Communication method, communication system, and base station

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a communication method, a communication system and a base station, and relates to the technical field of backscatter Internet of Things and cellular network fusion communication. If the base station does not receive the information uploaded by the backscatter Internet of Things device within a specified time, the base station broadcasts the location information of the backscatter Internet of Things device to the cellular network terminal, instructs the cellular network terminal to evaluate whether the communication with the backscatter Internet of Things device can be established, determines the cellular network terminal as an official relay from the cellular network terminals that feed back the confirmation messages that the communication with the backscatter Internet of Things device can be established and can be used as a candidate relay, and notifies the cellular network terminal as the official relay to start the relay function, so that the cellular network terminal as the official relay relays the information between the backscatter Internet of Things device and the base station. Therefore, the base station can receive the information of the Internet of Things device in the weak coverage area / blind area of the base station.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of backscattered Internet of Things and cellular network converged communication technology, and particularly to a communication method, communication system and base station. Background Technology

[0002] Backscatter technology is a wireless technology that enables signal encoding and transmission without an active transmitter. It features simple equipment, battery-free communication, and low-power, low-cost IoT communication. However, existing backscatter IoT devices, such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices, suffer from short communication distances, low system efficiency, and high deployment costs.

[0003] Integrating backscatter IoT with cellular networks can improve the coverage of backscatter IoT communication, reduce deployment costs, and increase spectrum utilization.

[0004] The inventors discovered that when backscattered IoT devices are integrated with cellular networks for communication, the backscattered IoT devices may be located in the base station's coverage blind spot or weak area, causing the base station to be unable to receive IoT information in a timely manner. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In this embodiment, if the base station does not receive information uploaded by the backscattered IoT device within a specified time, it broadcasts the location information of the backscattered IoT device to the cellular network terminal, instructing the cellular network terminal to assess whether communication can be established with the backscattered IoT device. From the cellular network terminals that have returned confirmation messages indicating that communication can be established with the backscattered IoT device, a cellular network terminal that can serve as a formal relay is determined, and the formal relay cellular network terminal is notified to activate its relay function so that it can relay information between the backscattered IoT device and the base station. This allows the base station to receive information from IoT devices located in areas with weak or no coverage.

[0006] This disclosure provides a communication method for use in a base station, comprising:

[0007] If no information is received from the backscatter IoT device within the specified time, a notification message is broadcast to the cellular terminal. The notification message includes the location information of the backscatter IoT device and is used to instruct the cellular terminal to assess whether communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device.

[0008] From the cellular network terminals that can serve as candidate relays and which provide confirmation messages that can establish communication with the backscattered IoT device, the cellular network terminals that serve as official relays are determined.

[0009] The notification activates the relay function for cellular network terminals acting as official relays, enabling them to relay information between backscatter IoT devices and base stations.

[0010] In some embodiments, the notification message may also include the sensitivity of the backscattered IoT device.

[0011] In some embodiments, the cellular network terminal identified as a formal relay includes:

[0012] If there are multiple cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays, evaluate the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal. Based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal, determine the cellular network terminal that will be used as the official relay from among the candidate cellular network terminals; or,

[0013] If there is one cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, then the cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay will be determined as the official relay.

[0014] In some embodiments, evaluating the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay includes: performing a weighted summation of the uplink and downlink traffic of each priority level of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay to obtain the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay.

[0015] In some embodiments, determining the cellular network terminals to be designated as formal relays from among the candidate cellular network terminals based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal includes:

[0016] If there is one cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as a candidate relay, that cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic will be determined as the official relay terminal; or,

[0017] If there are multiple cellular network terminals with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as candidate relays, the cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic and the largest difference in information is selected as the official relay.

[0018] The confirmation message includes the difference information, which is obtained by the cellular terminal that sends the confirmation message by calculating the difference between the cellular terminal's transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular terminal to the backscatter IoT device.

[0019] In some embodiments, the cellular network terminal that receives the notification message calculates the difference between the cellular network terminal's transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular network terminal to the backscatter IoT device.

[0020] If the difference information is greater than or equal to the sensitivity of the backscatter IoT device, the cellular terminal sends back a confirmation message that communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device.

