Sidelink type passive communication

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a method of wireless communication by a reader device, the method generally including identifying a set of frequency resources within a frequency band for communicating with a radio frequency (RF) device, and communicating with one or more RF devices via backscatter communication using one or more of the frequency resource sets.

Description

Background Art Technical Field

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications and, more particularly, to techniques for communicating with passive radio frequency (RF) devices.

[0002] Related technologies

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts or other similar types of services. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available wireless communication system resources.

[0004] Although wireless communication systems have made tremendous technical progress over the years, challenges still exist. For example, complex and dynamic environments can still attenuate or block signals between wireless transmitters and wireless receivers. Therefore, there is a continuous desire to improve the technical performance of wireless communication systems, including, for example: improving the speed and data carrying capacity of communications, improving the efficiency of using shared communication media, reducing the power used by transmitters and receivers when performing communications, improving the reliability of wireless communications, avoiding redundant transmission and / or reception and related processing, improving the coverage area of ​​wireless communications, increasing the number and types of devices that can access wireless communication systems, increasing the ability of different types of devices to communicate with each other, increasing the number and types of wireless communication media available for use, etc. Therefore, there is a need to further improve wireless communication systems to overcome the above-mentioned technical challenges and other challenges. Summary of the invention

[0005] One aspect provides a method for wireless communication by a reader device. The method includes: identifying a set of frequency resources within a frequency band for communicating with a radio frequency (RF) device; and communicating with one or more RF devices via backscatter communication using one or more of the frequency resource sets.

[0006] Another aspect provides a method for wireless communication by a network entity. The method includes: identifying a set of frequency resources within a frequency band that can be used for backscatter communication with an RF device; and sending signaling to configure a reader device with the set of frequency resources.

[0007] Other aspects provide: an apparatus operable to, configured to, or otherwise adapted to perform any one or more of the foregoing methods and / or those described elsewhere herein; a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the foregoing methods and those described elsewhere herein; a computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium comprising code for performing the foregoing methods and those described elsewhere herein; and / or an apparatus comprising components for performing the foregoing methods and those described elsewhere herein. By way of example, an apparatus may include a processing system, a device having a processing system, or a processing system cooperating through one or more networks.

[0008] For purposes of illustration, the following description and drawings set forth certain features. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The accompanying drawings depict certain features of the aspects described herein and should not be considered to limit the scope of the disclosure.

[0010] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network is depicted.

[0011] Figure 2 An example disaggregated base station architecture is depicted.

[0012] Figure 3 Aspects of an example base station and example user equipment are depicted.

[0013] Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D Various example aspects of data structures for a wireless communication network are described.

[0014] Figure 5 Depicted are example scenarios involving passive RF devices.

[0015] Figure 6 Example resource allocations for sidelink communications are depicted.

[0016] Fig. 7A and Figure 7B Depicted is a call flow diagram for communicating with an RF device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 8 Depicted are example frequency resource set configurations in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Fig. 9 Depicted are example frequency resource set configurations in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Fig.10 Depicted are example energy usage associated with different categories of RF IoT devices in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Fig.11 Depicted are example communication timelines in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Fig.12 Depicted are example communication timelines in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Fig.13 A method for wireless communication is described.

[0023] Fig.14 A method for wireless communication is described.

[0024] Fig.15 Aspects of an example communications device are depicted.

[0025] Fig.16 Aspects of an example communications device are depicted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for communicating with a radio frequency (RF) device via backscatter communications.

[0027] Some wireless devices (referred to herein as zero power (ZP) RF devices) do not have their own power supply, but instead collect and store energy from the RF transmissions of other devices. Examples of such devices include ZP Internet of Things (ZP-IoT) devices. An example of such a device is a passive Internet of Things (PIoT) device that relies on passive communication technologies such as backscatter communication. Backscatter communication generally refers to a mechanism that allows wireless nodes (commonly referred to as RF tags) to communicate without active RF components. In a typical scenario, an RF tag obtains (collects) energy from the RF transmission from a reader, and is also able to modulate a signal and reflect the signal back to the reader (hence the term backscatter). Signal reflections are generally caused by a designed mismatch between the load impedance at the antenna and the WTD. In some cases, the load impedance can be changed to modulate the reflected signal with an information bit, and the reader can recover the information bit by demodulating the reflected signal.

[0028] Using such technology is generally advantageous for making low-cost devices with low power consumption, since they may require little or no battery power of their own. Various types of wireless communication systems, such as ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) systems, are also based on backscatter communications and are used for a variety of different types of applications around the world. Unfortunately, current UHF RFID systems are not compatible with existing cellular communication systems, such as 5G new radio (NR) systems. For example, typical RFID systems are designed to operate in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) radio bands, while NR systems are typically designed to operate in licensed bands.

[0029] However, aspects of the present disclosure provide mechanisms that allow cellular devices such as NR user equipment (UE) to communicate with passive RF devices such as PIoT devices. Thus, various techniques used in UE communications (such as sidelink communications between UEs) can be used to communicate with PIoT devices. This can reduce the overall cost of deployment and facilitate the development of a wide range of useful applications.

[0030] Introduction to wireless communication networks

[0031] The techniques and methods described herein can be used in various wireless communication networks. Although various aspects may be described herein using terms commonly associated with 3G, 4G and / or 5G wireless technologies, various aspects of the present disclosure may also be applicable to other communication systems and standards not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0032] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication network 100 is depicted in which various aspects described herein may be implemented.

[0033] In general, the wireless communication network 100 includes various network entities (alternatively, network elements or network nodes). A network entity is typically a communication device and / or a communication function performed by a communication device (e.g., user equipment (UE), base station (BS), component of a BS, server, etc.). For example, various functions of a network and various devices associated with and interacting with the network may be considered network entities. In addition, the wireless communication network 100 includes ground aspects, such as ground-based network entities (e.g., BS 102), and non-ground aspects, such as satellites 140 and aircraft 145, which may include airborne network entities (e.g., one or more BSs) capable of communicating with other network elements (e.g., ground BSs) and user equipment.

[0034] In the depicted example, the wireless communication network 100 includes a BS 102, a UE 104, and one or more core networks (such as an evolved packet core (EPC) 160 and a 5G core (5GC) network 190) that interoperate to provide communication services over various communication links (including wired and wireless links).

