Method and apparatus for low power transmission using backscatter

Abstract

Various aspects of the present application relate to a mobile communication device including active device components and passive device components, and more particularly to the operation of the passive device components to form a backscatter signal from a received forward signal. Upon receiving the backscatter signal, a receiving point can obtain information about the mobile communication device including the passive device component. The information can be related to timing, location, and identification.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. patent application No. 16 / 786,340, filed on February 10, 2020, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOW POWERTRANSMISSION USING BACKSCATTERING,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to low power transmission using backscattering. Background Art

[0003] Mobile communication devices are becoming more and more popular. One feature of mobile communication devices is the rechargeable battery. The great efforts made to extend the battery life is a common feature of modern life. From the perspective of a device designer, one way to extend the battery life is to increase the battery capacity of a certain mobile communication device. Another approach includes energy saving methods, in which the utilization of the available power of the battery is reduced in some way. For low-cost devices, such as different types of sensors with built-in communication functions, energy saving methods can be considered more important. Summary of the invention

[0004] Various aspects of the present application relate to a mobile communication device having an active device component integrated with a passive device component, and more particularly, to the operation of the passive device component to backscatter a received forward signal. It is assumed that when the passive device component performs various functions that would otherwise be performed by the active device component, the passive device component will consume less power than the active device component. Conveniently, the overall power consumption can be reduced while maintaining or even enhancing the operation of the mobile communication device.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present application, a method for operating an electronic device is provided. The method includes: the electronic device receives a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal includes multiple sub-signals in the time domain, each sub-signal includes an RF up-converted baseband signal; the electronic device sends a second RF signal, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the multiple sub-signals in the time domain in the first RF signal. In addition, various aspects of the present application provide an electronic device for executing the method and a computer-readable medium including instructions for causing a processor in the electronic device to execute the method.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present application, a method for obtaining information about an electronic device is provided. The method includes: sending a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal includes multiple sub-signals in the time domain, each sub-signal including an RF up-converted baseband signal; receiving a second RF signal from the electronic device, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the multiple sub-signals in the time domain in the first RF signal. The method optionally includes processing the second RF signal to obtain information about the electronic device. In addition, various aspects of the present application provide a network device for performing the present method and a computer-readable medium including instructions for causing a processor in the network device to perform the present method.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present application, a network device is provided, such as a base station or a transmission and reception point (TRP). The network device includes: a memory storing instructions; a processor, which executes the instructions to send a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal includes multiple sub-signals in the time domain, each sub-signal including an RF up-converted baseband signal; and receive a second RF signal from an electronic device, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the multiple sub-signals in the time domain in the first RF signal.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present application, a computer-readable medium is provided, storing instructions for a processor in a combined transmission point and a receiving point. When the processor executes the instructions, the processor sends a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal includes multiple sub-signals in the time domain, each sub-signal includes an RF up-converted baseband signal; and receives a second RF signal from an electronic device, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the multiple sub-signals in the time domain in the first RF signal.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present application, a system is provided. The system includes a base station, a transmission point and a receiving point. The transmission point transmits a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal includes multiple sub-signals in the time domain, and each sub-signal includes an RF up-converted baseband signal. The receiving point receives a second RF signal from an electronic device, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the multiple sub-signals in the time domain in the first RF signal, and transmits the second RF signal to the base station. The base station processes the second RF signal to obtain information about the electronic device.

[0010] In the above aspects, the first RF signal may have a specific autocorrelation property. In the above aspects, the network device may associate a mutual correlation value with each of a plurality of time shift values, wherein the mutual correlation value is obtained by offsetting each time shift value between the second RF signal and the first RF signal. In the above aspects, the network device may determine a specific time shift value associated with a maximum mutual correlation value among the plurality of mutual correlation values. In the above aspects, the network device may process the specific time shift value to obtain information about the electronic device. Processing the specific time shift value may include: obtaining a value of a relative time difference; converting the relative time difference into an indication of a location of the electronic device. Processing the specific time shift value may include: obtaining an indication of a boundary of a continuous subset of sub-signals received within a defined duration; analyzing the boundary to obtain a timing indication of the electronic device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] In order to more fully understand the embodiments of the present application and their advantages, reference is now made to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings by way of example, wherein:

[0012] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a communication system that can implement an embodiment of the present application, and the communication system includes an exemplary electronic device and an exemplary base station;

[0013] Figure 2 Provided for all aspects of this application Figure 1 A block diagram of an exemplary electronic device of;

[0014] Figure 3 Provided for all aspects of this application Figure 1 A block diagram of an exemplary base station of;

[0015] Figure 4A It shows that the various aspects of this application provide Figure 1 A pair of operating modes of an electronic device;

[0016] Figure 4B The state diagram provided for various aspects of the present application includes three radio resource control states and Figure 4A Mark transitions between states in the context of an operation mode;

[0017] Figure 4C The acts provided for various aspects of this application Figure 4B The state diagram of the alternative scheme described includes three radio resource control states and Figure 4A Mark transitions between states in the context of an operation mode;

[0018] Figure 5A The flowchart shows the various aspects of the present application. Figure 1 A simplified version of a communication system that extends between electronic devices, sending points, and receiving points;

[0019] Figure 5B The flowchart shows the various aspects of the present application. Figure 1 A simplified version of a communication system, where the process extends between electronic devices, transmission points, reception points and base stations;

[0020] Figure 5C The flowchart shows the various aspects of the present application. Figure 1 A simplified version of a communication system, where the process extends between electronic devices, transmission points, reception points and base stations;

[0021] Figure 6 shows the forward signal and the corresponding backscattered signal provided by various aspects of the present application;

[0022] Figure 7 It shows that the various aspects of this application provide Figure 5A Exemplary steps in a method for processing a received backscattered signal at a receiving point of a receiver;

[0023] Figure 8 It shows that the various aspects of this application provide Figure 5A The receiving point side processes the time shift value associated with the maximum cross-correlation value to obtain the time shift value associated with the maximum cross-correlation value. Figure 5A Exemplary steps in a method of obtaining information of an electronic device;

[0024] Fig. 9 It shows that the various aspects of this application provide Figure 5A The receiving point side processes the time shift value associated with the maximum cross-correlation value to obtain the time shift value associated with the maximum cross-correlation value. Figure 5A Exemplary steps in a method of obtaining information of an electronic device;

[0025] Fig.10 It shows that the various aspects of this application provide Figure 1 A plurality of identification time slots corresponding to a plurality of electronic devices;

[0026] Fig.11 Exemplary steps in a method of processing a backscattered signal including data are shown;

[0027] Fig.12 Exemplary steps in a method for processing a received backscattered signal for channel state information acquisition provided by various aspects of the present application are shown;

[0028] Fig.13 Shown by Figure 2 Example steps in a method of switching between active device components and passive device components performed by an electronic device of the present invention;

[0029] Fig.14 Shown by Figure 2Example steps in a method of switching between a passive device component and an active device component performed by an electronic device of the present invention;

[0030] Fig.15 Exemplary steps in the method for implementing switching between operation modes provided by various aspects of the present application are shown;

[0031] Fig.16 Provided for all aspects of this application Figure 2 A temporal view of the operation of an electronic device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] For illustrative purposes, specific exemplary embodiments will be explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 Examples of networks and devices are shown in which any or all aspects of the present application may be implemented.

[0034] Figure 1 An exemplary communication system 100 is shown. In general, system 100 enables multiple wireless or wired elements to transmit data and other content. The purpose of system 100 can be to provide content (voice, data, video, text) via broadcast, narrowcast, user device to user device, etc. System 100 can operate efficiently by sharing resources such as bandwidth.

[0035] In this example, the communication system 100 includes a first electronic device (ED) 110A, a second ED 110B and a third ED 110C (individually or collectively referred to as 110), a first radio access network (RAN) 120A and a second RAN 120B (individually or collectively referred to as 120), a core network 130, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, the Internet 150 and other networks 160. Figure 1 A certain number of these components or elements are shown, but any reasonable number of these components or elements may be included in the communication system 100 .

[0036] ED 110 is used to operate and / or communicate in wireless system 100. For example, ED 110 is used to send and / or receive through a wireless communication channel. Each ED 110 represents any suitable end-user device for wireless operation, and may include (or may be referred to as) the following devices: user equipment / user device, UE, wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), mobile station, mobile user unit, cellular phone, station (STA), machine type communication (MTC) device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, personal digital assistant (PDA), smart phone, laptop, computer, touch pad, wireless sensor or consumer electronic device.

[0037] exist Figure 1 In the embodiment, the first RAN 120A includes a first base station 170A, and the second RAN includes a second base station 170B (individually or collectively referred to as 170). Each base station 170 is used to wirelessly connect to one or more EDs in the ED 110 so as to access any other base station 170, the core network 130, the PSTN 140, the Internet 150 and / or other networks 160. For example, the base station 170 may include (or may be) one or more of several well-known devices, such as a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B (NodeB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a home eNodeB, a gNodeB, a transmission and receive point (TRP), a site controller, an access point (AP) or a wireless router. Any ED 110 may alternatively or additionally be used to connect, access or communicate with any other base station 170, the Internet 150, the core network 130, the PSTN 140, other networks 160 or any combination thereof. The communication system 100 may include a RAN, such as RAN 120B, wherein, as shown in the figure, a corresponding base station 170B accesses the core network 130 via the Internet 150 .

