. For specific correspondence, for example, refer to Table 4 above.

In some embodiments, for the case where at least one of Tmin, Ta and Tb is a value obtained according to a calculation method, for example, the calculation method for specifying the value of at least one of Tmin, Ta and Tb by default.

As described above, in some embodiments, the switch information is indicated by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

The physical layer signaling is, for example, DCI, or may be other physical layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the switch information is indicated by RRC signaling, for example, the RRC signaling indicates static or semi-static switch information.

In the case where the RRC signaling indicates the switch information, the first time is a time point after a first time interval after the moment of receiving the switch information, or the first time is a time point after a first time interval after a default reference point.

For example, the RRC signaling indicates the switch configuration information, and the first time is a time point after a first time interval T after a default reference point t.

For example, the RRC signaling periodically instructs the forwarding unit of the forwarder to switch on or off, and the first time is a time point after a first time interval T after the time t at which the switch information is received.

In some embodiments, the switch information is indicated by a MAC CE, for example, the MAC CE indicates semi-static or semi-persistent switch information.

For the case where MAC CE indicates the switch information, the first time is a time point after a first time interval T after the sending time or end time t of the PUCCH containing the HARQ information of the PDSCH carrying the switch information; or, the first time is a time point after a first time interval T after the receiving time or end time t of the PDSCH indicating the switch information.

In some embodiments, the switch information is indicated by physical layer signaling, for example, the physical layer signaling indicates dynamic or non-periodic switch information.

In the case where the physical layer signaling indicates the switch information, the first time is a time point after a first time interval T after a reception time or an end time t of a PDCCH indicating the switch information.

In some embodiments, the switch information is jointly indicated by at least two of the following signaling: RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the switch information is jointly indicated by RRC signaling and MAC CE signaling. For example, the RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, and the MAC CE indicates one of the switch information configured by the RRC signaling.

In some embodiments, the one or more switch information configured by RRC signaling indicates the configuration of a switching cycle or pattern.

For example, the switch information indicates the configuration of the switch cycle, including at least one of the following: the switch information indicates the cycle of turning on and off the forwarding unit; the switch information indicates the time offset (offset) of the starting position of the forwarding turning on of the forwarding unit from the starting position of the cycle; and the switch information indicates the duration (on duration) of the forwarding turning on of the forwarding unit.

For example, the switch information indicates the configuration of the pattern of one or more switches, including: the switch information indicates the pattern of turning on and off the forwarding unit in a cycle.

In some embodiments, the first time is a time point after a first time interval T after a sending time or an end time t of a PUCCH containing HARQ information of a PDSCH carrying the switch information; the switch information is applied starting from the first time slot after n+T, T is a value indicated in a MAC CE, and the value indicated by the MAC CE is a value in a default set (e.g., the second set described above);

Alternatively, the first time is a time point after a first time interval T after a reception time or an end time t of the PDSCH indicating the switch information. For example, the repeater sends a PUCCH of HARQ feedback corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the switch information in time slot n.

The first time slot after

is the number of frames in a time slot, and μ is the SCS of the PUCCH.

In some embodiments, the switch information is jointly indicated by RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling. For example, the RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, the MAC CE activates at least one switch information among the switch information configured by the RRC signaling, and the physical layer signaling indicates at least one switch information among the switch information activated by the MAC CE.

In some embodiments, the MAC CE activated switch information indicates a configuration of a switching cycle and/or indicates a configuration of a switching style.

In some embodiments, for the MAC CE activated switch information, the MAC CE activated switch information is activated for a first duration.

In some embodiments, the first duration during which the network device indicates that the switch information of the MAC CE activation is activated is configured by the network device through at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, or physical layer signaling. Alternatively, the first duration may also be predefined or specified.

In some embodiments, the first time is a time point after a first time interval T after a reception time or an end time t of a PDCCH indicating the switch information.

In some embodiments, the first time is determined by a predefined method.

For example, the repeater receives a PDCCH carrying switch information in time slot n, and the switch information is applied starting from the first time slot after n+T. For example, T is determined in a predefined manner.