[0035] Figure 1 Various example UEs 104 are depicted, which may more generally include: a cellular phone, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player, a camera, a game console, a tablet computer, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Always-On (AON) device, an edge processing device, or other similar devices. UE 104 may also be more generally referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a remote device, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, and others.

[0036] BS 102 wirelessly communicates with (e.g., transmits signals to or receives signals from) UE 104 via communication link 120. Communication link 120 between BS 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmissions from UE 104 to BS 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmissions from BS 102 to UE 104. In various aspects, communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity.

[0037] BS 102 may generally include: NodeB, enhanced NodeB (eNB), next generation enhanced NodeB (ng-eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB or gNodeB), access point, base transceiver, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, transmission and reception point, and / or other. Each of BS 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110, which may sometimes be referred to as a cell, and may overlap in some cases (e.g., a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of a macro cell). For example, a BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell (covering a relatively large geographic area), a pico cell (covering a relatively small geographic area, such as a stadium), a femto cell (relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home)), and / or other types of cells.

[0038] Although BS102 is depicted as a single communication device in various aspects, BS102 can be implemented in various configurations. For example, one or more components of the base station may be decomposed, including a central unit (CU), one or more distributed units (DU), one or more radio units (RU), a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC, to name a few examples. In another example, various aspects of the base station may be virtualized. More generally, a base station (e.g., BS102) may include components located at a single physical location or components located at various physical locations. In an example in which the base station includes components located at various physical locations, the various components may each perform a function so that the various components together implement functionality similar to that of a base station located at a single physical location. In some aspects, a base station including components located at various physical locations may be referred to as a decomposed radio access network architecture (such as an open RAN (O-RAN) or virtualized RAN (VRAN) architecture). Figure 2 An example decomposed base station architecture is depicted and described.

[0039] Different BSs 102 within the wireless communication network 100 may also be configured to support different radio access technologies (such as 3G, 4G, and / or 5G). For example, a BS 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC 160 via a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). A BS 102 configured for 5G (e.g., 5G NR or Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with the 5GC 190 via a second backhaul link 184. The BSs 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC 160 or the 5GC 190) over a third backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface), which may be wired or wireless.

[0040] The wireless communication network 100 may subdivide the electromagnetic spectrum into various categories, frequency bands, channels, or other characteristics. In some aspects, the subdivision is provided based on wavelength and frequency, where frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, subcarrier, channel, tone, or subband. For example, 3GPP currently defines frequency range 1 (FR1) as including 410 MHz-7125 MHz, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as "below 6 GHz". Similarly, 3GPP currently defines frequency range 2 (FR2) as including 24,250 MHz-52,600 MHz, which is sometimes (interchangeably) referred to as "millimeter wave" ("mmW" or "mmWave"). A base station (e.g., a mmWave base station such as BS180) configured to communicate using mmWave / near mmWave radio bands may utilize beamforming (e.g., 182) with a UE (e.g., 104) to improve path loss and range.

[0041] The communication link 120 between the BS 102 and, for example, the UE 104 may be through one or more carriers, which may have different bandwidths (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 100 MHz, 400 MHz, and / or other MHz) and may be aggregated in various aspects. The carriers may be adjacent to each other or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​compared to UL).

[0042] Communications using higher frequency bands may have higher path loss and shorter range than communications at lower frequencies. Therefore, some base stations (e.g. Figure 1 180) may utilize beamforming 182 with UE 104 to improve path loss and distance. For example, BS 180 and UE 104 may each include multiple antennas (such as antenna elements, antenna panels and / or antenna arrays) to facilitate beamforming. In some cases, BS 180 may send beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from BS 180 in one or more receive directions 182". UE 104 may also send beamformed signals to BS 180 in one or more transmit directions 182". BS 180 may also receive beamformed signals from UE 104 in one or more receive directions 182'. BS 180 and UE 104 may then perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of BS 180 and UE 104. It is noteworthy that the transmit direction and receive direction of BS 180 may be the same or different. Similarly, the transmit direction and receive direction of UE 104 may be the same or different.

[0043] Wireless communication network 100 also includes a Wi-Fi AP 150 that communicates with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in, for example, the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum.

[0044] Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and / or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0045] The EPC 160 may include various functional components, including: a mobility management entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and / or a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172, such as in the depicted example. The MME 162 may communicate with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management.

[0046] Typically, user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through the Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN Gateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176, which may include, for example, the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a Packet Switched (PS) streaming media service, and / or other IP services.

[0047] The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS delivery, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and / or may be used to schedule MBMS delivery. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS services to BSs 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area that broadcasts a specific service, and / or may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting charging information related to evolved MBMS (eMBMS).

[0048] 5GC 190 may include various functional components, including: access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, session management function (SMF) 194, and user plane function (UPF) 195. AMF 192 may communicate with unified data management (UDM) 196.

[0049] AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and 5GC 190. AMF 192 provides, for example, Quality of Service (QoS) flow and session management.

[0050] Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through UPF 195, which connects to IP Services 197 and provides IP address allocation for UEs and other functions for 5GC 190. IP Services 197 may include, for example, the Internet, Intranet, IMS, PS streaming services, and / or other IP services.

[0051] In various aspects, a network entity or network node may be implemented as a converged base station, a decomposed base station, a component of a base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, to name a few examples.

[0052] Figure 2 An example disaggregated base station 200 architecture is depicted. The disaggregated base station 200 architecture may include one or more central units (CUs) 210 that may communicate directly with a core network 220 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 220 through one or more disaggregated base station units, such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 225 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 215 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 205, or both. The CU 210 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 230 via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DU 230 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 240 via respective fronthaul links. The RU 240 may communicate with respective UEs 104 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 104 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 240.

[0053] Each of the units (e.g., CU 210, DU 230, RU 240, and near-RT RIC 225, non-RT RIC 215, and SMO framework 205) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or send signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface of the unit may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. For example, the units may include a wired interface configured to receive or send signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Additionally or alternatively, the unit may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) configured to receive or send signals, or both, to one or more of the other units on a wireless transmission medium.