[0038] ED 110 and base station 170 are examples of communication devices that may be used to implement some or all of the functions and / or embodiments described herein. Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, the first base station 170A forms part of the RAN 120A, which may include other base stations (not shown), one or more base station controllers (BSC) (not shown), one or more radio network controllers (RNC) (not shown), relay nodes (not shown), elements (not shown) and / or devices (not shown). Any base station 170 may be a single element, as shown, or multiple elements distributed in the corresponding RAN 120, and so on. Similarly, the second base station 170B forms part of the second RAN 120B, which may include other base stations, elements and / or devices. Each base station 170 sends and / or receives wireless signals within a specific geographic area or region (sometimes referred to as a "cell" or "coverage area"). The cell can be further divided into cell sectors, and the base station 170 can, for example, use multiple transceivers to provide services to multiple sectors. In some embodiments, there may be established micro or femto cells, in which corresponding radio access technologies are supported. In some embodiments, multiple transceivers may be used for each cell using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology, etc. The number of RANs 120 shown is exemplary only. Any number of RANs may be considered when designing the communication system 100.

[0039] The base station 170 uses a radio frequency (RF) wireless communication link, a microwave wireless communication link, an infrared (IR) wireless communication link, a visible light (VL) communication link, or other wireless communication links to communicate with one or more EDs in the ED 110 through one or more air interfaces 190. The air interface 190 may utilize any suitable wireless access technology. For example, the communication system 100 may implement one or more orthogonal or non-orthogonal channel access methods in the air interface 190, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA).

[0040] Base station 170 may implement universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) to establish air interface 190 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). In this case, base station 170 may implement protocols such as high speed packet access (HSPA), evolved HPSA (evolved HPSA, HSPA+), optionally including high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) and / or high speed packet uplink access (HSUPA). Alternatively, base station 170A may use LTE, LTE-A, LTE-B and / or 5G new radio (NR) to establish air interface 190 using evolved UTMS terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA). It is contemplated that communication system 100 may use multi-channel access functionality, including the schemes described above. Other wireless technologies used to implement the air interface include IEEE 802.11, 802.15, 802.16, CDMA2000, CDMA2000 IX, CDMA2000 EV-DO, IS-2000, IS-95, IS-856, GSM, EDGE, and GERAN. Of course, other multiple access schemes and wireless protocols can be used.

[0041] The RAN 120 communicates with the core network 130 to provide various services, such as voice communication services, data communication services, and other communication services to the ED 110. The RAN 120 and / or the core network 130 may communicate directly or indirectly with one or more other RANs (not shown), which may or may not be directly served by the core network 130 and may or may not use the same radio access technology as the first RAN 120A and / or the second RAN 120B. The core network 130 may also serve as a gateway access between (i) RANs 120 and / or EDs 110 and (ii) other networks (e.g., PSTN 140, Internet 150, and other networks 160).

[0042] ED 110 can use wireless communication links such as radio frequency (RF) wireless communication links, microwave wireless communication links, infrared (IR) wireless communication links, and visible light (VL) communication links to communicate with each other through one or more sidelink (SL) air interfaces 180. SL air interface 180 can use any suitable wireless access technology. SL air interface 180 can be substantially similar to air interface 190 for ED 110 to communicate with one or more of base stations 170, or can be substantially different from air interface 190. For example, communication system 100 can implement one or more channel access methods in SL air interface 180, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, or SC-FDMA. In some embodiments, SL air interface 180 can be implemented at least partially on an unlicensed spectrum.

[0043] Some or all of the EDs in ED 110 may include functionality to communicate with different wireless networks over different wireless links using different wireless technologies and / or protocols. In addition to (or in conjunction with) wireless communications, ED 110 may also communicate with a service provider or switch (not shown) and the Internet 150 over a wired communications channel. PSTN 140 may include a circuit-switched telephone network for providing plain old telephone service (POTS). Internet 150 may include a network of computers and subnets (intranets) or both, and incorporate protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), and user datagram protocol (UDP). ED 110 may be a multi-mode device capable of operating in accordance with a variety of wireless access technologies and include a plurality of transceivers required to support a variety of wireless access technologies.

[0044] Figure 2 Exemplary components that can implement the methods and teachings provided by this application are shown. In particular, Figure 2 An exemplary ED 110 is shown. These components may be used in the communication system 100 or any other suitable system.

[0045] like Figure 2As shown, ED 110 includes at least one processor or processing unit 200. Processing unit 200 implements various processing operations of ED 110. For example, processing unit 200 can perform signal encoding, bit scrambling, data processing, power control, input / output processing, or any other function that enables ED 110 to operate in communication system 100. Processing unit 200 can also be used to implement some or all of the functions and / or embodiments described in more detail herein. Each processing unit 200 includes any suitable processing or computing device for performing one or more operations. For example, each processing unit 200 can include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, or an application specific integrated circuit.

[0046] ED 110 also includes at least one transceiver 202. Transceiver 202 includes RF circuitry 210 for modulating data or other content for transmission via at least one antenna 204. Transceiver 202 is also used to demodulate data or other content received via at least one antenna 204. Each transceiver 202 includes any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless or wired transmission and / or for processing signals received via wireless or wired means. Each of at least one antenna 204 includes any suitable structure for transmitting and / or receiving wireless or wired signals. One or more transceivers 202 can be used in ED 110. One or more antennas 204 can be used in ED 110. Although transceiver 202 is shown as a single functional unit, it can also be implemented using at least one transmitter and at least one separate receiver.

[0047] The RF circuit 210 is shown to include a set of active device components 211 connected to one of the antennas 204. Additionally, the RF circuit 210 is shown to include a set of passive device components 212 connected to one of the associated antennas 204.

[0048] The term "passive" as used herein in the phrase "passive device component" requires clarification. In typical discussions of electronic components, the term "passive" refers to those electronic components that cannot control the flow of electric current via another electrical signal. Examples of passive electronic components are capacitors, resistors, inductors, transformers, and some diodes. In contrast, the term "active" refers to those electronic components that can control the flow of electric current via another electrical signal. Some examples of active electronic components are transistors, vacuum tubes, and silicon-controlled rectifiers.

[0049] In the discussion of electronic components in this application, the term "passive" refers to electronic components that do not require conversion to baseband when receiving or transmitting signals. In contrast, the term "active" refers to electronic components that use baseband conversion when receiving or transmitting. In other words, in some examples, the "passive" circuits of the present application may include only those electronic components that cannot control the flow of current through another electrical signal, and in some other examples, may still include those electronic components that can control the flow of current through another electrical signal. Conveniently, passive device components 212 are used to perform their functions in the RF domain, while active device components 211 are used to perform their functions in the baseband domain. Therefore, the power consumption level of passive device components 212 is very low relative to the power consumption level of active device components 211.

[0050] According to various aspects of the present application, the processing unit 200 of the electronic device 110 can enable the passive device component 212 to perform certain functions known to be performed by the active device component 211, thereby reducing the overall power consumption. In fact, the amount of total power consumption expected to be reduced is roughly the power consumption associated with the active device component 211 performing certain functions.

[0051] ED 110 also includes one or more input / output devices 206 or interfaces (e.g., a wired interface to Internet 150). Input / output devices 206 can interact with users or other devices in the network. Each input / output device 206 includes any suitable structure for providing information to or receiving information from a user, such as a speaker, microphone, keypad, keyboard, display, or touch screen, including network interface communications.

[0052] In addition, the ED 110 includes at least one memory 208. The memory 208 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the ED 110. For example, the memory 208 may store software instructions or modules for implementing some or all of the functions and / or embodiments described herein and executed by one or more processing units 200. Each memory 208 includes any suitable one or more volatile and / or non-volatile storage and retrieval devices. Any suitable type of memory may be used, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk, an optical disk, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, etc.

[0053] like Figure 3As shown, the base station 170 includes at least one processing unit 350, at least one transmitter 352, at least one receiver 354, one or more antennas 356, at least one memory 358, and one or more input / output devices or interfaces 366. A transceiver (not shown) can be used instead of the transmitter 352 and the receiver 354. A scheduler 353 can be coupled to the processing unit 350. The scheduler 353 can be included in the base station 170 or can be operated separately from the base station 170. The processing unit 350 implements various processing operations of the base station 170, such as signal encoding, bit scrambling, data processing, power control, input / output processing, or any other function. The processing unit 350 can also be used to implement some or all of the functions and / or embodiments described in more detail herein. Each processing unit 350 includes any suitable processing or computing device for performing one or more operations. For example, each processing unit 350 may include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, or an application-specific integrated circuit.

