Techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation

By scheduling communication resources separately for the source and reader network nodes in the wireless communication system, the coordination problem of backscatter modulation resources in bistatic communication is solved, and effective communication with devices with energy harvesting capabilities is realized.

CN120826959APending Publication Date: 2025-10-21QUALCOMM INC
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202380095282.5
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-03-09
Publication Date
2025-10-21

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The prior art does not define how to coordinate the scheduling of backscatter modulation resources of devices with energy harvesting capabilities in wireless communication systems used for bistatic communication.

Method used

Bistatic communication is achieved by scheduling two grants from network nodes: one grant for the source network node to send and the other grant for the reader network node to receive the backscatter response. Communication resources are scheduled accordingly.

Benefits of technology

It enables efficient scheduling of communication resources for devices with energy harvesting capabilities, ensuring synchronous communication between source network nodes and reader network nodes.

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Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. Bistatic communications may relate to devices with energy harvesting (EH) capabilities. An interrogation network node (e.g., a network node that sends an interrogation signal to an EH-capable device) or a reader network node (e.g., a network node that receives a backscatter response) may send a scheduling request to a scheduling network node. Upon receiving a scheduling request, a scheduling network node may send two grants. One of these grants grants scheduling transmissions from the source network entity to the EH-capable device. The other grants scheduling of reception of the transmitted backscatter response from the EH-capable device. The source network node may communicate the transmission to the EH-capable device according to the first grant, and the reader network node may receive a backscatter response to the transmission from the EH-capable device according to the second grant.
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Description

[0001] introduction

[0002] The following relates to wireless communications related to techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation.

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems (such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, advanced LTE (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems) and fifth generation (5G) systems (which may be referred to as new radio (NR) systems). These systems may employ techniques such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple access communication system may include one or more base stations, each of which supports wireless communication for communication devices, which may be referred to as user equipment (UE). Summary of the Invention

[0004] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses for supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation. For example, the described technology provides for scheduling bistatic communications involving devices with energy harvesting (EH) capabilities. An interrogating network node (e.g., a source network node that sends an interrogation signal to an EH-capable device, such as a user equipment (UE)) or a reader network node (e.g., a network node that receives a backscatter response to the interrogation signal, such as another UE) may send a scheduling request to a scheduling network node (e.g., a network entity). Upon receiving the scheduling request, the scheduling network node may send two grants. One of these grants is to the source network entity and is for a transmission from the source network entity to the EH-capable device. The other grant is to the reader network entity and is for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device to the transmission from the source network entity. The source network node may communicate a transmission to the EH-capable device based on the first grant, and the reader network node may receive a backscatter response to the transmission from the EH-capable device based on the second grant.

[0005] A method for wireless communication at a first network node is described. The method may include: receiving a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter; sending a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the transmission; and sending a second grant to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules the communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.

[0006] A first network node for wireless communication is described. The first network node may include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor is configured to: receive a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter; send a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the transmission; and send a second grant to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules the communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.

[0007] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a first network node is described. The apparatus may include: means for receiving a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter; means for sending a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the transmission; and means for sending a second grant to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules the communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.

[0008] A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon code for wireless communication is described. The code, when executed by a first network node, causes the first network node to: receive a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter; send a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the transmission; and send a second grant to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules the communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.

[0009] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first grant may be a first DCI (DCI) configured to activate a configuration grant (CG) opportunity for the second network node, the second grant may be a second DCI configured to activate the CG opportunity for the third network node, and the CG opportunity may be the communication resource.

[0010] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each of the first DCI and the second DCI indicates the same number of time slots as the duration of the CG opportunity.

[0011] Some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending an indication of one or more candidate durations for the CG opportunity before sending the first grant and the second grant, wherein the same number of time slots indicated as the duration for the CG opportunity in the first DCI and the second DCI may be a specified candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

[0012] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first grant may indicate a first number of time slots for the transmission, and the second grant may indicate a second number of time slots for the reception.

[0013] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the first grant or the second grant may indicate that the communication resources are divided into a set of multiple time slot types, the set of multiple time slot types including at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type, or a third time slot type, and the first time slot type may be used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type may be used to provide a continuous wave for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type may be used to provide a continuous wave for energy harvesting at the EH-capable device.

[0014] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the first grant or the second grant may indicate at least one of: a first number of the first time slot type in the communication resource, a second number of the second time slot type in the communication resource, or a third number of the third time slot type in the communication resource.

[0015] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the first grant or the second grant may indicate at least one of: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type.

[0016] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset may be based on a capability of at least one of the second network node, the third network node, or the EH-capable device.

[0017] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first grant and the second grant may be sent via a group-common DCI that may be sent to both the second network node and the third network node, and the group-common DCI indicates the second network node and the third network node from a set of multiple network nodes.

[0018] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the second network node and the third network node in the group-common DCI may be via one or more bits in a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the second network node and the third network node, a search space in which the group-common DCI may be sent, or a field of the group-common DCI.

[0019] Some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending control information indicative of the EH-capable device to the second network node and the third network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of: a type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, or quality of service of data associated with the EH-capable device.

[0020] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving the scheduling request may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving the scheduling request from the second network node.

[0021] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving the scheduling request may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving the scheduling request from the third network node.

[0022] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the scheduling request includes control information that may indicate at least one of: a type of the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, a requested duration of the communication resource, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, a geographic area of ​​the EH-capable device, a set of network nodes capable of receiving the backscatter, a set of network nodes capable of interrogating the EH-capable device, a processing capability of the second network node, and a processing capability of the third network node.

[0023] A method for wireless communication at a first network node is described. The method may include receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an EH-capable device, wherein the backscatter response is responsive to a transmission from a third network node to the EH-capable device; and receiving the backscatter response via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0024] A first network node for wireless communication is described. The first network node may include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor is configured to: receive a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an EH-capable device, wherein the backscatter response is responsive to a transmission from a third network node to the EH-capable device; and receive the backscatter response via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0025] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a first network node is described. The apparatus may include: means for receiving, from a second network node, a grant to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an EH-capable device, wherein the backscatter response is responsive to a transmission from a third network node to the EH-capable device; and means for receiving the backscatter response via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0026] A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon code for wireless communication is described. The code, when executed by a first network node, causes the first network node to: receive a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an EH-capable device, wherein the backscatter response is responsive to a transmission from a third network node to the EH-capable device; and receive the backscatter response via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0027] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant can be a DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the first network node, and the CG opportunity can be the communication resource.

[0028] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the DCI indicates a number of time slots as the duration of the CG opportunity.

[0029] Some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving an indication of one or more candidate durations for the CG opportunity before receiving the grant, wherein the time slot number indicated in the DCI as the duration for the CG opportunity may be a specified candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

[0030] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant may indicate a number of time slots for the reception.

[0031] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant may indicate that the communication resources are divided into a set of multiple time slot types, the set of multiple time slot types including at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type, or a third time slot type, and the first time slot type may be used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type may be used to provide a continuous wave for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type may be used to provide a continuous wave for energy harvesting at the EH-capable device.

[0032] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant may indicate at least one of: a first number of the first time slot type in the communication resource, a second number of the second time slot type in the communication resource, or a third number of the third time slot type in the communication resource.

[0033] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant may indicate at least one of: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type.

[0034] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset may be based on a capability of at least one of the third network node, the first network node, or the EH-capable device.

[0035] Some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a synchronization signal indicating a periodicity of the transmission during a time slot of the second time slot type.

[0036] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant may be received via a group-common DCI, and the group-common DCI indicates the first network node from the set of a plurality of network nodes.

[0037] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the first network node in the group-common DCI may be via one or more bits in a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the first network node, a search space in which the group-common DCI may be sent, or a field of the group-common DCI.

[0038] Some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving control information indicative of the EH-capable device from the second network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of: a type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, a geographic area of ​​the EH-capable device, a type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, or quality of service of data associated with the EH-capable device.

[0039] Some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a scheduling request for the transmission to the second network node, wherein the grant may be responsive to the scheduling request.

[0040] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the scheduling request includes control information that may indicate at least one of: a type of the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, a duration of the request for the communication resource, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a set of network nodes capable of interrogating the EH-capable device, and a processing capability of the first network node.

[0041] A method for wireless communication at a first network node is described. The method may include receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for a transmission from the first network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter, and communicating the transmission to the EH-capable device via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0042] A first network node for wireless communication is described. The first network node may include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor is configured to: receive a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for a transmission from the first network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter; and communicate the transmission to the EH-capable device via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0043] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a first network node is described. The apparatus may include means for receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for a transmission from the first network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter; and means for communicating the transmission to the EH-capable device via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0044] A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon code for wireless communication is described. The code, when executed by a first network node, causes the first network node to: receive a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for a transmission from the first network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter; and communicate the transmission to the EH-capable device via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0045] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant can be a DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the first network node, and the CG opportunity can be the communication resource.

[0046] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the DCI indicates a number of time slots as the duration of the CG opportunity.

[0047] Some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving an indication of one or more candidate durations for the CG opportunity before receiving the grant, wherein the time slot number indicated in the DCI as the duration for the CG opportunity may be a specified candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

[0048] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant may indicate a number of time slots for the transmission.

[0049] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant may indicate that the communication resources are divided into a set of multiple time slot types, the set of multiple time slot types including at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type, or a third time slot type, and the first time slot type may be used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type may be used to provide a continuous wave for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type may be used to provide a continuous wave for energy harvesting at the EH-capable device.

[0050] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant may indicate at least one of: a first number of the first time slot type in the communication resource, a second number of the second time slot type in the communication resource, or a third number of the third time slot type in the communication resource.

[0051] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant may indicate at least one of: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type.

[0052] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset may be based on a capability of at least one of the first network node, the third network node, or the EH-capable device.

[0053] Some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for transmitting, during the time slots of the second time slot type, a synchronization signal indicating the periodicity of the transmission.

[0054] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the grant may be received via a group-common DCI, and the group-common DCI indicates the first network node from the set of a plurality of network nodes.

[0055] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the indication of the first network node in the group-common DCI may be via one or more bits in a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the first network node, a search space in which the group-common DCI may be sent, or a field of the group-common DCI.

[0056] Some examples of the methods, first network nodes, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving control information indicative of the EH-capable device from the second network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of: a type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, a geographic area of ​​the EH-capable device, a type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, or quality of service of data associated with the EH-capable device.

[0057] Some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a scheduling request for the transmission to the second network node, wherein the grant may be responsive to the scheduling request.

[0058] In some examples of the methods, first network nodes, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the scheduling request includes control information that may indicate at least one of: a type of the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, a duration of the request for the communication resource, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a set of network nodes capable of receiving the backscatter, and a processing capability of the first network node. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] Figure 1

[0014] An example of a wireless communication system supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0060] Figure 2

[0014] An example of a wireless communication system supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0061] Figure 3 An example of a timing diagram supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0062] Figure 4 An example of a process flow supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0063] Figure 5 and Figure 6 A block diagram is shown of a device supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0064] Figure 7 A block diagram of a communications manager supporting techniques for scheduling communications resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0065] Figure 8 A diagram of a system including devices supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation is shown in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0066] Figure 9 and Figure 10 A block diagram is shown of a device supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0067] Figure 11 A block diagram of a communications manager supporting techniques for scheduling communications resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0068] Figure 12 A diagram of a system including devices supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation is shown in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0069] Figures 13 to 15 A flow chart illustrating a method supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] Some wireless communication systems may include passive devices, such as radio frequency identifier (RFID) tags, for performing operations such as location tracking and identification. Passive devices can receive power from transmissions performed by other devices and, therefore, may be referred to as devices with energy harvesting (EH) capabilities. For example, an interrogating device may transmit a continuous wave (CW) signal to a passive device, and the passive device may use the energy from the CW signal to activate a radio frequency component and "backscatter" the CW signal, which may be received by the interrogating device or another device. In some cases, RFID processing may involve bistatic communication involving an EH-capable device and multiple network nodes, such as a source network node (e.g., an interrogating device, such as a user equipment (UE)) and a reader network node (e.g., a reader device, such as another UE, that receives the backscattered response). The source network node may transmit an interrogation signal to the EH-capable device, causing the EH-capable device to backscatter the signal. The reader network node may receive and decode the backscattered response to the signal. Coordination of such bistatic communication is currently undefined.

[0071] Upon receiving a scheduling request by a scheduling network node (e.g., a network entity) from a source network entity or a reader network entity, the scheduling network node may schedule communication resources for bistatic communication including an EH-capable device. In a bistatic EH-capable device scenario, the scheduling request from the reader network node requests a query transmission from another entity (e.g., a source network node) to the EH-capable device and also requests a corresponding monitoring opportunity for the reader network node. In another example, the scheduling request from the source network entity requests communication resources for a query transmission from the EH-capable device and also requests a corresponding monitoring opportunity for the other entity (the reader network entity) to receive a backscattered response to the query transmission from the EH-capable device.