[0054] In some aspects, CU 210 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU 210. CU 210 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (e.g., central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (e.g., central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, CU 210 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, CU 210 may be implemented to communicate with DU 230 for network control and signaling.

[0055] DU 230 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 240. In some aspects, DU 230 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) based at least in part on functional splits such as those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, DU 230 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU 230 or with control functions hosted by CU 210.

[0056] Lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 240. In some deployments, a RU 240 controlled by a DU 230 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions (such as performing Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on a functional split (such as a lower layer functional split). In such an architecture, the RU 240 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 104. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 240 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 230. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the implementation of the DU 230 and the CU 210 in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0057] The SMO framework 205 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 205 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 205 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 290) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 210, DU 230, RU 240, and near-RT RIC 225. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 205 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 211) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 205 may communicate directly with one or more RUs 240 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 205 may also include a non-RT RIC 215 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 205 .

[0058] The non-RT RIC 215 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 225. The non-RT RIC 215 may be coupled to or in communication with the near-RT RIC 225 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 225 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface (such as via an E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 210, one or more DUs 230, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 225.

[0059] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 225, the non-RT RIC 215 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 225 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 205 or the non-RT RIC 215. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 215 or the near-RT RIC 225 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 215 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 205 (such as via reconfiguration of O1) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0060] Figure 3 Aspects of an example BS 102 and UE 104 are depicted.

[0061] In general, BS 102 includes various processors (e.g., 320, 330, 338, and 340), antennas 334a-334t (collectively 334), transceivers 332a-332t (collectively 332) including modulators and demodulators, and other aspects that enable wireless transmission of data (e.g., data source 312) and wireless reception of data (e.g., data sink 339). For example, BS 102 can transmit and receive data between BS 102 and UE 104. BS 102 includes a controller / processor 340 that can be configured to implement various functions described herein related to wireless communication.

[0062] In general, the UE 104 includes various processors (e.g., 358, 364, 366, and 380), antennas 352a-352r (collectively 352), transceivers 354a-354r (collectively 354) including modulators and demodulators, and other aspects that enable wireless transmission of data (e.g., retrieved from a data source 362) and wireless reception of data (e.g., provided to a data sink 360). The UE 104 includes a controller / processor 380 that can be configured to implement various functions described herein related to wireless communications.

[0063] Regarding example downlink transmissions, BS 102 includes a transmit processor 320 that can receive data from a data source 312 and control information from a controller / processor 340. The control information can be for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical HARQ indicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), and / or others. In some examples, the data can be for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0064] The transmit processor 320 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The transmit processor 320 may also generate reference symbols, such as for a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0065] The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 330 may perform spatial processing (e.g., pre-coding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, and / or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide an output symbol stream to a modulator (MOD) in a transceiver 332a-332t. Each modulator in the transceiver 332a-332t may process a corresponding output symbol stream to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from the modulators in the transceivers 332a-332t may be transmitted via antennas 334a-334t, respectively.

[0066] To receive downlink transmissions, UE 104 includes antennas 352a-352r that can receive downlink signals from BS 102 and can provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 354a-354r, respectively. Each demodulator in transceivers 354a-354r can condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a corresponding received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator can further process the input samples to obtain received symbols.

[0067] A MIMO detector 356 may obtain received symbols from all demodulators in transceivers 354a-354r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 358 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 104 to a data sink 360, and provide decoded control information to a controller / processor 380.

[0068] With respect to example uplink transmissions, the UE 104 also includes a transmit processor 364 that may receive and process data from a data source 362 (e.g., for a PUSCH) and control information from a controller / processor 380 (e.g., for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 364 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 364 may be pre-decoded by a TX MIMO processor 366, if applicable, further processed by a modulator in the transceivers 354a-354r (e.g., for SC-FDM), and transmitted to the BS 102.

[0069] At BS 102, uplink signals from UE 104 may be received by antennas 334 a-334 t, processed by demodulators in transceivers 332 a-332 t, detected by MIMO detector 336 if applicable, and further processed by receive processor 338 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by UE 104. Receive processor 338 may provide decoded data to data sink 339 and decoded control information to controller / processor 340.

[0070] Memories 342 and 382 may store data and program codes for BS 102 and UE 104, respectively.

[0071] Scheduler 344 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0072] In various aspects, BS 102 may be described as sending and receiving various types of data associated with the methods described herein. In these contexts, "sending" may refer to various mechanisms for outputting data, such as outputting data from a data source 312, a scheduler 344, a memory 342, a transmit processor 320, a controller / processor 340, a TX MIMO processor 330, a transceiver 332a-332t, an antenna 334a-334t, and / or other aspects described herein. Similarly, "receiving" may refer to various mechanisms for obtaining data, such as obtaining data from an antenna 334a-334t, a transceiver 332a-332t, a RX MIMO detector 336, a controller / processor 340, a receive processor 338, a scheduler 344, a memory 342, and / or other aspects described herein.

[0073] In various aspects, the UE 104 may also be described as sending and receiving various types of data associated with the methods described herein. In these contexts, "sending" may refer to various mechanisms for outputting data, such as outputting data from a data source 362, a memory 382, ​​a transmit processor 364, a controller / processor 380, a TX MIMO processor 366, a transceiver 354a-354t, an antenna 352a-352t, and / or other aspects described herein. Similarly, "receiving" may refer to various mechanisms for obtaining data, such as obtaining data from an antenna 352a-352t, a transceiver 354a-354t, a RX MIMO detector 356, a controller / processor 380, a receive processor 358, a memory 382, ​​and / or other aspects described herein.

[0074] In some aspects, the processor may be configured to perform various operations (such as those associated with the methods described herein) and send (output) data to or receive (obtain) data from another interface configured to send or receive data, respectively.

[0075] Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D Describes a method for use in a wireless communication network such as Figure 1 Various aspects of the data structure of the wireless communication network 100).

[0076] Specifically, Figure 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G (e.g., 5G NR) frame structure, Figure 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating an example of a DL channel within a 5G subframe, Figure 4C is a diagram 450 illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G frame structure, and Figure 4D FIG480 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels within a 5G subframe.