[0054] Each transmitter 352 includes any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless or wired transmission with one or more ED 110 or other devices. Each receiver 354 includes any suitable structure for processing signals received wirelessly or wired from one or more ED 110 or other devices. Although shown as separate components, at least one transmitter 352 and at least one receiver 354 can be combined into a transceiver. Each antenna 356 includes any suitable structure for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals or wired signals. Although a shared antenna 356 is shown here as coupled to a transmitter 352 and a receiver 354, one or more antennas 356 can be coupled to one or more transmitters 352, and one or more separate antennas 356 can be coupled to one or more receivers 354. Each memory 358 includes any suitable one or more volatile and / or non-volatile storage and retrieval devices, such as those described above in conjunction with ED 110. The memory 358 stores instructions and data used, generated or collected by the base station 170. For example, the memory 358 may store software instructions or modules for implementing part or all of the functions and / or embodiments described herein and executed by the processing unit 350 .

[0055] Each input / output device 366 can interact with a user or other device in the network. Each input / output device 366 includes any suitable structure for providing information to a user or receiving / providing information from a user, including network interface communications.

[0056] Other details about ED 110 and base station 170 are known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, for the sake of clarity, these details are omitted here.

[0057] People involved in what is known as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) have been working on different mechanisms to reduce power usage. These mechanisms include strategies aimed at reducing the time that mobile communication devices are "active".

[0058] ED 110 may operate in various modes to trade off certain characteristics for higher or lower device power consumption and / or network resource consumption. Figure 4A Two exemplary modes and an indication of the transition between the two modes are shown in FIG. Figure 4A A normal power consumption mode of operation 402 and a low power consumption mode of operation 404 are shown.

[0059] When ED 110 is in low power operation mode 404, functions that can be enabled using backscatter communications include: allowing network entities to track the relative position of ED 110; allowing network entities to maintain a timing reference for ED 110; allowing network entities to identify ED 110; allowing network entities to obtain some other information about ED 110, including preamble and data. Conveniently, the method of using backscatter communications to allow network entities to track relative device position, maintain timing references, and identify devices can be considered particularly suitable for extremely low-cost Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices.

[0060] In 3GPP New Radio (NR), each UE can operate in one of several modes called Radio Resource Control (RRC) states. Therefore, a UE (e.g., ED 110) can operate in one of the following three RRC states: Figure 4B4. As shown: RRC_IDLE state 408, RRC_CONNECTED state 410, and RRC_INACTIVE state 406. In other documents, these states may be referred to as "modes", such as "RRC_IDLE mode". When ED 110 is in RRC_CONNECTED state 410, it can be considered that ED 110 has been connected to the network through connection establishment process 424. When ED 110 has switched to RRC_IDLE state 408 through release process 442 or release process 462, ED 110 is not connected to the network, but the network knows that ED 110 exists in the network. By switching to RRC_INACTIVE state 406 with release with suspend process 446, ED 110 helps save network resources and local power (e.g., thereby extending the perceived battery life of ED 110). For example, RRC_INACTIVE state 406 can be used in those situations where ED 110 is not communicating with the network. ED 110 also helps save network resources and local power when ED 110 is in RRC_INACTIVE state 406. However, when ED 110 is in RRC_INACTIVE state 406, both the network and ED 110 store at least some configuration information so that ED 110 can reconnect to the network through recovery process 464 faster than reconnecting through connection establishment process 424 when ED 110 is in RRC_IDLE state 408. Storing at least some configuration information when ED 110 is in RRC_INACTIVE state 406 is one aspect that distinguishes RRC_INACTIVE state 406 from RRC_IDLE state 408. It should be noted that the abbreviation RRC is a reference to the known radio resource control protocol.

[0061] Figure 4B Shows Figure 4A The normal power consumption operation mode 402 and the low power consumption operation mode 404 described in the embodiment of the present invention are shown in FIG. Figure 4B In the configuration shown, the normal power mode of operation 402 includes the RRC_CONNECTED state 410, and the low power mode of operation 404 includes the RRC_IDLE state 408 and the RRC_INACTIVE state 406. Therefore, in the context of 3GPP NR, one way to reduce the "active" time of a mobile communication device is to reduce the time that the ED 110 spends in the RRC_CONNECTED state 410.

[0062] Figure 4C Shows Figure 4A The normal power consumption operation mode 402 and the low power consumption operation mode 404 described in the embodiment of the present invention are shown in FIG. Figure 4CIn the configuration shown, the normal power mode of operation 402 includes the RRC_CONNECTED state 410, and the low power mode of operation 404 includes the RRC_CONNECTED state 410, the RRC_IDLE state 408, and the RRC_INACTIVE state 406. Therefore, in the context of 3GPP NR, the task of reducing the "active" time of a mobile communication device is more complex than simply reducing the time that the ED 110 spends in the RRC_CONNECTED state 410.

[0063] To reduce Figure 1 In order to reduce the power consumption of the electronic device 110 in the communication system 100 of the present invention, various aspects of the present application are related to using the passive device components 212 in the electronic device 110 to perform tasks that are generally performed by the active device components 211. The passive device components 212 are used to perform specific functions that are generally performed by the active device components 211, thereby allowing the active device components 211 to remain powered off for a longer period of time. The expected result of allowing the active device components 211 to remain powered off for a longer period of time is that the power consumption of the ED 110 will be reduced.

[0064] The passive device component 212 may enable the backscatter communication to perform a specific function. A well-known example of a backscatter communication application is called radio frequency identification (RFID).

[0065] Figure 5A A flowchart 500A suitable for evaluating various aspects of the present application is shown. Flowchart 500A can be considered as Figure 1 A simplified version of the communication system 100 is shown in FIG. Figure 5A include Figure 1 One of the electronic devices 110 in the apparatus, a transmitting point 502, a receiving point 512 (also referred to as a "reader"), and Figure 1 One of the base stations 170 in FIG. Figure 5A As shown, the receiving point 512 and the transmitting point 502 are separate devices placed separately from each other. It should be noted that the receiving point 512 and the transmitting point 502 can be part of a single device, such as one of the base stations 170. In addition, the receiving point 512 and the transmitting point 502 can be co-located, but different from one of the base stations 170. In the case where the receiving point 512 is far away from the base station 170, the receiving point 512 can maintain a communication channel with the base station 170. The communication channel between the receiving point 512 and the base station 170 can be wired or wireless. In other aspects of the present application, the receiving point 512 can maintain a communication channel with a network node that is not the base station 170.

[0066] In summary, given that Figure 5A, the transmission point 502 transmits (step 522) a radio frequency signal 600FS ("forward signal") on a forward channel. The forward signal 600FS may include a plurality of sub-signals (e.g., a symbols). The ED 110 receives (step 526) the forward signal 600FS, forms (step 528) a radio frequency backscatter signal, and transmits (step 530) the backscatter signal 600BS on the backscatter channel. On the ED 110 side, the formation (step 528) of the backscatter signal 600BS may involve the use of the passive device component 212 of the ED 110. The backscatter signal 600BS may be defined as a time-restricted set of consecutive sub-signals (e.g., restricted to a single p time slot) of the plurality of sub-signals included in the forward signal 600FS. The ED 110 may transmit (step 530) the backscatter signal 600BS within a defined duration (e.g., p time slot). The operation of transmitting (step 530) the radio frequency backscatter signal may be performed after the operation of forming (step 528) the backscatter signal 600BS by modifying the forward signal 600FS in the RF domain under the control of the processing unit 200. In some embodiments, such modification may be performed by adjusting the passive device components 212 of the RF circuit 210 (see Figure 2 ) in the impedance, and applying amplitude and / or phase changes to the forward signal 600FS. In some embodiments, this modification may also include not reflecting the forward signal 600FS on one p symbol or multiple p symbols. In some embodiments, the backscattered signal 600BS is simply a reflection of the forward signal 600FS on one p symbol or multiple p symbols. In other words, the passive device component 212 does not need to modify the forward signal 600FS to form the backscattered signal 600BS. Instead, the passive device component 212 may only time limit the transmission of the backscattered signal 600BS.

[0067] After ED 110 transmits backscatter signal 600BS (step 530), receiving point 512 receives (step 534) backscatter signal 600BS on a backward channel. Receiving point 512 processes (step 538) backscatter signal 600BS to obtain information.

[0068] In other aspects of the present application, given that Figure 5B As shown in flowchart 500B, receiving point 512 may transmit (step 536) received backscatter signal 600BS over a communication channel to base station 170, and base station 170 may perform at least a portion of processing of backscatter signal 600BS (step 538BS).

[0069] In some embodiments, given Figure 5CAs shown in flowchart 500C, receiving point 512 can perform some processing on backscatter signal 600BS (step 535), and then send (step 537) the partially processed backscatter signal 600BSP to base station 170 on the communication channel, so that base station 170 can perform some further processing (step 539).

[0070] When designing the forward signal 600FS, resource allocation is considered. The main resources available for allocation are time resources and frequency resources. The way to determine the allocation of these resources can be considered to depend on the application, that is, the function that the backscatter signal is expected to have.

[0071] In one exemplary application, the function that the backscatter signal is expected to have is to enable the receiving point 512 to accurately determine the location of the ED 110. For this application, it is preferred that the forward signal 600FS be designed to have a wide frequency bandwidth. It may also be preferred that the time resources are narrowly allocated so that the granularity in the time domain processing is smaller.

