Wireless communication method and device

Abstract

A wireless communication method and device, the method comprising: a first device performing backscattering on a signal on all or part of bandwidth of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal to obtain a backscattered signal;

Description

Wireless communication method and device Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and specifically to a method and device for wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] In zero-power communication, zero-power terminals can implement backscatter communication based on radio waves. Due to their low complexity, zero-power terminals only support simple modulation methods such as amplitude shift keying (ASK), while traditional terminals use more complex modulation waveforms such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). Therefore, when zero-power terminals are widely connected to the system, how to achieve symbiotic communication between zero-power terminals and traditional terminals is an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a wireless communication method and device, which can realize symbiotic communication between zero-power consumption terminals and traditional terminals.

[0005] In a first aspect, a method for wireless communication is provided, comprising: a first device performing backscattering on a signal on the entire bandwidth or a partial bandwidth of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal to obtain a backscattered signal.

[0006] In a second aspect, a method for wireless communication is provided, including: a second device receiving a backscattered signal, where the backscattered signal is obtained by a first device backscattering a signal on the entire bandwidth or a partial bandwidth of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal.

[0007] In a third aspect, a terminal device is provided for executing the method in the above-mentioned first aspect or its various implementations.

[0008] Specifically, the terminal device includes a functional module for executing the method in the above-mentioned first aspect or its various implementation modes.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, a network device is provided for executing the method in the above second aspect or its various implementations.

[0010] Specifically, the network device includes a functional module for executing the method in the above-mentioned second aspect or its various implementation modes.

[0011] In a fifth aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to call and execute the computer program stored in the memory to perform the method of the first aspect or its respective implementations.

[0012] In a sixth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to call and execute the computer program stored in the memory to perform the method of the second aspect or its respective implementations.

[0013] In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided for implementing the method in any one of the first to second aspects or their respective implementations.

[0014] Specifically, the chip includes: a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the device executes the method in any one of the first to second aspects or their respective implementations.

[0015] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided for storing a computer program, which enables a computer to execute the method of any one of the first to second aspects or their respective implementations.

[0016] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising computer program instructions, wherein the computer program instructions enable a computer to execute the method of any one of the first to second aspects or their respective implementations.

[0017] In a tenth aspect, a computer program is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method of any one of the first to second aspects or their respective implementations.

[0018] Through the above technical solution, when the first device accesses the system, backscattering can be performed using signals on the entire bandwidth or partial bandwidth of the broadband OFDM signal, thereby enabling symbiotic communication with traditional terminals in the system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0020] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a zero-power communication system according to an example of the present application.

[0021] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of energy harvesting according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of backscatter communication according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] FIG5 is a circuit diagram of resistive load modulation according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of backscattering based on a downlink signal provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of backscattering based on an uplink channel provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of single-carrier backscattering provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of single-carrier backscattering in the case of a multi-reflection device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of multi-carrier backscattering provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a system applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0031] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of another system applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of a symbiotic communication system model provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of signal relationships in a symbiotic communication system.

[0034] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of a sign feature of a backscatter signal provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0035] FIG17 is a schematic diagram of resource mapping of data symbols in the frequency domain first and then in the time domain, provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0036] FIG18 is another schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present application providing a method for performing resource mapping of data symbols in the frequency domain first and then in the time domain.

[0037] Figure 19 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0038] Figure 20 is a schematic block diagram of another communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0039] Figure 21 is a schematic block diagram of another communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0040] Figure 22 is a schematic block diagram of a chip provided according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0041] Figure 23 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0042] Figure 24 is a schematic block diagram of another communication system provided according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] The following will describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. With respect to the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0044] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR on unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (Wireless Fidelity) system. Fidelity, WiFi), fifth-generation communication (5th-Generation, 5G) system, cellular Internet of Things system, cellular passive Internet of Things system or other communication systems, etc.

[0045] Generally speaking, traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, mobile communication systems will not only support traditional communications, but will also support, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, etc. The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0046] Optionally, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, or a standalone (SA) networking scenario.

[0047] Optionally, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to an unlicensed spectrum, where the unlicensed spectrum can also be considered as a shared spectrum; or, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to an authorized spectrum, where the authorized spectrum can also be considered as an unshared spectrum.

[0048] The embodiments of the present application describe various embodiments in conjunction with network devices and terminal devices, wherein the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device, etc.

[0049] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device may be a device for communicating with a mobile device. The network device may be an access point (AP) in WLAN, a base station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA, a base station (NodeB, NB) in WCDMA, an evolved base station (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or a relay station or access point, or a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device (gNB) in an NR network, or a network device in a cellular Internet of Things, or a network device in a cellular passive Internet of Things, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network or a network device in an NTN network, etc.

[0050] As an example and not a limitation, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device may have a mobile feature, for example, the network device may be a mobile device. Alternatively, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. For example, the satellite may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, etc. Optionally, the network device may also be a base station set up in a location such as land or water.

[0051] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device can provide services for a cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources used by the cell (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources). The cell can be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here may include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0052] The terminal device can be a station (ST) in a WLAN, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system such as an NR network, or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, a terminal device in a cellular Internet of Things, a terminal device in a cellular passive Internet of Things, etc.

[0053] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.).

[0054] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc.

[0055] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0056] For example, a communication system 100 used in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG1 . The communication system 100 may include a network device 110, which may be a device that communicates with a terminal device 120 (or a communication terminal or terminal). The network device 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area and may communicate with terminal devices within the coverage area.

[0057] FIG1 exemplarily shows a network device and two terminal devices. Optionally, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices and each network device may include other numbers of terminal devices within its coverage area, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0058] Optionally, the communication system 100 may further include other network entities such as a network controller and a mobility management entity, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0059] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, a device having a communication function in a network / system may be referred to as a communication device. Taking the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 as an example, the communication device may include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 having a communication function. The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 may be the specific devices described above and will not be described in detail here. The communication device may also include other devices in the communication system 100, such as a network controller, a mobility management entity, and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0060] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" is simply a description of an association between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0061] It should be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can be obtained through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained through C; it can also mean that there is an association between A and B.

[0062] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0063] In the embodiments of the present application, "pre-defined" may be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., a terminal device or a network device). The present application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, pre-defined may refer to information defined in a protocol.

[0064] In the embodiments of the present application, the "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the communication field, for example, it may include an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and this application does not limit this.

[0065] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the relevant technologies of the present application are explained.

[0066] 1. Zero-power communication

[0067] The key technologies of zero-power communication include energy harvesting, backscatter communication and low-power technology.

[0068] As shown in Figure 2, a typical zero-power communication system (such as an RFID system) includes a network device (such as an RFID system reader) and a zero-power terminal (such as an electronic tag). The network device is used to send wireless power supply signals, downlink communication signals, and receive backscattered signals from the zero-power terminal to the zero-power terminal. A basic zero-power terminal includes an energy collection module, a backscatter communication module, and a low-power computing module. In addition, the zero-power terminal may also have a memory or sensor for storing some basic information (such as item identification, etc.) or sensor data such as ambient temperature and ambient humidity.

[0069] For example, the energy harvesting module can collect energy carried by radio waves in space (Figure 2 shows radio waves emitted by network devices) to drive the low-power computing module of the zero-power terminal and implement backscatter communication. After obtaining energy, the zero-power terminal can receive control commands from the network device and send data to the network device based on control signaling using backscattering. The data sent can be data stored in the zero-power terminal itself (such as an identity or pre-written information, such as the product's production date, brand, manufacturer, etc.). The zero-power terminal can also be loaded with various sensors, so that the data collected by various sensors can be reported based on the zero-power mechanism.

[0070] The following describes the key technologies in zero-power communication.

[0071] 1. RF Power Harvesting

[0072] As shown in Figure 3, the RF energy harvesting module uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to collect electromagnetic wave energy from space, thereby obtaining the energy required to operate the zero-power terminal. For example, it is used to drive low-power demodulation and modulation modules, sensors, and memory reading. Therefore, the zero-power terminal does not require traditional batteries.

[0073] 2. Back Scattering

[0074] As shown in Figure 4, a zero-power terminal receives a carrier signal sent by a network device, modulates it, loads the information to be transmitted, and radiates the modulated signal from the antenna. This information transmission process is called backscatter communication. Backscatter and load modulation are closely related. Load modulation achieves this by adjusting and controlling the circuit parameters of the zero-power terminal's oscillator circuit according to the data stream's rhythm, causing parameters such as the zero-power terminal's impedance to change accordingly. Load modulation techniques primarily include resistive load modulation and capacitive load modulation. In resistive load modulation, a resistor is connected in parallel with the load, which is switched on or off based on the binary data stream, as shown in Figure 5. The switching of the resistor causes a change in the circuit voltage, thus implementing amplitude-shifted keying (ASK). This modulation and transmission of the signal is achieved by adjusting the amplitude of the zero-power terminal's backscattered signal. Similarly, in capacitive load modulation, the switching of the capacitor changes the circuit's resonant frequency, enabling frequency-shifted keying (FSK). This modulation and transmission of the signal is achieved by adjusting the operating frequency of the zero-power terminal's backscattered signal.