[0077] Wireless communication systems may utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) on both the uplink and downlink. Such systems may also support half-duplex operation using time division duplex (TDD). OFDM and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) can be used to maximize the system bandwidth (e.g., Figure 4B and Figure 4D The modulation symbols may be transmitted in the frequency domain using OFDM and / or in the time domain using SC-FDM.

[0078] The wireless communication frame structure may be frequency division duplex (FDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers, subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to either DL or UL. The wireless communication frame structure may also be time division duplex (TDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers, subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to both DL and UL.

[0079] exist Figure 4A and Figure 4CIn the wireless communication frame structure, TDD is used, where D is DL, U is UL, and X is used flexibly between DL / UL. The UE can be configured with a time slot format (dynamically configured by DL control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling) through the received time slot format indicator (SFI). In the depicted example, the 10ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized 1ms subframes. Each subframe may include one or more time slots. In some examples, each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot format. The subframe may also include micro-time slots, which typically have fewer symbols than the entire time slot. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0080] In certain aspects, the number of slots within a subframe is based on the slot configuration and parameter set. For example, for slot configuration 0, different parameter sets (μ) 0 to 5 allow for 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different parameter sets 0 to 2 allow for 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Thus, for slot configuration 0 and parameter set μ, there are 14 symbols / slot and 2μ slots / subframe. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration are a function of the parameter set. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2 μ × 15kHz, where μ is parameter set 0 to 5. Thus, parameter set μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, and parameter set μ=5 has a subcarrier spacing of 480kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D An example is provided for slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and parameter set μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 μs.

[0081] like Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D As depicted in , a resource grid can be used to represent a frame structure. Each time slot includes a resource block (RB) (also called a physical RB (PRB)) extending, for example, 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0082] like Figure 4A As illustrated, some of the REs carry data for UEs (eg, Figure 1 and Figure 3The RS may include a demodulation RS (DMRS) and / or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may also include a beam measurement RS (BRS), a beam refinement RS (BRRS), and / or a phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0083] Figure 4B Examples of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated.The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs), each CCE comprising, for example, nine RE Groups (REGs), each REG comprising, for example, four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol.

[0084] The primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be in symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is transmitted by a UE (e.g., Figure 1 and Figure 3 104) is used to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identity.

[0085] The Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) may be in symbol 4 of a specific subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing.

[0086] Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DMRS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block. The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information (such as system information blocks (SIBs)) that is not sent via the PBCH, and / or paging messages.

[0087] As in Figure 4C As illustrated in , some of the REs carry DMRS for channel estimation at the base station (indicated as R for a specific configuration, but other DMRS configurations are possible). The UE may send DMRS for PUCCH and DMRS for PUSCH. The PUSCH DMRS may be sent, for example, in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DMRS may be sent in different configurations depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is sent and depending on the specific PUCCH format used. UE104 may send a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS may be sent, for example, in the last symbol of a subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may send the SRS on one of the teeth of the comb. The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to achieve frequency-dependent scheduling of the UL.

[0088] Figure 4D Examples of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated. The PUCCH may be located at a position as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0089] Overview of Backscatter Communications

[0090] Backscatter communication generally refers to the mechanism that allows wireless nodes (often called RF tags) to communicate without active RF components. Figure 5 As illustrated, a passive RF tag harvests energy from the reader's RF transmission and is also able to modulate and reflect a signal back to the reader. Passive tags are typically limited to envelope decoding for reception and backscatter communications for transmission.

[0091] In backscatter systems (e.g., UHF RFID), co-channel and adjacent channel interference can have a significant adverse effect on system performance. RFID tags typically operate in a frequency range known as the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) radio bands, which are typically reserved for ISM applications. Therefore, different readers typically lack coordination that would allow interference avoidance or mitigation.

[0092] Aspects related to sidelink-type passive IoT communications

[0093] However, aspects of the present disclosure provide mechanisms that allow an RF reader (such as a NR UE or a base station) to communicate with a passive RF device using a sidelink-like communication scheme.

[0094] NR sidelink (SL) and LTE vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications typically operate in licensed bands. Transmission and reception (Tx / Rx) in a shared RP are typically coordinated in a centralized or distributed manner. For example, in a resource allocation scheme known as Mode 1, the base station coordinates resource allocation with participating user equipment (UE) via a cellular link. In a resource allocation scheme known as Mode 2, UEs coordinate with each other. This coordination can help ensure the reliability of SL / V2X communications.

[0095] The techniques presented in this article can be used to implement various use cases, such as Figure 5 The use case shown in , where multiple readers can communicate with a single tag or multiple tags, for example using frequency division duplexing (FDD) or with readers with dedicated frequency bands. Figure 6 An example of resource allocation in a shared time-frequency resource pool (RP) for an FDD system is illustrated. As illustrated, multiple subchannels (1 to n) may be allocated for communication across a set of consecutive time slots. Subchannels may be allocated from an RP or bandwidth part (BWP) for PIoT communications.

[0096] However, conventional SL communication schemes are generally unable to support backscatter communications. However, aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques that may facilitate SL-type communications with UE tags using backscatter communications in various frequency bands, including licensed NR bands.

[0097] The techniques presented herein can be used in FDD systems such as Figure 5 The system shown in . The technology can also be used in other scenarios, for example, using downlink (DL) resources for a reader UE in PIoT communications utilizing a sidelink. In some scenarios, a reader UE (or a network entity) can use a frequency band in which all time slots can be used for sidelink-like communications. Although some of the examples presented herein involve reader (UE) to reader (UE) coordination, according to certain aspects, similar types of communications can also be used in network-based (e.g., gNB) resource allocation coordination scenarios (e.g., sidelink mode 1) to configure resource pools and time groups. In general, reader-to-reader coordination may involve multiple UEs, a combination of UEs and a network entity (e.g., gNB), or multiple network entities.

[0098] For reference Fig. 7A The call flow diagram 700 is used to understand the technology proposed in this article for sidelink-like passive IoT communication.

[0099] As illustrated, a reader (e.g., NR UE) may be configured with a frequency resource set. For example, the configuration may be similar to a sidelink resource allocation, and the configurator may be a central network entity (e.g., similar to a SL Mode 1 resource allocation). Alternatively, the configurator may be a UE (e.g., similar to a SL Mode 2 resource allocation). The reader may communicate via backscatter communication using one or more of the frequency resource sets.