[0072] In another exemplary application, the location where the ED 110 is located has limited coverage, and it is preferred to design the forward signal 600FS to have a narrow frequency bandwidth and allocate a relatively large time slot.

[0073] One aspect of forward signal design is waveform design. Examples of waveforms include single carrier, multi-carrier, ultra-wide band (UWB) pulse, frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW), etc. Multi-carrier waveforms include cyclic prefix (CP)-OFDM and single-carrier (SC)-FDMA.

[0074] The waveform design of the forward signal 600FS may depend on the required performance indicators. For example, if very accurate ED 110 timing acquisition and positioning is required, a waveform with fine timing granularity and good time domain autocorrelation is preferred. Examples include single carrier and UWB pulse waveforms. Good autocorrelation refers to a delta-like autocorrelation function R(τ), which takes a peak at τ=0 and very small values ​​at other values ​​of τ.

[0075] In some embodiments, the waveform design may also depend on whether the forward signal 600FS contains any data for certain EDs (ED110 or any other ED within the forward signal 600FS). In the case where the forward signal 600FS includes data, a waveform that allows for more efficient modulation and demodulation of the data is preferred. Examples of waveforms that allow for efficient modulation and demodulation of data include CP-OFDM and SC-FDMA.

[0076] In some other embodiments, other metrics such as transmitter power efficiency may be considered in the forward signal waveform design. In this case, a waveform with a low peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) characteristic would be preferred. Examples of low PAPR waveforms include single carrier waveforms and SC-FDMA.

[0077] The forward signal 600FS can be said to have a frame structure. Therefore, the forward signal design can be called a frame structure design. Two "levels" of frame structure design are considered herein.

[0078] The first level of the frame structure may be referred to as a “passive slot” or “p-slot.” A passive slot is configured with a time granularity that facilitates signal processing and backscatter signal transmission performed by passive device components.

[0079] The second level of the frame structure may be referred to as an "active slot", "active symbol", "a slot" or "a symbol". In each p slot, there may be multiple a slots carrying conventional transmissions, which may be used by other more active devices. Each a slot may include multiple a symbols. Such a frame structure design should be well known in 3GPP NR. "Conventional" transmission may be up-converting one or more baseband signals to RF for transmission over the air interface. In other words, a baseband signal is first generated. Next, the baseband signal is frequency-converted in the frequency domain by multiplying a sinusoidal signal with a carrier frequency. It should be noted that the backscatter operation in the present disclosure occurs entirely in the RF domain. That is, the passive device component 212 does not convert the received signal to the baseband domain. Therefore, the passive device component 212 cannot access the information encoded in the signal in the baseband domain.

[0080] In a manner consistent with other signal designs, the design of the forward signal includes consideration of a general configuration basic parameter set, which may include a specific configuration of the subcarrier spacing. In fact, appropriately configuring the basic parameter set for the forward signal 600FS allows the receiving point 512, i.e., the intended recipient of the backscattered signal, to obtain information by processing the backscattered signal. It should be noted that even if multiple a time slots carrying information can be found within the p time slot, the passive device components of the ED 110 are not used to obtain any information transmitted in the a time slot. In other words, the ED 110 operating in accordance with various aspects of the present application can be regarded as bypassing baseband processing and analog-to-digital conversion of the a time slot. It can be seen that the ED 110 only sends (step 530) information to the receiving point 512 by backscattering the signal received from the transmission point 502. The configuration parameters of the basic parameter set that define the duration of the p time slot, the duration of the a time slot, and the forward signal 600FS can be determined by Figure 1 The configuration parameters of the forward signal 600FS can also be provided by an entity in the environment 100 to the sending point 502. Figure 1 The entities in the environment 100 are provided to the ED 110 .

[0081] In typical operation, base station 170 communicates with ED 110 operating in RRC_CONNECTED state 410. ED 110 may generate a transmission, such as a sounding reference signal transmission or a preamble transmission, using active components, perhaps in response to instructions received from base station 170. Upon receiving the transmission, base station 170 is expected to be able to obtain information related to identification, timing, and positioning of ED 110. However, when ED 110 is not in RRC_CONNECTED state 410, it may be considered difficult to obtain such information for ED 110.

[0082] The present application relates to enhancing the receiving point 512 so as to obtain information related to identification, timing and positioning when the ED 110 is not operating in the normal power consumption operation mode 402. In operation according to this aspect, the sending point 502 sends a forward signal 600FS, which is designed to facilitate the receiving point 512 to obtain such information.

[0083] According to aspects of the present application, the forward signal 600FS may be designed to use a waveform and a basic parameter set with fine granularity in the time domain. Figure 6 A forward signal 600FS and a corresponding backscatter signal 600BS are shown. The forward signal 600FS includes a plurality of transmitted a-slots 602A, 602B, 602C, 602D, 602E, 602F, 602G, 602H, 602I, 602J, 602K, 602L, and 602M (individually or collectively referred to as 602). The backscatter signal 600BS includes a time-limited set of consecutive a-slots 602 in the forward signal 600FS. Accordingly, in Figure 6 In the example of FIG. 6 , backscatter signal 600BS includes only a-slots 602C, 602D, 602E, 602F, 602G, 602H, and 6021. In one advantageous method of operation, ED 110 is unaware of the inclusion of a-slots in the transmission of backscatter signal 600BS.

[0084] When ED 110 is not in normal power consumption operation mode 402, ED 110 sends (step 530, Figure 5A ) backscatter transmission. The backscatter transmission is based on the p time slot timing specific to ED 110. For example, Figure 6An ED p-slot 606 is shown starting at the beginning of a-slot 602C and ending at the end of a-slot 6021. The definition of the ED p-slot 606 boundary may be based on the last frame synchronization information acquired when the ED 110 is in the RRC_CONNECTED state 410.

[0085] According to aspects of the present application, the reception point 512 may acquire timing and positioning information for the ED 110 based on receiving (step 534) the backscatter signal 600BS in the context of a record of a particular forward signal 600FS.

[0086] It should be noted that in Figure 6 602FS. In various aspects of the present application, the ED 110 does not continuously transmit (step 530) the backscatter signal 600BS. Instead, the ED 110 transmits (step 530) the backscatter signal 600BS following a sometimes-on and sometimes-off pattern. The ED p time slot 606 of the backscatter signal 600BS corresponds to the passive device component 212 of the ED 110 that was initially controlled to be off by the processing unit 200, then controlled to be on by the processing unit 200 and transmitting the a time slots 602C to 602I, and then controlled to be off by the processing unit 200.

[0087] Figure 7 The processing at the receiving point 512 (step 538R, Figure 5A ) example steps in a method for detecting a backscattered signal received. Figure 7 The method begins with the receiving point 512 determining (step 702) the ED p time slot 606 of the backscattered signal 600BS. That is, the receiving point 512 determines (step 702) the boundaries of the ED p time slot 606. To determine (step 702) the boundaries of the ED p time slot 606, it can be performed by examining the transition time between the on and off modes. In some embodiments, it can also be performed by examining the time defined as The boundary of the ED p time slot 606 is determined (step 702) by the phase transition time between the normalized received backscattered signal and all a symbols, where S BS (t) represents the backscattered signal 600BS, S FS (t) represents the forward signal 600FS. Without considering the method of determining the boundary, t p The term represents the time difference between the start of ED p slot 606 and the start of TP p slot 604. Then, the receiving point 512 can initialize the time shift value (step 704). The value of the time shift value is determined by the time granularity required for timing acquisition and / or positioning of ED 110 and the bandwidth of the forward signal 600FS. Figure 6An initial transmission point (TP) p slot 604 is shown starting at the beginning of a slot 602A and ending at the end of a slot 602G. The receiving point 512 may then time shift (step 706) the initial TP p slot 604 of the forward signal 600FS by the time shift value to produce a time shifted TP p slot (not shown). If the initialized time shift value is 0, the time shifted p slot starts from a slot 602A. The receiving point 512 may then determine (step 708) a cross-correlation value between the time shifted TP p slot determined in step 702 and the ED p slot 606.

[0088] The determination (step 708) will be performed for an expected range of time shift values. Therefore, the receiving point 512 determines (step 710) whether the expected range of time shift values ​​has been considered. When it is determined (step 710) that the entire expected range of time shift values ​​has not been considered, the receiving point 512 increments (step 712) the time shift value and then goes back and shifts (step 706) the initial TP p time slot 604 of the forward signal 600FS according to the incremented time shift value to produce a further shifted TP p time slot (not shown). If the time shift value is equal to the duration of each a symbol and the increment of the time shift value is 1, then the further shifted p time slot starts from the a time slot 602B. Generally, the value of the time shift value is less than or equal to the duration of the a symbol.

[0089] The receiving point 512 may then determine (step 708) a cross-correlation value between the re-shifted TP p time slot and the ED p time slot 706 determined in step 702. Upon determining (step 710) that the entire expected range of time shift values ​​has not been considered, the receiving point 512 increments (step 712) the time shift value and then goes back and shifts (step 706) the initial TP p time slot 604 of the forward signal 600FS by the incremented time shift value to generate a re-shifted TP p time slot (not shown). If the incremented time shift value is 2, the re-shifted p time slots start from the a time slot 602C.