[0075] It can be seen that the zero-power terminal uses load modulation to modulate the incoming signal, thereby realizing the backscatter communication process. Therefore, the zero-power terminal has significant advantages:

[0076] (1) It does not actively transmit signals, so it does not require complex RF links, such as PA, RF filters, etc.

[0077] (2) There is no need to actively generate high-frequency signals, so no high-frequency crystal oscillator is required;

[0078] (3) With the help of backscatter communication, terminal signal transmission does not need to consume the terminal's own energy.

[0079] 3. Coding technology

[0080] Data transmitted by zero-power terminals can use various codes to represent binary "1" and "0." RFID systems typically use one of the following encoding methods: non-return-to-zero (NRZ), Manchester, unipolar return-to-zero, differential bi-phase (DBP), differential, pulse interval encoding (PIE), bidirectional space encoding (FMO), Miller, and differential encoding. In simple terms, different encoding techniques use different pulse signals to represent 0 and 1.

[0081] Application scenarios of zero-power communication

[0082] Due to its significant advantages such as extremely low cost, zero power consumption, and small size, zero-power communication can be widely used in various industries, such as logistics for vertical industries, smart warehousing, smart agriculture, energy and electricity, industrial Internet, etc.; it can also be applied to personal applications such as smart wearables and smart homes.

[0083] In some scenarios, based on their energy sources and usage, zero-power terminals can be categorized into the following types:

[0084] 1. Passive zero-power terminal

[0085] Zero-power terminals (such as electronic tags in RFID systems) do not require internal batteries. When a zero-power terminal approaches a network device (such as an RFID reader), it is within the near-field radiation generated by the network device's antenna. Consequently, the zero-power terminal's antenna generates an induced current through electromagnetic induction, which drives the low-power chip circuitry in the zero-power terminal. This enables forward link signal demodulation and reverse link (or reflection link) signal modulation. For backscatter links, the zero-power terminal uses backscattering to transmit signals.

[0086] It can be seen that the passive zero-power terminal does not require a built-in battery to drive either the forward link or the reverse link, and is a true zero-power terminal.

[0087] Passive zero-power terminals do not require batteries, and the RF circuit and baseband circuit are very simple. For example, they do not require low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), power amplifiers (PAs), crystal oscillators, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), and other devices. Therefore, they have many advantages such as small size, light weight, very low price, and long service life.

[0088] 2. Semi-passive zero-power terminal

[0089] Semi-passive zero-power terminals do not have conventional batteries themselves, but instead use RF energy harvesting modules to harvest radio wave energy and store it in an energy storage unit (such as a capacitor). This energy is then used to power the low-power chip circuitry in the zero-power terminal, performing tasks such as demodulating forward link signals and modulating reverse link signals. For backscatter links, the zero-power terminal uses backscattering to transmit signals.

[0090] It can be seen that the semi-passive zero-power terminal does not require a built-in battery to drive either the forward link or the reverse link. Although energy stored in capacitors is used in operation, the energy comes from the radio energy collected by the energy harvesting module. Therefore, it is also a true zero-power terminal.

[0091] Semi-passive zero-power consumption terminals inherit many advantages of passive zero-power consumption terminals, so they have many advantages such as small size, light weight, very low price, and long service life.

[0092] 3. Active zero-power terminal

[0093] In some scenarios, zero-power terminals can also be active zero-power terminals, which can have built-in batteries. The batteries power the low-power chip circuits in the zero-power terminal, which perform tasks such as demodulating forward link signals and modulating reverse link signals. However, for backscatter links, zero-power terminals use backscattering to transmit signals. Therefore, the zero-power nature of these devices lies primarily in the fact that reverse link signal transmission does not require the terminal's own power, but rather utilizes backscattering.

[0094] Active zero-power terminals have built-in batteries that power the RFID chip, increasing their read and write distance and improving communication reliability. Therefore, they are suitable for scenarios with relatively high requirements for communication distance and read latency.

[0095] 2. Cellular Passive IoT

[0096] As 5G industry applications expand, the types of connected objects and application scenarios will increase, placing higher demands on the cost and power consumption of communication terminals. The application of battery-free, low-cost passive IoT devices has become a key technology for cellular IoT, expanding the types and number of terminals connected to 5G networks and truly realizing the interconnection of everything. Passive IoT devices can be based on zero-power communication technologies, such as RFID, and can be extended to suit cellular IoT.

[0097] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the power supply signal, scheduling signal and carrier signal related to zero-power communication are explained.

[0098] 1. Energy supply signal

[0099] The energy supply signal is the energy source for the zero-power terminal to collect energy.

[0100] From the perspective of energy supply signal carriers, it can be base stations, smart phones, smart gateways, charging stations, micro base stations, etc.

[0101] In terms of frequency band, the frequency band of radio waves used for energy supply can be low frequency, medium frequency, high frequency, etc.

[0102] In terms of waveform, the radio waves used for power supply can be sine waves, square waves, triangle waves, pulses, rectangular waves, etc.

[0103] In addition, the power supply signal can be a continuous wave or a discontinuous wave (ie, a certain period of interruption is allowed).

[0104] Optionally, the energy supply signal can be an existing signal in the 3GPP standard, such as a sounding reference signal (SRS), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical random access channel (PRACH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), etc., or it can be a WiFi signal or a Bluetooth signal.

[0105] Optionally, the energy supply signal may also be implemented by adding a new signal, for example, adding a signal dedicated to energy supply.

[0106] 2. Trigger signal or scheduling signal

[0107] The trigger signal is used to trigger or schedule the zero-power terminal to transmit data.

[0108] From the perspective of trigger signal carrier, it can be a base station, smart phone, smart gateway, etc.

[0109] In terms of frequency band, the radio waves used for triggering or scheduling can be low frequency, medium frequency, high frequency, etc.

[0110] In terms of waveform, the radio wave used for triggering or scheduling can be a sine wave, square wave, triangle wave, pulse, rectangular wave, etc.

[0111] In addition, the trigger signal can be a continuous wave or a discontinuous wave (ie, a certain period of interruption is allowed).

[0112] Optionally, the trigger signal may be an existing signal in the 3GPP standard, such as SRS, PUSCH, PRACH, PUCCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, PBCH, or a WIFI signal or a Bluetooth signal.

[0113] Optionally, the trigger signal may also be implemented by adding a new signal, for example, adding a signal dedicated to triggering or scheduling.

[0114] 3. Carrier signal

[0115] The carrier signal is used by the zero-power terminal to generate a backscatter signal. For example, the zero-power terminal may modulate the received carrier signal according to the information to be sent to form a backscatter signal.

[0116] From the perspective of carrier signal carrier, it can be a base station, smart phone, smart gateway, etc.

[0117] In terms of frequency band, the radio waves used as carrier signals can be low frequency, medium frequency, high frequency, etc.

[0118] In terms of waveform, the radio wave used as the carrier signal can be a sine wave, square wave, triangle wave, pulse, rectangular wave, etc.

[0119] In addition, the carrier signal can be a continuous wave or a discontinuous wave (ie, a certain period of interruption is allowed).

[0120] Optionally, the carrier signal may be an existing signal in the 3GPP standard, such as SRS, PUSCH, PRACH, PUCCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, PBCH, or a WIFI signal or a Bluetooth signal.

[0121] Optionally, the carrier signal may also be implemented by adding a new signal, for example, adding a carrier signal dedicated to generating a backscatter signal.

[0122] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the power supply signal, the scheduling signal and the carrier signal can be the same signal, or they can be different signals. For example, the power supply signal can be used as a carrier signal, and the scheduling signal can also be used as a carrier signal, etc.

[0123] However, due to the low complexity of zero-power terminals, they only support simple modulation methods such as amplitude shift keying (ASK), while traditional terminals use more complex modulation waveforms such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). When a large number of zero-power terminals are connected to the system, how to achieve symbiotic communication between zero-power terminals and traditional terminals is an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

[0124] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions of the present application are described in detail below through specific embodiments. The above related technologies can be combined arbitrarily with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and all of them fall within the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application include at least part of the following contents.

[0125] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication method 200 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6 , the method 200 includes at least part of the following:

[0126] S210, the first device performs backscattering on the signal on the entire bandwidth or part of the bandwidth of the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM signal to obtain a backscattered signal

[0127] In some embodiments, the first device is also called a reflection device or a backscattering device.

[0128] In some embodiments, the target receiving device of the backscattered signal may be a second device, which may be a network device, or a terminal device (eg, a traditional terminal, or another reflection device).