[0100] like Figure 7BAs illustrated in , in some cases, the reader may be able to query the RF tag to learn the class of the RF tag. For example, the reader may query the RF tag to learn the tag class of the RF tag, and based on the class type indicated in the response, the reader may decide on a resource reservation policy (e.g., what resources to use to communicate with the RF tag). In some cases, if the resources are scheduled by a third element (e.g., the reader is a UE and the gNB acting as a configurator schedules the resources), the reader may report the tag class to the gNB (e.g., to help with resource reservation policy).

[0101] Examples of different types or categories of tags include semi-passive tags, semi-active tags, and active tags. Passive tags are typically lightweight devices without batteries that harvest power from RF signals and use backscatter communications. Semi-passive tags are also typically lightweight IoT devices that use backscatter communications, but their power may come from batteries (which may be able to be recharged via energy harvesting and / or energy storage) or energy harvesting and storage circuits. Semi-active tags are also typically lightweight IoT devices that may use backscatter communications or active RF transmissions, and their power typically comes from batteries (which may be able to be recharged via energy harvesting and / or energy storage). Active tags are IoT devices that can use active transmissions and are typically powered from batteries (which may be able to be recharged via energy harvesting and / or energy storage).

[0102] Some types of tags may require relatively high transmit power to operate. For example, a passive IoT device may require a receive power of about -10 dBm as input. In this case, when the tag integrated circuit is turned on and starts operating, this may cause relatively high interference to other devices.

[0103] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, to address this scenario, the gNB (or other device acting as a configurator) may configure a sidelink-like bandwidth part (BWP), a dedicated resource pool (RP), or a portion of the RP for passive IoT (PIoT) communications. Figure 8 An example is illustrated in which three BWPs (BWP 1, BWP 2, and BWP 3) within the NR band are used for PIoT communication. These BWPs can be used to read (Rx) information from the tag or write (Tx) information to the tag.

[0104] like Figure 8 As illustrated in FIG. 1B , based on the BWP definition, RPs that occupy different portions of the NR time slots may be defined. In the illustrated example, three RPs (RP 1, RP 2, and RP 3) are shown. As illustrated, some RPs for PIoT may occupy the BWP for all time slots (like RP1), while other RPs (RP 2 and RP 3) may occupy only a portion of the NR time slots.

[0105] As mentioned above, there can be various tags, including semi-passive tags, semi-active tags, and active tags. As mentioned above, reference Figure 7B ,In some cases, RF tags can be queried to learn their tag type.

[0106] like Fig.10 As shown in the example, these different types of tags can ensure different resource allocation strategies. Fig.11 As illustrated in , a passive tag may require continuous resources (0.5 ms to 100 ms) in the time domain for energy harvesting and transmission. Fig.12 On the other hand, semi-passive tags may support discontinuous resources (e.g., because they may have a rechargeable power source), as exemplified in . It may be useful for the reader to know the class of tag with which it needs to communicate. In some cases, if the tag is powered by other frequency bands (in addition to those used for backscatter communications), the procedure may be the same as for semi-passive tags.

[0107] Aspects of the present disclosure provide different resource allocations for different RF tag types. For example, different BWPs (frequency ranges) or resource pools can be (pre-)configured for different types of tags. When a reader uses certain BWPs, frequencies, or RPs to communicate with certain tags, the reader can know which resource allocation (occupancy) method it should adopt.

[0108] In some cases, the resources in the RP can be further divided. For example, a first frequency band (e.g., 900 MHz) can be used for passive IoT tags, which can help with energy harvesting. A second frequency band (e.g., 3.9 GHz) can be used for semi-passive IoT tags. In a specific BWP, different frequency ranges can be allocated to different types of tags.

[0109] The technology proposed in this article can enable wireless devices such as NR UE or base station to communicate with passive RF devices. Therefore, the technology can provide flexibility, help reduce the overall cost of deployment, and facilitate the development of a wide range of useful applications.

[0110] Example Operation of Reader Device

[0111] Fig.13 A method 1300 for wireless communication by a reader device is shown. The reader device may be a UE, such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 The UE 104, or the reader device may be a network entity such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 BS102, or as relative to Figure 2 The decomposed base station in question.

[0112] Method 1300 begins at step 1305, where a set of frequency resources within a frequency band for communicating with an RF device is identified. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to reference Fig.15 The described circuits for identifying and / or codes for identifying may be performed by the circuits for identifying and / or codes for identifying.

[0113] Then, method 1300 proceeds to step 1310, where one or more frequency resource sets in the frequency resource sets are used to communicate with one or more RF devices via backscatter communication. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to reference Fig.15 Circuits for communication and / or code for communication are described, or may be performed by circuits for communication and / or code for communication.

[0114] In some aspects, the method 1300 further includes receiving signaling to configure the reader device with the frequency resource set. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the Fig.15 The described circuits for receiving and / or code for receiving may be or may be performed by the circuits for receiving and / or code for receiving.

[0115] In some aspects, the reader device is pre-configured with a set of frequency resources.

[0116] In some aspects, the frequency band is within the licensed spectrum.

[0117] In some aspects, communicating with the one or more RF devices includes at least one of reading information from or writing information to the one or more RF devices.

[0118] In some aspects, the set of frequency resources comprises at least one of a BWP, a dedicated resource pool, or a portion of a resource pool.

[0119] In some aspects, the BWP is dedicated to one of sidelink communications or backscatter communications.

[0120] In some aspects, at least one of the frequency resource sets occupies a portion of a time slot.

[0121] In some aspects, the RF device comprises an RF IoT device.

[0122] In some aspects, the RF IoT device includes at least one of the following categories of RF IoT devices: a passive RF IoT device, a semi-passive RF IoT device, or a semi-active RF IoT device.

[0123] In some aspects, different sets of frequency resources are configured for communicating with different classes of RF IoT devices.

[0124] In some aspects, the method 1300 also includes determining, based on the frequency resource set and the category of the RF IoT device, a resource allocation method to be used when communicating with one or more RF IoT devices. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to reference Fig.15 The described circuits for determining and / or code for determining may be performed by the circuits for determining and / or code for determining.

