Backscattering methods and apparatus, terminal equipment, network equipment and chips

Abstract

This application discloses a backscattering method and apparatus, terminal equipment, network equipment, and chip, relating to the field of communication technology. The method includes: a transmitting end sending a first signal to a receiving end; the receiving end modulating the received first signal to obtain a second signal, the second signal including at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interactive signals, and the second signal and a third signal being orthogonal, the third signal including at least one of uplink signals, downlink signals, and sidelink signals; and the receiving end sending the second signal back to the transmitting end. It is evident that in passive IoT, the receiving end modulates its own information onto the received first signal to obtain the second signal, and then transmits it to achieve backscattering, thereby saving its own energy consumption through backscattering. Simultaneously, the orthogonality of the second and third signals enables passive IoT to reuse existing cellular network deployments, saving the overhead of separately deploying passive IoT and reducing the complexity of the receiving end.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a backscattering method and apparatus, terminal equipment, network equipment, and chip. Background Technology

[0002] The standard protocols defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) (such as Release 18 (R18) / Release 19 (R19)) are discussing and researching new Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) applications, namely passive IoT technologies, also known as Ambient IoT or Passive IoT.

[0003] In traditional communication systems, terminal devices may need to independently generate their own radio frequency (RF) signals for communication, which consumes a significant amount of energy. However, terminal devices in passive IoT may only have limited energy storage capacity. Therefore, how to achieve communication without independently generating RF signals in passive IoT to save energy consumption requires further research. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a backscattering method and apparatus, a terminal device, a network device, and a chip, with the aim of solving the problem of how to achieve communication without independently generating radio frequency signals in passive Internet of Things (IoT) to save power consumption of terminal devices.

[0005] The first aspect is a backscattering method according to this application, comprising:

[0006] Receive the first signal;

[0007] The first signal is modulated to obtain a second signal. The second signal includes at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information. The second signal and the third signal are orthogonal. The third signal includes at least one of uplink signal, downlink signal, and sidelink signal.

[0008] Send the second signal.

[0009] As can be seen, in the passive Internet of Things, in order to achieve communication without generating radio frequency signals independently, this application can consider modulating its own information onto the received first signal to obtain a second signal, and then sending the second signal, thereby achieving backscattering, so as to save its own energy consumption through backscattering.

[0010] Meanwhile, in order to combine existing cellular networks and passive IoT to build new passive IoT and expand the application scenarios of passive IoT, this application may also consider making the second signal and the third signal orthogonal, so as to realize the reuse of existing cellular network deployment for passive IoT, save the overhead of deploying passive IoT separately, and reduce the complexity of the receiver.

[0011] Optionally, modulating the first signal includes:

[0012] The first signal is subjected to amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation.

[0013] In this way, through amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation, the amplitude used for amplitude modulation of the first signal and / or the phase used for phase modulation of the first signal correspond to the information generated at the receiving end, thereby achieving the modulation of the information onto the first signal. Simultaneously, since amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation do not change the orthogonality of the signals, this facilitates the reuse of existing cellular network deployments.

[0014] Optionally, modulating the first signal includes: modulating the first signal at each frequency domain unit granularity according to the time domain unit granularity.

[0015] As can be seen, when the receiving end modulates the first signal, it can modulate the first signal at the frequency domain unit granularity according to the time domain unit granularity. In this way, this modulation method can improve parallel resource utilization and the number of receiving ends that can be accessed simultaneously under large-scale connections.

[0016] Optionally, modulating the first signal includes: modulating the first signal according to the time-domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal.

[0017] It can be seen that when the receiver modulates the first signal, it can modulate the first signal according to the time-domain unit granularity in order to achieve time-domain level modulation.

[0018] Optionally, receiving the first signal includes:

[0019] The first signal is received in the first resource, and the first signal is modulated with first information, which is known information or predefined information.

[0020] In this way, the first signal can be regarded as a signal with known modulation by using known or predefined information, which facilitates subsequent decoding.

[0021] Optionally, the first signal is modulated using a first information, including:

[0022] The first signal is modulated using all-1 information.

[0023] In this way, the present application can generate the first signal in a simple modulation manner through all-1 information, so that the first signal can be regarded as a simply modulated signal, which is easy to demodulate later.

[0024] Optionally, sending the second signal includes:

[0025] The second signal is sent from the second resource;

[0026] Wherein, the frequency of the second resource is the same as the frequency of the first resource; or, the frequency of the second resource is spaced apart from the frequency of the first resource by a first frequency shift amount.

[0027] Thus, when the frequency of the first resource is the same as that of the second resource, it means that no frequency shift is needed during backscattering; backscattering can be performed directly. When the frequency of the second resource is separated from that of the first resource by a first frequency shift, it means that a frequency shift is needed during backscattering, and the frequencies of the first and second resources are not the same.

[0028] Optionally, the second resource and the first resource are located in the same frequency band.

[0029] In this way, this application can achieve frequency shifting within the same frequency band.

[0030] Optionally, the first frequency shift is determined based on the number of subcarriers and the subcarrier spacing between the first resource and the second resource.