[0072] Thus, upon receiving a scheduling request, the scheduling network node may send two grants. One of these grants is to the source network node and is for a transmission from the source network node to an EH-capable device. The other grant is to the reader network node and is for receiving a backscatter response to a transmission from an EH-capable device from the source network entity. In some aspects, the first grant and the second grant may be downlink control information (DCI) that activates a configuration grant (CG) opportunity for the source network node and the reader network node. The first grant and the second grant may indicate the number of time slots allocated for transmission and reception, including a time slot for signaling command information to an EH-capable device, a time slot for CW transmission from the source network entity to an EH-capable device, and a time slot for reading backscattered signals at the reader network entity. The source network node may communicate the transmission to the EH-capable device according to the first grant, and the reader network node may receive a backscatter response to the transmission from the EH-capable device according to the second grant.

[0073] Aspects of the present disclosure are first described in the context of wireless communication systems. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described with reference to timing diagrams, process flows, apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts related to techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation.

[0074] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 that supports techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some aspects, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, a New Radio (NR) network, or a network operating according to other systems and radio technologies, including future systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0075] The network entities 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communication system 100 and may include devices in different forms or with different capabilities. In various examples, the network entities 105 may be referred to as network elements, mobility elements, radio access network (RAN) nodes, or network equipment, among other nomenclature. In some aspects, the network entities 105 and the UEs 115 may communicate wirelessly via one or more communication links 125 (e.g., radio frequency (RF) access links). For example, the network entities 105 may support a coverage area 110 (e.g., a geographic coverage area) within which the UEs 115 and the network entities 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area within which the network entities 105 and the UEs 115 may support signal communication according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs).

[0076] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the coverage area 110 of the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile or both stationary and mobile at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices that take different forms or have different capabilities. Figure 1 Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1 . The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of supporting communications with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 or network entities 105, such as Figure 1 shown.

[0077] As described herein, a node (which may be referred to as a node, network node, network entity, or wireless node) may include, may be, or may be included in (e.g., as a component of) a base station (e.g., any base station described herein), a UE (e.g., any UE described herein), a network controller, a device, an apparatus, a computing system, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a distributed unit (DU), a central unit (CU), a remote / radio unit (RU) (which may also be referred to as a remote radio unit (RRU)), and / or another processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, the network node may be a UE. For another example, the network node may be a base station or a network entity. For another example, a first network node may be configured to communicate with a second network node or a third network node. In one aspect of this example, the first network node may be a UE, the second network node may be a base station, and the third network node may be a UE. In another aspect of this example, the first network node may be a UE, the second network node may be a base station, and the third network node may be a base station. In yet other aspects of this example, the first network node, the second network node, and the third network node may be different from these examples. Similarly, references to a UE, a base station, an apparatus, a device, a computing system, etc., may include disclosure of the UE, base station, apparatus, device, computing system, etc. as a network node. For example, a disclosure that a UE is configured to receive information from a base station also discloses that a first network node is configured to receive information from a second network node. Consistent with the present disclosure, once a specific example is expanded upon according to the present disclosure (e.g., a UE is configured to receive information from a base station also discloses that a first network node is configured to receive information from a second network node), a broader example of the narrower example may be interpreted inversely, but in a broad, open-ended manner. In the above example where a UE is configured to receive information from a base station also discloses that a first network node is configured to receive information from a second network node, the first network node may refer to a first UE, a first base station, a first apparatus, a first device, a first computing system, a first set of one or more components, or a first processing entity, etc., configured to receive information; and the second network node may refer to a second UE, a second base station, a second apparatus, a second device, a second computing system, a second set of one or more components, or a second processing entity, etc.

[0078] As described herein, different terms may be used in various aspects to describe the communication of information (e.g., any information, signal, etc.). Disclosure of one communication term includes disclosure of the other communication terms. For example, a first network node may be described as being configured to send information to a second network node. In this example and consistent with the present disclosure, disclosure that the first network node is configured to send information to the second network node includes disclosure that the first network node is configured to provide, transmit, output, communicate, or send information to the second network node. Similarly, in this example and consistent with the present disclosure, disclosure that the first network node is configured to send information to the second network node includes disclosure that the second network node is configured to receive, obtain, or decode information provided, transmitted, output, communicated, or sent by the first network node.

[0079] In some aspects, the network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130, with each other, or both. For example, the network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130 via one or more backhaul communication links 120 (e.g., according to S1, N2, N3, or other interface protocols). In some aspects, the network entities 105 may communicate with each other via the backhaul communication links 120 (e.g., according to X2, Xn, or other interface protocols), either directly (e.g., directly between the network entities 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130). In some aspects, the network entities 105 may communicate with each other via midhaul communication links 162 (e.g., according to a midhaul interface protocol) or fronthaul communication links 168 (e.g., according to a fronthaul interface protocol), or any combination thereof. The backhaul communication links 120, midhaul communication links 162, or fronthaul communication links 168 may be or include one or more wired links (e.g., electrical links, fiber optic links), one or more wireless links (e.g., radio links, wireless optical links), etc., or various combinations thereof. UE 115 may communicate with core network 130 via communication link 155 .

[0080] One or more of the network entities 105 described herein may include or may be referred to as a base station 140 (e.g., a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an NR base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a next-generation Node B, or a gigabit Node B (any of which may be referred to as a gNB), a 5G NB, a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), a Home Node B, a Home evolved Node B, or other suitable terminology). In some aspects, the network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may be implemented in a converged (e.g., monolithic, stand-alone) base station architecture that may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single network entity 105 (e.g., a single RAN node, such as the base station 140).

[0081] In some aspects, the network entity 105 can be implemented in a disaggregated architecture (e.g., a disaggregated base station architecture, a disaggregated RAN architecture) that can be configured to utilize protocol stacks that are physically or logically distributed between two or more network entities 105, such as an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN)). For example, the network entity 105 can include one or more of the following: a central unit (CU) 160, a distributed unit (DU) 165, a radio unit (RU) 170, a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 175 (e.g., a near real-time RIC (near RT RIC), a non-real-time RIC (non-RT RIC)), a service management and orchestration (SMO) 180 system, or any combination thereof. The RU 170 can also be referred to as a radio head, an intelligent radio head, a remote radio head (RRH), a remote radio unit (RRU), or a transmit receive point (TRP). One or more components of the network entity 105 in the disaggregated RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of the network entity 105 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations). In some aspects, one or more network entities 105 of the disaggregated RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., virtual CU (VCU), virtual DU (VDU), virtual RU (VRU)).

[0082] The functional split between the CU 160, DU 165, and RU 170 is flexible and can support different functions depending on which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, RF functions, and any combination thereof) are performed at the CU 160, DU 165, or RU 170. For example, a functional split of the protocol stack can be employed between the CU 160 and DU 165 such that the CU 160 can support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU 165 can support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some aspects, the CU 160 can host higher protocol layer (e.g., Layer 3 (L3), Layer 2 (L2)) functionality and signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP)). The CU 160 may be connected to one or more DUs 165 or RUs 170, and the one or more DUs 165 or RUs 170 may host lower protocol layers, such as Layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU 160. Additionally or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between the DU 165 and the RU 170, such that the DU 165 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU 170 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU 165 may support one or more different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs 170). In some cases, the functional split between the CU 160 and the DU 165 or between the DU 165 and the RU 170 can be within the protocol layer (e.g., some functions of the protocol layer can be performed by one of the CU 160, DU 165, or RU 170, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU 160, DU 165, or RU 170). The CU 160 can be further functionally split into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. The CU 160 can be connected to one or more DUs 165 via midhaul communication links 162 (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u), and the DU 165 can be connected to one or more RUs 170 via fronthaul communication links 168 (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface). In some aspects, midhaul communication link 162 or fronthaul communication link 168 may be implemented according to interfaces (eg, channels) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities 105 communicating via such communication links.

[0083] In some wireless communication systems (e.g., wireless communication system 100), the infrastructure and spectrum resources for radio access may support wireless backhaul link capabilities to supplement wired backhaul connections, thereby providing an IAB network architecture (e.g., to the core network 130). In some cases, in an IAB network, one or more network entities 105 (e.g., IAB nodes 104) may be partially controlled by each other. One or more IAB nodes 104 may be referred to as a donor entity or IAB donor. One or more DUs 165 or one or more RUs 170 may be partially controlled by one or more CUs 160 associated with a donor network entity 105 (e.g., a donor base station 140). One or more donor network entities 105 (e.g., IAB donors) may communicate with one or more additional network entities 105 (e.g., IAB nodes 104) via supported access and backhaul links (e.g., backhaul communication links 120). The IAB node 104 may include an IAB mobile terminal (IAB-MT) controlled (e.g., scheduled) by the DU 165 of the coupled IAB donor. The IAB-MT may include an independent set of antennas for relaying communications with the UE 115, or may share the same antennas of the IAB node 104 (e.g., of the RU 170) for access via the DU 165 of the IAB node 104 (e.g., referred to as a virtual IAB-MT (vIAB-MT)). In some aspects, the IAB node 104 may include a DU 165 that supports communication links with additional entities (e.g., IAB node 104, UE 115) within a relay chain or configuration (e.g., downstream) of the access network. In such cases, one or more components of the decomposed RAN architecture (e.g., one or more IAB nodes 104 or components of the IAB node 104) may be configured to operate according to the techniques described herein.

[0084] Where the techniques described herein are applied to the context of a disaggregated RAN architecture, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured to support the techniques described herein for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation. For example, some operations described as being performed by a UE 115 or a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may additionally or alternatively be performed by one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., an IAB node 104, a DU 165, a CU 160, a RU 170, a RIC 175, a SMO 180).

[0085] UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where "device" may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, etc. UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some aspects, UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communication (MTC) device, etc., which may be implemented in various objects, such as appliances or vehicles, meters, etc.

[0086] The UE 115 described herein may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, which may sometimes act as relays, as well as network entities 105 and network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, relay base stations, etc. Figure 1 shown.

[0087] The UE 115 and the network entity 105 can wirelessly communicate with each other via one or more communication links 125 (e.g., access links) using resources associated with one or more carriers. The term "carrier" can refer to a set of RF spectrum resources having a physical layer structure defined for supporting the communication link 125. For example, a carrier used for the communication link 125 can include a portion of an RF spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP)) that operates according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel can carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling for coordinating carrier operations, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communication system 100 can support communications with the UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. Depending on the carrier aggregation configuration, the UE 115 can be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation can be used for both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) component carriers. Communication between the network entity 105 and other devices may refer to communication between those devices and any portion (e.g., entity, sub-entity) of the network entity 105. For example, the terms "send," "receive," or "communicate" when referring to the network entity 105 may refer to any portion of the network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, CU 160, DU 165, RU 170) of the RAN communicating with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities 105).

[0088] The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include downlink transmissions (e.g., forward link transmissions) from the network entity 105 to the UE 115, uplink transmissions (e.g., return link transmissions) from the UE 115 to the network entity 105, or both, as well as other transmission configurations. A carrier may carry downlink communications or uplink communications (e.g., in FDD mode), or may be configured to carry both downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode).

[0089] A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of RF spectrum, and in some aspects, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as the "system bandwidth" of the carrier or wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a set of bandwidths of carriers for a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4 megahertz (MHz), 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz). Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., the network entity 105, the UE 115, or both) may have a hardware configuration that supports communication using a particular carrier bandwidth, or may be capable of being configured to support communication using one of the set of carrier bandwidths. In some aspects, the wireless communication system 100 may include a network entity 105 or a UE 115 that supports concurrent communication using carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some aspects, each served UE 115 may be configured to operate using a portion (e.g., a sub-band, a BWP) or all of the carrier bandwidth.

[0090] The signal waveform transmitted via the carrier may include multiple subcarriers (e.g., using a multicarrier modulation (MCM) technique such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may refer to the resource of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, in which case the symbol period and subcarrier spacing may be inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both), such that a relatively high number of resource elements (e.g., in the transmission duration) and a relatively high order modulation scheme may correspond to a relatively high communication rate. Wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of RF spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial resources may increase the data rate or data integrity used for communication with UE 115.

[0091] One or more parameter sets for a carrier may be supported, and the parameter set may include subcarrier spacing (Δf) and cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs with the same or different parameter sets. In some aspects, a UE 115 may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some aspects, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time, and communications for the UE 115 may be limited to the one or more active BWPs.

[0092] The time interval for the network entity 105 or the UE 115 may be expressed as a multiple of a basic time unit, which may be, for example, a sampling period T s =1 / (Δf max ·N f ) seconds, where Δf max It can represent the supported subcarrier spacing, and N f The supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size may be indicated. Time intervals of communication resources may be organized according to radio frames, each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., in the range of 0 to 1023).