[0125] In some aspects, method 1300 further includes querying the one or more RF IoT devices. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to referring to Fig.15 The described circuits for querying and / or codes for querying may be performed by the circuits for querying and / or codes for querying.

[0126] In some aspects, method 1300 also includes determining a category of one or more RF IoT devices based on the responses to the query. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to reference Fig.15 The described circuits for determining and / or code for determining may be performed by the circuits for determining and / or code for determining.

[0127] In some aspects, the method 1300 also includes determining a resource allocation method to be used when communicating with one or more RF IoTs based on the determined category. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to reference Fig.15 The described circuits for determining and / or code for determining may be performed by the circuits for determining and / or code for determining.

[0128] In some aspects, the method 1300 further includes sending an indication of the category to an entity that sends signaling to configure the reader device with the set of frequency resources. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to as described in reference Fig.15 The described circuits for sending and / or code for sending, or may be performed by the circuits for sending and / or code for sending.

[0129] In some aspects, the reader device comprises a UE or a network entity.

[0130] In one aspect, method 1300 or any aspect related thereto may be performed by an apparatus such as Fig.15 The method 1300 is performed by a communication device 1500 that includes various components operable to, configured to, or adapted to perform the method 1300. The communication device 1500 is described in more detail below.

[0131] Please note that Fig.13 This is merely one example of a method, and other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps may also be consistent with the present disclosure.

[0132] Example operations for configuring a device

[0133] Fig.14 A method 1400 for configuring a device for wireless communication is shown. The configuration device may be a UE, such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 The UE 104, or the reader device may be a network entity such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 BS102, or as relative to Figure 2 The decomposed base station in question.

[0134] Method 1400 begins at step 1405, where a set of frequency resources in a frequency band that can be used for backscatter communication with an RF device is identified. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.16 The described circuits for identifying and / or codes for identifying may be performed by the circuits for identifying and / or codes for identifying.

[0135] Then, method 1400 proceeds to step 1410, where signaling is sent to configure the reader device with the frequency resource set. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.16 The described circuits for sending and / or code for sending, or may be performed by the circuits for sending and / or code for sending.

[0136] In some aspects, the frequency band is within the licensed spectrum.

[0137] In some aspects, the set of frequency resources comprises at least one of a BWP, a dedicated resource pool, or a portion of a resource pool.

[0138] In some aspects, the BWP is dedicated to one of sidelink communications or backscatter communications.

[0139] In some aspects, at least one of the frequency resource sets occupies a portion of a time slot.

[0140] In some aspects, the RF device comprises an RF IoT device.

[0141] In some aspects, the RF IoT device includes at least one of the following categories of RF IoT devices: a passive RF IoT device, a semi-passive RF IoT device, or a semi-active RF IoT device.

[0142] In some aspects, different sets of frequency resources are configured for communicating with different classes of RF IoT devices.

[0143] In some aspects, the method 1400 also includes receiving an indication of a category of one or more RF IoT devices in the RF IoT devices associated with the one or more frequency resource sets. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to as described in reference Fig.16 The described circuits for receiving and / or code for receiving may be or may be performed by the circuits for receiving and / or code for receiving.

[0144] In some aspects, the reader device comprises a UE or a network entity.

[0145] In some aspects, the configuring device comprises a UE or a network entity.

[0146] In one aspect, method 1400 or any aspect related thereto may be performed by an apparatus such as Fig.16 The method 1400 is performed by a communication device 1600 that includes various components operable to, configured to, or adapted to perform the method 1400. The communication device 1600 is described in more detail below.

[0147] Please note that Fig.14 This is merely one example of a method, and other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps may also be consistent with the present disclosure.

[0148] Example Communication Device

[0149] Fig.15 Depicted are aspects of an example communications device 1500. In some aspects, communications device 1500 is user equipment, such as described above with respect to Figure 1 and Figure 3 UE 104 is described. In some aspects, communication device 1500 is a network entity such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 BS 102 or as relative to Figure 2 The decomposed base station in question.

[0150] The communication device 1500 includes a processing system 1505 coupled to a transceiver 1585 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). In some aspects (e.g., when the communication device 1500 is a network entity), the processing system 1505 can be coupled to a network interface 1595 that is configured to communicate with the communication device 1500 via a communication link (e.g., as described herein with respect to Figure 2 The processing system 1505 may be configured to perform processing functions of the communication device 1500, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 1500.

[0151] The processing system 1505 includes one or more processors 1510. In various aspects, such as with respect to Figure 3 As described, the one or more processors 1510 may represent one or more of the receive processor 358, the transmit processor 364, the TX MIMO processor 366, and / or the controller / processor 380. In various aspects, as with respect to Figure 3 The one or more processors 1510 may represent one or more of the receive processor 338, the transmit processor 320, the TX MIMO processor 330, and / or the controller / processor 340. The one or more processors 1510 are coupled to the computer-readable medium / memory 1545 via the bus 1580. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1545 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 1510, cause the one or more processors 1510 to perform operations with respect to the computer-readable medium / memory 1545. Fig.13 The described method 1300 or any aspect related thereto. It should be noted that references to a processor performing a function of the communication device 1500 may include one or more processors 1510 performing that function of the communication device 1500 .

[0152] In the depicted example, computer readable medium / memory 1545 stores code (e.g., executable instructions) such as code for identifying 1550, code for communicating 1555, code for receiving 1560, code for determining 1565, code for querying 1570, and code for transmitting 1575. Processing of code for identifying 1550, code for communicating 1555, code for receiving 1560, code for determining 1565, code for querying 1570, and code for transmitting 1575 may cause the communication device 1500 to perform operations relative to Fig.13 The described method 1300 or any aspect related thereto.

[0153] The one or more processors 1510 include circuits configured to implement (e.g., execute) code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1545, including circuits such as circuits for identifying 1515, circuits for communicating 1520, circuits for receiving 1525, circuits for determining 1530, circuits for querying 1535, and circuits for transmitting 1540. Processing by the circuits for identifying 1515, circuits for communicating 1520, circuits for receiving 1525, circuits for determining 1530, circuits for querying 1535, and circuits for transmitting 1540 may enable the communication device 1500 to perform operations with respect to Fig.13The described method 1300 or any aspect related thereto.