For another example, the switch information is applied N symbols after the last symbol of the PDCCH that triggers the switch information application and for a duration of T _switch , wherein the subcarrier spacing corresponding to the N symbols is the subcarrier spacing μ _PDCCH of the PDCCH carrying the switch information, and T _switch is determined based on the capability of the repeater.

In some embodiments, the DCI indicates the application time of the switch information.

For example, the repeater receives a PDCCH carrying switch information in time slot n, and the switch information starts to be applied in the first time slot after n+T, where T is a value in a default set (eg, the second set) indicated by the DCI.

It can be seen from the above embodiment that, according to the indication of the switch information received from the network device, the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off the forwarding at the first time, that is, the repeater turns on or off the forwarding of the forwarding unit at a determined time. Therefore, the energy consumption of the repeater can be reduced and the interference of the repeater to other devices can be reduced.

Example 2

Embodiment 2 of the present application also provides a method for indicating switch (on/off) information of a repeater, which is applied to a network device side. The method corresponds to the switch method of the repeater on the repeater side in Embodiment 1, and the same contents are not repeated. For example, the method is applied to the network device 101 in Figures 1 and 2.

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a method for indicating switch information of a repeater according to Embodiment 2 of the present application. As shown in FIG5 , the method includes:

Step 501: The network device indicates switch (on/off) information to the receiving unit of the repeater, so that the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off the forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG5 , the method further includes:

Step 502: The network device indicates a first time interval to the receiving unit of the forwarder.

The first time is a time point after the first reference time by the first time interval.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG5 , the method further includes:

Step 503: The network device receives the capability reported by the forwarder; and

Step 504: The network device determines the first time interval according to the capability.

In some embodiments, steps 502-504 are optional steps. In addition, the execution order of steps 502-504 and step 501 is not limited.

In some embodiments, in step 501, the network device indicates the switch information through at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, and the MAC CE indicates one of the switch information configured by the RRC signaling; or, the RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, and the MAC CE activates at least one of the switch information configured by the RRC signaling, and the physical layer signaling indicates at least one of the switch information activated by the MAC CE.

In some embodiments, the first duration during which the network device indicates that the MAC CE activated switch information is activated is configured by the network device.

In some embodiments, the switch information indicates that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched from on to off, and/or indicates that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched from off to on.

In some embodiments, the switch information also indicates the duration of the forwarding of the forwarding unit being switched off or on, or, after the switch information indicates that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched off or on, it lasts until the receiving unit of the forwarder receives the next switch information indicating switching on or off or not switching on or off.

In some embodiments, the switching information indicates a configuration of a switching cycle or pattern.

The switch information indicates the duration of the forwarding of the forwarding unit being enabled.

In some embodiments, the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch style, including:

The switch information indicates a pattern of turning on and off the forwarding unit in a cycle.

In some embodiments, the switch information is beam indication information.

In some embodiments, the switch information indicates a switch configuration of one or more access link beams.

FIG6 is an interactive diagram of a method for implementing a switching method of a repeater according to Embodiment 2 of the present application. As shown in FIG6 , the method includes:

Step 601: The network device indicates switch information to the receiving unit of the repeater;

Step 602: The forwarding unit of the forwarder turns on or off the forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

The specific implementation methods of the above steps in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 can refer to the description in Example 1, and will not be repeated here.

Example 3

Embodiment 3 of the present application provides a switch device for a repeater, which is arranged in the repeater. Since the principle of solving the problem by the device is similar to that of embodiment 1, its specific implementation can refer to the implementation of the method described in embodiment 1, and the same or related contents will not be repeated.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a switch device of a repeater according to Embodiment 3 of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7 , a switch device 700 of a repeater includes:

A receiving unit 701, which receives switch information from a network device; and

The forwarding unit 702 turns on or off the forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

In some embodiments, the receiving unit 701 is an NCR-MT or a part of an NCR-MT; and the forwarding unit 702 is an NCR-Fwd.

In some embodiments, turning on or off forwarding at the first time includes: the forwarder applies the configuration of the switch information at the first time, or the configuration of the switch information takes effect at the first time.