[0129] In the embodiment of the present application, a traditional terminal may refer to a terminal device that does not communicate through backscattering.

[0130] It should be understood that the first device may be any type of device capable of performing backscatter communication, and this application does not limit this.

[0131] Case 1: The first device may be a zero-power consumption terminal, such as an IoT terminal, for example, an electronic tag.

[0132] Optionally, the complexity of the zero-power terminal is usually low, and it only supports a narrow working bandwidth. Therefore, the bandwidth of the backscatter communication is also narrow, for example, it may be 200 kHz, 1 MHz, etc.

[0133] Optionally, the zero-power consumption terminal may have some or all of the following structural units:

[0134] Low power receiver, backscatter transmitter.

[0135] In some embodiments, a low-power receiver may receive information sent by a network device or other node. The low-power receiver may have relatively low information processing capabilities, such as only supporting narrowband, low-rate information reception and processing.

[0136] In some embodiments, the backscatter transmitter supports information transmission using backscattering. The backscatter transmitter cannot generate signals autonomously and needs to modulate and reflect received signals to carry the information to be transmitted. For specific implementation, refer to the relevant description of the above embodiments.

[0137] Case 2: The first device is a high-capability terminal, or a high-complexity terminal.

[0138] Optionally, a high-capability terminal is usually more complex and supports a larger operating bandwidth. Therefore, the bandwidth of the backscatter communication is also larger, for example, 1 MHz or larger.

[0139] In some embodiments, the first device may include some or all of the following structural units:

[0140] Main receiver, low power receiver, backscatter transmitter, main transmitter.

[0141] In some embodiments, the primary receiver can receive information sent by network devices or other nodes. The primary receiver can have strong information processing capabilities, such as supporting large bandwidth (e.g., 100 MHz) and high-speed (e.g., 1 Gbps) information reception and processing. For example, the primary receiver can be an LTE terminal receiver, an NR terminal receiver, or other terminal receivers in future standard evolution.

[0142] In some embodiments, a low-power receiver can receive information sent by a network device or other node. This low-power receiver can have relatively low information processing capabilities, such as supporting only narrowband, low-rate information reception and processing. This low-power receiver can be used when receiving small amounts of information to save terminal power consumption.

[0143] In some embodiments, a backscatter transmitter supports information transmission using backscattering. The transmitter cannot generate signals autonomously and needs to modulate and reflect received signals to carry the information to be transmitted.

[0144] In some embodiments, a primary transmitter can send information to network devices or other nodes. The primary transmitter can have strong information processing capabilities, such as supporting the encoding, modulation, and transmission of broadband and high-speed information. For example, the primary transmitter can be an LTE terminal transmitter, a NR terminal transmitter, or other terminal receivers in future standard evolution.

[0145] In some scenarios, the first device may communicate with other devices via a primary transmitter and a primary receiver. In other scenarios, the first device may also use a backscatter transmitter to send signals.

[0146] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the first device communicating in a backscattering manner may have the following beneficial effects:

[0147] 1) It is beneficial to energy saving of the device. When backscattering is transmitted, the device does not need to generate a radio frequency carrier signal. It only needs to modulate the incident carrier signal to send the signal. Therefore, the power consumption is very low. Using this method can achieve energy saving of the device.

[0148] For example, in a scenario where a device needs to save energy to extend its working time, or in a scenario where a device is in a low-power state and needs to extend its standby time, the first device communicates using backscattering to achieve the purpose of saving energy.

[0149] 2) Saving spectrum resources. When a network device communicates with another device, the first device can perform backscatter based on the signals during the communication process, thereby enabling additional information transmission while the communication process is ongoing. This additional information transmission reuses the spectrum resources of the communication process. Therefore, backscatter communication helps save spectrum resources.

[0150] 3) During the communication process, regardless of whether the communication process is in the downlink communication process, the uplink communication process, or the side link (SL) communication process, the device can perform additional backscattering. That is, the first device can flexibly select the transmission timing of the backscatter communication. For example, in the downlink time slot, the first device can backscatter the downlink signal sent by the base station to achieve uplink transmission, thereby realizing uplink transmission in the downlink time slot without configuring a dedicated uplink time slot for uplink transmission. This breaks through the transmission restrictions of traditional time slot configuration and realizes more flexible transmission.

[0151] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the transmission direction of the OFDM signal. For example, the OFDM signal can be a downlink signal, an uplink signal, or a sidelink signal. In other words, the source of the carrier signal corresponding to the backscattered signal can be a downlink signal, an uplink signal, or a sidelink signal.

[0152] Taking the OFDM signal sending device as the third device as an example, the third device may be a network device, or may also be a terminal device, such as a traditional terminal.

[0153] As shown in FIG7 , the network device sends a downlink (DL) signal to UE1, but UE2 and UE3 also receive the DL signal. Therefore, UE2 and UE3 can perform backscattering based on the DL signal to obtain a backscattered signal to transmit uplink information.

[0154] As shown in FIG8 , UE1 sends an uplink (UL) signal to the network device, but UE2 and UE3 also receive the UL signal. Therefore, UE2 and UE3 can perform backscattering based on the UL signal to obtain a backscattered signal to transmit uplink information.

[0155] In the embodiment of the present application, the OFDM signal is a broadband signal, and the present application does not specifically limit the bandwidth of the OFDM signal.

[0156] Taking the NR system as an example, in the FR1 frequency band, the bandwidth of the OFDM signal sent by the network equipment or terminal equipment can reach 100MHz, and in the FR2 frequency band, the bandwidth of the OFDM signal sent by the network equipment or terminal equipment can reach 400MHz.

[0157] In an embodiment of the present application, the first device performs backscattering on a signal over the entire bandwidth or a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal to send a backscattered signal to the second device.

[0158] In some embodiments, the size of the bandwidth used by the first device to perform backscattering on the OFDM signal may be determined according to the capability of the first device.

[0159] For example, in the case where the first device is a zero-power consumption terminal in Case 1, the first device may perform backscattering using a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal.

[0160] For another example, when the first device is a high-capability terminal in Case 2, the first device may perform backscattering using signals on a partial bandwidth or the entire bandwidth of the OFDM signal.

[0161] The following describes a specific implementation of backscattering an OFDM signal by a first device to obtain a backscattered signal in conjunction with a specific embodiment.

[0162] Embodiment 1: The first device performs backscattering on a signal in a partial bandwidth of an OFDM signal as a carrier signal to obtain a backscattered signal. That is, the first device may perform single-carrier backscattering on a signal in a partial bandwidth of a wideband OFDM signal.

[0163] Optionally, this embodiment 1 may be applicable to the device type in case 1, or may also be applicable to the device type in case 2.

[0164] Optionally, a size of the partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal used by the first device does not exceed a maximum bandwidth supported by the first device.

[0165] For example, if the OFDM signal is 100 MHz, for the zero-power terminal in Case 1, the maximum bandwidth that can be supported is 200 KHz, and the first device can use a signal not exceeding 200 KHz in the OFDM signal for backscattering.

[0166] As an example, as shown in FIG9 , when the subcarrier spacing of the OFDM signal is 15 KHz, the first device may use a signal on a physical resource block (PRB) (with a bandwidth of 180 KHz) of the OFDM signal for backscattering.

[0167] For another example, if the OFDM signal is 100 MHz, for the high-capability terminal in Case 2, the first device may use 1 MHz or 1 PRB in the OFDM signal for backscattering.

[0168] In some embodiments, different reflecting devices may perform backscattering of signals on different frequency portions of the OFDM signal.

[0169] For example, different reflecting devices may perform backscattering on signals on different PRBs of an OFDM signal.

[0170] As an example, as shown in FIG. 10 , device 1 and device 2 may perform backscattering using signals on different frequency portions of an OFDM signal.

[0171] Embodiment 2: The first device performs backscattering on the OFDM signal as a carrier signal to obtain a backscattered signal. That is, the first device can perform single-carrier backscattering on the broadband OFDM signal. That is, the first device can perform single-carrier backscattering on the signal over the entire bandwidth of the broadband OFDM signal. By performing backscattering on the broadband OFDM signal as a whole carrier signal, the backscattered signal is carried on the entire OFDM signal. That is, the time domain symbol of a backscattered signal can be carried on the broadband backscattered signal, which is beneficial to improving the transmission performance of the backscattering.

[0172] Optionally, this embodiment 2 may be applicable to the device type in situation 2.

[0173] Embodiment 3: A first device uses an OFDM signal as multiple carrier signals and performs backscattering on each of the multiple carrier signals to obtain backscattered signals, where each carrier signal includes a signal over a portion of the bandwidth of the OFDM signal. That is, the first device can perform multi-carrier backscattering on a wideband OFDM signal.