[0154] The various components of the communication device 1500 may be provided for performing Fig.13 The components of the method 1300 or any aspect related to the method. For example, the components for sending, transmitting or outputting for sending may include Figure 3 The illustrated transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 of the UE 104, Figure 3 The illustrated transceiver 332 and / or antenna 334 of the BS 102 and / or Fig.15 The transceiver 1585 and antenna 1590 of the communication device 1500 in FIG. 1 may include Figure 3 The illustrated transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 of the UE 104, Figure 3 The illustrated transceiver 332 and / or antenna 334 of the BS 102 and / or Fig.15 The transceiver 1585 and antenna 1590 of the communication device 1500.

[0155] Fig.16 Aspects of an example communication device 1600 are depicted. In some aspects, the communication device 1600 is user equipment, such as described above with respect to Figure 1 and Figure 3 UE 104 is described. In some aspects, the communication device 1600 is a network entity such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 BS 102 or as relative to Figure 2 The decomposed base station in question.

[0156] The communication device 1600 includes a processing system 1605 coupled to a transceiver 1655 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). In some aspects (e.g., when the communication device 1600 is a network entity), the processing system 1605 can be coupled to a network interface 1665 that is configured to communicate with the communication device 1600 via a communication link (e.g., as described herein with respect to Figure 2 The processing system 1605 may be configured to perform processing functions of the communication device 1600, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 1600.

[0157] The processing system 1605 includes one or more processors 1610. In various aspects, such as with respect to Figure 3As described, the one or more processors 1610 may represent one or more of the receive processor 358, the transmit processor 364, the TX MIMO processor 366, and / or the controller / processor 380. In various aspects, as with respect to Figure 3 The one or more processors 1610 may represent one or more of the receive processor 338, the transmit processor 320, the TX MIMO processor 330, and / or the controller / processor 340. The one or more processors 1610 are coupled to the computer-readable medium / memory 1630 via the bus 1650. In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1630 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 1610, cause the one or more processors 1610 to perform operations related to the processing of the computer-readable medium / memory 1630. Fig.14 The described method 1400 or any aspect related thereto. It should be noted that references to a processor performing a function of the communication device 1600 may include one or more processors 1610 performing that function of the communication device 1600 .

[0158] In the depicted example, computer readable medium / memory 1630 stores code (e.g., executable instructions) such as code for identifying 1635, code for transmitting 1640, and code for receiving 1645. Processing of code for identifying 1635, code for transmitting 1640, and code for receiving 1645 may cause communication device 1600 to perform operations relative to Fig.14 The described method 1400 or any aspect related thereto.

[0159] The one or more processors 1610 include circuits configured to implement (e.g., execute) code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1630, including circuits such as circuits for identifying 1615, circuits for transmitting 1620, and circuits for receiving 1625. Processing by the circuits for identifying 1615, the circuits for transmitting 1620, and the circuits for receiving 1625 may enable the communication device 1600 to perform operations relative to Fig.14 The described method 1400 or any aspect related thereto.

[0160] The various components of the communication device 1600 may be provided for performing Fig.14 The components of the method 1400 or any aspect related to the method. For example, the components for sending, transmitting or outputting for sending may include Figure 3 The illustrated transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 of the UE 104, Figure 3 The illustrated transceiver 332 and / or antenna 334 of the BS 102 and / or Fig.16The transceiver 1655 and antenna 1660 of the communication device 1600 in FIG. 1 may include Figure 3 The illustrated transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 of the UE 104, Figure 3 The illustrated transceiver 332 and / or antenna 334 of the BS 102 and / or Fig.16 The transceiver 1655 and antenna 1660 of the communication device 1600.

[0161] Sample Clauses

[0162] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0163] Clause 1: A method of wireless communication by a reader device, the method comprising: identifying a set of frequency resources within a frequency band for communicating with RF devices; and communicating with one or more RF devices via backscatter communications using one or more of the sets of frequency resources.

[0164] Clause 2: The method of clause 1, further comprising: receiving signaling to configure the reader device with the set of frequency resources.

[0165] Clause 3: A method as described in any of clauses 1 and 2, wherein the reader device is pre-configured with the set of frequency resources.

[0166] Clause 4: A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the frequency band is within a licensed spectrum.

[0167] Clause 5: The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein communicating with the one or more RF devices comprises at least one of reading information from or writing information to the one or more RF devices.

[0168] Clause 6: A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the set of frequency resources comprises at least one of a BWP, a dedicated resource pool, or a portion of a resource pool.

[0169] Clause 7: The method of clause 6, wherein the BWP is dedicated to one of sidelink communications or backscatter communications.

[0170] Clause 8: The method of clause 6, wherein at least one of the frequency resource sets occupies a portion of a time slot.

[0171] Clause 9: A method as described in any one of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the RF device comprises an RF IoT device.

[0172] Clause 10: The method of clause 9, wherein the RF IoT device comprises at least one of the following categories of RF IoT devices: a passive RF IoT device, a semi-passive RF IoT device, or a semi-active RF IoT device.

[0173] Clause 11: The method of clause 10, wherein different sets of frequency resources are configured for communicating with different classes of RF IoT devices.

[0174] Clause 12: The method of clause 11, further comprising: determining a resource allocation method to be used when communicating with the one or more RF IoT devices based on the set of frequency resources and the category of the RF IoT device.

[0175] Clause 13: The method of clause 10, further comprising: querying the one or more RF IoT devices; and determining a category of the one or more RF IoT devices based on a response to the query.

[0176] Clause 14: The method of clause 13, further comprising: determining a resource allocation method to be used when communicating with the one or more RF IoTs based on the determined category.

[0177] Clause 15: The method of clause 13, further comprising sending an indication of the category to an entity sending signaling to configure the reader device with a set of frequency resources.

[0178] Clause 16: A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 15, wherein: the reader device comprises a UE or a network entity.

[0179] Clause 17: A method of wireless communication by a configuration device, the method comprising: identifying a set of frequency resources within a frequency band that can be used for backscatter communications with a RF device; and sending signaling to configure a reader device using the set of frequency resources.

[0180] Clause 18: The method of clause 17, wherein: the frequency band is within a licensed spectrum.