[0090] Upon determining (step 710) that the entire expected range of time shift values ​​has been considered, the receiving point 512 determines (step 714) the time shift value τ associated with the maximum cross-correlation value. The receiving point 512 can then process (step 716) the time shift value τ associated with the maximum cross-correlation value to obtain information about the ED 110, including the location of the ED 110 and the timing of the ED 110.

[0091] Figure 8 The receiving point 512 processes (step 716, Figure 7 ) An example step in a method of determining a time shift value τ associated with a maximum cross-correlation value to obtain information about ED 110. Figure 8 In the example of FIG. 8 , the time shift value τ associated with the maximum cross-correlation value can be used to obtain (step 802) the value of the distance between the transmission point 502 / reception point 512 and the ED 110 (assuming that the transmission point 502 and the reception point 512 are located at the same location). The distance d can be obtained by using the formula 802, where τ is the time shift value determined in step 714 and c is the speed of light. When acquiring (step 802) the value of the distance, receiving point 512 may record (step 804) the distance as an indication of the position of ED 110. For example, recording (step 804) the indication of the position of ED 110 may include storing the indication of the position in a memory. If receiving point 512 is Figure 3 If base station 170 is shown in FIG. 1 , an indication of the location of ED 110 may be stored in memory 358 .

[0092] Fig. 9 The process (step 716, Figure 7 ) An example step in a method of determining a time shift value τ associated with a maximum cross-correlation value to obtain information about ED 110. Fig. 9 In the example of FIG. 5 , the receiving point 512 determines (step 902 ) the relative time difference term t 0 . Relative time difference term t 0 The determination of (step 902) may involve the time shift value τ associated with the maximum cross-correlation value (see step 714) and the time difference t between the start of the ED p time slot 606 and the start of the TP p time slot 604. p (see step 702), After determining (step 902) the relative time difference, the receiving point 512 may record (step 904) the relative time difference as a timing indication of the ED 110. For example, recording (step 904) the timing indication of the ED 110 may include storing the timing indication in a memory. Figure 3 If base station 170 is shown in FIG. 1 , the timing indication of ED 110 may be stored in memory 358 .

[0093] exist Figure 1 In an environment such as the communication system 100 , there are multiple EDs 110 . Preferably, the receiving point 512 is provided with a method for distinguishing backscattered signals received from different EDs 110 .

[0094] To this end, in one aspect of the present application, each specific ED 110 may be arranged to have an ED unique on / off pattern corresponding to backscatter transmissions, thereby indicating the identity of the specific ED 110 to the receiving point 512. A transmission frame may be defined to include K p time slots. Each specific ED 110 may be scheduled to transmit during only a subset of L p time slots in the transmission frame (step 530, Figure 5A ) backscatter transmission.

[0095] Fig.10 Shows the corresponding Figure 1 The first transmission frame 1000A of the first ED 110A corresponds to Figure 1 The second transmission frame 1000B of the second ED110B and the corresponding Figure 1 1000C of a third ED 110C of the first embodiment. Each of the exemplary transmission frames 1000A, 1000B, 1000C (individually or collectively referred to as 1000) has a transmission frame length 1202 of K=12 p-time slots, and each of the exemplary transmission frames 1200 indicates that backscatter transmission occurs in L=4 of the p-time slots. The first transmission frame 1000A indicates that the first ED 110A performs backscatter transmission (ON) in p-time slots 1, 4, 8, and 12, and OFF in p-time slots 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11. The second transmission frame 1000B indicates that the second ED 110B performs backscatter transmission (ON) in p-time slots 2, 4, 9, and 11, and OFF in p-time slots 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 12. The third transmission frame 1000C instructs the third ED 110C to perform backscatter transmission (ON) in p slots 3 , 5 , 8 , and 11 , and OFF in p slots 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 , and 12 .

[0096] Each specific on / off pattern may be associated with an identification of an ED 110 that is configured to perform backscatter transmission according to the specific on / off pattern. As can be seen, such an association helps the receiving point 512 identify the ED 110. Such an association may be stored as a predefined dictionary or look up table (LUT). The dictionary or LUT may be stored only in Figure 1 The elements of the communication system 100 are known.

[0097] To minimize the number of guesses for the on / off pattern, when each on / off pattern is recorded, the position of the corresponding ED 110 may be associated.

[0098] In other aspects of the present application, the on / off pattern may serve as a preamble transmission, thereby facilitating tracking and finding the corresponding ED 110. Detecting the identity of ED 110 based on the on / off pattern may be considered to enable joint ED identification and detection of ED data provided by ED 110, as will be more fully disclosed below.

[0099] It can be seen that the specific on / off pattern of ED 110 is configured to improve ED detection performance and complexity by allowing partial collision between p time slots arriving at reception point 512 from different EDs 110. For example, in the fourth p time slot, the first ED 110A and the second ED 110B are both performing backscatter transmission, and the third ED 110C is not performing backscatter transmission.

[0100] As disclosed so far and Figure 5A As shown in FIG. 5 , ED 110 may transmit (ON, step 530) a backscatter signal in p time slots, or may not transmit (OFF) a backscatter signal in p time slots. Conveniently, in processing (step 538R, Figure 5A )When receiving the backscattered signal in each transmission frame, the receiving point 512 can obtain information such as the timing, location, and identification of the ED 110.

[0101] The present invention proposes to help the receiving point 512 distinguish between consecutive p time slots in which the backscatter signal is transmitted by the ED 110. That is, the ED 110 can apply a time domain function to the forward signal when forming the backscatter signal, rather than simply performing backscatter transmission (on) or not performing backscatter transmission (off).

[0102] On the ED 110 side, applying the time domain function to the forward signal may involve using passive components of the ED 110. For example, the processing unit 200 may arrange for a change in the impedance value in the RF circuit 210 connected to the antenna 204 (see Figure 2 ). The result of applying the time domain function to the forward signal can be mathematically represented as multiplying the received forward signal by a complex-valued symbol.

[0103] In the p time slot associated with index k, the i-th ED 110 may multiply the forward signal 600FS received in the p time slot k by the complex valued symbol s i (k). It should be noted that the symbol s in time slot k is i (k) can be compared with the symbol s in p time slot k+1 i (k+1) is different. In addition, it cannot be assumed that the receiving point 512 knows the symbol s i As discussed above, ED 110 may apply a time domain function to the forward signal. It should be noted that the time domain function may be defined on a transmission frame and may be considered to include a plurality of symbols s i (k). In simple cases, the symbol s i (k) can take the value 0 or 1. In other cases, each symbol s i (k) are all complex values.

[0104] Upon receiving (step 526, Figure 5A) After receiving a forward signal 600FS including a plurality of sub-signals (eg, a symbol), ED110 may multiply the received forward signal 600FS by the symbol s i (k) to form (step 528) the backscatter signal 600BS. The ED 110 then transmits (step 530) the radio frequency backscatter signal 600BS for a defined duration (eg, p time slots).

[0105] It can be considered that by multiplying the received forward signal 600FS by the symbol s i (k) and the transmission (step 530) of the backscatter signal 600BS formed (step 528) is an example of obtaining a time domain function of a sub-signal in the plurality of sub-signals (a time slots) included in the received forward signal 600FS. In those cases where the ED 110 transmits the backscatter signal uniformly, each symbol s i The distinction of (k) may help the receiving point 512 distinguish between consecutive p time slots in the received backscattered signal.

[0106] By adding ED data to the backscattered signal transmitted in the p-time slot, the information available to the receiving point 512 about the ED 110 is enhanced. That is, the ED 110 can apply a time domain function to the forward signal when forming the backscattered signal, rather than simply performing backscatter transmission (on) or not performing backscatter transmission (off).

[0107] In addition to helping the receiving point 512 distinguish between consecutive p time slots in the received backscattered signal, the time domain function of sending a sub-signal among the multiple sub-signals included in the received forward signal 600FS can also help ED 110 send data to the receiving point 512, hereinafter referred to as "ED data".

[0108] Each symbol s sent by a particular ED 110 i The baseband equivalent signal of (k) can be restricted to the “projection set” of symbols {a 1 ,…,a P} (with some possible phase rotation), where P represents the phase rotation of the processing unit 200 in the RF circuit 210 (see Figure 2 ) of the passive device component 212. The projection set for each ED 110 may be different. When the symbol s is used i (k) When transmitting ED data, ED can be used to send m bits b in each p time slot. i =(b 0 ,b 1 ,…,b m-1 ). The corresponding modulation size is M = 2m .

[0109] It can be considered that this approach of designing a codebook for backscattered signals is similar to the known approach of designing a codebook for a sparse code multiple access (SCMA) communication system. SCMA is a known, multi-dimensional, codebook-based, non-orthogonal multiple access technology.