[0174] Optionally, this embodiment 3 may be applicable to the device type in situation 2.

[0175] In some embodiments, the bandwidths occupied by the multiple carrier signals do not overlap with each other.

[0176] As shown in FIG11 , the first device may divide the OFDM signal into n carrier signals, and the first device may backscatter each carrier signal to obtain a corresponding backscatter signal.

[0177] Optionally, when the first device backscatters each carrier signal, it may modulate each carrier signal to carry different information bits.

[0178] As an example, if the bandwidth of the OFDM signal is 200 PRBs (subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz), the first device can divide the OFDM signal into 50 carriers, that is, every 4 PRBs are divided into a carrier signal, and when backscattering is performed on each carrier signal, each carrier signal can be modulated to carry different information bits. For example, in this example, when the first device backscatters the OFDM signal containing 200 PRBs, it can carry a maximum of 50 bits. Each carrier signal is modulated to carry one of the bits.

[0179] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the bandwidth occupied by each of the multiple carrier signals, nor the number of the multiple carrier signals. For example, the bandwidth may be determined based on the number of information bits to be transmitted by the first device. As an example, if the OFDM signal is 100 MHz and the number of information bits to be transmitted by the first device is 50, the first device may divide the OFDM signal into 50 carrier signals, each of which occupies 2 MHz.

[0180] The present application does not limit the specific implementation of the first device performing a separate backscattering operation on each carrier signal, thereby carrying independent information bits on different carrier signals.

[0181] As an implementation, the first device includes a plurality of backscatter communication modules, each of which is configured to perform backscattering on the plurality of carrier signals.

[0182] That is, backscattering different frequency parts of the OFDM signal can be performed by independent backscatter communication modules.

[0183] For example, in the above example, the broadband OFDM signal is divided into 50 carrier signals, and each carrier signal can be backscattered by an independent backscatter communication module in the first device.

[0184] Therefore, in an embodiment of the present application, a multi-carrier backscattering method is adopted to realize the transmission of multiple information bits at the same time (for example, the same backscattering symbol) (for example, as long as the bandwidth of OFDM is wide enough, a sufficient number of carrier signals can be divided, so that backscattering can also transmit dozens to hundreds of bits on the same time domain symbol), further improving the communication rate of backscattering communication.

[0185] The time domain characteristics and frequency domain characteristics of the backscatter signal are described below in conjunction with specific embodiments.

[0186] For ease of distinction and explanation, in the embodiments of the present application, the unit of the backscatter signal in the time domain is recorded as a backscatter symbol, the unit in the frequency domain is recorded as a backscatter frequency domain unit, and the minimum time-frequency unit of the backscatter signal is recorded as a backscatter time-frequency unit. The unit of the OFDM signal in the time domain is an OFDM symbol, and the unit in the frequency domain is a PRB.

[0187] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a communication system that introduces a reflection device. In this case, the communication system can be considered to include a master system and a slave system, wherein the master system can be composed of traditional terminals and network devices in the communication system, such as the terminal devices and network devices in the communication system shown in Figure 1, and the slave system can be composed of a reflection device and a target receiving device for backscatter communication (for example, it can be a network device, or it can be a traditional terminal, or it can be another reflection device).

[0188] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a system model applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 12, the third device can send an OFDM signal to the second device, and the reflection device can use the OFDM signal to perform backscatter communication, for example, sending a backscatter signal to the second device, wherein the main system may include the third device and the second device, and the slave system may include the reflection device and the second device.

[0189] In some embodiments, the third device may be a network device or a traditional terminal.

[0190] In some embodiments, the second device may be a traditional terminal or a network device.

[0191] That is, the transmitting device of the carrier signal of the backscatter signal (ie, the third device) can be a network device or a traditional terminal, and the target receiving device of the backscatter signal (ie, the second device) can be a traditional terminal or a network device.

[0192] In some scenarios, the third device may be a network device, and the second device may be a traditional terminal.

[0193] In other scenarios, the third device may also be the first terminal, and the second device may be the second terminal.

[0194] In some other scenarios, the third device is a traditional terminal and the second device is a network device.

[0195] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the target receiving device of the carrier signal of the backscattered signal may be the second device, or may be the first device, and the present application does not limit this.

[0196] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of an environmental backscatter system model applicable to an embodiment of the present application. In a typical environmental backscatter communication system, a reflective device (e.g., an electronic tag) can utilize radio waves in space to implement backscatter communication. As shown in FIG13 , a master system consisting of a router and a traditional terminal is communicating, and the reflective device performs backscatter modulation on the downlink signal sent by the router, thereby transmitting the information it needs to send to the reader / writer. The reflective device and the reader / writer form a slave system supported by backscatter communication technology.

[0197] In the above system model, since the slave and master systems use the same spectrum, slave communications can interfere with the master's communication link. This means that the backscattered signal from the reflector can mix with the master's signal, interfering with the master's receiver. In this case, while the slave system benefits from backscatter, data transmission to the master may be impaired.

[0198] In light of this, the concept of symbiotic communication was proposed. Based on backscattering, symbiotic communication, through good coordination between the master and slave systems, not only eliminates the interference of the backscattered signals generated by the slave system on the master system, but also converts the backscattered signals into signals that are beneficial to the master system.

[0199] In some embodiments, symbiotic communication between the master and slave systems is achieved by constraining the chip width of the backscatter signal to satisfy a K-fold relationship with the chip width of the OFDM signal, where K is greater than 1.

[0200] That is, the symbol width of one backscatter symbol is the symbol width of K OFDM symbols.

[0201] In some embodiments, one backscatter symbol and K OFDM symbols are aligned in the time domain.

[0202] In some embodiments, aligning one backscatter symbol with K OFDM symbols in the time domain may refer to:

[0203] The start point of one backscatter symbol is aligned with the start points of the K OFDM symbols, and the end point of one backscatter symbol is aligned with the end points of the K OFDM symbols.

[0204] In the symbiotic communication system model shown in Figure 14, the master transmitter PTx and the master receiver PRx form the master system, while the slave transmitter STx and the slave receiver SRx form the slave system. STx uses the signal transmitted by PTx to perform backscatter modulation. As shown in Figure 15, the chip width Cp of the slave system's backscattered signal is K times the chip width Cs of the master system's signal, i.e., Cp = K * Cs. Therefore, the backscattered signal does not change within the time domain interval corresponding to K master system chips. Therefore, when the master system performs coherent demodulation in units of K chips, the backscattered signal of the slave system is equivalent to a multipath signal mixed in with the master system's main received signal. Therefore, with this constraint, the slave system, while relying on the master system's signal for backscattering to complete its own communication, not only does it not interfere with the master system, but it actually improves the master system's performance by providing multipath signals. Because this delicate relationship between the master and slave systems resembles a symbiotic relationship in biology, the above communication system model is named the symbiotic communication model.

[0205] Symbiotic communication solves both the wireless energy supply and spectrum issues associated with zero-power communication, enabling it to share and coexist effectively with traditional communications within the same spectrum. Therefore, symbiotic communication is expected to become an important enabler of zero-power communication.

[0206] In some embodiments, the symbol width of a backscatter symbol is a minimum unit for a target receiving device of an OFDM signal to perform channel estimation in the time domain when receiving the OFDM signal, such as half a time slot or one time slot.

[0207] For example, when the primary system receiver receives an OFDM signal, the minimum unit for channel estimation in the time domain is K OFDM symbols, and the symbol width of a backscatter symbol may be an integer multiple of K OFDM symbols.

[0208] As shown in Figure 16, in the NR system, the minimum unit for channel estimation in the time domain by the terminal device when receiving the OFDM signal is 7 OFDM symbols. The symbol width of a backscatter symbol can be 7 OFDM symbols, or it can be another integer multiple of 7 OFDM symbols.

[0209] In some embodiments, K may be configured by the target receiving device of the backscatter signal, or may be predefined.

[0210] In some embodiments, the size of a reverse scattering frequency domain unit is equal to the size of M PRBs, where M is a positive integer.

[0211] In some embodiments, M may be configured by the target receiving device of the backscatter signal, or may be predefined.

[0212] In some embodiments, one reverse scattering frequency domain unit and M PRBs are aligned in the frequency domain.

[0213] In some embodiments, aligning one reverse dispersion frequency domain unit with M PRBs in the frequency domain may refer to:

[0214] A start point of a reverse scattering radio frequency unit is aligned with a start point of the M PRBs, and an end point of a reverse scattering radio frequency unit is aligned with an end point of the M PRBs.

[0215] In some embodiments, the minimum bandwidth of the carrier signal used by the first device for backscattering is the minimum unit for a target receiving device of the OFDM signal to perform channel estimation in the frequency domain when receiving the OFDM signal.