[0181] Clause 19: The method of any of clauses 17 and 18, wherein the set of frequency resources comprises at least one of a BWP, a dedicated resource pool, or a portion of a resource pool.

[0182] Clause 20: The method of clause 19, wherein the BWP is dedicated to one of sidelink communications or backscatter communications.

[0183] Clause 21: The method of clause 19, wherein at least one of the frequency resource sets occupies a portion of a time slot.

[0184] Clause 22: A method as described in any one of clauses 17 to 21, wherein the RF device comprises an RF IoT device.

[0185] Clause 23: The method of clause 22, wherein the RF IoT device comprises at least one of the following categories of RF IoT devices: a passive RF IoT device, a semi-passive RF IoT device, or a semi-active RF IoT device.

[0186] Clause 24: The method of clause 23, wherein different sets of frequency resources are configured for communicating with different classes of RF IoT devices.

[0187] Clause 25: The method of clause 24, further comprising: receiving an indication of a category of one or more of the RF IoT devices associated with the one or more sets of frequency resources.

[0188] Clause 26: A method as described in any of clauses 17 to 25, wherein the reader device comprises a UE or a network entity.

[0189] Clause 27: A method as described in any of clauses 17 to 26, wherein the configuration device comprises a UE or a network entity.

[0190] Clause 28: An apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a memory including executable instructions; and a processor configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the apparatus to perform the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 27.

[0191] Clause 29: An apparatus comprising means for performing the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 27.

[0192] Clause 30: A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising executable instructions which, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of clauses 1 to 27.

[0193] Clause 31: A computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium comprising code for performing the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 27.

[0194] Additional considerations

[0195] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. The examples discussed herein do not limit the scope, applicability, or aspects set forth in the claims. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the functions and arrangements of the elements discussed may be changed. Each example may ignore, replace, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the described method may be performed in an order different from the order described, and various actions may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with respect to some examples may be combined in some other examples. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods practiced using other structures, functionality, or structures and functionality that are supplemented or substituted for the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims.

[0196] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure may be implemented or executed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, a system on a chip (SoC), or any other such configuration.

[0197] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items (including single members). As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination with multiple identical elements (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0198] As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, searching (e.g., searching in a table, a database, or another data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Also, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. Additionally, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

[0199] The method disclosed herein includes one or more actions for implementing the method. The method actions can be interchangeable with each other without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific actions can be modified without departing from the scope of the claims. In addition, the various operations of the method described above can be performed by any appropriate component that can perform the corresponding function. The component may include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or processors.

[0200] The following claims are not intended to be limited to the various aspects shown herein, but should be granted the full scope consistent with the language of the claims. Within the claims, unless otherwise specified, reference to an element in the singular form is not intended to mean "one and only one", but "one or more". Unless otherwise specified, the term "some" refers to one or more. Any claim element is not interpreted according to the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112 (f) unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase "member for...". All structural and functional equivalents of the elements throughout the various aspects described in this disclosure that are known or will be known later to a person of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly stated in the claims, anything disclosed herein is not intended to be disclosed to the public.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication by a reader device, the apparatus comprising: a memory including executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the reader device to: identifying a set of frequency resources within a frequency band for communicating with a radio frequency (RF) device; and Communicating with one or more RF devices via backscatter communications using one or more of the sets of frequency resources.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the reader device to receive signaling to configure the reader device with the set of frequency resources. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the reader device is pre-configured with the set of frequency resources. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the frequency band is within a licensed spectrum. 5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein communicating with the one or more RF devices comprises at least one of reading information from or writing information to the one or more RF devices.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of frequency resources comprises at least one of a bandwidth part (BWP), a dedicated resource pool, or a portion of a resource pool.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the BWP is dedicated to one of sidelink communication or backscatter communication.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one of the frequency resource sets occupies a portion of a time slot.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the RF device comprises an RF Internet of Things (IoT) device.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the RF IoT device comprises at least one of the following categories of RF IoT devices: a passive RF IoT device, a semi-passive RF IoT device, or a semi-active RF IoT device.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein different sets of frequency resources are configured for communicating with different categories of RFIoT devices.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the reader device to determine a resource allocation method to be used when communicating with the one or more RF IoT devices based on the set of frequency resources and the category of the RF IoT device.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the reader device to: querying the one or more RF IoT devices; and A category of the one or more RF IoT devices is determined based on a response to the query.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the reader device to: A resource allocation method to be used when communicating with the one or more RF IoTs is determined based on the determined category.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the reader device to: An indication of the category is sent to an entity that configures the reader device with a set of frequency resources.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reader device comprises a user equipment (UE) or a network entity.

17. An apparatus for configuring a device for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: a memory including executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the reader device to: Identifying a set of frequency resources within a frequency band that can be used for backscatter communications with a radio frequency (RF) device; and Signaling is sent to configure the reader device with the set of frequency resources.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the frequency band is within a licensed spectrum.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the set of frequency resources comprises at least one of a bandwidth part (BWP), a dedicated resource pool, or a portion of a resource pool.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the BWP is dedicated to one of sidelink communication or backscatter communication.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein at least one of the frequency resource sets occupies a portion of a time slot.

22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the RF device comprises an RF Internet of Things (IoT) device.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the RF IoT device comprises at least one of the following categories of RF IoT devices: a passive RF IoT device, a semi-passive RF IoT device, or a semi-active RF IoT device.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein different sets of frequency resources are configured for communicating with different categories of RFIoT devices.

25. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the reader device comprises a user equipment (UE) or a network entity.

26. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the configuration device comprises a user equipment (UE) or a network entity.

27. A method of wireless communication by a reader device, the method comprising: Identify a set of frequency resources within a frequency band for communicating with a radio frequency (RF) device; as well as Communicating with one or more RF devices via backscatter communications using one or more of the sets of frequency resources.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the reader device is pre-configured with the set of frequency resources.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the frequency band is within a licensed spectrum.

30. A method for configuring a device for wireless communication, the method comprising: Identify a set of frequency resources within a frequency band that can be used for backscatter communications with a radio frequency (RF) device; as well as Signaling is sent to configure the reader device with the set of frequency resources.

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