[0093] Each frame may include a plurality of consecutively numbered subframes or time slots, and each subframe or time slot may have the same duration. In some aspects, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a certain number of time slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of time slots, and the number of time slots may depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot may include a certain number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix appended in front of each symbol period). In some examples of the wireless communication system 100, the time slot may be further divided into a plurality of mini-slots associated with one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may be associated with one or more (e.g., N f The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or the operating frequency band.

[0094] A subframe, slot, mini-slot, or symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a Transmit Time Interval (TTI). In some aspects, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of a shortened TTI (sTTI)).

[0095] Physical channels may be multiplexed according to various techniques for communication using a carrier. For example, physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques for signaling via a downlink carrier. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) of a physical control channel may be defined by a set of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth of a carrier or a subset of that bandwidth. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of UEs 115. For example, one or more of UEs 115 may monitor or search the control region for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or more control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. The aggregation level of a control channel candidate may refer to the amount of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with coded information for a control information format having a given payload size. The search space sets may include a common search space set configured for transmitting control information to multiple UEs 115 and a UE-specific search space set for transmitting control information to a specific UE 115 .

[0096] In some aspects, the network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140, RUs 170) can be mobile and, therefore, provide communication coverage for mobile coverage areas 110. In some aspects, different coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies can overlap, but can be supported by the same network entity 105. In some other examples, overlapping coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies can be supported by different network entities 105. The wireless communication system 100 can include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of network entities 105 provide coverage for various coverage areas 110 using the same or different radio access technologies.

[0097] The wireless communication system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140) may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different network entities 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the network entities 105 may have different frame timing, and in some aspects, transmissions from different network entities 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operation.

[0098] Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low-cost or low-complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technology that allows devices to communicate with each other or with a network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140) without human intervention. In some aspects, M2M communication or MTC may include communication from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application that uses the information or presents it to a person interacting with the application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of machines or other equipment. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geographic event monitoring, queue management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based commercial charging.

[0099] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ an operating mode that reduces power consumption, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception but does not transmit and receive concurrently). In some aspects, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for the UE 115 include entering a power-saving deep sleep mode when not engaged in active communications, operating using limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communication), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., a set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within a carrier, within a guard band of a carrier, or outside a carrier.

[0100] The wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low-latency communication or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). The UE 115 can be designed to support ultra-reliable or low-latency or critical functions. Ultra-reliable communication can include private communication or group communication and can be supported by one or more services (such as push-to-talk, video or data). Support for ultra-reliable, low-latency functions can include prioritization of services, and such services can be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency and ultra-reliable low-latency can be used interchangeably in this article.

[0101] In some aspects, a UE 115 may be configured to support communication directly with other UEs 115 via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., according to a peer-to-peer (P2P), D2D, or sidelink protocol). In some aspects, one or more UEs 115 in a group performing D2D communication may be within a coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, a RU 170), which may support aspects of such D2D communication as configured (e.g., scheduled) by the network entity 105. In some aspects, one or more UEs 115 in such a group may be outside of the coverage area 110 of the network entity 105 or may otherwise be unable or not configured to receive transmissions from the network entity 105. In some aspects, a group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may support a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE 115 transmits to every other UE 115 in the group. In some aspects, network entity 105 may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In some other examples, D2D communications may be performed between UEs 115 without involving network entity 105.

[0102] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) for managing access and mobility and at least one user plane entity (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)) for routing packets or interconnecting to external networks. The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140) associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to the IP services 150 of one or more network operators. IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or packet-switched streaming services.

[0103] The wireless communication system 100 can operate using one or more frequency bands that can range from 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally speaking, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is referred to as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from about one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves can be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features (which can be referred to as clusters), but these waves can penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to a UE 115 located indoors. Communication using UHF waves can be associated with smaller antennas and a shorter range (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) than communication using the smaller frequencies and longer wavelengths of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0104] The wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed RF spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize an unlicensed band (such as the 5 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band) to employ License Assisted Access (LAA), LTE Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology. When operating using an unlicensed RF spectrum band, devices such as the network entity 105 and the UE 115 may employ carrier sensing for conflict detection and avoidance. In some aspects, operations using the unlicensed band may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration (e.g., LAA) in conjunction with component carriers operating using a licensed band. Operations using the unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among others.

[0105] A network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, a RU 170) or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas that can be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of the network entity 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some aspects, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the network entity 105 may be located at different geographical locations. The network entity 105 may include an antenna array having a set of multiple rows and columns of antenna ports that the network entity 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UE 115. Similarly, the UE 115 may include one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna panels may support RF beamforming for signals transmitted via the antenna ports.

[0106] Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that can be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a network entity 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming can be achieved by combining signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array so that some signals propagating in a particular direction relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to signals communicated via antenna elements can include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying an amplitude offset, a phase offset, or both to signals carried via antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of these antenna elements can be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular direction (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting device or the receiving device or relative to some other direction).

[0107] The network entity 105 or the UE 115 may use beam sweeping techniques as part of a beamforming operation. For example, the network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, RU 170) may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with the UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times by the network entity 105 along different directions. For example, the network entity 105 may transmit signals according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmit directions. Transmissions along different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device (such as the network entity 105) or by a receiving device (such as the UE 115)) the beam direction for later transmission or reception by the network entity 105.

[0108] Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by a transmitting device (e.g., transmitting network entity 105, transmitting UE 115) along a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with a receiving device (e.g., receiving network entity 105 or receiving UE 115)). In some aspects, a beam direction associated with transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based on signals transmitted along one or more beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted along different directions by network entity 105 and may report to network entity 105 an indication of the signal received by UE 115 with the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality.

[0109] In some aspects, transmission by a device (e.g., by a network entity 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from the network entity 105 to the UE 115). The UE 115 may report feedback indicating precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured set of beams across the system bandwidth or one or more subbands. The network entity 105 may transmit a reference signal (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)), which may or may not be precoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel codebook, a linear combination codebook, a port-selective codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals sent along one or more directions by a network entity 105 (e.g., base station 140, RU 170), UE 115 may use similar techniques to send signals multiple times along different directions (e.g., to identify a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115), or to send signals along a single direction (e.g., to send data to a receiving device).

[0110] A receiving device (e.g., UE 115) may perform reception operations according to multiple reception configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from a receiving device (e.g., network entity 105). For example, the receiving device may perform reception according to multiple reception directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, receiving according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array (e.g., different sets of directional listening weights), or processing received signals according to different sets of receive beamforming weights applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different reception configurations or reception directions. In some aspects, the receiving device may receive along a single beam direction using a single reception configuration (e.g., when receiving data signals). A single receive configuration may be aligned along a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or other acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0111] The wireless communication system 100 may be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or PDCP layer may be IP-based. The RLC layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly for communication via logical channels. The MAC layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also support retransmission using error detection, error correction, or both to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the RRC layer may provide for the establishment, configuration, and maintenance of RRC connections between the UE 115 and the network entity 105 or core network 130 for radio bearers supporting user plane data. The PHY layer may map transport channels to physical channels.

[0112] UE 115 and network entity 105 may support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood of successful data reception. Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback is a technique for increasing the likelihood of correctly receiving data via a communication link (e.g., communication link 125, D2D communication link 135). HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer under poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise ratio conditions). In some aspects, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, in which case the device may provide HARQ feedback in a particular time slot for data received in a previous symbol in that time slot. In some other examples, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent time slot or based on some other time interval.

[0113] The wireless communication system 100 may include passive devices, such as RFID tags, for performing operations such as location tracking and identification. Passive devices can receive power from transmissions made by other devices and, therefore, may be referred to as EH-capable devices. Some passive devices may not have their own power source. An interrogating device may transmit a CW signal to a passive device, and the passive device may use the energy from the CW signal to activate a radio frequency component and "backscatter" the CW signal, which may be received by the interrogating device or another device.

[0114] For example, a passive device may include a power rectifier, a forward link demodulation element, a logic element / controller, a memory, and a modulator (e.g., a phase-shift keying modulator or an amplitude-shift keying modulator). An RFID reader device may include a transmitter and a transmit antenna for transmitting an interrogation signal, a receiver and a receive antenna for receiving a backscatter response, a baseband processor for processing the received backscatter response, and a leakage carrier canceller for canceling leakage between the transmitted interrogation signal and the backscatter response. In some aspects, the RFID reader device may transmit a CW signal to power up the passive device and may then transmit a modulated command (e.g., with values ​​of "1" and "0"). The passive device may absorb the power transmitted by the RFID reader device and may reflect the backscatter response. The backscatter response may convey information modulated using the modulator from the passive device's memory. In some aspects, the RFID reader device may be a UE 115 or a network entity 105.

[0115] In some cases, RFID processing may involve bistatic communication involving an EH-capable device and multiple network nodes, such as a source network node (e.g., UE 115 that sends an interrogation signal) and a reader network node (e.g., UE 115 that receives a backscattered response). The source network node may send an interrogation signal (e.g., a CW signal) to the EH-capable device to cause the EH-capable device to backscatter the signal. The reader network node may receive and decode the backscattered response to the signal.

[0116] When a scheduling network node (e.g., network entity 105) receives a scheduling request from a source network node or a reader network node, the scheduling network node may schedule communication resources for bistatic communication including EH-capable devices. In a bistatic EH-capable device scenario, the scheduling request from the reader network node requests a query from another entity (e.g., source network node) for the transmission of an EH-capable device and also requests a corresponding monitoring opportunity for the reader network node. In another example, the scheduling request from the source network entity requests communication resources for the transmission of an EH-capable device and also requests a corresponding monitoring opportunity for the other entity (reader network node) to receive a backscattered response to the query transmission from the EH-capable device. Thus, upon receiving the scheduling request, the scheduling network node may send two grants. One of these grants is to the source network node and is for transmissions from the source network entity to the EH-capable device. The other grant is to the reader network node and is for receiving a backscattered response to transmissions from the EH-capable device from the source network entity. In some aspects, the first grant and the second grant may be DCIs that activate CG opportunities for the source network node and the reader network node. The first grant and the second grant may indicate the number of time slots allocated for transmission and reception, including time slots for signaling command information to the EH-capable device, time slots for CW transmissions from the source network entity to the EH-capable device, and time slots for reading backscattered signals at the reader network entity. The source network node may communicate a transmission to the EH-capable device according to the first grant, and the reader network node may receive a backscattered response to the transmission from the EH-capable device according to the second grant.

[0117] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication system 200 that supports techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The wireless communication system 200 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 or may be implemented by aspects of the wireless communication system. For example, the wireless communication system 200 includes a UE 115-a and a UE 115-b, which may be reference UEs. Figure 1 The wireless communication system 200 also includes a network entity 105-a, which may be an example of a UE 115 as described in reference Figure 1 Examples of network entities 105 are described.

[0118] UE 115-a may communicate with network entity 105-a using communication link 125-a, and UE 115-b may communicate with network entity 105-a using communication link 125-b. Communication link 125-a may be an example of an NR or LTE link between UE 115-a and network entity 105-a. Communication link 125-b may be an example of an NR or LTE link between UE 115-b and network entity 105-a. Communication link 125-a and communication link 125-b may include bidirectional links that enable both uplink and downlink communication. For example, UE 115-a may use communication link 125-a to send an uplink signal 205-a (e.g., an uplink transmission) such as an uplink control signal or an uplink data signal to network entity 105-a, and network entity 105-a may use communication link 125-a to send a downlink signal 210-a (e.g., a downlink transmission) such as a downlink control signal or a downlink data signal to UE 115-g. UE 115-b may use communication link 125-b to send an uplink signal 205-b (e.g., an uplink transmission) such as an uplink control signal or an uplink data signal to network entity 105-a, and network entity 105-a may use communication link 125-b to send a downlink signal 210-b (e.g., a downlink transmission) such as a downlink control signal or a downlink data signal to UE 115-b.

[0119] UE 115-a may communicate with UE 115-b using communication link 135-a, which may be an example of communication link 135 as described herein. For example, communication link 135-a may be a sidelink communication link and may support bidirectional communication between UE 115-a and UE 115-b.

[0120] In some aspects, the wireless communication system 200 may support bistatic communications involving an EH-capable device 260. For example, the EH-capable device 260 may be an RFID device or a passive device as described herein. In some aspects, information may be modulated onto the backscatter response 270 using amplitude shift keying (ASK). To use ASK, backscatter reflections are turned on to transmit an information bit of "1," and backscatter reflections are turned off to transmit an information bit of "0." For example, a transmission 265 from a UE 115-a to an EH-capable device 260 may be represented as x(n). The information bit backscattered by the EH-capable device may be given by: s(n)∈{0,1}. Thus, the backscatter response 270 received by the UE 115-b may be given by: y(n)=(h D1D2 (n)+σ f h D1T (n)hTD2 (n)s(n))x(n)+noise, where h D1D2 (n) represents the channel between UE 115-a and UE 115-b, h D1T (n) represents the channel between UE 115-a and EH-capable device 260, h TD2 (n) denotes the channel between the EH-capable device 260 and the UE 115-b, and σ f represents the reflection coefficient of the EH-capable device 260. When s(n)=0, the reflection is turned off at the EH-capable device 260, so the UE 115-b only receives the direct link signal (e.g., y(n)=h D1D2 (n)x(n)+noise. When s(n)=1, reflection is turned on at the EH-capable device 260, so the UE 115-b receives the superposition of both the direct link signal and the backscatter link signal (e.g., y(n)=(h D1D2 (n)+σ f h D1T (n)h TD2 (n)s(n))x(n)+noise).