[0110] By adopting a sparse pattern specific to a particular ED 110 and / or adopting a symbol projection set specific to a particular ED 110 {a 1 ,…,a P}, the backscatter signal codebook can be made specific to a particular ED 110. A specific projection set can be provided by Figure 2 ) includes a radio frequency phase shifter (not shown) specific to a specific ED 110. A specific projection set can also be implemented by implementing a perturbation function specific to a specific ED 110.

[0111] The first exemplary projection set may be referred to as a "binary projection set". In a binary projection set, a symbol may take the value {a 1 ,a 2}={1,-1}.

[0112] One way to design a multidimensional codebook involves using a binary generator matrix (which should be familiar from its use in binary block codes), namely Among them, ⊙ represents multiplication in the binary domain, G i is called the generator matrix, is the vector of symbols sent by ED 110 in the backscatter signal during a transmission frame. The matrix G is generated i It may be specific to the ED 110 implementing the codebook. As will be appreciated, any binary code with a good Hamming distance between codewords may be used. In fact, the Hamming distance in the binary domain may be viewed as a direct conversion to the Euclidean distance in the symbolic domain.

[0113] The second exemplary projection set may be referred to as a "ternary projection set". In the ternary projection set, symbols may take values ​​{a 1 ,a 2 ,a 3}={1,0,-1}.

[0114] One way to design a multidimensional codebook involves using a binary generator matrix. A 2-bit transmission, in the case of m=2, can be achieved by superimposing two binary codewords with an orthogonal sequence:

[0115] in,

[0116] The example of L=2 can be expressed as:

[0117]

[0118] sequence f i,1 and f i,2 The ED 110 using these sequences may be specific. In some embodiments, by using the projection set {a 1 ,…,a P} includes "0", the on / off pattern generation is performed together with the symbol sequence design. In this case, the symbol sequence length represents the total number of p time slots, not just the on p time slots.

[0119] An example codebook with K=4 can be expressed as:

[0120]

[0121] In this case, the on / off pattern depends not only on the identity of the ED 110 but also on the input bit sequence.

[0122] Fig.11 A method is shown for performing at the receiving point 512 to process the backscatter signal 600BS including ED data (step 538R, Figure 5A ).Although Figure 7 Shown is processing of the backscatter signal 600BS to obtain the position from the p time slot boundaries ( Figure 8 ) and relative time difference ( Fig. 9 ) and other information, but Fig.11 Specifically, it is used to acquire the data included in the backscatter signal 600BS of the ED 110 using the method discussed above.

[0123] The receiving point 512 normalizes the received backscattered signal by dividing the received backscattered signal by the forward signal (step 1102), thereby obtaining a normalized backscattered signal. The normalized backscattered signal can be considered to represent s i (k), k=1, ..., K. Then, the receiving point 512 may process (step 1104) the normalized backscattered signal to obtain the symbol sequence s i (k), k=1, ..., K. Then, the receiving point 512 may record (step 1106) the ED data.

[0124] The symbol s has been disclosed before i (k) can be different from p time slot k to p time slot k+1. As discussed in this article, the symbol s i(k) can carry ED data. In one aspect of the present application, the symbol s i (k) may be the same in each of the L of the K p-slots. This repetition of data may be understood to provide so-called "coding gain".

[0125] The forward signal may be designed to facilitate estimation of aggregate channel state information (CSI) by the receiving point 512. The term "aggregate channel" may be understood to include a forward channel from the transmitting point 502 to the ED 110 and a backward channel from the ED 110 to the receiving point 512. Improvements in CSI estimation by the receiving point 512 may be considered useful for allowing the receiving point 512 to better decode ED data in the p-slot.

[0126] Transmission of the RF forward signal 600FS (step 522, Figure 5A ) can be optimized for CSI acquisition. For CSI acquisition, frequency granularity may be considered more important than time granularity because the aggregated channel may be considered more static in time than in frequency.

[0127] It can be seen from this that the forward signal 600FS is preferably a multi-carrier design.

[0128] In addition to the resource allocation aspect of the forward signal design, the sequence design of the forward signal 600FS can also be considered. The sequence in the forward signal can include one or more of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a demodulated reference signal (DMRS), other reference signals, and data.

[0129] Fig.12 The processing at the receiving point 512 (step 538R, Figure 5A ) example steps in a method of receiving a backscatter signal 600BS for CSI acquisition. Fig.12 The method begins with the receiving point 512 identifying (step 1202) the ED p time slot of the backscatter signal 600BS. That is, the receiving point 512 determines the boundaries of the ED p time slot. The receiving point 512 can then normalize the received backscatter signal 600BS by dividing the received backscatter signal 600BS by the forward signal 600FS (step 1204) to obtain a normalized backscatter signal. The normalized backscatter signal can be considered to represent the aggregate channel (H) and s i (k). Therefore, if s i(k) If it is known or can be derived from the backscatter signal 600BS in some way, the normalized backscatter signal can be further divided by s in each corresponding p time slot. i (k), k=1, ..., K, from which the aggregate channel can be estimated (step 1206).

[0130] In some embodiments, when s i (k), k=1, ..., K is not available at the receiving point 512, it can instruct ED 110 to send some s i (k) Known “reference p-slots”. In some embodiments, ED 110 does not multiply the forward signal 600FS in the reference p-slots, so in those p-slots, s i (k) = 1. This helps estimate the aggregate channel in the reference p time slot, and if the channel does not vary much in different p time slots, it will help determine the aggregate channel in other p time slots, providing a more accurate estimate of the aggregate channel. In some embodiments, the estimated aggregate channel and s i The process of (k), k=1, ..., K can be completed in an iterative manner.

[0131] In some embodiments, the step of normalizing (step 1204) the backscattered signal may not be performed. In this case, the receiving point 512 performs the above-described method to remove the symbol s from the backscattered signal. i (k), k=1, ..., K. After deleting (step 1206) the symbol s from the received backscattered signal i (k), k=1, .., K, the result can be referred to as a "raw" signal. It can be shown that the raw signal can be used as a reference signal for CSI estimation (step 1208). It can also be shown that the raw signal can serve as a radar signal for range estimation (step 1210). It should be noted that CSI estimation (step 1208) and range estimation (step 1210) can be performed simultaneously.

[0132] Because the CSI estimate (step 1208) does not change from one p time slot in which ED 110 transmits a backscatter signal to another p time slot in which ED 110 transmits a backscatter signal, the CSI estimate (step 1208) may be further improved by averaging over all L p time slots (out of a total of K p time slots) in which ED 110 transmits a backscatter signal.

[0133] It should be noted that, according to various aspects of the present application, when ED 110 transmits a backscatter signal including ED data, ED 110 performs the transmission only in response to receiving a forward signal. It can be seen that, through a malicious combination of transmission point 502 and reception point 512, it is possible to gain access to ED data by transmitting a forward signal and then reading the backscatter signal.

[0134] Therefore, other aspects of the present application relate to the configuration of environmental elements so that only appropriate receiving points 512 can access ED data. It is suggested herein to set ED 110 to scramble the backscattered signal of each transmission p time slot with a perturbation pattern. In one example, the perturbation pattern can be built into each ED 110. For example, ED 110 can provide the perturbation pattern to the receiving point 512 once through a secure link. When it is deemed necessary, the sending point 502 can reconfigure ED 110 with a new perturbation pattern. In some embodiments, the perturbation pattern can be determined and configured by the network and provided to ED 110 when ED 110 accesses the network through a secure link. The sending point 502 will also update the receiving point 512 with the new perturbation pattern.

[0135] The disturbance can be expressed as s i (k) = f i，k (u i (k)), where u i (k) represents the symbol carrying ED data to be sent by the i-th ED 110 in the k-th p-time slot, and f i，k (·) denotes the perturbation function, which depends on the identity of the i-th ED 110 and the index k,s of the p-time slot. i (k) is the final transmitted symbol. That is, s i (k) is the ED 110 used to change the forward signal to form (step 528, Figure 5A )The sign of the backscattered signal 600BS.

[0136] An example of a perturbation function is a phase shift, which can be expressed as This perturbation function may be embedded in the definition of a specific constellation or codebook of the ED 110 and may be implemented by impedance matching.

[0137] Due to the use of the perturbation function, it is almost impossible for the malicious version of the receiving point 512 to quickly decode the received s without access to the codebook. i (k) Thus, we can determine u i(k). It should be understood that, in theory, the malicious version of the receiving point 512 can eventually decode the backscattered signal in a specific p time slot by testing multiple hypothetical phase shifts. For this reason, it is further proposed to force the malicious version of the receiving point 512 to test a very large number of hypothetical phase shifts, so that the feasibility of this decoding method can be relatively low.

[0138] In addition to the resource allocation aspect of the forward signal design, the sequence design of the forward signal can also be considered. The sequence in the forward signal can include one or more of a positioning reference signal (PRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), other reference signals, and data.

[0139] In the case where the transmission point 502 at the origin of the forward signal and the reception point 512 at the receiver of the backscattered signal belong to the same node, the forward signal can be designed to include data for a specific ED 110. The data in the forward signal can be for all EDs 110, in which case the data can be considered a broadcast. The data in the forward signal can be for a specific subset of EDs 110, in which case the data can be considered a multicast. The data in the forward signal can be for a specific one of the EDs 110, in which case the data can be considered a unicast.