[0021] In some embodiments, the path loss from the cellular terminal to the backscattered IoT device is determined based on the transmission frequency of the cellular terminal and the distance between the cellular terminal and the backscattered IoT device; or, the fading margin is determined based on at least one of terrain and weather.

[0022] In some embodiments, after broadcasting the notification message, a timer for a waiting period is started. When the timer expires: if a confirmation message is received from the cellular terminal indicating that communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device, the determination step for formal relaying and the notification step for enabling the relay function are executed; if no confirmation message is received, the broadcasting step for the notification message is executed again, or the waiting time or broadcast range is rescheduled and the broadcasting step for the notification message is executed again.

[0023] In some embodiments, after receiving a notification to enable the relay function, the cellular network terminal acting as a formal relay enables the relay function, transmits an excitation signal to the backscatter IoT device, receives information transmitted by the backscatter IoT device based on the excitation signal, and forwards the information to the base station.

[0024] Some embodiments of this disclosure provide a base station including: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute a communication method based on instructions stored in the memory.

[0025] This disclosure provides some embodiments of a base station, including:

[0026] The broadcast unit is configured to broadcast a notification message to the cellular terminal if it does not receive information uploaded by the backscatter IoT device within a specified time. The notification message includes the location information of the backscatter IoT device and is used to instruct the cellular terminal to assess whether communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device.

[0027] The determining unit is configured to determine, from among the cellular network terminals that can serve as candidate relays and which provide confirmation messages that enable them to establish communication with the backscattered IoT device, a cellular network terminal that will serve as a formal relay.

[0028] The notification unit is configured to notify the cellular network terminal acting as a formal relay to enable the relay function, so that the cellular network terminal acting as a formal relay can relay information between the backscatter IoT device and the base station.

[0029] In some embodiments, the determining unit is configured to

[0030] If there are multiple cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays, evaluate the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal. Based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal, determine the cellular network terminal that will be used as the official relay from among the candidate cellular network terminals; or,

[0031] If there is one cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, then the cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay will be determined as the official relay.

[0032] In some embodiments, the determining unit is configured to

[0033] If there are multiple cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays:

[0034] If there is one cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as a candidate relay, that cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic will be determined as the official relay terminal; or,

[0035] If there are multiple cellular network terminals with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as candidate relays, the cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic and the largest difference in information is selected as the official relay.

[0036] The confirmation message includes the difference information, which is obtained by the cellular terminal that sends the confirmation message by calculating the difference between the cellular terminal's transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular terminal to the backscatter IoT device.

[0037] This disclosure provides a communication system in some embodiments, including:

[0038] Base station;

[0039] Backscatter IoT devices;

[0040] The cellular terminal is configured to respond to a notification from the base station by: assessing whether communication can be established with the backscattered IoT device; if so, sending a confirmation message to the base station confirming that communication can be established with the backscattered IoT device; or, enabling relay function to relay information between the backscattered IoT device and the base station.

[0041] Some embodiments of this disclosure provide a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of a communication method. Attached Figure Description

[0042] The accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. This disclosure can be more clearly understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0044] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a backscattered Internet of Things and cellular network converged communication system (hereinafter referred to as "communication system") according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0045] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates a communication method (hereinafter referred to as the "communication method") for the convergence of backscattered Internet of Things and cellular network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a base station according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0047] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a base station according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0048] Figure 5 The diagram illustrates the determination of candidate relays and official relays according to some embodiments of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0049] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0050] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a backscattered Internet of Things and cellular network converged communication system (hereinafter referred to as "communication system") according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0051] like Figure 1 As shown, the communication system 100 of this embodiment includes: a base station (BS) 110, a backscatter Internet of Things device (BD) 120, and a cellular terminal (UE) 130.

[0052] Base station 110 sends a wireless carrier signal to cellular network terminal 130 to establish normal communication with cellular network terminal 130. At the same time, the wireless signal sent can stimulate backscatter IoT device 120 to receive information uploaded by backscatter IoT device 120.