[0121] In some aspects, the UE 115-a may transmit during both an uplink timeslot and a downlink timeslot to complete the RFID tag processing session. During the RFID processing session, the EH-capable device 260 (or multiple EH-capable devices) may be read and / or configured with an updated configuration (e.g., a change in a parameter, a time to start responding during a session, an adjustment to a threshold, a different power configuration, or a different beam configuration, for either the current communication session or the next communication session).

[0122] In sidelink mode 1, the network (e.g., network entity 105-a) may schedule communication resources for sidelink communication between UEs 115 (e.g., UE 115-a and UE 115-b). For example, UEs 115 (e.g., UE 115-a and UE 115-b) may send a scheduling request 230. In response to scheduling request 230, network entity 105-a may send control signaling requesting that UE 115 be allocated a dynamic grant or a CG. The receiving UE 115 (e.g., UE 115-b) may not receive an indication of the dynamic grant or the allocated CG. A receiving UE 115 (e.g., UE 115-b) may monitor each transmission and determine: 1) a new transmission based on the current sidelink control information (SCI) and / or physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) decoding; 2) a retransmission based on: i) the SCI of the current transmission, which declares the receive time / frequency offset relative to the current transmission; or ii) the SCI decoded at the time of the retransmission.

[0123] In bistatic communication involving an EH-capable device 260, a transmitting UE 115 (e.g., UE 115-a) may communicate a transmission 265 to the EH-capable device 260, which may include a modulated command and / or an unmodulated signal. The EH-capable device 260 may backscatter the unmodulated signal, wherein the payload of the EH-capable device 260 is modulated onto a backscatter response 270. The receiving UE 115 (e.g., UE 115-b) may receive the backscatter response 270. Such bistatic communication may involve more than one time slot (e.g., the EH-capable device 260 may power up using one time slot in a 30 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS), or 0.5 ms). Such bistatic communication may involve saving power at a receiving UE 115 (e.g., UE 115-b) by configuring CG opportunities in advance so that the receiving UE 115 does not perform blind decoding, or so that the receiving UE 115 can determine the allocation of CG opportunities for receiving backscatter responses 270 so that the receiving UE 115 does not use CG opportunities for transmission. Such bistatic communication may involve a sidelink interface, a Uu interface (e.g., an access interface for communication between the UE 115 and the network entity 105-a), or a new interface.

[0124] Thus, as described herein, network entity 105-a may send a first grant 235 that schedules communication resources for a transmission 265 from UE 115-a to EH-capable device 260. Network entity 105-a may send a second grant 240 that schedules communication resources for UE 115-b to receive a backscatter response 270 to the transmission 265 from EH-capable device 260. UE 115-a may then communicate the transmission 265 in accordance with first grant 240, and UE 115-b may receive the backscatter response 270 to the transmission 265 in accordance with second grant 235. In some aspects, network entity 105-a may send first grant 235 and second grant 240 in response to a scheduling request 230 from either UE 115-a or UE 115-b.

[0125] In some aspects, the first grant 235 can be an uplink CG (e.g., the first grant 235 can activate an uplink CG opportunity), and the second grant 240 can be a downlink CG (e.g., the second grant 240 can activate a downlink CG opportunity similar to semi-persistent scheduling, except that the reception is from another UE / EH-capable device rather than a network entity). In some aspects, the first grant 235 can be a sidelink transmit CG (e.g., the first grant 235 can activate a sidelink transmit CG opportunity), and the second grant 240 can be a sidelink receive CG (e.g., the second grant 240 can activate a sidelink receive CG opportunity), which differs from direct sidelink communication because in direct sidelink communication, there is no sidelink receive CG, and instead the receiving UE 115 decodes the SCI to determine whether a given transmission is intended for that UE 115.

[0126] In some aspects, the group-common DCI may activate a transmit CG opportunity for UE 115-a and a receive CG opportunity for UE 115-b (e.g., the first grant 235 and the second grant 240 may be conveyed by the group-common DCI). The RRC 245 may configure the transmit CG and the receive CG. Such transmit CG and receive CG may be commonly used by a pool of source UEs 115 (e.g., an inquiring UE 115 such as UE 115-a) and reader UEs 115 (e.g., a reader UE 115 such as UE 115-b), and thus may use a common configuration. The DCI may then indicate the UEs 115 from the pool that are the source UE 115 and the reader UE 115 (e.g., via a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) in the DCI, a search space of the DCI, or a field / bit in the DCI). In some aspects, the network entity 105-a may indicate a pair of UEs 115 (e.g., UE 115-a and UE 115-b), and UE 115-a and UE 115-b may use communication link 135-a to negotiate which is the source and which is the reader (e.g., which will convey the transmission 265 and which will receive the backscatter response 270). In some aspects, UE 115-a and / or UE 115-b may use a sidelink interface (e.g., communication link 135-a) or a Uu interface (e.g., negotiated with the network entity 105-a via DCI, uplink control information (UCI), or reference signal modulation signaling). In some aspects, the first grant 235 and the second grant 240 may be unicast DCI that activates a transmit CG opportunity for UE 115-a and a receive CG opportunity for UE 115-b, respectively.

[0127] In some aspects, the network entity 105-a may indicate in the CG configuration which EH-capable devices 260 should be served by the CG (e.g., via category / type, ID, region / location of the EH-capable device 260, communication / sensor type of the EH-capable device 260, priority of data associated with the EH-capable device 260, and / or quality of service (QoS) of data associated with the EH-capable device 260). In some aspects, if UEs 115 have data to be sent with the same priority as indicated by the CG configuration, then these UEs may use the CG for their own traffic (e.g., sidelink communications).

[0128] In some aspects, UE 115 - a may send a synchronization signal 255 to UE 115 - b indicating the periodicity of the transmission 265 .

[0129] Figure 3 An example of a timing diagram 300 supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The timing diagram 300 may implement or be implemented by aspects of the wireless communication system 100 or the wireless communication system 200.

[0130] In backscatter communication, the source device (e.g. Figure 2 The UE 115-a) may perform the aforementioned process. The source device may send a CW 310 in a first time slot (e.g., within a first duration (e.g., 400 μs)), and the EH-capable device 260 receives the CW. The EH-capable device 260 receives the CW 310 and reaches a turn-on voltage 330 of the EH-capable device 260. Once the EH-capable device 260 reaches the turn-on voltage 330, the source device may send commands 315 (e.g., a modulated signal) to the EH-capable device 260, which may include information about the EH-capable device 260. The received power of the commands 315 at the EH-capable device 260 may be greater than -20 dBm to maintain the voltage at the EH-capable device 260 above the turn-on voltage 330 (e.g., at a voltage 320 sufficient to power an integrated circuit (IC) of the EH-capable device 260). The source device may then send another CW 310 in the next time slot to maintain the "on" state of the EH-capable device 260. The source device may then send a CW 340 in the next time slot for tag modulation, which the EH-capable device 260 may backscatter as a backscatter response 325. The reader device (e.g., Figure 2UE 115-b) may receive backscatter response 325. Command 315 may indicate that the time slot including CW 340 will be used for backscatter. The source device may send additional CWs 310 and / or additional commands 315 in subsequent time slots to maintain the "on" state at the EH-capable device.

[0131] Thus, the CG opportunity 305 for bistatic communication involving the EH-capable device 260 may include multiple time slots. RRC signaling or first grant and second grant (e.g., Figure 2 The first grant 235 and the second grant 240 of the source UE may thus define the size of the CG opportunity 305 in terms of a number of time slots. For example, the first grant and the second grant to the source UE and the reader UE 115, respectively, may indicate a number of time slots of the CG opportunity 305 to be used for bistatic communication involving the EH-capable device 260. In some aspects, the number of time slots may be configured or updated via a DCI activating the CG opportunity 305 or a reactivation DCI activating the CG opportunity 305. In some aspects, RRC signaling may configure a set of candidate numbers of time slots of the CG opportunity 305 to be used for bistatic communication involving the EH-capable device 260, and the DCI activating the CG opportunity 305 may select one of the candidate numbers of time slots.

[0132] In some aspects, the number of slots / subslots / symbols for commands 315 (e.g., modulated CWs for processing by the EH-capable device 260), the number of slots / subslots / symbols for backscattered CWs 340, and the number of slots / subslots / symbols for powering up the EH-capable device 260 may be defined within the CG opportunity 305. Gaps between different types of signals (e.g., CWs 340, CWs 310, and commands 315) may also be defined (e.g., to switch radio frequency (RF) or communication direction). This gap may depend on the source (e.g., Figure 2 UE 115-a), a reader (e.g., Figure 2 capabilities of the UE 115-b) and / or the EH-capable device 260 (including a category of EH-capable devices).

[0133] In some aspects, the command 315 may include a preamble or synchronization signal. In some aspects, the synchronization signal may be a separate synchronization signal. In some aspects, the backscatter response 325 may include a synchronization signal. In some aspects, the command 315 may include a universal synchronization signal having a periodicity that assists in synchronizing the source device and the reader device and / or the EH-capable device 260. In some aspects, some communication resources may be reserved for communication between the source device and the reader device (e.g., reserved for communication between UE 115-a and UE 115-b via Figure 2 communication link 135-a).

[0134] In some aspects, the waveform, coding type, and modulation type can be signaled to the EH-capable device 260 prior to transmission in the CG opportunity 305. For example, the waveform, coding type, and modulation type that can be signaled to the EH-capable device 260 can be indicated from the network or from a source device or a reader device. For example, the EH-capable device 260 can use knowledge of the waveform, coding type, and modulation type to decode the command 315 and the CW 340 for backscatter.

[0135] Figure 4 An example of a process flow 400 supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The process flow 400 may include a first UE 115-c and a second UE 115-d, which may be examples of UE 115 as described herein. The process flow 400 may also include a network entity 105-b, which may be an example of a network entity 105 as described herein. The process flow 400 may also include an EH-capable device 260-a, which may be an example of an EH-capable device 260 as described herein.

[0136] In the following description of process flow 400, operations between the network entity 105-b, the first UE 115-c, the second UE 115-d, and the EH-capable device 260-a may be sent in a different order than the example order shown, or the operations performed by the network entity 105-b, the first UE 115-c, the second UE 115-d, and the EH-capable device 260-a may be performed in a different order or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted from process flow 400, and other operations may be added to process flow 400.

[0137] In some aspects, the second UE 115-d may send a scheduling request to the network entity 105-b at 405. In some aspects, the first UE 115-c may send a scheduling request at 410. The scheduling request may be for a transmission from the first UE 115-c to the EH-capable device 260-a, where the EH-capable device 260-a is configured to perform backscatter.

[0138] The network entity 105-b may send a first grant to the first UE 115-c based on the scheduling request at 415. The first grant schedules communication resources for transmission from the first UE 115-c to the EH-capable device 260-a.

[0139] The network entity 105-b may send a second grant to the second UE 115-d based on the scheduling request at 420. The second grant schedules communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device 260-a (e.g., a backscatter response to the transmission scheduled by the first grant).

[0140] At 425 , the first UE 115 - c may communicate the transmission to the EH capable device 260 - a in accordance with the first grant.

[0141] The EH-capable device 260-a may backscatter the transmission (eg, may send a backscatter response to the transmission), and at 430, the second UE 115-d may receive the backscatter response in accordance with the second grant.

[0142] In some aspects, the first grant is a first DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the first UE 115-c, and the second grant is a second DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the second UE 115-d. In such aspects, the communication resource may be a CG opportunity. In some aspects, the first DCI and the second DCI may indicate the same number of time slots as the duration of the CG opportunity. In some aspects, prior to sending the first grant and the second grant at 415 and 420, the network entity 105-b may send an indication of one or more candidate durations for the CG opportunity, and the same number of time slots indicated as the duration of the CG opportunity in the first DCI and the second DCI is a specified candidate duration of the one or more candidate durations.

[0143] In some aspects, the first grant indicates a first number of time slots for transmission and the second grant indicates a second number of time slots for reception.

[0144] In some aspects, at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates a division of the communication resources into a set of a plurality of time slot types, the set of a plurality of time slot types comprising at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type, or a third time slot type. The first time slot type may be used to provide command information to an EH-capable device, the second time slot type may be used to provide a CW for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type may be used to provide a CW for energy harvesting at the EH-capable device. In some aspects, at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates at least one of: a first number of the first time slot type in the communication resources, a second number of the second time slot type in the communication resources, or a third number of the third time slot type in the communication resources. In some aspects, at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates at least one of: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type. In some aspects, at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset is based on a capability of at least one of the first UE 115-c, the second UE 115-d, or an EH-capable device. In some aspects, the first UE 115-c may send a synchronization signal indicating the periodicity of the transmission to the second UE 115-d during a time slot of the second time slot type.