[0140] That is, as ED 110 may be formed (step 528, Figure 5A ) The backscattered signal 600BS modulated with ED data is received by the receiving point 512. The sending point 502 may send the forward signal 600FS before sending it (step 522, Figure 5A ) forms a forward signal modulated with data destined for receipt by a particular ED 110. As will be appreciated, the particular ED 110 designated for receiving data from transmission point 502 may be different from the ED 110 used to perform backscatter communications.

[0141] Throughout this application, various configuration parameters for the manner in which ED 110 acts on backscatter or on forward signals that are not backscattered have been discussed. For a given ED 110, the configuration parameters may include, among other configuration parameters, the p-slot duration, on / off mode, backscatter codebook, and perturbation function. Additionally, the configuration parameters may include forward signal parameters, including bandwidth, waveform, basic parameter set, and a-slot duration. In some embodiments, the a-slot duration may be obtained from the basic parameter set. In some embodiments, the configuration parameters may include the relationship between p-slots and a-slots, such as how many a-slots are in each p-slot. In some embodiments, the configuration parameters may also include an index to a "reference p-slot" for channel estimation at the receiving point 512. The configuration parameters defining the backscatter performed by ED 110 may be determined by Figure 1 The backscatter configuration parameters may also be provided by entities in the environment 100 to the ED 110 by signaling. The signaling method may include dynamic signaling, such as layer one (L1) signaling, or semi-static signaling, such as using a layer higher than L1, such as RRC or a media access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE). Figure 1 The receiving point 512 may be provided to the receiving point 512 by an entity in the environment 100 of the present invention. If the receiving point 512 is a network entity, the signaling method may include X2 or Xn signaling. If the receiving point 512 is another ED 110, the signaling method may include dynamic signaling such as L1 signaling, or semi-static signaling, such as using a higher layer such as RRC or MAC-CE. Alternatively, given that the ED 110 is configured with an identity, the selected configuration parameters may be determined by the ED 110 by applying a function. For example, by subjecting the identity of the ED 110 to a specific function, the ED 110 may determine an on / off mode. In this case, the parameters of the specific function may be provided to the ED 110 by signaling in the form of dynamic signaling (such as L1 signaling) or semi-static signaling (such as RRC or MAC-CE).

[0142] It can be seen that aspects of the present application have advantages in the field of sensor nodes operating according to 5G network protocols. These sensor nodes (sometimes "tags") can be considered to include extremely low-cost devices with limited battery power. Despite the limited battery power, the sensor nodes are required to actively communicate with the central network components on a regular basis to report certain sensing results. Sensor nodes operating according to aspects of the present application can be considered to send information to the receiving point 512 only by scattering the signal received from the transmitter. Conveniently, the sensor nodes do not need to perform baseband processing or analog-to-digital conversion.

[0143] Fig.13Example steps in a method of switching between active device components 211 and passive device components 212 performed by the processor 200 of the electronic device 110 are shown. Fig.13 The context of the method can be considered to start with the electronic device 110 operating in the normal power consumption operating mode 402 (see Figure 4A , 4B In response to receiving an instruction from the base station 170 (step 1302), the electronic device 110 determines to transition itself to the low power mode of operation 404.

[0144] In response to detecting (step 1302) the initiation, processor 200 optionally deactivates (step 1204) active device component 211 and causes (step 1306) passive device component 212 to begin backscattering, wherein the backscattering facilitates performing certain functions previously performed by active device component 211. As described above, certain functions may involve facilitating tracking electronic device 110, facilitating timed maintenance, facilitating identification of electronic device 110, facilitating preamble transmission, facilitating location determination of electronic device 110, and facilitating channel measurement.

[0145] In some aspects of the present application, when the electronic device 110 detects the release process 442 or the release process 446 with suspension (see Figure 4B and 4C ), the electronic device 110 implicitly receives (step 1302) instructions to enable (step 1306) the passive device component 212 to start backscattering. In some aspects of the present application, the electronic device 110 explicitly receives (step 1302) instructions through signaling to enable (step 1306) the passive device component 212 to start backscattering.

[0146] As mentioned above and in Fig.13 As shown by using dashed lines in FIG. 1 , the deactivation (step 1304) of the active device component 211 is optional. That is, the passive device component 212 can be activated (step 1306) without shutting down the active device component 211. The passive device component 212 can also be activated (step 1306) without the electronic device 110 itself transitioning to the RRC_INACTIVE state 406. Figure 4B In the illustrated scheme, it can be considered that when the electronic device 110 operates in the RRC_CONNECTED state 410 (in the normal power consumption operation mode 402), only the active device component 211 is activated, and when the electronic device 110 operates in the RRC_IDLE state 408 (in the low power consumption operation mode 404), only the passive device component 212 is activated.

[0147] The signaling mechanism that allows the network entity to cause the ED 110 to enter the low power consumption operation mode 404 can be periodic or non-periodic (on demand). For periodic transmission of signaling, the network entity can be expected to provide the electronic device 110 with an indication of the start time of the signaling, the period (duration between each transmission), and the duration of the signaling. For non-periodic transmission of signaling, it can be expected to provide the electronic device 110 with a start time reference (e.g., a time slot in a transmission frame or an absolute timing point in a transmission frame) and an indication of the duration of the signaling. It can be seen that the network entity can also use signaling to cause the electronic device 110 to enter the normal power consumption operation mode 402.

[0148] Fig.14 Example steps in a method of switching between a passive device component 212 and an active device component 211 performed by the processor 200 of the electronic device 110 are shown. Fig.14 The context of the method can be considered to start with the electronic device 110 operating in the low power operation mode 404 (see Figure 4A In response to the instruction received from the base station 170 (step 1402), the electronic device 110 determines to switch itself to the normal power consumption operation mode 402. That is, in Figure 4B In the context of the embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device 110 detects (step 1402) the initiation of the recovery process 464 or the establishment process 424. In response to detecting (step 1402) the initiation, the processor 200 optionally activates (step 1404) the active device component 211 and causes (step 1406) the passive device component 212 to stop backscattering.

[0149] As discussed, receiving (steps 1302, 1402) instructions from the base station 170 may include detecting the initiation of a release procedure 442, a release procedure with suspension 446, a recovery procedure 464, or an establishment procedure 424. It should also be appreciated that, in addition to Figure 4B In addition to the various state-to-state transition processes (424, 442, 446, 462, 464) shown in FIG. Figure 1 ) entity (not necessarily the base station 170) can use a signaling mechanism to directly instruct the ED 110 to switch between the normal power consumption operation mode 402 and the low power consumption operation mode 404, that is, to cause the passive device component 212 to start (step 1306) or stop (step 1406) backscattering. The signaling method may include dynamic signaling such as L1 signaling, or semi-static signaling, such as using a higher layer such as RRC or MAC-CE.

[0150] In fact, from Figure 1This signaling mechanism from the network entity in the environment 100 to the ED 110 may be one of many signaling mechanisms. For example, the signaling method may include dynamic signaling such as L1 signaling, or semi-static signaling, such as using a higher layer such as RRC or MAC-CE.

[0151] The signaling mechanism that facilitates the network entity controlling the ED 110 to cause the passive device component 212 to start (step 1306) or stop (step 1406) backscattering may be periodic or aperiodic (on demand). For periodic transmission of signaling, it may be desirable for the network entity to provide the ED 110 with an indication of the start time of the signaling, the period (duration between transmissions), and the duration of the signaling. For aperiodic transmission of signaling, it may be desirable to provide the ED 110 with an indication of the start time reference (e.g., a time slot in a transmission frame or an absolute timing point in a transmission frame) and the duration of the signaling.

[0152] To this end, ED 110 has been discussed as being in one of three different states, depending on RRC signaling: RRC_CONNECTED state 410; RRC_INACTIVE state 406; and RRC_IDLE state 408 (see Figure 4B ). In the future, different states may be defined for ED 110. It should be appreciated that passive device component 212 may operate in any state in which ED 110 is operating in accordance with aspects of the present application.

[0153] In other aspects of the present application, the switch between the normal power consumption mode 402 and the low power consumption mode 404 can be initiated by the electronic device 110. Fig.15 In various aspects of the present application represented by the example steps in the illustrated method, the electronic device 110 may be configured to send (step 1502) signaling to a network entity to indicate that the electronic device 110 will immediately perform a switch between the normal power consumption mode 402 and the low power consumption mode 404. In one example, the electronic device 110 does not wait for permission from the network entity before performing (step 1506) the mode switch. In another example, the electronic device 110 waits to receive (step 1504) permission from the network entity before performing (step 1506) the mode switch.

[0154] Fig.16A time view 1600 of the operation of the electronic device 110 is shown, including a duration 1602 that the electronic device 110 operates in the normal power consumption mode 402. The time view 1600 also includes a duration 1604 that the electronic device 110 operates in the low power consumption mode 404. The time view 1600 also includes an indication 1606 of a moment when mode switching signaling exists. In one example, the indication 1606 involves the electronic device 110 sending signaling to a network entity to indicate that the electronic device 110 will immediately perform a switch between the normal power consumption mode 402 and the low power consumption mode 404. In another example, the indication 1606 involves the electronic device 110 receiving signaling from the network entity to instruct the electronic device 110 to perform a switch between the normal power consumption mode 402 and the low power consumption mode 404.