[0053] The backscattering IoT device 120 receives the wireless signal from the base station 110 or the cellular terminal 130 as an excitation signal, and modulates its own data onto the excitation signal to upload back to the base station 110 or the cellular terminal 130.

[0054] Cellular terminal 130 establishes normal communication with base station 110 and has relay function, which can send excitation signal to backscatter IoT device 120, receive and demodulate the information uploaded by backscatter IoT device 120, and forward it to base station 110.

[0055] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates a communication method (hereinafter referred to as the "communication method") for the convergence of backscattered Internet of Things and cellular network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0056] The following is combined with Figure 2 The communication method of this embodiment is described.

[0057] In step 210, the base station did not receive the information uploaded by the backscatter IoT device within the specified time.

[0058] In step 220, the base station broadcasts a notification message to the cellular network terminal, the notification message being used to instruct the cellular network terminal to assess whether communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device.

[0059] The notification message includes the location information of the backscatter IoT device, and may also include the sensitivity of the backscatter IoT device.

[0060] The base station sets a timer T. Timer T starts counting when a notification message is broadcast, that is, T = 0 when the notification message is broadcast.

[0061] In step 230, the cellular terminal that receives the notification message evaluates whether it can establish communication with the backscatter IoT device. If so, it sends a confirmation message to the base station that it can establish communication with the backscatter IoT device.

[0062] Upon receiving the notification message, the cellular terminal calculates the difference P between its transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular terminal to the backscatter IoT device. The calculation formula is as follows:

[0063] P = P UE_max -PL(f,d)-Δ,

[0064] Among them, P UE_maxPL(f,d) represents the maximum transmit power of the cellular network terminal. PL(f,d) is the path loss from the cellular network terminal to the backscattered IoT device. It can be determined based on the transmit frequency f of the cellular network terminal and the distance d between the cellular network terminal and the backscattered IoT device. It can be determined using a free-space path loss model or a classic model such as Cost.231. The distance d is determined based on the location of the cellular network terminal and the location of the backscattered IoT device. Δ is the fading margin, which can be reserved based on factors such as terrain and weather. The more complex the terrain, the larger the fading margin. For high frequencies above 6GHz, the effects of weather such as rain attenuation (i.e., attenuation caused by rain) also need to be considered.

[0065] If the difference information P is greater than or equal to the sensitivity of the backscattering IoT device, the cellular terminal sends a confirmation message to the base station indicating that communication can be established with the backscattering IoT device. The confirmation message may also include the difference information P.

[0066] If the difference information P is less than the sensitivity of the backscattering IoT device, the cellular terminal does not send a confirmation message and continues in its previous state. For example, if the cellular terminal was previously in an idle state, it will remain in the idle state.

[0067] In step 240, the base station determines the cellular network terminal to be the official relay from among the cellular network terminals that can serve as candidate relays and have provided confirmation messages that can establish communication with the backscattered IoT device.

[0068] The base station can be set with a waiting time T. wait This time is the period from when the base station broadcasts a notification message to when it receives an acknowledgment message from the cellular terminal. Waiting time T wait The settings can be configured according to the latency requirements of IoT services and the communication status between cellular terminals and base stations.

[0069] When the timer expires, i.e., T = T wait At this time, the base station begins selecting a cellular network terminal as a formal relay from among the candidate relay terminals that have provided confirmation messages. When the timer expires, the base station can also broadcast a stop evaluation instruction to the cellular network terminals within its service range, notifying these terminals to cease the evaluation.

[0070] Base station in [0,T wait Within a certain time period, execute (1) or (2) or (3) below depending on the receipt of the confirmation message.

[0071] (1) When the base station receives confirmation messages from multiple cellular network terminals, the base station evaluates the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, and determines the cellular network terminal that can be used as a formal relay from among the cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay.

[0072] The base station bases the cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays at T=T wait +ΔT represents the total uplink and downlink traffic at time T (where time T is the moment the formal relay sends the excitation signal to the backscattered IoT device to establish communication). ΔT is the time it takes for the base station to select a cellular network terminal as the formal relay from among the candidate cellular network terminals. It should be noted that ΔT is extremely short, therefore T = T0. wait The base station has been scheduled at time T=T wait Resources at time +ΔT, the base station knows T = T wait Uplink and downlink service status of cellular network terminals at time +ΔT.