[0145] In some aspects, the first grant and the second grant are sent via a group-common DCI sent to both the first UE 115-c and the second UE 115-d, and the group-common DCI indicates the first UE 115-c and the second UE 115-d from a set of multiple network nodes (e.g., a set of multiple UEs). In some aspects, the indication of the first UE 115-c and the second UE 115-d in the group-common DCI is via one or more bits in a set of RNTIs associated with the first UE 115-c and the second UE 115-d, a search space in which the group-common DCI is sent, or a field of the group-common DCI.

[0146] In some aspects, the network entity 105-b may send control information indicating the EH-capable device to the first UE 115-c and the second UE 115-d. The control information may include one or more of the following: a type of EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, or a QoS of data associated with the EH-capable device.

[0147] In some aspects, the scheduling request at 405 may include control information indicating at least one of: the type of EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, a requested duration of communication resources, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, a geographic area of ​​the EH-capable device, a set of network nodes capable of querying the EH-capable device, and a processing capability of the second UE 115-d.

[0148] In some aspects, the scheduling request at 410 may include control information indicating at least one of: the type of EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, a requested duration of communication resources, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a set of network nodes capable of receiving backscatter, and a processing capability of the first UE 115-c.

[0149] Figure 5 A block diagram 500 illustrates a device 505 that supports techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 505 may be an example of aspects of the network entity 105 as described herein. The device 505 may include a receiver 510, a transmitter 515, and a communication manager 520. The device 505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0150] The receiver 510 may provide means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack), such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units). The information may be communicated to other components of the device 505. In some aspects, the receiver 510 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, the receiver 510 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.

[0151] The transmitter 515 may provide means for outputting (e.g., transmitting, providing, conveying, transmitting) information generated by other components of the device 505. For example, the transmitter 515 may output information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack), such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units). In some aspects, the transmitter 515 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, the transmitter 515 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some aspects, the transmitter 515 and the receiver 510 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include a modem or be coupled to a modem.

[0152] The communication manager 520, the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation as described herein. For example, the communication manager 520, the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or various combinations thereof or components thereof may support methods for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

[0153] In some aspects, the communication manager 520, the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in a communication management circuit). The hardware may include a processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting means for performing the functions described in this disclosure. In some aspects, the processor and a memory coupled to the processor may be configured (e.g., by the processor executing instructions stored in the memory) to perform one or more of the functions described herein.

[0154] Additionally or alternatively, in some aspects, the communication manager 520, receiver 510, transmitter 515, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code executed by a processor (e.g., as communication management software or firmware). If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functionality of the communication manager 520, receiver 510, transmitter 515, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting means for performing the functions described herein), a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices.

[0155] In some aspects, the communication manager 520 can be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, transmit) using or otherwise cooperating with the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or both. For example, the communication manager 520 can receive information from the receiver 510, transmit information to the transmitter 515, or be integrated with the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0156] According to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 520 can support wireless communication at a first network node. For example, the communication manager 520 can be configured to function as or otherwise support means for receiving a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter. The communication manager 520 can be configured to function as or otherwise support means for sending a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the transmission. The communication manager 520 can be configured to function as or otherwise support means for sending a second grant to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.

[0157] By including or configuring a communication manager 520 according to examples as described herein, the device 505 (e.g., a processor controlling the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, the communication manager 520, or a combination thereof or otherwise coupled thereto) may support techniques for more efficiently utilizing communication resources.

[0158] Figure 6 A block diagram 600 is shown of a device 605 supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 605 can be an example of aspects of the device 505 or the network entity 105 as described herein. The device 605 can include a receiver 610, a transmitter 615, and a communication manager 620. The device 605 can also include a processor. Each of these components can communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0159] The receiver 610 may provide means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack), such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units). The information may be communicated to other components of the device 605. In some aspects, the receiver 610 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, the receiver 610 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.

[0160] The transmitter 615 may provide means for outputting (e.g., transmitting, providing, conveying, transmitting) information generated by other components of the device 605. For example, the transmitter 615 may output information associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack), such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units). In some aspects, the transmitter 615 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more antennas. Additionally or alternatively, the transmitter 615 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, optical) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some aspects, the transmitter 615 and the receiver 610 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include a modem or be coupled to a modem.

[0161] Device 605 or its various components may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation as described herein. For example, communication manager 620 may include scheduling request manager 625, transmit scheduling manager 630, backscatter response scheduling manager 635, or any combination thereof. Communication manager 620 may be an example of aspects of communication manager 520 as described herein. In some aspects, communication manager 620 or its various components may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, transmit) using or otherwise coordinating with receiver 610, transmitter 615, or both. For example, communication manager 620 may receive information from receiver 610, transmit information to transmitter 615, or be integrated with receiver 610, transmitter 615, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0162] According to examples disclosed herein, a communication manager 620 can support wireless communications at a first network node. A scheduling request manager 625 can be configured to function as or otherwise support means for receiving a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter. A transmission scheduling manager 630 can be configured to function as or otherwise support means for sending a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the transmission. A backscatter response scheduling manager 635 can be configured to function as or otherwise support means for sending a second grant to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.

[0163] Figure 7 A block diagram 700 illustrates a communication manager 720 supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 720 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 520, the communication manager 620, or both, as described herein. The communication manager 720 or its various components may be examples of components for performing various aspects of the techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation as described herein. For example, the communication manager 720 may include a scheduling request manager 725, a transmit schedule manager 730, a backscatter response schedule manager 735, an EH-capable device information manager 740, a candidate duration manager 745, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses), and the communication may include communication within a protocol layer of a protocol stack, communication associated with a logical channel of the protocol stack (e.g., between protocol layers of the protocol stack, within a device, component, or virtualized component associated with the network entity 105, or between devices, components, or virtualized components associated with the network entity 105), or any combination thereof.

[0164] According to examples disclosed herein, a communication manager 720 can support wireless communications at a first network node. A scheduling request manager 725 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter. A transmission scheduling manager 730 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the transmission. A backscatter response scheduling manager 735 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending a second grant to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.

[0165] In some aspects, the first grant is a first DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the second network node. In some aspects, the second grant is a second DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the third network node. In some aspects, the CG opportunity is a communication resource.

[0166] In some aspects, each of the first DCI and the second DCI indicates the same number of time slots as the duration of the CG opportunity.

[0167] In some aspects, the candidate duration manager 745 may be configured as or otherwise support a component for sending an indication of one or more candidate durations for a CG opportunity prior to sending a first grant and a second grant, wherein the same number of time slots indicated as the duration of the CG opportunity in the first DCI and the second DCI is a designated candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

[0168] In some aspects, the first grant indicates a first number of time slots for transmission and the second grant indicates a second number of time slots for reception.

[0169] In some aspects, at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates that the communication resources are divided into a set of a plurality of time slot types, the set of a plurality of time slot types comprising at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type, or a third time slot type. In some aspects, the first time slot type is used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type is used to provide a CW for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type is used to provide a CW for energy harvesting at the EH-capable device.

[0170] In some aspects, at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates at least one of: a first number of a first time slot type in the communication resources, a second number of a second time slot type in the communication resources, or a third number of a third time slot type in the communication resources.

[0171] In some aspects, at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates at least one of: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type.

[0172] In some aspects, at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset is based on a capability of at least one of the second network node, the third network node, or the EH-capable device.

[0173] In some aspects, the first grant and the second grant are sent via a group-common DCI sent to both the second network node and the third network node.In some aspects, the group-common DCI indicates the second network node and the third network node from a set of a plurality of network nodes.

[0174] In some aspects, the indication of the second network node and the third network node in the group-common DCI is via one or more bits in a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the second network node and the third network node, a search space in which the group-common DCI is sent, or a field of the group-common DCI.

[0175] In some aspects, the EH-capable device information manager 740 may be configured as or otherwise support means for sending control information indicating the EH-capable device to the second network node and the third network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of: a type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, or a QoS of data associated with the EH-capable device.

[0176] In some aspects, to support receiving a scheduling request, the scheduling request manager 725 may be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a scheduling request from the second network node.

[0177] In some aspects, to support receiving a scheduling request, the scheduling request manager 725 may be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a scheduling request from a third network node.

[0178] In some aspects, the scheduling request includes control information that indicates at least one of: a type of the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, a requested duration of communication resources, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a set of network nodes capable of receiving backscatter, a set of network nodes capable of interrogating the EH-capable device, a processing capability of the second network node, and a processing capability of the third network node.

[0179] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a system 800 including a device 805 supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 805 can be an example of a device 505, a device 605, or a network entity 105 as described herein, or include components thereof. The device 805 can communicate with one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, or any combination thereof, which communication may include communication via one or more wired interfaces, via one or more wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. The device 805 may include components that support outgoing and incoming communications, such as a communication manager 820, a transceiver 810, an antenna 815, a memory 825, code 830, and a processor 835. These components can be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., bus 840).

[0180] The transceiver 810 may support bidirectional communication as described herein via a wired link, a wireless link, or both. In some aspects, the transceiver 810 may include a wired transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wired transceiver. Additionally or alternatively, in some aspects, the transceiver 810 may include a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. In some aspects, the device 805 may include one or more antennas 815 that may be capable of (e.g., concurrently) transmitting or receiving wireless transmissions. The transceiver 810 may also include a modem for: modulating a signal; providing the modulated signal for transmission (e.g., via one or more antennas 815, via a wired transmitter); receiving the modulated signal (e.g., from one or more antennas 815, from a wired receiver); and demodulating the signal. In some implementations, the transceiver 810 may include one or more interfaces, such as one or more interfaces coupled to one or more antennas 815 configured to support various receive or obtain operations, or one or more interfaces coupled to one or more antennas 815 configured to support various transmit or output operations, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 810 may include or be configured to be coupled to one or more processors or memory components that are operable to perform or support operations based on received or obtained information or signals, or to generate information or other signals for transmission or other output, or any combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 810, or the transceiver 810 and one or more antennas 815, or the transceiver 810 and one or more antennas 815 and one or more processors or memory components (e.g., processor 835 or memory 825 or both) may be included in a chip or chip assembly installed in the device 805. In some aspects, the transceiver may be operable to support communications via one or more communication links (eg, communication link 125, backhaul communication link 120, midhaul communication link 162, fronthaul communication link 168).

[0181] The memory 825 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 825 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 830 including instructions that, when executed by the processor 835, cause the device 805 to perform the various functions described herein. The code 830 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 830 may not be directly executable by the processor 835, but may (e.g., when compiled and executed) cause the computer to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, among other things, the memory 825 may also contain a BIOS that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0182] The processor 835 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 835 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 835. The processor 835 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 825) to cause the device 805 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation). For example, the device 805 or a component of the device 805 may include the processor 835 and the memory 825 coupled to the processor 835, the processor 835 and the memory 825 being configured to perform the various functions described herein. The processor 835 may be an example of a cloud computing platform (e.g., one or more physical nodes and supporting software such as an operating system, a virtual machine, or a container instance) that may host functions for performing the functions of the device 805 (e.g., by executing code 830). The processor 835 can be any one or more suitable processors capable of executing scripts or instructions of one or more software programs stored in the device 805 (such as in the memory 825). In some specific implementations, the processor 835 can be a component of a processing system. A processing system generally refers to a system or a series of machines or components that receives inputs and processes these inputs to produce a set of outputs (which can be passed to, for example, other systems or components of the device 805). For example, the processing system of the device 805 can refer to a system that includes various other components or subcomponents of the device 805 (such as the processor 835, or the transceiver 810, or the communication manager 820, or other components or combinations of components of the device 805). The processing system of the device 805 can interface with other components of the device 805 and can process information (such as inputs or signals) received from other components or output information to other components. For example, a chip or modem of the device 805 can include a processing system and one or more interfaces for outputting information or for obtaining information, or both. The one or more interfaces may be implemented as or otherwise include a first interface configured to output information and a second interface configured to obtain information, or the same interface configured to output information and obtain information, as well as other specific implementations. In some specific implementations, the one or more interfaces may refer to an interface between a processing system of a chip or modem and a transmitter, so that the device 805 can transmit information output from the chip or modem. Additionally or alternatively, in some specific implementations, the one or more interfaces may refer to an interface between a processing system of a chip or modem and a receiver, so that the device 805 can obtain information or signal input, and the information can be passed to the processing system.One of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the first interface may also obtain information or signal input, and the second interface may also output information or signal output.