In some embodiments, the first time is a time point after a first reference time by a first time interval.

In some embodiments, the first reference time is one of the following times:

The time when the repeater receives the switch information;

The default reference time point.

In some embodiments, the first time interval is greater than or equal to a processing delay of the repeater.

In some embodiments, the processing delay includes at least a processing delay of the switch information and a delay of switching the switch state.

In some embodiments, the unit of the first time interval is at least one of a time slot, a symbol, or a millisecond.

In some embodiments, for the case where the unit of the first time interval is a time slot or a symbol, the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the time slot or symbol corresponding to the first time interval is determined by the subcarrier spacing indicated by high-level signaling and/or physical layer signaling, or the subcarrier spacing of the time slot or symbol corresponding to the first time interval is determined according to the physical layer resources or the configured subcarrier spacing.

In some embodiments, the first time interval is indicated by a network device, or the first time interval is a fixed value, or the first time interval is a value in a first set, or the first time interval is a value obtained by a computing device.

In some embodiments, for the case where the first time interval is indicated by the network device, the first time interval is a value in the second set indicated by the network device.

In some embodiments, the value in the second set for the first time interval is determined based on a capability reported by the repeater; or, the value in the second set for the first time interval is determined based on physical layer resources or a configured subcarrier spacing.

In some embodiments, for the case where the first time interval is a value in the first set, the value in the first set for the first time interval is determined based on physical layer resources or configured subcarrier spacing, or is determined according to the capability reported by the forwarder.

In some embodiments, determining the value in the first set as the first time interval according to the capability reported by the forwarder includes:

Determining a level corresponding to the capability of the forwarder according to the capability reported by the forwarder; and

A value in the first set is determined as the first time interval according to the level.

In some embodiments, the switch information is indicated by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and physical layer signaling.

In some embodiments, in the case where the RRC signaling indicates the switch information, the first time is a time point after a first time interval after the moment of receiving the switch information, or the first time is a time point after a first time interval after a default reference point.

In some embodiments, for the case where MAC CE indicates the switch information, the first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since the sending time or end time of the PUCCH where the HARQ information of the PDSCH carrying the switch information is fed back; or, the first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since the receiving time or end time of the PDSCH indicating the switch information.

In some embodiments, in the case where the physical layer signaling indicates the switch information, the first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since a reception time or an end time of a PDCCH indicating the switch information.

In some embodiments, the RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, and the MAC CE indicates one switch information among the switch information configured by the RRC signaling.

In some embodiments, the first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since the sending time or end time of the PUCCH containing the HARQ information of the PDSCH carrying the switch information; or, the first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since the receiving time or end time of the PDSCH indicating the switch information.

In some embodiments, the RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, the MAC CE activates at least one switch information among the switch information configured by the RRC signaling, and the physical layer signaling indicates at least one switch information among the switch information activated by the MAC CE.

In some embodiments, the first duration during which the network device indicates that the switch information of the MAC CE activation is activated is configured by the network device.

In some embodiments, the first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since a reception time or an end time of a PDCCH indicating the switch information.

In some embodiments, the switch information is beam indication information.

The functions and specific contents of the above-mentioned units can refer to the records of the relevant steps in Example 1, and will not be repeated here.

Example 4

Embodiment 4 of the present application provides a device for indicating switch information of a repeater, which is applied to a network device side. Since the principle of solving the problem by the device is similar to that of embodiment 2, its specific implementation can refer to the implementation of the method described in embodiment 2, and the same or related contents will not be repeated.

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a device for indicating switch information of a repeater according to Embodiment 4 of the present application. As shown in FIG8 , the device for indicating switch information of a repeater 800 includes:

The first indicating unit 801 indicates switch information to the receiving unit of the repeater, so that the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG8 , the apparatus further includes:

A second indicating unit 802 indicates a first time interval to a receiving unit of the repeater,

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG8 , the apparatus further includes:

A first receiving unit 803, which receives the capability reported by the forwarder; and

A determining unit 804 is configured to determine the first time interval according to the capability.