[0073] The assessment of the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay includes: performing a weighted summation of the uplink and downlink traffic of each priority level of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay to obtain the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay.

[0074] Assumptions: Cellular terminal services are prioritized into n levels, namely Q1, Q2, ..., Qn, where A represents the total uplink and downlink traffic of the cellular terminal. Q1 A Q2 ... A Qn Let A represent the uplink and downlink traffic volumes at each level of the cellular network terminal. Then, the total uplink and downlink traffic volume A of the cellular network terminal is:

[0075] A=α1A Q1 +α2A Q2 +......+α n A Qn

[0076] In the formula, α1, α2, ..., α n These are weighting factors for different levels of business. The higher the priority level of a business, the greater its corresponding weighting factor, and the greater its influence in the overall assessment of upstream and downstream business volume.

[0077] Based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, the cellular network terminal that can be used as a formal relay is determined from the cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays. This includes: if there is one cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic, the cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic is determined as the cellular network terminal that can be used as a formal relay; or, if there are multiple cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic, the cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic and the largest difference information (i.e., the difference information P in step 230) is determined as the cellular network terminal that can be used as a formal relay.

[0078] (2) When the base station receives only one acknowledgment message from a cellular network terminal, it directly selects that cellular network terminal as the formal relay.

[0079] (3) When the base station does not receive any confirmation message, the system reports an error and the base station restarts the process, starting from step 220 and proceeding sequentially until a confirmation message is received. If no confirmation message is received after starting M cycles, the waiting time or broadcast range is re-planned, and the process is restarted, starting from step 220 and proceeding sequentially until a confirmation message is received.

[0080] In step 250, the base station notifies the cellular network terminal acting as the formal relay to enable the relay function.

[0081] In step 260, the cellular network terminal, acting as a formal relay, performs information relay transmission between the backscatter IoT device and the base station.

[0082] After receiving a notification to enable the relay function, the cellular network terminal acting as a formal relay activates the relay function, transmits an excitation signal to the backscatter IoT device, receives information transmitted by the backscatter IoT device based on the excitation signal, and forwards the information to the base station.

[0083] In this embodiment, if the base station does not receive information uploaded by the backscattered IoT device within a specified time, it broadcasts the location information of the backscattered IoT device to the cellular network terminal, instructing the cellular network terminal to assess whether communication can be established with the backscattered IoT device. From the cellular network terminals that have returned confirmation messages indicating that communication can be established with the backscattered IoT device, a cellular network terminal that can serve as a formal relay is determined, and the formal relay cellular network terminal is notified to activate its relay function so that it can relay information between the backscattered IoT device and the base station. This allows the base station to receive information from IoT devices located in areas with weak or no coverage.

[0084] The base station broadcasts a notification to cellular network terminals to assess whether they can communicate with IoT devices. Cellular network terminals that can communicate report confirmation information, while those that cannot communicate do not need to report information. This greatly reduces the number of concurrent uplink connections on the network at the same time and effectively avoids network collisions.

[0085] Setting a deadline for base stations to collect confirmation information from cellular network terminals can effectively avoid wasting time resources.

[0086] Select the relay cellular network terminal based on the traffic volume of the cellular network terminal, so as to minimize the impact on the original cellular network service of the cellular network terminal.

[0087] like Figure 5 As shown, assuming cellular terminals UE1, UE2, UE3, and UE4 receive a communication message broadcast by the base station, they begin evaluating whether they can establish communication with the backscattered IoT device BD. After evaluation, UE1 and UE3 can establish communication with the backscattered IoT device BD and send a confirmation message to the base station confirming communication. UE2 and UE4 cannot establish communication with the backscattered IoT device BD and do not send a confirmation message. After receiving the confirmation messages from UE1 and UE3, the base station, based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of UE1 and UE3, ultimately selects UE3, which has the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic, as the official relay. UE3 then performs information relay transmission between the backscattered IoT device and the base station.