[0183] In some aspects, bus 840 may support communications for protocol layers of a protocol stack (e.g., within a protocol layer). In some aspects, bus 840 may support communications associated with logical channels of a protocol stack (e.g., between protocol layers of a protocol stack), which may include communications performed within components of device 805 or between different components of device 805 that may be co-located or located in different locations (e.g., where device 805 may refer to a system in which one or more of communication manager 820, transceiver 810, memory 825, code 830, and processor 835 may be located in one of the different components or partitioned between the different components).

[0184] In some aspects, the communications manager 820 can manage aspects of communications with the core network 130 (e.g., via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links). For example, the communications manager 820 can manage the delivery of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115. In some aspects, the communications manager 820 can manage communications with other network entities 105 and can include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with the UEs 115 in coordination with the other network entities 105. In some aspects, the communications manager 820 can support an X2 interface within an LTE / LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communications between network entities 105.

[0185] According to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 820 can support wireless communications at a first network node. For example, the communication manager 820 can be configured to function as or otherwise support means for receiving a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter. The communication manager 820 can be configured to function as or otherwise support means for sending a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the transmission. The communication manager 820 can be configured to function as or otherwise support means for sending a second grant to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.

[0186] By including or configuring a communication manager 820 according to examples as described herein, the device 805 can support techniques for more efficiently utilizing communication resources and improving coordination between devices.

[0187] In some aspects, the communication manager 820 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, acquire, monitor, output, transmit) using or otherwise coordinating with the transceiver 810, one or more antennas 815 (e.g., where applicable), or any combination thereof. Although the communication manager 820 is illustrated as a separate component, in some aspects, one or more functions described with reference to the communication manager 820 may be supported or performed by the transceiver 810, the processor 835, the memory 825, the code 830, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 830 may include instructions executable by the processor 835 to cause the device 805 to perform various aspects of the techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation as described herein, or the processor 835 and the memory 825 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

[0188] Figure 9 A block diagram 900 is shown of a device 905 that supports techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 can be an example of aspects of the UE 115 as described herein. The device 905 can include a receiver 910, a transmitter 915, and a communication manager 920. The device 905 can also include a processor. Each of these components can communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0189] Receiver 910 may provide means for receiving information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation). The information may be passed to other components of device 905. Receiver 910 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0190] The transmitter 915 may provide means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 905. For example, the transmitter 915 may transmit information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation). In some aspects, the transmitter 915 may be co-located with the receiver 910 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 915 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0191] The communication manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation as described herein. For example, the communication manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations thereof or components thereof may support methods for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

[0192] In some aspects, the communication manager 920, the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in a communication management circuit). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting components for performing the functions described herein. In some aspects, the processor and memory coupled to the processor may be configured (e.g., by the processor executing instructions stored in the memory) to perform one or more of the functions described herein.

[0193] Additionally or alternatively, in some aspects, the communication manager 920, receiver 910, transmitter 915, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code executed by a processor (e.g., as communication management software or firmware). If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functionality of the communication manager 920, receiver 910, transmitter 915, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting means for performing the functions described herein), a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices.

[0194] In some aspects, the communication manager 920 can be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, transmit) using or otherwise cooperating with the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or both. For example, the communication manager 920 can receive information from the receiver 910, transmit information to the transmitter 915, or be integrated with the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0195] According to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 920 can support wireless communications at a first network node. For example, the communication manager 920 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an EH-capable device, wherein the backscatter response is in response to a transmission from a third network node to the EH-capable device. The communication manager 920 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving the backscatter response via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0196] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 920 can support wireless communications at the first network node. For example, the communication manager 920 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a grant from the second network node to schedule communication resources for a transmission from the first network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter. The communication manager 920 can be configured as or otherwise support means for communicating the transmission to the EH-capable device via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0197] By including or configuring a communication manager 920 according to examples as described herein, the device 905 (e.g., a processor controlling the receiver 910, the transmitter 915, the communication manager 920, or a combination thereof or otherwise coupled thereto) may support techniques for more efficiently utilizing communication resources.

[0198] Figure 10 A block diagram 1000 is shown of a device 1005 supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1005 may be an example of aspects of the device 905 or UE 115 as described herein. The device 1005 may include a receiver 1010, a transmitter 1015, and a communication manager 1020. The device 1005 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0199] Receiver 1010 may provide means for receiving information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation). The information may be communicated to other components of device 1005. Receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0200] The transmitter 1015 may provide means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 1005. For example, the transmitter 1015 may transmit information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation). In some aspects, the transmitter 1015 may be co-located with the receiver 1010 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 1015 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0201] Device 1005 or its various components may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation as described herein. For example, communications manager 1020 may include backscatter response scheduling manager 1025, backscatter receive manager 1030, transmit scheduling manager 1035, transmit manager 1040, or any combination thereof. Communications manager 1020 may be an example of aspects of communications manager 920 as described herein. In some aspects, communications manager 1020 or its various components may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, obtain, monitor, output, transmit) using or otherwise coordinating with receiver 1010, transmitter 1015, or both. For example, communications manager 1020 may receive information from receiver 1010, transmit information to transmitter 1015, or be integrated with receiver 1010, transmitter 1015, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0202] According to examples disclosed herein, a communication manager 1020 can support wireless communications at a first network node. A backscatter response scheduling manager 1025 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an EH-capable device, wherein the backscatter response is in response to a transmission from a third network node to the EH-capable device. A backscatter reception manager 1030 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a backscatter response via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0203] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 1020 can support wireless communications at the first network node. The transmit scheduling manager 1035 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a grant from the second network node to schedule communication resources for a transmission from the first network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter. The transmit manager 1040 can be configured as or otherwise support means for communicating the transmission to the EH-capable device via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0204] Figure 11 Block diagram 1100 of a communication manager 1120 supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Communication manager 1120 may be an example of communication manager 920, communication manager 1020, or aspects of both, as described herein. Communication manager 1120 or its various components may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation as described herein. For example, communication manager 1120 may include a backscatter response scheduling manager 1125, a backscatter receive manager 1130, a transmit scheduling manager 1135, a transmit manager 1140, an EH-capable device information manager 1145, a scheduling request manager 1150, a candidate duration manager 1155, a synchronization signal manager 1160, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0205] According to examples disclosed herein, a communication manager 1120 can support wireless communications at a first network node. A backscatter response scheduling manager 1125 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an EH-capable device, wherein the backscatter response is in response to a transmission from a third network node to the EH-capable device. A backscatter reception manager 1130 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a backscatter response via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0206] In some aspects, the grant is a DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the first network node. In some aspects, the CG opportunity is a communication resource.

[0207] In some aspects, the DCI indicates a number of time slots as the duration of the CG opportunity.

[0208] In some aspects, the candidate duration manager 1155 may be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving an indication of one or more candidate durations for a CG opportunity prior to receiving a grant, wherein the number of time slots indicated in the DCI as the duration of the CG opportunity is a specified candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

[0209] In some aspects, the grant indicates a number of time slots for reception.

[0210] In some aspects, the grant indicates that the communication resources are divided into a set of a plurality of time slot types, the set of a plurality of time slot types comprising at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type, or a third time slot type. In some aspects, the first time slot type is used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type is used to provide a CW for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type is used to provide a CW for energy harvesting at the EH-capable device.

[0211] In some aspects, the grant indicates at least one of: a first number of a first time slot type in the communication resources, a second number of a second time slot type in the communication resources, or a third number of a third time slot type in the communication resources.

[0212] In some aspects, the grant indicates at least one of: a first time offset between slots of the first slot type and the second slot type, a second time offset between slots of the second slot type and the third slot type, or a third time offset between slots of the first slot type and the third slot type.

[0213] In some aspects, at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset is based on a capability of at least one of the third network node, the first network node, or the EH-capable device.

[0214] In some aspects, the synchronization signal manager 1160 may be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a synchronization signal indicative of a transmitted periodicity during a time slot of the second time slot type.

[0215] In some aspects, the grant is received via a group-common DCI.In some aspects, the group-common DCI indicates a first network node from the set of a plurality of network nodes.

[0216] In some aspects, the indication of the first network node in the group-common DCI is via one or more bits in a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the first network node, a search space in which the group-common DCI is sent, or a field of the group-common DCI.

[0217] In some aspects, the EH-capable device information manager 1145 may be configured as or otherwise support a component for receiving control information indicating an EH-capable device from a second network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of: a type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, or a QoS of data associated with the EH-capable device.

[0218] In some aspects, the scheduling request manager 1150 may be configured as or otherwise support means for sending a scheduling request for the transmission to the second network node, wherein the grant is responsive to the scheduling request.

[0219] In some aspects, the scheduling request includes control information that indicates at least one of: a type of the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, a requested duration of communication resources, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a set of network nodes capable of interrogating the EH-capable device, and a processing capability of the first network node.

[0220] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, communication manager 1120 can support wireless communications at a first network node. Transmission schedule manager 1135 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for a transmission from the first network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter. Transmission manager 1140 can be configured as or otherwise support means for communicating a transmission to the EH-capable device via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0221] In some aspects, the grant is a DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the first network node. In some aspects, the CG opportunity is a communication resource.

[0222] In some aspects, the DCI indicates a number of time slots as the duration of the CG opportunity.

[0223] In some aspects, the candidate duration manager 1155 may be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving an indication of one or more candidate durations for a CG opportunity prior to receiving a grant, wherein the number of time slots indicated in the DCI as the duration of the CG opportunity is a specified candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

[0224] In some aspects, the grant indicates a number of time slots for transmission.

[0225] In some aspects, the grant indicates that the communication resources are divided into a set of a plurality of time slot types, the set of a plurality of time slot types comprising at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type, or a third time slot type. In some aspects, the first time slot type is used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type is used to provide a CW for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type is used to provide a CW for energy harvesting at the EH-capable device.

[0226] In some aspects, the grant indicates at least one of: a first number of a first time slot type in the communication resources, a second number of a second time slot type in the communication resources, or a third number of a third time slot type in the communication resources.

[0227] In some aspects, the grant indicates at least one of: a first time offset between slots of the first slot type and the second slot type, a second time offset between slots of the second slot type and the third slot type, or a third time offset between slots of the first slot type and the third slot type.

[0228] In some aspects, at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset is based on a capability of at least one of the first network node, the third network node, or the EH-capable device.

[0229] In some aspects, the synchronization signal manager 1160 may be configured as or otherwise support means for transmitting a synchronization signal indicating the periodicity of the transmission during a time slot of the second time slot type.

[0230] In some aspects, the grant is received via a group-common DCI.In some aspects, the group-common DCI indicates a first network node from the set of a plurality of network nodes.

[0231] In some aspects, the indication of the first network node in the group-common DCI is via one or more bits in a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the first network node, a search space in which the group-common DCI is sent, or a field of the group-common DCI.

[0232] In some aspects, the EH-capable device information manager 1145 may be configured as or otherwise support a component for receiving control information indicating an EH-capable device from a second network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of: a type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, or a QoS of data associated with the EH-capable device.

[0233] In some aspects, the scheduling request manager 1150 may be configured as or otherwise support means for sending a scheduling request for the transmission to the second network node, wherein the grant is in response to the scheduling request.

[0234] In some aspects, the scheduling request includes control information that indicates at least one of: a type of the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, a requested duration of communication resources, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a set of network nodes capable of receiving backscatter, and a processing capability of the first network node.

[0235] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of a system 1200 including a device 1205 supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Device 1205 may be an example of, or include components of, device 905, device 1005, or UE 115 as described herein. Device 1205 may communicate (e.g., wirelessly) with one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, or any combination thereof. Device 1205 may include components for two-way voice and data communication, including components for sending and receiving communications, such as a communication manager 1220, an input / output (I / O) controller 1210, a transceiver 1215, an antenna 1225, memory 1230, code 1235, and a processor 1240. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1245).

[0236] I / O controller 1210 can manage input and output signals for device 1205. I / O controller 1210 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 1205. In some cases, I / O controller 1210 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 1210 can utilize an operating system such as or another known operating system. Additionally or alternatively, I / O controller 1210 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, I / O controller 1210 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as processor 1240. In some cases, a user may interact with device 1205 via I / O controller 1210 or via hardware components controlled by I / O controller 1210.

[0237] In some cases, device 1205 may include a single antenna 1225. However, in some other cases, device 1205 may have more than one antenna 1225, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. Transceiver 1215 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas 1225, a wired link, or a wireless link as described herein. For example, transceiver 1215 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. Transceiver 1215 may also include a modem for modulating packets; providing the modulated packets to one or more antennas 1225 for transmission; and demodulating packets received from one or more antennas 1225. Transceiver 1215, or transceiver 1215 and one or more antennas 1225, may be examples of transmitter 915, transmitter 1015, receiver 910, receiver 1010, or any combination thereof, or components thereof, as described herein.