In some embodiments, the first indication unit 801 indicates the switch information through at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE and physical layer signaling.

In some embodiments, the switch information is beam indication information.

The functions and specific contents of the above-mentioned units can be referred to the records of the relevant steps in Example 2, and will not be repeated here.

Example 5

An embodiment of the present application provides a repeater, which includes the switch device of the repeater as described in Example 3.

FIG9 is a schematic block diagram of the system structure of the repeater of Embodiment 5 of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , the repeater 900 may include a processor 910 and a memory 920; the memory 920 is coupled to the processor 910. The memory 920 may store various data; in addition, it may store a program 930 for information processing, and execute the program 930 under the control of the processor 910. It is worth noting that the figure is exemplary; other types of structures may also be used to supplement or replace the structure to implement telecommunication functions or other functions.

In one embodiment, the switch function of the repeater may be integrated into the processor 910. The processor 910 may be configured such that: the receiving unit of the repeater receives switch information from the network device; and the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

In another embodiment, the switch device of the repeater may be configured separately from the processor 910 . For example, the switch device of the repeater may be configured as a chip connected to the processor 910 , and the function of the switch device of the repeater is realized through the control of the processor 910 .

As shown in FIG9 , the repeater 900 may also include: a network-side transceiver 940-1 and a network-side antenna 950-1, a terminal-side transceiver 940-2 and a terminal-side antenna 950-2, and a signal amplification circuit 2760, etc.; wherein the functions of the above components are similar to those of the prior art and are not described in detail here. It is worth noting that the repeater 900 does not necessarily include all the components shown in FIG9 ; in addition, the repeater 900 may also include components not shown in FIG9 , and reference may be made to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the processor 910 , sometimes also referred to as a controller or an operation control, may include a microprocessor or other processor device and/or logic device, which receives inputs and controls the operation of various components of the repeater 900 .

The memory 920 may be, for example, a cache, a flash memory, a hard drive, a removable medium, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory or other suitable devices. It may store various data and may also store programs for executing related information. The processor 910 may execute the programs stored in the memory 920 to implement information storage or processing. The functions of other components are similar to those of the prior art and are not described in detail here.

The components of the repeater 900 may be implemented by dedicated hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof without departing from the scope of the present application.

Example 6

An embodiment of the present application provides a network device, which includes an indication device for switch information of a repeater as described in Embodiment 4.

FIG10 is a schematic block diagram of the system structure of the network device of Embodiment 6 of the present application. As shown in FIG10 , the network device 1000 may include: a processor 1010 and a memory 1020; the memory 1020 is coupled to the processor 1010. The memory 1020 may store various data; in addition, it may store a program 1030 for information processing, and the program 1030 may be executed under the control of the processor 1010 to receive various information sent by the forwarder and send various information to the forwarder.

In one embodiment, the function of the indicating device of the switch information of the repeater may be integrated into the processor 1010. The processor 1010 may be configured as follows: the network device indicates the switch (on/off) information to the receiving unit of the repeater, so that the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off the forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

In another embodiment, the indication device of the switch information of the repeater can be configured separately from the processor 1010. For example, the indication device of the switch information of the repeater can be configured as a chip connected to the processor 1010, and the function of the indication device of the switch information of the repeater is realized through the control of the processor 1010.

In addition, as shown in FIG10 , the network device 1000 may further include: a transceiver 1040 and an antenna 1050, etc.; wherein the functions of the above components are similar to those of the prior art and are not described in detail here. It is worth noting that the network device 1000 does not necessarily have to include all the components shown in FIG10 ; in addition, the network device 1000 may also include components not shown in FIG10 , which may refer to the prior art.

Example 7

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, including the repeater as described in Example 5 and/or the network device as described in Example 6.

For example, the structure of the communication system may refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 .

As shown in FIG1 , the communication system 100 includes a network device 101 and a terminal device 102, as well as a repeater 103. The repeater 103 may be the same as the repeater described in Example 5. The network device 101 is the same as the network device described in Example 6, and repeated contents are not repeated here.