[0088] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a base station according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0089] like Figure 3 As shown, the base station 300 in this embodiment includes:

[0090] Broadcast unit 310 is configured to broadcast a notification message to a cellular terminal if it does not receive information uploaded by the backscatter IoT device within a specified time. The notification message includes the location information of the backscatter IoT device and may also include the sensitivity of the backscatter IoT device, which is used to instruct the cellular terminal to assess whether communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device.

[0091] The determining unit 320 is configured to determine a cellular network terminal as a formal relay from among cellular network terminals that can serve as candidate relays and which have provided confirmation messages that enable them to establish communication with the backscattered IoT device.

[0092] The notification unit 330 is configured to notify the cellular network terminal acting as a formal relay to enable the relay function, so that the cellular network terminal acting as a formal relay can relay information between the backscatter IoT device and the base station.

[0093] Unit 320 is defined as follows:

[0094] If there are multiple cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays, evaluate the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal. Based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal, determine the cellular network terminal that will be used as the official relay from among the candidate cellular network terminals; or,

[0095] If there is one cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, then the cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay will be determined as the official relay.

[0096] The determining unit 320 is configured to: evaluate the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, including: performing a weighted summation operation on the uplink and downlink traffic of each priority level of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay to obtain the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay.

[0097] The determining unit 320 is configured to: determine, based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, the cellular network terminals that will be used as official relays from among the candidate cellular network terminals, including:

[0098] If there are multiple cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays:

[0099] If there is one cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as a candidate relay, that cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic will be determined as the official relay terminal; or,

[0100] If there are multiple cellular network terminals with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as candidate relays, the cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic and the largest difference in information is selected as the official relay.

[0101] The confirmation message includes the difference information, which is obtained by the cellular terminal that sends the confirmation message by calculating the difference between the cellular terminal's transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular terminal to the backscatter IoT device.

[0102] After broadcasting the notification message, the base station starts a timer for the waiting period. When the timer expires: if it receives a confirmation message from the cellular terminal indicating that it can establish communication with the backscatter IoT device, it executes the determination unit and the notification unit; if it does not receive any confirmation message, it executes the broadcast unit again, or re-plans the waiting time or broadcast range and then executes the broadcast unit again.

[0103] Figure 4A schematic diagram of the structure of a base station according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0104] like Figure 4 As shown, the base station 400 of this embodiment includes a memory 410 and a processor 420 coupled to the memory 410. The processor 420 is configured to execute the communication methods in any of the foregoing embodiments based on instructions stored in the memory 410.

[0105] The base station 400 may also include an input / output interface 430, a network interface 440, a storage interface 450, etc. These interfaces 430, 440, 450, as well as the memory 410 and the processor 420, can be connected, for example, via a bus 460.

[0106] The memory 410 may include, for example, system memory, fixed non-volatile storage media, etc. The system memory stores, for example, the operating system, application programs, boot loader, and other programs.

[0107] The processor 420 can be implemented using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates, or transistors, or other discrete hardware components.

[0108] The input / output interface 430 provides a connection interface for input / output devices such as monitors, mice, keyboards, and touchscreens. The network interface 440 provides a connection interface for various networked devices. The storage interface 450 provides a connection interface for external storage devices such as SD cards and USB flash drives. The bus 460 can use any bus architecture from various bus structures. For example, bus architectures include, but are not limited to, Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

[0109] Some embodiments of this disclosure provide a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of a communication method.

[0110] (1) A communication method integrating backscattered Internet of Things (IoT) and cellular network, applied to a base station, comprising:

[0111] If no information is received from the backscatter IoT device within the specified time, a notification message is broadcast to the cellular terminal. The notification message includes the location information of the backscatter IoT device and is used to instruct the cellular terminal to assess whether communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device.

[0112] From the cellular network terminals that can serve as candidate relays and which provide confirmation messages that can establish communication with the backscattered IoT device, the cellular network terminals that serve as official relays are determined.

[0113] The notification activates the relay function for cellular network terminals acting as official relays, enabling them to relay information between backscatter IoT devices and base stations.

[0114] (2) According to (1), the notification message also includes the sensitivity of the backscattering IoT device.