[0238] Memory 1230 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 1230 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1235 including instructions that, when executed by processor 1240, cause device 1205 to perform the various functions described herein. Code 1235 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, code 1235 may not be directly executable by processor 1240, but may (e.g., when compiled and executed) cause a computer to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1230 may also contain, among other things, a basic I / O system (BIOS) that controls basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0239] The processor 1240 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 1240 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1240. The processor 1240 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1230) to cause the device 1205 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation). For example, the device 1205 or a component of the device 1205 may include the processor 1240 and the memory 1230 coupled to or coupled to the processor 1240, the processor 1240 and the memory 1230 being configured to perform the various functions described herein.

[0240] According to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 1220 can support wireless communications at a first network node. For example, the communication manager 1220 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an EH-capable device, wherein the backscatter response is in response to a transmission from a third network node to the EH-capable device. The communication manager 1220 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving the backscatter response via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0241] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 1220 can support wireless communications at a first network node. For example, the communication manager 1220 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for a transmission from the first network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter. The communication manager 1220 can be configured as or otherwise support means for communicating the transmission to the EH-capable device via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0242] By including or configuring a communication manager 1220 according to examples as described herein, the device 1205 can support techniques for more efficiently utilizing communication resources and improving coordination between devices.

[0243] In some aspects, the communication manager 1220 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receive, monitor, transmit) using or otherwise coordinating with the transceiver 1215, one or more antennas 1225, or any combination thereof. Although the communication manager 1220 is illustrated as a separate component, in some aspects, one or more functions described with reference to the communication manager 1220 may be supported or performed by the processor 1240, the memory 1230, the code 1235, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 1235 may include instructions executable by the processor 1240 to cause the device 1205 to perform various aspects of the techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation as described herein, or the processor 1240 and the memory 1230 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

[0244] Figure 13 A flow chart illustrating a method 1300 for supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 1300 may be implemented by a network entity or component thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1300 may be implemented by a network entity or component thereof as described herein. Figures 1 to 8The described network entity performs. In some aspects, the network entity may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the network entity to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the network entity may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0245] At 1305, the method may include receiving a scheduling request from one of the second network node or the third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for transmission from the second network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter. The operations of 1305 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some aspects, aspects of the operations of 1305 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 7 The described scheduling request manager 725 is executed.

[0246] At 1310, the method may include: sending a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the sending. The operations of 1310 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some aspects, aspects of the operations of 1310 may be as described with reference to Figure 7 The described transmission schedule manager 730 is executed.

[0247] At 1315, the method may include: sending a second grant to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device. The operations of 1315 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some aspects, aspects of the operations of 1315 may be as described with reference to Figure 7 The described backscatter response scheduler manager 735 is executed.

[0248] Figure 14 A flow chart illustrating a method 1400 for supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 1400 may be implemented by a UE or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1400 may be implemented by a UE or components thereof as described herein. Figures 1 to 4 and Figures 9 to 12 The described UE 115 performs. In some aspects, the UE may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0249] At 1405, the method may include receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an EH-capable device, wherein the backscatter response is in response to a transmission from a third network node to the EH-capable device. The operations of 1405 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some aspects, aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed as described with reference to Figure 11 The described backscatter response scheduler manager 1125 is executed.

[0250] At 1410, the method may include receiving a backscatter response via a communication resource in accordance with the grant. The operations of 1410 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some aspects, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed as described with reference to Figure 11 The described backscatter receive manager 1130 is executed.

[0251] Figure 15 A flow chart illustrating a method 1500 for supporting techniques for scheduling communication resources for backscatter modulation according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 1500 may be implemented by a UE or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1500 may be implemented by a UE or components thereof as described herein. Figures 1 to 4 and Figures 9 to 12 The described UE 115 performs. In some aspects, the UE may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0252] At 1505, the method may include receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for transmission, wherein the transmission is from the first network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter. The operations of 1505 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some aspects, aspects of the operations of 1505 may be performed as described with reference to Figure 11 The described transmission schedule manager 1135 is executed.

[0253] At 1510, the method may include: communicating the transmission to the EH-capable device via the communication resource in accordance with the grant. The operations of 1510 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some aspects, aspects of the operations of 1510 may be as described in reference Figure 11 The described sending manager 1140 is executed.

[0254] The following provides an overview of various aspects of the disclosure:

[0255] Aspect 1: A method for wireless communication at a first network node, the method comprising: receiving a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter; sending a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the transmission; and sending a second grant to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules the communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.

[0256] Aspect 2: A method according to Aspect 1, wherein the first grant is a first DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the second network node, and the second grant is a second DCI configured to activate the CG opportunity for the third network node, the CG opportunity being the communication resource.

[0257] Aspect 3: The method according to aspect 2, wherein each of the first DCI and the second DCI indicates the same number of time slots as the duration of the CG opportunity.

[0258] Aspect 4: The method according to Aspect 3 further includes: sending an indication of one or more candidate durations for the CG opportunity before sending the first grant and the second grant, wherein the same number of time slots indicated as the duration of the CG opportunity in the first DCI and the second DCI is a designated candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

[0259] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 4, wherein the first grant indicates a first number of time slots for the transmission, and the second grant indicates a second number of time slots for the reception.

[0260] Aspect 6: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, wherein at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates that the communication resources are divided into multiple time slot types, the multiple time slot types include at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type or a third time slot type, and the first time slot type is used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for energy collection at the EH-capable device.

[0261] Aspect 7: A method according to Aspect 6, wherein at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates at least one of the following: a first number of the first time slot type in the communication resource, a second number of the second time slot type in the communication resource, or a third number of the third time slot type in the communication resource.

[0262] Aspect 8: A method according to any one of Aspects 6 to 7, wherein at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates at least one of the following: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type.

[0263] Aspect 9: The method of aspect 8, wherein at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset is based on a capability of at least one of the second network node, the third network node, or the EH-capable device.

[0264] Aspect 10: A method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein the first grant and the second grant are sent via a group-common DCI sent to both the second network node and the third network node, and the group-common DCI indicates the second network node and the third network node from a plurality of network nodes.

[0265] Aspect 11: The method according to aspect 10, wherein the indication of the second network node and the third network node in the group-common DCI is performed via a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the second network node and the third network node, a search space in which the group-common DCI is sent, or one or more bits in a field of the group-common DCI.

[0266] Aspect 12: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 11, further comprising: sending control information indicating the EH-capable device to the second network node and the third network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of the following: the type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, the geographical area of ​​the EH-capable device, the type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, the priority associated with the EH-capable device, or the quality of service of data associated with the EH-capable device.

[0267] Aspect 13: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 12, wherein receiving the scheduling request comprises: receiving the scheduling request from the second network node.

[0268] Aspect 14: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 12, wherein receiving the scheduling request comprises: receiving the scheduling request from the third network node.

[0269] Aspect 15: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 14, wherein the scheduling request includes control information, and the control information indicates at least one of the following: the type of the EH-capable device, the priority associated with the EH-capable device, the duration of the request for the communication resource, the delay information associated with the backscatter at the EH-capable device, the geographical area of ​​the EH-capable device, the set of network nodes capable of receiving the backscatter, the set of network nodes capable of querying the EH-capable device, the processing capability of the second network node, and the processing capability of the third network node.

[0270] Aspect 16: A method for wireless communication at a first network node, the method comprising: receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an EH-capable device, wherein the backscatter response is in response to a transmission from a third network node to the EH-capable device; and receiving the backscatter response via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0271] Aspect 17: The method according to aspect 16, wherein the grant is a DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the first network node, the CG opportunity being the communication resource.

[0272] Aspect 18: The method according to Aspect 17, wherein the DCI indicates a number of time slots as the duration of the CG opportunity.

[0273] Aspect 19: The method according to Aspect 18 further includes: receiving an indication of one or more candidate durations for the CG opportunity before receiving the grant, wherein the number of time slots indicated in the DCI as the duration of the CG is a specified candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

[0274] Aspect 20: The method according to any one of aspects 16 to 19, wherein the grant indicates a number of time slots for the reception.

[0275] Aspect 21: A method according to any one of Aspects 16 to 20, wherein the grant indication divides the communication resources into multiple time slot types, the multiple time slot types including at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type or a third time slot type, and wherein the first time slot type is used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for energy collection at the EH-capable device.

[0276] Aspect 22: A method according to Aspect 21, wherein the grant indicates at least one of the following: a first number of the first time slot type in the communication resource, a second number of the second time slot type in the communication resource, or a third number of the third time slot type in the communication resource.

[0277] Aspect 23: A method according to any one of Aspects 21 to 22, wherein the grant indicates at least one of: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type.

[0278] Aspect 24: The method of aspect 23, wherein at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset is based on a capability of at least one of the third network node, the first network node, or the EH-capable device.

[0279] Aspect 25: The method according to any one of aspects 23 to 24, further comprising: receiving a synchronization signal indicating the periodicity of the transmission during a time slot of the second time slot type.

[0280] Aspect 26: The method according to any one of aspects 16 to 25, wherein the grant is received via a group-common DCI, and the group-common DCI indicates the first network node from a plurality of network nodes.

[0281] Aspect 27: A method according to aspect 26, wherein the indication of the first network node in the group-common DCI is via one or more bits in a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the first network node, a search space in which the group-common DCI is sent, or a field of the group-common DCI.

[0282] Aspect 28: The method according to any one of Aspects 16 to 27, further comprising: receiving control information indicating the EH-capable device from the second network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of the following: the type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, the geographical area of ​​the EH-capable device, the type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, the priority associated with the EH-capable device, or the quality of service of data associated with the EH-capable device.

[0283] Aspect 29: The method according to any one of aspects 16 to 28, further comprising: sending a scheduling request for the sending to the second network node, wherein the grant is in response to the scheduling request.

[0284] Aspect 30: A method according to Aspect 29, wherein the scheduling request includes control information, the control information indicating at least one of the following: the type of the EH-capable device, the priority associated with the EH-capable device, the duration of the request for the communication resource, the delay information associated with the backscatter at the EH-capable device, the geographical area of ​​the EH-capable device, the set of network nodes capable of querying the EH-capable device, and the processing capability of the first network node.

[0285] Aspect 31: A method for wireless communication at a first network node, the method comprising: receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for transmission, wherein the transmission is from the first network node to an EH-capable device configured to perform backscatter; and communicating the transmission to the EH-capable device via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

[0286] Aspect 32: The method according to aspect 31, wherein the grant is a DCI configured to activate a CG opportunity for the first network node, the CG opportunity being the communication resource.

[0287] Aspect 33: The method according to Aspect 32, wherein the DCI indicates a number of time slots as the duration of the CG opportunity.

[0288] Aspect 34: The method according to Aspect 33 further includes: receiving an indication of one or more candidate durations for the CG opportunity before receiving the grant, wherein the number of time slots indicated in the DCI as the duration of the CG is a specified candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

[0289] Aspect 35: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 34, wherein the grant indicates a number of time slots to be used for the transmission.

[0290] Aspect 36: A method according to any one of Aspects 31 to 35, wherein the grant indication divides the communication resources into multiple time slot types, the multiple time slot types include at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type or a third time slot type, and the first time slot type is used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for energy collection at the EH-capable device.

[0291] Aspect 37: A method according to Aspect 36, wherein the grant indicates at least one of the following: a first number of the first time slot type in the communication resource, a second number of the second time slot type in the communication resource, or a third number of the third time slot type in the communication resource.

[0292] Aspect 38: A method according to any one of Aspects 36 to 37, wherein the grant indicates at least one of: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type.

[0293] Aspect 39: The method according to aspect 38, wherein at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset is based on a capability of at least one of the first network node, the third network node, or the EH-capable device.

[0294] Aspect 40: The method according to any one of aspects 38 to 39, further comprising: transmitting a synchronization signal indicating the periodicity of the transmission during a time slot of the second time slot type.

[0295] Aspect 41: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 40, wherein the grant is received via a group-common DCI, and the group-common DCI indicates the first network node from a plurality of network nodes.

[0296] Aspect 42: A method according to aspect 41, wherein the indication of the first network node in the group-common DCI is via one or more bits in a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the first network node, a search space in which the group-common DCI is sent, or a field of the group-common DCI.

[0297] Aspect 43: The method according to any one of Aspects 31 to 42, further comprising: receiving control information indicating the EH-capable device from the second network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of the following: the type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, the geographical area of ​​the EH-capable device, the type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, the priority associated with the EH-capable device, or the quality of service of data associated with the EH-capable device.

[0298] Aspect 44: The method according to any one of aspects 31 to 43, further comprising: sending a scheduling request for the sending to the second network node, wherein the grant is in response to the scheduling request.

[0299] Aspect 45: A method according to Aspect 44, wherein the scheduling request includes control information, the control information indicating at least one of the following: the type of the EH-capable device, the priority associated with the EH-capable device, the requested duration of the communication resource, the delay information associated with the backscatter at the EH-capable device, the geographical area of ​​the EH-capable device, the set of network nodes capable of receiving the backscatter, and the processing capability of the first network node.

[0300] Aspect 46: A first network node for wireless communication, the first network node comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 15.