The above devices and methods of the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware combined with software. The embodiments of the present application relate to such a computer-readable program, which, when executed by a logic component, enables the logic component to implement the above-mentioned devices or components, or enables the logic component to implement the various methods or steps described above. The embodiments of the present application also relate to a storage medium for storing the above program, such as a hard disk, a disk, an optical disk, a DVD, a flash memory, etc.

The method/device described in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as hardware, a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. For example, one or more of the functional block diagrams shown in FIG. 7 and/or one or more combinations of functional block diagrams may correspond to various software modules of a computer program flow or to various hardware modules. These software modules may correspond to the various steps shown in FIG. 3 , respectively. These hardware modules may be implemented by solidifying these software modules, for example, using a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

The software module may be located in a RAM memory, a flash memory, a ROM memory, an EPROM memory, an EEPROM memory, a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. A storage medium may be coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium; or the storage medium may be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in an ASIC. The software module may be stored in a memory of a mobile terminal or in a memory card that can be inserted into the mobile terminal. For example, if a device (such as a mobile terminal) uses a large-capacity MEGA-SIM card or a large-capacity flash memory device, the software module may be stored in the MEGA-SIM card or the large-capacity flash memory device.

For one or more of the functional blocks described in FIG. 7 and/or one or more combinations of functional blocks, it can be implemented as a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or any appropriate combination thereof for performing the functions described in the present application. For one or more of the functional blocks described in FIG. 7 and/or one or more combinations of functional blocks, it can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in communication with a DSP, or any other such configuration.

The present application is described above in conjunction with specific implementation methods, but it should be clear to those skilled in the art that these descriptions are exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application based on the spirit and principles of the present application, and these modifications and variations are also within the scope of the present application.

Regarding the implementation methods including the above embodiments, the following additional notes are also disclosed:

Note 1

1. A switch device of a repeater, the device being arranged in the repeater, the device comprising:

a receiving unit, which receives switch information from a network device; and

A forwarding unit turns on or off forwarding at the first opportunity according to the instruction of the switch information.

2. The device according to Note 1, wherein the enabling or disabling of forwarding at the first time comprises:

The forwarder applies the configuration of the switch information at the first time, or

The configuration of the switch information takes effect immediately.

3. The device according to Note 1, wherein:

The first time is a time point after a first reference time by a first time interval.

4. The device according to Note 3, wherein the first reference time is one of the following times:

The time when the repeater receives the switch information;

The end time of the time slot in which the repeater receives the switch information;

The default reference time point.

5. The device according to Note 3, wherein:

The first time interval is greater than or equal to a processing delay of the repeater.

6. The device according to Note 5, wherein:

The processing delay includes at least the processing delay of the switch information and the delay of switching the switch state.

7. The device according to any one of Notes 3 to 6, wherein:

The unit of the first time interval is at least one of a time slot, a symbol or a millisecond.

8. The apparatus according to Note 7, wherein, for the case where the unit of the first time interval is a time slot or a symbol,

The subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a time slot or symbol corresponding to the first time interval is determined by a subcarrier spacing indicated by a higher layer signaling and/or a physical layer signaling, or,

The subcarrier spacing of the time slot or symbol corresponding to the first time interval is determined according to the physical layer resources or the configured subcarrier spacing.

9. The device according to any one of Notes 3 to 8, wherein:

The first time interval is indicated by a network device, or,

The first time interval is a fixed value, or,

The first time interval is a value in a first set, or,

The first time interval is a value obtained by a calculation device.

10. The device according to Note 9, wherein:

In the case where the first time interval is indicated by the network device, the first time interval is a value in the second set indicated by the network device.

11. The device according to Note 10, wherein:

determining a value in the second set as the first time interval according to a capability reported by the forwarder; or,

A value in the second set as the first time interval is determined based on physical layer resources or a configured subcarrier spacing.

12. The apparatus according to Note 9, wherein, for the case where the first time interval is a value in the first set,

determining a value in the first set as the first time interval based on physical layer resources or a configured subcarrier spacing, or

A value in the first set serving as the first time interval is determined according to the capability reported by the forwarder.