[0216] For example, when the primary system receiver receives an OFDM signal, the minimum unit for channel estimation in the frequency domain is M PRBs. Then the size of a reverse scattering frequency domain unit can be an integer multiple of M PRBs, or in other words, the minimum bandwidth of a carrier signal can be an integer multiple of M PRBs.

[0217] As shown in Figure 16, in the NR system, the minimum unit for channel estimation in the frequency domain by the terminal device when receiving OFDM signals is 4 PRBs. The size of a reverse scattering frequency domain unit can be 4 PRBs, or it can be another integer multiple of 4 PRBs.

[0218] In some embodiments, a backscatter time-frequency unit consists of a backscatter symbol and a backscatter frequency domain unit. The symbol width of a backscatter symbol is equal to the symbol width of K OFDM symbols, and the size of a backscatter frequency domain unit is equal to M PRBs. In other words, backscatter communication is performed on a minimum time-frequency unit consisting of K OFDM symbols and M PRBs in the OFDM signal transmitted by the primary system.

[0219] In some embodiments, the first device may modulate the OFDM signal based on backscattering in a backscatter time-frequency unit, thereby transmitting bit "0" and bit "1".

[0220] If a "0" bit is transmitted during backscattering of the OFDM signal, for example, the OFDM signal may not be backscattered. In this case, the primary system receiver receives the OFDM signal transmitted solely by the primary system transmitter, and therefore, the reflective device does not introduce interference.

[0221] If the primary system's OFDM signal is backscattered to transmit a "1" bit, for example, this can occur in a backscattered state or a high-level backscattered state. In this case, the primary system receiver receives the OFDM signal transmitted by the primary system transmitter and the reverse transmission signal. The backscattered signal from the reflecting device is modulated as a whole based on the minimum unit of the primary system receiver's channel estimate. This means that the backscattered signal is uniformly backscattered for all OFDM symbols within the minimum unit of the primary system's channel estimate. Therefore, the backscattered signal represents a multipath. Since the pilot signal is also present within the minimum unit of the channel estimate, the channel variations introduced by this multipath can be estimated by the receiver's channel estimator. This multipath not only does not cause interference but instead becomes a useful signal component.

[0222] It can be seen that no matter which of the above situations is true, as long as the aforementioned constraints in the time domain and frequency domain are met, the backscattered signal of the reflecting device will not cause interference to the main system.

[0223] In some embodiments of the present application, the reflection device can process signals on part or all of the bandwidth of the OFDM signal to carry the original information bits and form at least one data symbol. The above processing may include, but is not limited to, encoding, scrambling, modulation, etc.

[0224] In some embodiments, the at least one data symbol may be mapped to at least one backscatter time-frequency unit for transmission.

[0225] In some embodiments, one data symbol may be mapped to one backscatter time-frequency unit for transmission.

[0226] In some embodiments, a data symbol may carry one bit of information or multiple bits of information. For example, if the backscatter signal is generated using On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation (or Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) or Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)), then one data symbol may carry one bit of information. Alternatively, if the backscatter signal is generated using a higher-order modulation scheme, such as Quad-Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) modulation, then one data symbol may carry two bits of information.

[0227] In some embodiments, when the information that the reflection device needs to send is 1 bit (such as a scenario where an acknowledgement (ACK) / negative acknowledgement (NACK) is sent), the reflection device can use a single-carrier backscattering method, such as the single-carrier backscattering method in Example 1 or Example 2, to map the 1-bit information to a backscattering time-frequency unit.

[0228] In other embodiments, the reflection device needs to send multiple information bits, such as dozens or even hundreds of bits. The reflection device can use a multi-carrier backscattering method, such as the multi-carrier backscattering method in Example 3, to map the multiple bits of information onto multiple backscattering time-frequency units. In these cases, resource mapping of the information bits needs to be considered.

[0229] In some embodiments of the present application, the reflection device may map the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the time domain and / or frequency domain. Each backscatter time-frequency unit is composed of a backscatter symbol and a backscatter frequency domain unit. The method for determining the resources occupied by the backscatter signal in the time and frequency domains is described in detail below.

[0230] In some embodiments, for the aforementioned single-carrier backscattering case, a reflected scattering frequency domain unit can be formed in the frequency domain. Furthermore, the one backscattering frequency domain unit and one or more backscattering symbols occupied by the backscattering signal in the time domain constitute one or more backscattering time-frequency units for data symbol mapping.

[0231] In other embodiments, for the aforementioned multi-carrier backscattering case, multiple backscattering frequency domain units can be formed in the frequency domain. Furthermore, the multiple backscattering frequency domain units and one or more backscattering symbols occupied by the backscattering signal in the time domain constitute multiple backscattering time-frequency units for data symbol mapping.

[0232] In some embodiments, the first device maps the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in sequence according to the time domain first and the frequency domain later.

[0233] In some embodiments, the first device maps the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in sequence in the frequency domain first and then in the time domain.

[0234] In some embodiments, when mapping the at least one data symbol in a time domain order, the first device may sequentially map the at least one data symbol onto the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in an ascending or descending order of the numbering of the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the time domain. In other words, the at least one data symbol may be sequentially mapped onto the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in an early-to-late or late-to-early order of the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the time domain.

[0235] In some embodiments, when mapping the at least one data symbol in a frequency domain order, the first device may sequentially map the at least one data symbol onto the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in an ascending or descending order of the numbering of the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in the frequency domain. In other words, the at least one data symbol may be sequentially mapped onto the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in an ascending or descending order of the numbering of the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in the frequency domain.

[0236] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the present application does not limit the numbering method of the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit. For example, the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit can be numbered separately in the time domain and the frequency domain (as shown in Figure 18), or can be jointly numbered in the time domain and the frequency domain (as shown in Figure 17). The present application does not limit this.

[0237] For example, as shown in FIG17 , the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit includes 8 backscatter time-frequency units, and the 8 backscatter time-frequency units can be numbered in sequence from small to large in the time domain and from low to high in the frequency domain.

[0238] For example, as shown in FIG18 , the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit includes 8 backscatter time-frequency units, which can be independently numbered in sequence from low to high in the frequency domain on each backscatter time-domain symbol.

[0239] It should be noted that this application only uses an example in which a backscatter symbol is 7 OFDM symbols (i.e., K=7) and a backscatter frequency domain unit is 4 PRBs (i.e., M=4) for illustration. A backscatter symbol can also be another number of OFDM symbols, and a backscatter frequency domain unit can also be another number of PRBs. This application is not limited to this.

[0240] The resource mapping method of backscattered data symbols is described below in conjunction with specific implementation.

[0241] Method 1: Map the at least one data symbol to at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in sequence according to the time sequence of the backscatter time-frequency units. In Method 1, the reflection device performs resource mapping on the data symbols only in the time domain. In other words, the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit corresponds to the same backscatter frequency domain unit.

[0242] For example, in the case of single-carrier backscattering, since at most only one data symbol can be carried in the frequency domain, the data symbol can be mapped in the time domain.

[0243] In some embodiments, the reflection device can number at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in the time domain in chronological order, and further map the at least one data symbol on the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in sequence according to the order of the numbering of the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit from large to small or from small to large.

[0244] Mode 2: Mapping the at least one data symbol to at least one backscatter time-frequency unit sequentially according to the order of the frequencies of the backscatter time-frequency units. In Mode 2, the reflection device performs resource mapping on the data symbols only in the frequency domain. In other words, the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit corresponds to the same backscatter symbol.

[0245] Optionally, this method 2 can be applicable to the following scenario: the at least one data symbol includes multiple data symbols, the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit includes multiple backscatter time-frequency units, the multiple backscatter time-frequency units are on one backscatter symbol, and the multiple backscatter time-frequency units are sufficient to transmit the multiple data symbols.

[0246] In some embodiments, for multi-carrier backscattering, multiple backscattering frequency domain units may be formed in the frequency domain, and thus data symbols may be mapped in the frequency domain. For example, the multiple backscattering time-frequency units may be numbered sequentially from low to high frequency, and the at least one data symbol may be mapped sequentially onto the at least one backscattering time-frequency unit in the order of the numbering of the at least one backscattering time-frequency unit from large to small or from small to large.

[0247] Mode 3: Mapping the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscattering time-frequency unit in sequence, first in the time domain and then in the frequency domain.

[0248] Optionally, when the reflection device needs to transmit more information bits, the reflection device may simultaneously map data symbols in the time domain and the frequency domain.

[0249] For example, the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit is first numbered in sequence from low to high in frequency and then from early to late in time domain, and the at least one data symbol is mapped onto the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in sequence according to the numbering order from large to small or from small to large of the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit.

[0250] Mode 4: Mapping the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in sequence, first in the frequency domain and then in the time domain.

[0251] Optionally, when the reflection device needs to transmit more information bits, the reflection device may simultaneously map data symbols in the time domain and the frequency domain.