[0115] (3) Based on (1) or (2), the cellular network terminals that serve as formal relays include:

[0116] If there are multiple cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays, evaluate the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal. Based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal, determine the cellular network terminal that will be used as the official relay from among the candidate cellular network terminals; or,

[0117] If there is one cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, then the cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay will be determined as the official relay.

[0118] (4) According to (1) or (2) or (3), the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay includes: performing a weighted summation operation on the uplink and downlink traffic of each priority level of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay to obtain the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay.

[0119] (5) Based on (1) or (2) or (3) or (4), and based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, the cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays are determined to be official relays, including:

[0120] If there is one cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as a candidate relay, that cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic will be determined as the official relay terminal; or,

[0121] If there are multiple cellular network terminals with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as candidate relays, the cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic and the largest difference in information is selected as the official relay.

[0122] The confirmation message includes the difference information, which is obtained by the cellular terminal that sends the confirmation message by calculating the difference between the cellular terminal's transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular terminal to the backscatter IoT device.

[0123] (6) According to (1) or (2) or (3) or (4) or (5), it also includes:

[0124] Upon receiving the notification message, the cellular terminal calculates the difference between the cellular terminal's transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular terminal to the backscatter IoT device.

[0125] If the difference information is greater than or equal to the sensitivity of the backscatter IoT device, the cellular terminal sends back a confirmation message that communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device.

[0126] (7) According to (1) or (2) or (3) or (4) or (5) or (6), the path loss from the cellular network terminal to the backscatter IoT device is determined based on the transmission frequency of the cellular network terminal and the distance between the cellular network terminal and the backscatter IoT device; or, the fading margin is determined based on at least one of the terrain and weather.

[0127] (8) According to (1) or (2) or (3) or (4) or (5) or (6) or (7), after broadcasting the notification message, the base station starts a timer for the waiting time. When the timer expires: if a confirmation message is received from the cellular terminal indicating that communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device, the base station performs the determination step of formal relay and the notification step of enabling relay function; if no confirmation message is received, the base station performs the broadcasting step of notification message again, or re-plans the waiting time or broadcast range and then performs the broadcasting step of notification message again.

[0128] (9) According to (1) or (2) or (3) or (4) or (5) or (6) or (7) or (8), after receiving the notification to enable the relay function, the cellular network terminal acting as the formal relay enables the relay function, transmits the excitation signal to the backscatter IoT device, receives the information transmitted by the backscatter IoT device based on the excitation signal, and forwards the information to the base station.

[0129] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer program code.

[0130] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create a machine for implementing the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0131] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0132] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0133] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this disclosure and is not intended to limit this disclosure. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this disclosure should be included within the protection scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a base station, comprising: If no information is received from a backscattering IoT device located in a base station coverage blind or weak area within the specified time, a notification message is broadcast to the cellular network terminal. The notification message includes the location information of the backscattering IoT device, which is used to instruct the cellular network terminal to assess whether communication can be established with the backscattering IoT device. The notification message also includes the sensitivity of the backscattering IoT device. From the candidate relay cellular terminals that have provided confirmation messages indicating they can establish communication with the backscattered IoT device, a cellular terminal is determined as the official relay. The cellular terminal provides the confirmation message based on the location information and sensitivity of the backscattered IoT device. This includes: upon receiving the notification message, the cellular terminal calculates the difference between its transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular terminal to the backscattered IoT device; if the difference is greater than or equal to the sensitivity of the backscattered IoT device, the cellular terminal provides the confirmation message indicating it can establish communication with the backscattered IoT device. The notification activates the relay function for cellular network terminals acting as official relays, enabling them to relay information between backscatter IoT devices and base stations.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the cellular network terminal as a formal relay comprises: If there are multiple cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays, evaluate the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal. Based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal, determine the cellular network terminal that will be used as the official relay from among the candidate cellular network terminals; or, If there is one cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, then the cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay will be determined as the official relay.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein evaluating the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular terminal that can be used as a candidate relay includes: The uplink and downlink traffic volumes of each priority level of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay are weighted and summed to obtain the total uplink and downlink traffic volume of each cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein determining the cellular network terminal as a formal relay from the cellular network terminals that can be candidate relays, based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each cellular network terminal that can be a candidate relay, comprises: If there is one cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as a candidate relay, that cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic will be determined as the official relay terminal; or, If there are multiple cellular network terminals with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as candidate relays, the cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic and the largest difference in information is selected as the official relay. The confirmation message includes the difference information, which is obtained by the cellular terminal that sends the confirmation message by calculating the difference between the cellular terminal's transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular terminal to the backscatter IoT device.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The path loss from the cellular terminal to the backscatter IoT device is determined based on the transmission frequency of the cellular terminal and the distance between the cellular terminal and the backscatter IoT device. or, The fading margin is determined based on at least one of topography and weather.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: After broadcasting the notification message, a timer for the waiting period is started. When the timer expires: if a confirmation message is received from the cellular terminal indicating that communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device, the formal relay confirmation step and the relay function activation notification step are executed; if no confirmation message is received, the notification message broadcasting step is executed again, or the waiting time or broadcast range is re-planned and the notification message broadcasting step is executed again.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, further comprising: After receiving a notification to enable the relay function, the cellular network terminal acting as a formal relay activates the relay function, transmits an excitation signal to the backscatter IoT device, receives information transmitted by the backscatter IoT device based on the excitation signal, and forwards the information to the base station.