13. The apparatus according to note 12, wherein determining the value in the first set as the first time interval according to the capability reported by the forwarder comprises:

A value in the first set as the first time interval is determined according to the level.

14. The device according to any one of Notes 1 to 13, wherein:

The switch information is indicated by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE and physical layer signaling.

15. The apparatus according to Note 14, wherein, for a case where RRC signaling indicates the switch information,

The first time is a time point after a first time interval from the moment when the switch information is received, or

The first time is a time point after a default reference point by a first time interval.

16. The device according to Note 14, wherein, for a case where MAC CE indicates the switch information,

The first time is a time point after a first time interval after a sending time or an ending time of a PUCCH containing HARQ information of a PDSCH carrying the switch information; or,

The first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since a reception time or an end time of a PDSCH indicating the switch information.

17. The device according to Note 14, wherein, for a case where the physical layer signaling indicates the switch information,

The first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since a reception time or an end time of a PDCCH indicating the switch information.

18. The device according to Note 14, wherein:

The RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, and the MAC CE indicates one switch information among the switch information configured by the RRC signaling.

19. The device according to Note 18, wherein:

20. The device according to Note 14, wherein:

The RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, the MAC CE activates at least one switch information among the switch information configured by the RRC signaling, and the physical layer signaling at least indicates one switch information among the switch information activated by the MAC CE.

21. The device according to Note 20, wherein, for the switch information activated by the MAC CE,

The switch information activated by the MAC CE is activated during the first duration.

22. The device according to Note 21, wherein:

The network device indicates that the first duration for which the switch information of the MAC CE activation is activated is configured by the network device.

23. The device according to any one of Notes 20 to 22, wherein:

24. The device according to any one of Notes 1 to 23, wherein:

The switch information indicates that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched from on to off, and/or indicates that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched from off to on.

25. The device according to Note 24, wherein:

The switch information further indicates a duration of the forwarding of the forwarding unit being switched off or switched on, or,

After the switch information instructs the forwarding of the forwarding unit to be switched off or on, the switching continues until the receiving unit of the forwarder receives the next switch information instructing to turn on or off the forwarding.

26. The device according to any one of Notes 1 to 23, wherein:

The switching information indicates a configuration of a switching cycle or pattern.

27. The apparatus according to note 26, wherein the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch cycle, including at least one of the following:

The switch information indicates the on and off cycle of the forwarding unit;

The switch information indicates a duration of the forwarding of the forwarding unit being turned on.

28. The device according to Note 26, wherein the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch style, including:

29. The device according to any one of Notes 1 to 23, wherein:

The switch information is beam indication information.

30. The device according to any one of Notes 1 to 29, wherein:

The switch information indicates a switch configuration of one or more access link beams.

31. A device for indicating switch (on/off) information of a repeater, the device being arranged in a network device, the device comprising:

The first indicating unit indicates switch (on/off) information to the receiving unit of the repeater, so that the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off the forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

32. The device according to Note 31, wherein the device further comprises:

a second indicating unit for indicating a first time interval to a receiving unit of the repeater,

33. The device according to Note 32, wherein the device further comprises:

A first receiving unit, which receives the capability reported by the forwarder; and

A determining unit is configured to determine the first time interval according to the capability.

34. The device according to any one of Notes 31 to 33, wherein:

The first indication unit indicates the switch information through at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE and physical layer signaling.

35. The device according to Note 34, wherein:

The RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, and the MAC CE indicates one switch information in the switch information configured by the RRC signaling, or,

36. The device according to Note 35, wherein:

For the switch information activated by the MAC CE,

37. The device according to Note 36, wherein:

38. The device according to any one of Notes 31 to 37, wherein:

39. The device according to Note 38, wherein:

The switch information further indicates the duration of the forwarding of the forwarding unit being switched off or switched on, or,

After the switch information indicates that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched to off or on, it continues until the receiving unit of the forwarder receives the next switch information indicating switching on or off or not switching on or off.