[0252] For example, the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit is numbered in sequence from first to last in the time domain and then from low to high in frequency, and the at least one data symbol is mapped on the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in sequence according to the numbering order from large to small or from small to large of the at least one backscattered time-frequency unit.

[0253] In some embodiments of the present application, the method 200 further includes:

[0254] The first device performs backscattering on a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal according to first configuration information to obtain a backscattered signal, wherein the first configuration information is used to configure a resource location of a carrier signal used for backscattering and / or a resource location of a backscattered signal.

[0255] That is, the first configuration information may configure the reflection device to use signals at which positions of the broadband OFDM signal as carrier signals, and / or at which resource positions to send backscattered signals.

[0256] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0257] The first device performs backscattering on the OFDM signal using frequency information, the first device sends the backscattered signal using time information, and the first device sends the backscattered signal using frequency information.

[0258] In some embodiments, the frequency information used by the first device to perform backscattering on the OFDM signal and the frequency information used by the first device to send the backscattered signal may have a fixed offset.

[0259] In some embodiments, the frequency information used by the first device to backscatter the OFDM signal may be used to determine which frequency portions of the OFDM signal the first device uses for backscattering.

[0260] In some embodiments, the time information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal can be used to determine the time domain unit occupied by the backscatter signal.

[0261] In some embodiments, the frequency information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal can be used to determine the frequency unit occupied by the backscatter signal.

[0262] In some embodiments, the frequency information used by the first device to perform backscattering on the OFDM signal may include:

[0263] The first device performs backscattering on the OFDM signal and / or information on the length of a used frequency band.

[0264] Optionally, the frequency information used by the first device to perform backscattering on the OFDM signal is represented by a frequency domain unit (such as PRB) of the OFDM signal, or is represented by a frequency domain unit (such as M PRBs) of the backscattered signal.

[0265] For example, the frequency information used by the first device to perform backscattering on the OFDM signal may include:

[0266] Information about the starting PRB and / or the number of PRBs used by the first device for backscattering the OFDM signal; or

[0267] The first device performs backscattering on the OFDM signal and / or information on the number of backscattering radio frequency units used.

[0268] In some embodiments, the time information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal includes at least one of the following:

[0269] The first device sends the start time information, duration information, and occupied time unit information of the backscatter signal.

[0270] Optionally, the time information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal is represented by the time domain unit of the OFDM signal (such as time slot, OFDM symbol), or is represented by the time domain unit of the backscatter signal (such as backscatter symbol).

[0271] For example, the time information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal may include:

[0272] The first device sends a starting OFDM symbol (or starting time slot) and the OFDM number or time slot number of the backscatter signal.

[0273] In some embodiments, the frequency information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal may include:

[0274] The first device sends the starting frequency information and / or the used frequency band length information of the backscatter signal.

[0275] Optionally, the frequency information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal is represented by a frequency domain unit (such as PRB) of an OFDM signal, or is represented by a frequency domain unit (such as M PRBs) of a backscatter signal.

[0276] For example, the frequency information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal may include:

[0277] Information about the starting PRB and / or the number of PRBs used by the first device to send a backscatter signal; or

[0278] The first device sends information about a starting reverse scattering frequency range unit and / or information about the number of reverse scattering frequency range units used for sending a reverse scattering signal.

[0279] In some embodiments, at least one backscatter time-frequency unit for resource mapping performed by the first device may be determined according to the first configuration information.

[0280] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is configured by a target receiving device of the backscatter signal.

[0281] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is predefined.

[0282] In summary, in the embodiments of the present application, the reflection device can use signals on part or all of the bandwidth of the OFDM signal for backscattering, thereby enabling symbiotic communication between the reflection device and the traditional terminal.

[0283] In some embodiments, for a zero-power terminal, signals on a partial bandwidth of an OFDM signal may be used for backscattering.

[0284] In other embodiments, for high-capability terminals supporting backscatter, signals on part or all of the bandwidth of an OFDM signal may be used for backscattering, for example, single-carrier backscattering using an OFDM signal, or multi-carrier backscattering using an OFDM signal.

[0285] Furthermore, the symbol width occupied by the backscatter signal in the time domain and the symbol width occupied by the OFDM symbol in the time domain are constrained to satisfy a K-fold relationship, thereby making the backscatter signal equivalent to a multipath of the OFDM signal.

[0286] Furthermore, the symbol width of a backscatter symbol is constrained to be the minimum unit for channel estimation in the time domain by a target receiving device of an OFDM signal when receiving the OFDM signal, and the minimum bandwidth of the carrier signal used by the first device for backscattering is constrained to be the minimum unit for channel estimation in the frequency domain by a target receiving device of an OFDM signal when receiving the OFDM signal. Because the minimum unit for channel estimation also includes a pilot signal, the channel variation caused by the backscatter signal as a multipath does not cause interference when the receiver's channel estimator estimates the channel, but instead forms a useful signal component.

[0287] Furthermore, the reflection device can map the backscattered data symbols to at least one backscattered time-frequency unit, for example, by mapping the backscattered data symbols to at least one backscattered time-frequency unit in the time domain first and then the frequency domain, or in the frequency domain first and then the time domain.

[0288] The above text, in combination with Figures 6 to 18, describes in detail the method embodiment of the present application. The following text, in combination with Figures 19 to 24, describes in detail the device embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the device embodiment and the method embodiment correspond to each other, and similar descriptions can refer to the method embodiment.

[0289] FIG19 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device 400 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG19 , the communication device 400 includes:

[0290] The processing unit 410 is configured to perform backscattering on a signal on the entire bandwidth or a partial bandwidth of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal to obtain a backscattered signal.

[0291] In some embodiments, the backscatter signal is obtained by the communication device 400 performing backscattering on the OFDM signal as a carrier signal.

[0292] In some embodiments, the backscattered signal is obtained by the communication device 400 treating the OFDM signal as multiple carrier signals and performing backscattering on the multiple carrier signals respectively, wherein each carrier signal includes a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal.

[0293] In some embodiments, the bandwidths occupied by the multiple carrier signals do not overlap with each other.

[0294] In some embodiments, the communication device 400 includes multiple backscatter communication modules, and the multiple backscatter communication modules are configured to perform backscattering on the multiple carrier signals respectively.

[0295] In some embodiments, the backscatter signal is obtained by the communication device 400 performing backscattering on a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal as a carrier signal.

[0296] In some embodiments, the unit of the backscatter signal in the time domain is a backscatter symbol, and the unit of the OFDM signal in the time domain is an OFDM symbol, wherein the symbol width of a backscatter symbol is the symbol width of K OFDM symbols, wherein K is greater than 1.

[0297] In some embodiments, K is configured by a target receiving device of the backscatter signal, or K is predefined.

[0298] In some embodiments, the symbol width of a backscatter symbol is a minimum unit for a target receiving device of the OFDM signal to perform channel estimation in the time domain when receiving the OFDM signal.

[0299] In some embodiments, one backscatter symbol and K OFDM symbols are aligned in the time domain.

[0300] In some embodiments, the unit of the backscatter signal in the frequency domain is a backscatter frequency domain unit, and the unit of the OFDM signal in the frequency domain is a physical resource block PRB, wherein the size of a backscatter frequency domain unit is the size of M PRBs, wherein M is a positive integer.

[0301] In some embodiments, one reverse scattering frequency domain unit and M PRBs are aligned in the frequency domain.

[0302] In some embodiments, the minimum bandwidth of the carrier signal used by the communication device 400 for backscattering is the minimum unit for a target receiving device of the OFDM signal to perform channel estimation in the frequency domain when receiving the OFDM signal.

[0303] In some embodiments, the backscatter signal includes at least one data symbol, and the processing unit 410 is further configured to:

[0304] Used to map the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the time domain and / or frequency domain, wherein each backscatter time-frequency unit consists of a backscatter symbol and a backscatter frequency domain unit.

[0305] In some embodiments, the processing unit 410 is further configured to:

[0306] The at least one data symbol is sequentially mapped onto at least one backscattering time-frequency unit in the order of time domain first and frequency domain later.

[0307] In some embodiments, the processing unit 410 is further configured to:

[0308] The at least one data symbol is sequentially mapped onto at least one backscattering time-frequency unit in the order of frequency domain first and time domain later.

[0309] In some embodiments, the processing unit 410 is further configured to:

[0310] When mapping the at least one data symbol in a time domain order, the at least one data symbol is mapped sequentially onto the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in an ascending or descending order of the numbering of the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the time domain.

[0311] In some embodiments, the processing unit 410 is further used to: when mapping the at least one data symbol in frequency domain order, map the at least one data symbol on the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in sequence according to the order of the numbering of the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the frequency domain from small to large or from large to small.

[0312] In some embodiments, the processing unit 410 is further configured to:

[0313] According to the first configuration information, backscattering is performed on the signal on the partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal to obtain a backscattered signal, wherein the first configuration information is used to configure the resource position of the carrier signal used for backscattering and / or the resource position of the backscattered signal.