8. A base station, comprising: Memory; as well as A processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute the communication method of any one of claims 1-6 based on instructions stored in the memory.

9. A base station, comprising: The broadcast unit is configured to broadcast a notification message to the cellular network terminal if it does not receive information uploaded by a backscatter IoT device located in a base station coverage blind zone or weak zone within a specified time. The notification message includes the location information of the backscatter IoT device, which is used to instruct the cellular network terminal to assess whether communication can be established with the backscatter IoT device. The notification message also includes the sensitivity of the backscatter IoT device. The determining unit is configured to determine a cellular network terminal as a formal relay from among cellular network terminals that can serve as candidate relays and have returned a confirmation message indicating that they can establish communication with the backscattered IoT device. The cellular network terminal returns the confirmation message indicating that it can establish communication with the backscattered IoT device based on the location information and sensitivity of the backscattered IoT device. This includes: the cellular network terminal receiving the notification message calculating the difference between the cellular network terminal's transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular network terminal to the backscattered IoT device; if the difference is greater than or equal to the sensitivity of the backscattered IoT device, the cellular network terminal returns the confirmation message indicating that it can establish communication with the backscattered IoT device. The notification unit is configured to notify the cellular network terminal acting as a formal relay to enable the relay function, so that the cellular network terminal acting as a formal relay can relay information between the backscatter IoT device and the base station.

10. The base station according to claim 9, wherein the determining unit is configured to If there are multiple cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays, evaluate the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal. Based on the total uplink and downlink traffic of each candidate cellular network terminal, determine the cellular network terminal that will be used as the official relay from among the candidate cellular network terminals; or, If there is one cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay, then the cellular network terminal that can be used as a candidate relay will be determined as the official relay.

11. The base station according to claim 9, wherein the determining unit is configured to If there are multiple cellular network terminals that can be used as candidate relays: If there is one cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as a candidate relay, that cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic will be determined as the official relay terminal; or, If there are multiple cellular network terminals with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic that can be used as candidate relays, the cellular network terminal with the smallest total uplink and downlink traffic and the largest difference in information is selected as the official relay. in, The confirmation message includes the difference information, which is obtained by the cellular terminal that sends the confirmation message by calculating the difference between the cellular terminal's transmit power and the path loss and fading margin from the cellular terminal to the backscatter IoT device.

12. A communication system, comprising: The base station according to any one of claims 8-11; Backscatter IoT devices; The cellular terminal is configured to respond to a notification from the base station by: assessing whether communication can be established with the backscattered IoT device; if so, sending a confirmation message to the base station confirming that communication can be established with the backscattered IoT device; or, enabling relay function to relay information between the backscattered IoT device and the base station.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1-7.

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