[0155] It should be noted that, regardless of whether the mode switching signaling is received (steps 1302, 1402) or sent (step 1502), the mode switching signaling may include additional information other than the instruction (steps 1302, 1402) or indication (step 1502). The additional information may be related to the function (or a single function) performed by the electronic device 110 in the low power consumption mode 404.

[0156] It should be understood that one or more steps of the embodiment method provided herein can be performed by corresponding units or modules. For example, data can be sent by a sending unit or a sending module. Data can be received by a receiving unit or a receiving module. Data can be processed by a processing unit or a processing module. Each unit / module can be hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more units / modules can be an integrated circuit, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). It should be understood that if these modules are software, these modules can be retrieved in whole or in part by a processor as needed, retrieved individually or collectively for processing, retrieved in one or more instances as needed, and these modules themselves can include instructions for further deployment and instantiation.

[0157] Although combinations of features are shown in the illustrated embodiments, not all features need to be combined to achieve the advantages of the various embodiments of the present application. In other words, the system or method designed according to the embodiment of the present application does not necessarily include all the features shown in any of the figures or all the parts schematically shown in the figures. In addition, the selected features of an exemplary embodiment can be combined with the selected features of other exemplary embodiments.

[0158] The embodiments set forth herein represent information sufficient to practice the claimed subject matter and illustrate methods of practicing such subject matter. After reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the claimed subject matter and will recognize that the application of these concepts is not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications are within the scope of the present application and the embodiments.

[0159] In addition, it should be understood that any module, component, or device disclosed herein for executing instructions may include or otherwise access one or more non-transitory computer / processor readable storage media for storing information, such as computer / processor readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and / or other data. A non-exhaustive list of examples of non-transitory computer / processor readable storage media includes cassettes, magnetic tapes, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital video disc or digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray TM Optical disks such as disks or other optical storage, volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other storage technology. Any such non-transitory computer / processor storage medium can be part of a device and can also be accessed or connected to a device. Computer / processor readable / executable instructions for implementing the applications or modules described herein can be stored or otherwise saved by such non-transitory computer / processor readable storage media.

[0160] Various examples of methods and apparatus for low power transmission using backscatter are disclosed herein.

[0161] Example 1: A method for operating an electronic device, the method comprising: the electronic device receives a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal includes multiple sub-signals in the time domain, each sub-signal including an RF up-converted baseband signal; the electronic device sends a second RF signal, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the multiple sub-signals in the time domain in the first RF signal.

[0162] Example 2: The method according to Example 1, wherein the time domain function is specific to the electronic device.

[0163] Example 3: The method of Example 1, wherein the time domain function comprises multiplying a continuous subset of the sub-signals in the first RF signal by a complex-valued symbol.

[0164] Example 4: The method according to Example 1 further includes receiving signaling indicating configuration parameters defining the second RF signal.

[0165] Example 5: The method according to Example 4 further includes: in response to receiving signaling indicating an operating mode associated with sending the second RF signal, generating the second RF signal from the first RF signal without decoding the multiple sub-signals.

[0166] Example 6: An electronic device comprises: a memory storing instructions; a processor executing the instructions to receive a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal comprises a plurality of sub-signals in the time domain, each sub-signal comprising an RF up-converted baseband signal; and send a second RF signal, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the plurality of sub-signals in the time domain in the first RF signal.

[0167] Example 7: An electronic device according to Example 6, wherein the time domain function is specific to the electronic device.

[0168] Example 8: An electronic device according to Example 6, wherein the time domain function includes data.

[0169] Example 9: An electronic device according to Example 6, wherein the time domain function includes multiplying a continuous subset of the sub-signals in the first RF signal by a complex-valued symbol.

[0170] Example 10: The electronic device of Example 6, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to receive signaling indicating configuration parameters defining the second RF signal.

[0171] Example 11: An electronic device according to Example 6, wherein the processor is also caused to generate the second RF signal from the first RF signal without decoding the multiple sub-signals in response to receiving signaling indicating an operating mode associated with sending the second RF signal by executing the instruction.

[0172] Example 12: A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions for a processor in an electronic device, which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: receive a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal includes multiple sub-signals in the time domain, each sub-signal including an RF up-converted baseband signal; and send a second RF signal, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the multiple sub-signals in the time domain in the first RF signal.

[0173] Example 13: The computer-readable medium of Example 12, wherein the time domain function is specific to the electronic device.

[0174] Example 14: The computer-readable medium of Example 12, wherein the time domain function comprises multiplying a continuous subset of the sub-signals in the first RF signal by a complex-valued symbol.

[0175] Example 15: The computer readable medium of Example 12, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to receive signaling indicating configuration parameters defining the second RF signal.

[0176] Example 16: The computer-readable medium of Example 12, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to generate the second RF signal from the first RF signal without decoding the plurality of sub-signals in response to receiving signaling indicating an operating mode associated with transmitting the second RF signal.

[0177] Example 17: A method for obtaining information about an electronic device, wherein the method comprises: sending a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal comprises multiple sub-signals in the time domain, each sub-signal comprising an RF up-converted baseband signal; receiving a second RF signal from the electronic device, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the multiple sub-signals in the time domain in the first RF signal.

[0178] Example 18: The method according to Example 17, further comprising processing the second RF signal to obtain information about the electronic device.

[0179] Example 19: The method according to Example 17, wherein the first RF signal has a specific autocorrelation characteristic.

[0180] Example 20: The method according to Example 17 further includes: associating a cross-correlation value with each time shift value of a plurality of time shift values, wherein the cross-correlation value is obtained by offsetting each time shift value between the second RF signal and the first RF signal.

[0181] Example 21: The method according to Example 20 further includes: determining a specific time shift value associated with a maximum mutual correlation value among the multiple mutual correlation values.

[0182] Example 22: The method according to Example 21, further comprising: processing the specific time shift value to obtain information about the electronic device.

[0183] Example 23: A method according to Example 22, wherein processing a specific time shift value comprises: obtaining a value of a relative time difference; and converting the relative time difference into an indication of a position of the electronic device.

[0184] Example 24: The method of Example 22, wherein the processing of a specific time shift value comprises: obtaining an indication of a boundary of a continuous subset of the sub-signal received within a defined duration; and analyzing the boundary to obtain a timing indication of the electronic device.

[0185] Although the present application has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, the description is not intended to be understood in a limiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments and other embodiments of the present application will be apparent to those skilled in the art with reference to this specification. Therefore, the present application is intended to cover any such modifications or embodiments.

Claims

1. A method for operating an electronic device, characterized in that: The method comprises: The electronic device receives a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal includes a plurality of sub-signals in the time domain, and each sub-signal includes an RF up-converted baseband signal; The electronic device transmits a second RF signal, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the multiple time domain sub-signals in the first RF signal, and the time domain function includes multiplying the continuous subset of the sub-signals in the first RF signal by a complex valued symbol.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The time domain function is specific to the electronic device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Also includes: Signaling indicating configuration parameters defining the second RF signal is received.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Also includes: In response to receiving signaling indicating an operating mode associated with transmitting the second RF signal, the second RF signal is generated from the first RF signal without decoding the plurality of sub-signals.

5. A method for obtaining information about an electronic device, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending a first radio frequency (RF) signal, wherein the first RF signal includes a plurality of sub-signals in the time domain, and each sub-signal includes an RF up-converted baseband signal; A second RF signal is received from an electronic device, wherein the second RF signal is a time domain function of a continuous subset of the time domain plurality of sub-signals in the first RF signal, the time domain function comprising multiplying the continuous subset of the sub-signals in the first RF signal by a complex valued symbol.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that Also includes: The second RF signal is processed to obtain information about the electronic device.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first RF signal has a specific autocorrelation characteristic.

8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that Also includes: A cross-correlation value is associated with each time shift value of a plurality of time shift values, wherein the cross-correlation value is obtained between the second RF signal and the first RF signal offset by each time shift value.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that Also includes: A specific time shift value associated with a maximum cross-correlation value among the plurality of cross-correlation values ​​is determined.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that Also includes: The specific time shift value is processed to obtain information about the electronic device.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The processing of the specific time shift value comprises: Get the value of relative time difference; The relative time difference is converted into an indication of a position of the electronic device.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The processing of the specific time shift value comprises: obtaining indications of a plurality of boundaries of consecutive subsets of a plurality of sub-signals received within a defined time duration; The plurality of boundaries are analyzed to obtain a timing indication of the electronic device.

13. A device, characterized in that: include: a memory for storing instructions; as well as The processor executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 by executing the instructions.

14. A computer readable medium, characterized in that Instructions for a processor in an electronic device are stored thereon, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

15. A computer readable medium, characterized in that Instructions for a processor in a network device are stored thereon, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 5 to 12.

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