[0314] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0315] The communication device 400 performs backscattering on the OFDM signal using frequency information, the communication device 400 sends the backscattered signal using time information, and the communication device 400 sends the backscattered signal using frequency information.

[0316] In some embodiments, the time information used by the communication device 400 to send the backscatter signal includes at least one of the following: the start time information, duration information, and occupied time unit information of the first device sending the backscatter signal.

[0317] In some embodiments, the frequency information used by the communication device 400 to perform backscattering on the OFDM signal is represented by a frequency domain unit of the OFDM signal, or is represented by a frequency domain unit of the backscattered signal.

[0318] In some embodiments, the time information used by the communication device 400 to send the backscatter signal is represented by a time domain unit of an OFDM signal, or by a time domain unit of a backscatter signal.

[0319] In some embodiments, the frequency information used by the communication device 400 to send the backscatter signal is represented by a frequency domain unit of an OFDM signal, or is represented by a frequency domain unit of a backscatter signal.

[0320] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is configured by a target receiving device of the backscatter signal, or

[0321] The first configuration information is predefined.

[0322] In some embodiments, the communication device 400 has a low power consumption receiver, and the OFDM signal is received via the low power consumption receiver.

[0323] In some embodiments, the communication device 400 has a low power receiver and a main receiver, and the OFDM signal is received by the low power receiver or the main receiver, wherein the power consumption of the low power receiver is lower than that of the main receiver.

[0324] In some embodiments, the communication device 400 has a backscatter transmitter, and the backscatter signal is transmitted via the backscatter transmitter.

[0325] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the communication unit may be a communication interface or a transceiver, or an input / output interface of a communication chip or a system on chip. The processing unit may be one or more processors.

[0326] It should be understood that the communication device 400 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the first device or reflection device in the embodiment of the method of the present application, and the above-mentioned and other operations and / or functions of each unit in the communication device 400 are respectively for realizing the corresponding processes of the first device or reflection device in the method shown in Figures 6 to 18. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0327] Figure 20 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device 500 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 20, the communication device 500 includes: a communication unit 510, configured to receive a backscattered signal, the backscattered signal being obtained by a first device backscattering a signal over the entire bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal.

[0328] In some embodiments, the backscattered signal is obtained by the first device backscattering the OFDM signal as a carrier signal.

[0329] In some embodiments, the backscattered signal is obtained by the first device treating the OFDM signal as multiple carrier signals and backscattering the multiple carrier signals respectively, wherein each carrier signal includes a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal;

[0330] The multiple carrier signals are backscattered respectively to obtain backscattered signals.

[0331] In some embodiments, the bandwidths occupied by the multiple carrier signals do not overlap with each other.

[0332] In some embodiments, the first device includes a plurality of backscatter communication modules, and the plurality of backscatter communication modules are configured to respectively backscatter the plurality of carrier signals.

[0333] In some embodiments, the backscattered signal is obtained by the first device backscattering a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal as a carrier signal.

[0334] In some embodiments, the unit of the backscatter signal in the time domain is a backscatter symbol, and the unit of the OFDM signal in the time domain is an OFDM symbol, wherein the symbol width of a backscatter symbol is the symbol width of K OFDM symbols, wherein K is greater than 1.

[0335] In some embodiments, K is configured by the communication device 500, or K is predefined.

[0336] In some embodiments, the symbol width of a backscatter symbol is a minimum unit for a target receiving device of the OFDM signal to perform channel estimation in the time domain when receiving the OFDM signal.

[0337] In some embodiments, one backscatter symbol and K OFDM symbols are aligned in the time domain.

[0338] In some embodiments, the unit of the backscatter signal in the frequency domain is a backscatter frequency domain unit, and the unit of the OFDM signal in the frequency domain is a physical resource block PRB, wherein the size of a backscatter frequency domain unit is the size of M PRBs, wherein M is a positive integer.

[0339] In some embodiments, one reverse scattering frequency domain unit and M PRBs are aligned in the frequency domain.

[0340] In some embodiments, the minimum bandwidth of the carrier signal used by the first device for backscattering is the minimum unit for a target receiving device of the OFDM signal to perform channel estimation in the frequency domain when receiving the OFDM signal.

[0341] In some embodiments, the communication unit 510 is further configured to:

[0342] First configuration information is sent, where the first configuration information is used to configure a resource location of a carrier signal and / or a resource location of a backscatter signal used by the first device to perform backscattering.

[0343] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0344] The first device performs backscattering on the OFDM signal using frequency information, the first device sends the backscattered signal using time information, and the first device sends the backscattered signal using frequency information.

[0345] In some embodiments, the time information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal includes at least one of the following:

[0346] The first device sends the start time information, duration information, and occupied time unit information of the backscatter signal.

[0347] In some embodiments, the frequency information used by the first device to perform backscattering on the OFDM signal is represented by a frequency domain unit of the OFDM signal, or is represented by a frequency domain unit of the backscattered signal.

[0348] In some embodiments, the time information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal is represented by a time domain unit of an OFDM signal, or is represented by a time domain unit of a backscatter signal.

[0349] In some embodiments, the frequency information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal is represented by a frequency domain unit of an OFDM signal, or is represented by a frequency domain unit of a backscatter signal.

[0350] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is configured by the communication device 500, or

[0351] The first configuration information is predefined.

[0352] In some embodiments, the first device has a backscatter transmitter, and the backscatter signal is transmitted via the backscatter transmitter.

[0353] In some embodiments, the first device has a low power consumption receiver, and the OFDM signal is received via the low power consumption receiver.

[0354] In some embodiments, the first device has a low power receiver and a main receiver, and the OFDM signal is received by the low power receiver or the main receiver, wherein the power consumption of the low power receiver is lower than that of the main receiver.

[0355] In some embodiments, the communication device 500 is a network device or a terminal device.

[0356] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the communication unit may be a communication interface or a transceiver, or an input / output interface of a communication chip or a system on chip. The processing unit may be one or more processors.

[0357] It should be understood that the communication device 500 according to the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the second device in the embodiment of the method of the present application, and the above-mentioned and other operations and / or functions of each unit in the communication device 500 are respectively for realizing the corresponding processes of the second device in the method shown in Figures 6 to 18. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0358] Figure 21 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 600 shown in Figure 21 includes a processor 610, which can call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0359] Optionally, as shown in FIG21 , the communication device 600 may further include a memory 620. The processor 610 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 620 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0360] The memory 620 may be a separate device independent of the processor 610 , or may be integrated into the processor 610 .

[0361] Optionally, as shown in FIG21 , the communication device 600 may further include a transceiver 630 , and the processor 610 may control the transceiver 630 to communicate with other devices, specifically, to send information or data to other devices, or to receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0362] The transceiver 630 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 630 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0363] Optionally, the communication device 600 may specifically be the first device or reflection device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 600 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the first device or reflection device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0364] Optionally, the communication device 600 may specifically be the second device of the embodiment of the present application (i.e., the target receiving device of the backscattered signal), and the communication device 600 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the second device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0365] Figure 22 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 700 shown in Figure 22 includes a processor 710, which can call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0366] Optionally, as shown in FIG22 , the chip 700 may further include a memory 720 , wherein the processor 710 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 720 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0367] The memory 720 may be a separate device independent of the processor 710 , or may be integrated into the processor 710 .

[0368] Optionally, the chip 700 may further include an input interface 730. The processor 710 may control the input interface 730 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0369] Optionally, the chip 700 may further include an output interface 740. The processor 710 may control the output interface 740 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0370] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the first device or the reflection device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the first device or the reflection device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0371] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the second device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the second device in each method of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0372] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0373] FIG23 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG23 , the communication system 900 includes a reflection device 910 and a network device 920 .

[0374] Among them, the reflection device 910 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the first device or the reflection device in the above method, and the network device 920 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the second device in the above method. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0375] FIG24 is a schematic block diagram of another communication system 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG24 , the communication system 900 includes a reflection device 1010 , a network device 1020 , and a terminal device 1030 .

[0376] Among them, the reflection device 1010 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the first device or the reflection device in the above method, the network device 1020 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the third device in the above method, and the terminal device 1030 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the second device in the above method. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0377] It should be understood that the processor of the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or software instructions. The above processor can be 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 gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0378] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0379] It should be understood that the above-mentioned memories are exemplary but not restrictive. For example, the memories in the embodiments of the present application may also be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM RAM (DR RAM), etc. In other words, the memories in the embodiments of the present application are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0380] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program.

[0381] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0382] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0383] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, including computer program instructions.

[0384] Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions enable the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0385] Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions enable the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0386] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program.

[0387] Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer executes the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not described here.