[0301] Aspect 47: An apparatus for wireless communication at a first network node, the apparatus comprising: at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 15.

[0302] Aspect 48: A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon code for wireless communication, the code, when executed by a first network node, causing the first network node to perform the method according to any one of aspects 1 to 15.

[0303] Aspect 49: A first network node for wireless communication, the first network node comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the method according to any one of aspects 16 to 30.

[0304] Aspect 50: An apparatus for wireless communication at a first network node, the apparatus comprising: at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 16 to 30.

[0305] Aspect 51: A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon code for wireless communication, the code, when executed by a first network node, causing the first network node to perform the method according to any one of aspects 16 to 30.

[0306] Aspect 52: A first network node for wireless communication, the first network node comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the method according to any one of aspects 31 to 45.

[0307] Aspect 53: An apparatus for wireless communication at a first network node, the apparatus comprising: at least one component for performing the method according to any one of aspects 31 to 45.

[0308] Aspect 54: A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon code for wireless communication, the code, when executed by a first network node, causing the first network node to perform the method according to any one of aspects 31 to 45.

[0309] The above methods describe possible implementations, and the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified, and other implementations are possible. Furthermore, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

[0310] Although aspects of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR systems may be described for example purposes, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used throughout much of the description, the techniques described herein may also be applicable to networks other than LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the techniques described may be applicable to various other wireless communication systems, such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, and other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0311] The information and signals described herein may be represented by any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips referred to throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0312] The various illustrative blocks and components described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0313] The functions described herein may be implemented using hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented using software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes of a computer-readable medium, or transmitted using one or more instructions or codes of a computer-readable medium. Other examples and specific implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or a combination of any of these. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located at different locations, including being distributed so that parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0314] Computer readable medium includes both non-transient computer storage medium and communication medium, and this communication medium includes any medium that promotes computer program to be transferred from one location to another location.Non-transient storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by general or special-purpose computer.By way of example and not limitation, non-transient computer readable medium can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc (CD) ROM or other optical disc storage device, magnetic disk storage device or other magnetic storage device or can be used for carrying or storing desired program code components and any other non-transient medium that can be accessed by general or special-purpose computer or general or special-purpose processor in the form of instruction or data structure.Moreover, any connection is appropriately referred to as computer readable medium.For example, if software is to be sent from website, server or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave are included in the definition of computer readable medium. As used herein, disks and optical discs include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Magnetic disks can reproduce data magnetically, and optical discs can reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0315] As used herein, the term "or" is an inclusive "or" unless restrictive language is used with respect to listed alternatives. For example, reference to "X is based on A or B" should be interpreted to include within its scope X is based on A, X is based on B, and X is based on A and B. In this regard, reference to "X is based on A or B" means "at least one of A or B" or "one or more of A or B" because "or" is inclusive. Similarly, reference to "X is based on A, B, or C" should be interpreted to include within its scope X is based on A, X is based on B, X is based on C, X is based on A and B, X is based on A and C, X is based on B and C, and X is based on A, B, and C. In this regard, reference to "X is based on A, B, or C" means "at least one of A, B, or C" or "one or more of A, B, or C" because "or" is inclusive. As an example of restrictive language, a reference to "X is based only on one of A or B" should be interpreted to include within its scope X being based on A and X being based on B, but not including X being based on both A and B. Furthermore, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as a reference to a closed set of information, one or more conditions, one or more factors, etc. In other words, the phrase "based on A" (where "A" can be information, a condition, a factor, etc.) should be interpreted as "based at least on A" unless specifically stated otherwise. Likewise, as used herein, the phrase "set" should be interpreted to include the possibility of a set having one member. That is, the phrase "set" should be understood in the same manner as "one or more" or "at least one of."

[0316] The term "determining" encompasses a variety of actions, and thus, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, etc. Furthermore, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data stored in a memory), etc. Furthermore, "determining" may include parsing, retrieving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and other such similar actions.

[0317] In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference label. In addition, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a dash and a second label to distinguish between similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description can apply to any of the similar components having the same first reference label, regardless of the second reference label or other subsequent reference labels.

[0318] The description set forth herein in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describes example configurations and does not represent all examples that can be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The terms "aspect" or "example" used herein mean "serving as an aspect, example, instance, or illustration," rather than "preferred" or "having advantages over other aspects." The detailed description includes specific details to provide an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0319] The description herein is provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A first network node for wireless communication, the first network node comprising: Memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an energy harvesting (EH) capable device configured to perform backscatter; sending a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the sending; as well as A second grant is sent to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules the communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.

2. The first network node according to claim 46, wherein the first grant is first downlink control information configured to activate a configuration grant opportunity for the second network node, and wherein the second grant is second downlink control information configured to activate the configuration grant opportunity for the third network node, wherein the configuration grant opportunity is the communication resource. 3 . The first network node according to claim 2 , wherein each of the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information indicates the same number of time slots as the duration of the configuration grant opportunity.

4. The first network node of claim 3 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: An indication of one or more candidate durations for the configuration grant opportunity is sent before sending the first grant and the second grant, wherein the same number of time slots indicated as the duration for the configuration grant opportunity in the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information is a designated candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

5. The first network node of claim 46, wherein the first grant indicates a first number of time slots for the transmission and the second grant indicates a second number of time slots for the reception.

6. A first network node according to claim 46, wherein at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates that the communication resources are divided into multiple time slot types, the multiple time slot types include at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type or a third time slot type, and wherein the first time slot type is used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for energy harvesting at the EH-capable device.

7. The first network node of claim 6 , wherein the at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates at least one of: a first number of the first time slot type in the communication resources, a second number of the second time slot type in the communication resources, or a third number of the third time slot type in the communication resources.

8. The first network node of claim 6 , wherein the at least one of the first grant or the second grant indicates at least one of: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type.

9. The first network node of claim 8, wherein at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset is based on a capability of at least one of the second network node, the third network node, or the EH-capable device.

10. The first network node of claim 46 , wherein the first grant and the second grant are sent via group-common downlink control information sent to both the second network node and the third network node, and wherein the group-common downlink control information indicates the second network node and the third network node from a plurality of network nodes.

11. The first network node of claim 10 , wherein the indication of the second network node and the third network node in the group-common downlink control information is via a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the second network node and the third network node, a search space in which the group-common downlink control information is sent, or one or more bits in a field of the group-common downlink control information.

12. The first network node of claim 46, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: and sending control information indicating the EH-capable device to the second network node and the third network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of the following: a type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, or quality of service of data associated with the EH-capable device.

13. The first network node of claim 46, wherein to receive the scheduling request, the at least one processor is configured to: The scheduling request is received from the second network node.

14. The first network node of claim 46, wherein to receive the scheduling request, the at least one processor is configured to: The scheduling request is received from the third network node.

15. The first network node of claim 46, wherein the scheduling request includes control information indicating at least one of: a type of the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, a duration of the request for communication resources, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a set of network nodes capable of receiving the backscatter, a set of network nodes capable of querying the EH-capable device, a processing capability of the second network node, and a processing capability of the third network node.

16. A first network node for wireless communication, the first network node comprising: Memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from an energy harvesting (EH) capable device, wherein the backscatter response is responsive to a transmission from a third network node to the EH capable device; as well as The backscatter response is received via the communication resource in accordance with the grant.

17. The first network node according to claim 16, wherein the grant is downlink control information configured to activate a configuration grant opportunity for the first network node, wherein the configuration grant opportunity is the communication resource.

18. The first network node according to claim 17, wherein the downlink control information indicates a number of time slots as the duration of the configuration grant opportunity.

19. The first network node of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: An indication of one or more candidate durations for the configuration grant opportunity is received prior to receiving the grant, wherein the number of time slots indicated in the downlink control information as the duration for the configuration grant opportunity is a designated candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

20. The first network node of claim 16, wherein the grant indicates a number of time slots for the reception.

21. The first network node of claim 16, wherein the grant indication divides the communication resources into a plurality of time slot types, the plurality of time slot types comprising at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type, or a third time slot type, and wherein the first time slot type is used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for energy harvesting at the EH-capable device.

22. The first network node of claim 21, wherein the grant indicates at least one of: a first number of the first time slot type in the communication resources, a second number of the second time slot type in the communication resources, or a third number of the third time slot type in the communication resources.

23. The first network node of claim 21 , wherein the grant indicates at least one of: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type.

24. The first network node of claim 23, wherein at least one of the first time offset, the second time offset, or the third time offset is based on a capability of at least one of the third network node, the first network node, or the EH-capable device.

25. The first network node of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: A synchronization signal indicative of a periodicity of the transmission is received during a time slot of the second time slot type.

26. The first network node of claim 16, wherein the grant is received via group-common downlink control information, and wherein the group-common downlink control information indicates the first network node from a plurality of network nodes.

27. The first network node according to claim 26, wherein the indication of the first network node in the group-common downlink control information is via one or more bits in a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the first network node, a search space in which the group-common downlink control information is sent, or a field of the group-common downlink control information.

28. The first network node of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Control information indicative of the EH-capable device is received from the second network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of: a type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, or quality of service of data associated with the EH-capable device.

29. The first network node of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: A scheduling request for the transmission is sent to the second network node, wherein the grant is in response to the scheduling request.

30. The first network node of claim 29, wherein the scheduling request includes control information indicating at least one of: a type of the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, a duration of the request for communication resources, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a set of network nodes capable of interrogating the EH-capable device, and a processing capability of the first network node.

31. A first network node for wireless communication, the first network node comprising: Memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving a grant from a second network node to schedule communication resources for transmission, wherein the transmission is from the first network node to an energy harvesting (EH) capable device configured to perform backscatter; as well as The transmission is communicated to the EH-capable device via the communication resources in accordance with the grant.

32. The first network node of claim 31 , wherein the grant is downlink control information configured to activate a configuration grant opportunity for the first network node, wherein the configuration grant opportunity is the communication resource.

33. The first network node according to claim 32, wherein the downlink control information indicates a number of time slots as the duration of the configuration grant opportunity.

34. The first network node of claim 33, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: An indication of one or more candidate durations for the configuration grant opportunity is received prior to receiving the grant, wherein the number of time slots indicated in the downlink control information as the duration for the configuration grant opportunity is a designated candidate duration among the one or more candidate durations.

35. The first network node of claim 31 , wherein the grant indicates a number of time slots to use for the transmission.

36. A first network node according to claim 31, wherein the grant indication divides the communication resources into multiple time slot types, the multiple time slot types include at least one of a first time slot type, a second time slot type or a third time slot type, and wherein the first time slot type is used to provide command information to the EH-capable device, the second time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for eliciting a backscatter response from the EH-capable device, and the third time slot type is used to provide a continuous wave for energy harvesting at the EH-capable device.

37. The first network node of claim 36, wherein the grant indicates at least one of: a first number of the first time slot type in the communication resources, a second number of the second time slot type in the communication resources, or a third number of the third time slot type in the communication resources.

38. The first network node of claim 36, wherein the grant indicates at least one of: a first time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the second time slot type, a second time offset between time slots of the second time slot type and the third time slot type, or a third time offset between time slots of the first time slot type and the third time slot type.

39. The first network node of claim 38, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: A synchronization signal indicating the periodicity of the transmission is transmitted during time slots of the second time slot type.

40. The first network node of claim 31 , wherein the grant is received via group-common downlink control information, and wherein the group-common downlink control information indicates the first network node from a plurality of network nodes.

41. The first network node of claim 40 , wherein the indication of the first network node in the group-common downlink control information is via one or more bits in a set of radio network temporary identifiers associated with the first network node, a search space in which the group-common downlink control information is sent, or a field of the group-common downlink control information.

42. The first network node of claim 31 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Control information indicative of the EH-capable device is received from the second network node, wherein the control information includes one or more of: a type of the EH-capable device, an indication of the EH-capable device, a geographic region of the EH-capable device, a type of sensor included in the EH-capable device, a priority associated with the EH-capable device, or quality of service of data associated with the EH-capable device.

43. The first network node of claim 31 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: A scheduling request for the transmission is sent to the second network node, wherein the grant is in response to the scheduling request.

44. A first network node according to claim 43, wherein the scheduling request includes control information, the control information indicating at least one of the following: the type of the EH-capable device, the priority associated with the EH-capable device, the duration of the request for communication resources, latency information associated with backscatter at the EH-capable device, the geographical area of ​​the EH-capable device, the set of network nodes capable of receiving the backscatter, and the processing capability of the first network node.

45. A method for wireless communication at a first network node, the method comprising: receiving a scheduling request from one of a second network node or a third network node, wherein the scheduling request is for a transmission from the second network node to an energy harvesting (EH) capable device configured to perform backscatter; sending a first grant to the second network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the first grant schedules communication resources for the sending; as well as A second grant is sent to the third network node based on the scheduling request, wherein the second grant schedules the communication resources for receiving a backscatter response from the EH-capable device.