40. The device according to any one of Notes 31 to 37, wherein:

41. The apparatus according to note 40, wherein the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch cycle, including at least one of the following:

42. The device according to note 40, wherein the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch style, including:

43. The device according to any one of Notes 31 to 37, wherein:

The switch information is beam indication information.

44. The device according to any one of Notes 31 to 43, wherein:

45. A repeater, comprising the device as described in any one of Notes 1-30.

46. A network device, comprising the apparatus described in any one of Notes 31-44.

47. A communication system, comprising the repeater described in Note 45 and/or the network device described in Note 46.

Note 2

1. A switching method for a repeater, the method comprising:

The receiving unit of the repeater receives the switch information from the network device; and

The forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off the forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

2. The method according to Note 1, wherein the enabling or disabling of forwarding at the first time comprises:

The configuration of the switch information takes effect immediately.

3. The method according to Note 1, wherein:

4. The method according to Note 3, wherein the first reference time is one of the following times:

The time when the repeater receives the switch information;

The default reference time point.

5. The method according to Note 3, wherein:

6. The method according to Note 5, wherein:

7. The method according to any one of Notes 3 to 6, wherein:

8. The method according to Note 7, wherein, for the case where the unit of the first time interval is a time slot or a symbol,

9. The method according to any one of Notes 3 to 8, wherein:

The first time interval is indicated by a network device, or,

The first time interval is a fixed value, or,

The first time interval is a value in a first set, or,

The first time interval is a value obtained according to a calculation method.

10. The method according to Note 9, wherein:

11. The method according to Note 10, wherein:

12. The method according to Note 9, wherein, for the case where the first time interval is a value in the first set,

13. The method according to note 12, wherein determining the value in the first set as the first time interval according to the capability reported by the forwarder comprises:

14. The method according to any one of Notes 1 to 13, wherein:

15. The method according to Note 14, wherein, for the case where the RRC signaling indicates the switch information,

16. The method according to Note 14, wherein, for a case where MAC CE indicates the switch information,

17. The method according to Note 14, wherein, for a case where the physical layer signaling indicates the switch information,

The first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since a reception time or an end time of the PDCCH indicating the switch information.

18. The method according to Note 14, wherein the method further comprises:

19. The method according to Note 18, wherein:

20. The method according to Note 14, wherein the method further comprises:

21. The method according to Note 20, wherein, for the switch information activated by the MAC CE,

22. The method according to Note 21, wherein the method further comprises:

23. The method according to any one of Notes 20 to 22, wherein:

24. The method according to any one of Notes 1 to 23, wherein:

25. The method according to Note 24, wherein:

After the switch information indicates that the forwarding of the forwarding unit is switched to off or on, it continues until the receiving unit of the forwarder receives the next switch information indicating to turn on or off the forwarding.

26. The method according to any one of Notes 1 to 23, wherein:

27. The method according to note 26, wherein the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch cycle, including at least one of the following:

The switch information indicates the on and off cycle of the forwarding unit;

28. The method according to Note 26, wherein the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch style, including:

29. The method according to any one of Notes 1 to 23, wherein:

The switch information is beam indication information.

30. The method according to any one of Notes 1 to 29, wherein:

31. A method for indicating switch (on/off) information of a repeater, the method comprising:

The network device indicates switch (on/off) information to the receiving unit of the repeater, so that the forwarding unit of the repeater turns on or off the forwarding at the first time according to the instruction of the switch information.

32. The method according to Note 31, wherein the method further comprises:

The network device indicates a first time interval to a receiving unit of the forwarder,

33. The method according to Note 32, wherein the method further comprises:

The capability of the network device to receive the report from the forwarder; and

The network device determines the first time interval according to the capability.

34. The method according to any one of Notes 31 to 33, wherein:

The network device indicates the switch information through at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE and physical layer signaling.

35. The method according to Note 34, wherein:

36. The method according to Note 35, wherein, for the switch information activated by the MAC CE,

37. The method according to Note 36, wherein:

38. The method according to any one of Notes 31 to 37, wherein:

39. The method according to Note 38, wherein:

40. The method according to any one of Notes 31 to 37, wherein:

41. The method according to note 40, wherein the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch cycle, including at least one of the following:

The switch information indicates the on and off cycle of the forwarding unit;

42. The method according to note 40, wherein the switch information indicates a configuration of a switch style, including:

43. The method according to any one of Notes 31 to 37, wherein:

The switch information is beam indication information.