[0388] Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program runs on the computer, the computer executes the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0389] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithmic steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented using electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0390] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0391] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0392] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0393] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0394] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0395] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: include: The first device performs backscattering on a signal on a full bandwidth or a partial bandwidth of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal to obtain a backscattered signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The backscattered signal is obtained by the first device performing backscattering on the OFDM signal as a carrier signal.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The backscattered signal is obtained by the first device treating the OFDM signal as multiple carrier signals and performing backscattering on the multiple carrier signals respectively, wherein each carrier signal includes a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The bandwidths occupied by the multiple carrier signals do not overlap with each other.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that The first device includes a plurality of backscatter communication modules, and the plurality of backscatter communication modules are configured to respectively perform backscatter on the plurality of carrier signals.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The backscattered signal is obtained by the first device performing backscattering on a signal in a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal as a carrier signal.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The unit of the backscatter signal in the time domain is a backscatter symbol, and the unit of the OFDM signal in the time domain is an OFDM symbol, wherein the symbol width of one backscatter symbol is the symbol width of K OFDM symbols, wherein K is greater than 1.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that K is configured by a target receiving device of the backscatter signal, or K is predefined.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that The symbol width of a backscatter symbol is the minimum unit for a target receiving device of the OFDM signal to perform channel estimation in the time domain when receiving the OFDM signal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that One backscatter symbol and K OFDM symbols are aligned in the time domain.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The unit of the backscatter signal in the frequency domain is a backscatter frequency domain unit, and the unit of the OFDM signal in the frequency domain is a physical resource block PRB, wherein the size of a backscatter frequency domain unit is the size of M PRBs, wherein M is a positive integer.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that One reverse scattering frequency domain unit and M PRBs are aligned in the frequency domain.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The minimum bandwidth of the carrier signal used by the first device for backscattering is the minimum unit for the target receiving device of the OFDM signal to perform channel estimation in the frequency domain when receiving the OFDM signal.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that The backscatter signal includes at least one data symbol, the method further comprising: The first device maps the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the time domain and / or frequency domain, wherein each backscatter time-frequency unit consists of a backscatter symbol and a backscatter frequency domain unit.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The first device maps the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the time domain and / or the frequency domain, including: The first device maps the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscattering time-frequency unit in sequence according to the time domain first and the frequency domain later.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The first device maps the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the time domain and / or the frequency domain, including: The first device maps the at least one data symbol onto at least one backscattering time-frequency unit in sequence according to the order of frequency domain first and time domain later.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that Mapping, by the first device, the at least one data symbol according to a time domain order includes: The at least one data symbol is mapped sequentially onto the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit according to the order of the numbering of the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the time domain from small to large or from large to small.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that Mapping, by the first device, the at least one data symbol in a frequency domain order includes: The at least one data symbol is mapped sequentially onto the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit according to the order of the numbering of the at least one backscatter time-frequency unit in the frequency domain from small to large or from large to small.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that The first device performs backscattering on a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal to obtain a backscattered signal, including: The first device performs backscattering on a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal according to first configuration information to obtain a backscattered signal, wherein the first configuration information is used to configure the resource location of the carrier signal used to perform backscattering and / or the resource location of the backscattered signal.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The first configuration information includes at least one of the following: The first device performs backscattering on the OFDM signal using frequency information, and the first device sends the backscattered signal using time information.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The time information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal includes at least one of the following: The first device sends the start time information, duration information, and occupied time unit information of the backscatter signal.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The frequency information used by the first device to perform backscattering on the OFDM signal is represented by the frequency domain unit of the OFDM signal, or is represented by the frequency domain unit of the backscattered signal.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that The time information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal is represented by the time domain unit of the OFDM signal, or is represented by the time domain unit of the backscatter signal.

24. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 23, wherein: The first configuration information is configured by a target receiving device of the backscatter signal, or The first configuration information is predefined.

25. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 24, characterized in that The first device has a low power consumption receiver, and the OFDM signal is received by the low power consumption receiver.

26. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 24, characterized in that The first device has a low power consumption receiver and a main receiver, and the OFDM signal is received by the low power consumption receiver or the main receiver, wherein the power consumption of the low power consumption receiver is lower than that of the main receiver.

27. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 26, characterized in that The first device has a backscatter transmitter, and the backscatter signal is transmitted by the backscatter transmitter.

28. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: include: The second device receives a backscattered signal, where the backscattered signal is obtained by the first device backscattering a signal on the entire bandwidth or a partial bandwidth of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that The backscattered signal is obtained by the first device backscattering the OFDM signal as a carrier signal.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein The backscattered signal is obtained by the first device treating the OFDM signal as multiple carrier signals and backscattering the multiple carrier signals respectively, wherein each carrier signal includes a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal; The multiple carrier signals are backscattered respectively to obtain backscattered signals.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein The bandwidths occupied by the multiple carrier signals do not overlap with each other.

32. The method according to claim 30 or 31, characterized in that The first device includes a plurality of backscatter communication modules, and the plurality of backscatter communication modules are configured to respectively backscatter the plurality of carrier signals.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that The backscattered signal is obtained by the first device backscattering a signal on a partial bandwidth of the OFDM signal as a carrier signal.

34. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 33, wherein: The unit of the backscatter signal in the time domain is a backscatter symbol, and the unit of the OFDM signal in the time domain is an OFDM symbol, wherein the symbol width of one backscatter symbol is the symbol width of K OFDM symbols, wherein K is greater than 1.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein K is configured by a target receiving device of the backscatter signal, or K is predefined.

36. The method according to claim 34 or 35, characterized in that The symbol width of a backscatter symbol is the minimum unit for a target receiving device of the OFDM signal to perform channel estimation in the time domain when receiving the OFDM signal.

37. The method according to any one of claims 34 to 36, characterized in that One backscatter symbol and K OFDM symbols are aligned in the time domain.

38. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 37, wherein: The unit of the backscatter signal in the frequency domain is a backscatter frequency domain unit, and the unit of the OFDM signal in the frequency domain is a physical resource block PRB, wherein the size of a backscatter frequency domain unit is the size of M PRBs, wherein M is a positive integer.

39. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that One reverse scattering frequency domain unit and M PRBs are aligned in the frequency domain.

40. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 39, wherein The minimum bandwidth of the carrier signal used by the first device for backscattering is the minimum unit for the target receiving device of the OFDM signal to perform channel estimation in the frequency domain when receiving the OFDM signal.

41. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 40, wherein: The method further comprises: The second device sends first configuration information, where the first configuration information is used to configure a resource location of a carrier signal and / or a resource location of a backscatter signal used by the first device to perform backscattering.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein The first configuration information includes at least one of the following: The first device performs backscattering on the OFDM signal using frequency information, and the first device sends the backscattered signal using time information.

43. The method according to claim 42, characterized in that The time information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal includes at least one of the following: The first device sends the start time information, duration information, and occupied time unit information of the backscatter signal.

44. The method according to claim 42 or 43, characterized in that The frequency information used by the first device to perform backscattering on the OFDM signal is represented by the frequency domain unit of the OFDM signal, or is represented by the frequency domain unit of the backscattered signal.

45. The method according to any one of claims 42 to 44, characterized in that The time information used by the first device to send the backscatter signal is represented by the time domain unit of the OFDM signal, or is represented by the time domain unit of the backscatter signal.

46. ​​The method according to any one of claims 42 to 45, wherein: The first configuration information is configured by a target receiving device of the backscatter signal, or The first configuration information is predefined.

47. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 46, wherein: The first device has a backscatter transmitter, and the backscatter signal is transmitted by the backscatter transmitter.

48. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 47, wherein: The first device has a low power consumption receiver, and the OFDM signal is received by the low power consumption receiver.

49. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 47, wherein The first device has a low power consumption receiver and a main receiver, and the OFDM signal is received by the low power consumption receiver or the main receiver, wherein the power consumption of the low power consumption receiver is lower than that of the main receiver.

50. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 49, wherein The second device is a network device or a terminal device.

51. A communication device, characterized in that include: The processing unit is configured to perform backscattering on signals on the entire bandwidth or a portion of the bandwidth of the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signal to obtain a backscattered signal.

52. A communication device, characterized in that: include: The communication unit is configured to receive a backscatter signal, where the backscatter signal is obtained by the first device backscattering a signal on the entire bandwidth or a partial bandwidth of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal.

53. A communication device, characterized in that include: A processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27, or the method according to any one of claims 28 to 50.

54. A chip, characterized in that include: A processor, configured to call and execute a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27, or the method according to any one of claims 28 to 50.

55. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that Used to store a computer program, the computer program causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27, or the method according to any one of claims 28 to 50.

56. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises computer program instructions which cause a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27 or the method according to any one of claims 28 to 50.

57. A computer program, characterized in that The computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27 or the method according to any one of claims 28 to 50.

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