44. A method according to any one of Notes 31 to 43, wherein:

Claims

A switch device for a repeater, the device being arranged in the repeater, the device comprising:

a receiving unit, which receives switch information from a network device; and

A forwarding unit is configured to turn on or off forwarding at the first opportunity according to the instruction of the switch information.
The device according to claim 1, wherein turning on or off forwarding at the first time comprises:

The forwarder applies the configuration of the switch information at the first time, or

The configuration of the switch information takes effect immediately.
The device according to claim 1, wherein

The first time is a time point after a first reference time by a first time interval.
The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first reference time is one of the following times:

The time when the repeater receives the switch information;

The end time of the time slot in which the repeater receives the switch information;

The end time of the frame containing the switch information received by the repeater;

The end time of receiving the PDCCH or PDSCH containing the switch information by the repeater;

The time when the repeater receives the PDCCH or PDSCH containing the switch information;

The repeater feeds back the sending time or ending time of the PUCCH where the HARQ information of the PDSCH carrying the switch information is located; and

The default reference time point.
The device according to claim 3, wherein

The first time interval is greater than or equal to a processing delay of the repeater.
The device according to claim 3, wherein

The unit of the first time interval is at least one of a time slot, a symbol or a millisecond.
The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, for the case where the unit of the first time interval is a time slot or a symbol,

The subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a time slot or symbol corresponding to the first time interval is determined by a subcarrier spacing indicated by a higher layer signaling and/or a physical layer signaling, or,

The subcarrier spacing of the time slot or symbol corresponding to the first time interval is determined according to the physical layer resources or the configured subcarrier spacing.
The device according to claim 3, wherein

The first time interval is indicated by a network device, or,

The first time interval is a fixed value, or,

The first time interval is a value in a first set, or,

The first time interval is a value obtained by a calculation device.
The device according to claim 8, wherein

In the case where the first time interval is indicated by the network device, the first time interval is a value in the second set indicated by the network device.
The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, for a case where the first time interval is a value in a first set,

determining a value in the first set as the first time interval based on physical layer resources or a configured subcarrier spacing, or

A value in the first set serving as the first time interval is determined according to the capability reported by the forwarder.
The device according to claim 1, wherein

The switch information is indicated by at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE and physical layer signaling.
The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein, for a case where RRC signaling indicates the switch information,

The first time is a time point after a first time interval from the moment when the switch information is received, or

The first time is a time point after a default reference point by a first time interval.
The device according to claim 11, wherein, for a case where the MAC CE indicates the switch information,

The first time is a time point after a first time interval after a sending time or an ending time of a PUCCH containing HARQ information of a PDSCH carrying the switch information; or,

The first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since a reception time or an end time of a PDSCH indicating the switch information.
The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein, for a case where physical layer signaling indicates the switch information,

The first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since a reception time or an end time of the PDCCH indicating the switch information.
The device according to claim 11, wherein

The RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, and the MAC CE indicates one switch information among the switch information configured by the RRC signaling.
The device according to claim 15, wherein

The first time is a time point after a first time interval after a sending time or an ending time of a PUCCH containing HARQ information of a PDSCH carrying the switch information; or,

The first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since a reception time or an end time of a PDSCH indicating the switch information.
The device according to claim 11, wherein

The RRC signaling configures at least one switch information, the MAC CE activates at least one switch information among the switch information configured by the RRC signaling, and the physical layer signaling at least indicates one switch information among the switch information activated by the MAC CE.
The device according to claim 17, wherein, for the switch information activated by the MAC CE,

The switch information activated by the MAC CE is activated during the first duration.
The device according to claim 17, wherein

The first time is a time point after a first time interval has passed since a reception time or an end time of a PDCCH indicating the switch information.
A communication system, comprising a repeater and a network device, wherein the repeater comprises the device according to claim 1.