[0031] Thus, since the subcarrier is the smallest unit of frequency domain, this application can determine the first frequency shift based on the number of subcarriers and the subcarrier spacing, thereby achieving subcarrier-level frequency shift.

[0032] Optionally, the first resource is located in a first frequency band, and the second resource is located in a second frequency band.

[0033] In this way, this application can achieve frequency shifting between different frequency bands.

[0034] Optionally, the first frequency shift is determined based on the inter-band offset, the number of subcarriers, and the subcarrier spacing;

[0035] The frequency band offset is the offset between the second frequency band and the first frequency band;

[0036] The number of subcarriers is the number of subcarriers in the interval between the first subcarrier and the second subcarrier, where the first subcarrier is the subcarrier in the second frequency band with the same subcarrier index as the first resource, and the second subcarrier is the subcarrier of the second resource.

[0037] In this way, this application can shift the first frequency band to the second frequency band based on the inter-band offset, and then perform subcarrier-level offset within the second frequency band based on the number of subcarriers, thereby realizing frequency shift between different frequency bands.

[0038] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0039] Receive first indication information, which indicates the number of subcarriers.

[0040] Thus, this application can realize the number of network-indicating subcarriers based on the first indication information.

[0041] Optionally, the first frequency shift is determined based on the subcarrier index of the first resource and the subcarrier index of the second resource.

[0042] In this way, since the receiving end can know the subcarrier index of the first resource and the subcarrier index of the second resource, the receiving end can determine the number of subcarriers between the first resource and the second resource based on the subcarrier index of the first resource and the subcarrier index of the second resource, and finally determine the first frequency shift amount based on the number of subcarriers.

[0043] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0044] Receive second indication information, which indicates the subcarrier index of the second resource.

[0045] Thus, this application can implement a subcarrier index for network indication of a second resource based on the second indication information.

[0046] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0047] The second signal is generated based on the first frequency shift.

[0048] Thus, this application requires frequency shifting to generate a second signal during backscattering.

[0049] Optionally, the first resource is located in the first frequency band;

[0050] Wherein, the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication; or, the first frequency band includes a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication; or, the first frequency band is a frequency band other than the third and fourth frequency bands, wherein the third frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, and the fourth frequency band includes a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication.

[0051] Thus, if the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, passive IoT can utilize the spectrum resources in existing cellular networks used for uplink and / or sidelink communication for network deployment, i.e., in-band deployment.

[0052] If the first frequency band includes a guard band for uplink and downlink communication and / or a guard band for sidelink communication, then passive IoT can utilize the guard band resources in the existing cellular network for network deployment, i.e., guard band deployment.

[0053] If the first frequency band is a frequency band other than the third and fourth frequency bands, then passive IoT can utilize independent spectrum resources for network deployment, i.e., out-of-band deployment.

[0054] Optionally, the first resource includes at least one resource element in an available resource block for IoT services located in the first frequency band.

[0055] As can be seen, when the first resource includes at least one RE, since an RE is a subcarrier in the frequency domain, and subcarrier / RE is the smallest granularity unit in the frequency domain, this application can carry the first signal using subcarrier-level / RE-level resources to save resource overhead. In this case, the first signal can be considered as a subcarrier-level / RE-level signal. This reduces the complexity of the receiver (e.g., reducing the filter requirements of the receiver), improves parallel resources, and increases the number of simultaneously accessing receivers under large-scale connections.

[0056] Optionally, the first resource includes at least one resource element located in the middle position of the available resource block in the first frequency band; or,

[0057] If the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, the first resource includes at least one resource element located in the available resource block of the first frequency band near the guard band, wherein the guard band is a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication; or,

[0058] The first resource includes all resource elements located in the available resource block of the first frequency band.

[0059] In this way, this application can flexibly determine the first resource for carrying the first signal from the available resource blocks of the first frequency band based on the current network configuration environment, network resource usage, and the device capabilities of the receiving end, so as to improve the flexibility of passive Internet of Things reuse of existing cellular network deployment.

[0060] Optionally, the available resource elements in the first frequency band, except for the at least one resource element, are filled with all zeros.

[0061] As can be seen, this application can utilize some REs in the available RBs to carry a first signal modulated with the first information, while filling the remaining REs with all 0 information so that no signal is transmitted on the other REs.

[0062] Secondly, this application provides a backscattering method, comprising:

[0063] Send the first signal;

[0064] The system receives a second signal, which is a signal that modulates at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information onto a first signal, and the second signal and a third signal are orthogonal, wherein the third signal includes at least one of an uplink signal, a downlink signal, and a sidelink signal.

[0065] Thirdly, a backscattering device according to this application includes:

[0066] A receiving unit is used to receive the first signal;

[0067] A modulation unit is used to modulate the first signal to obtain a second signal. The second signal includes at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information. The second signal and the third signal are orthogonal. The third signal includes at least one of uplink signal, downlink signal, and sidelink signal.

[0068] A transmitting unit is used to transmit the second signal.

[0069] Fourthly, a backscattering device according to this application includes:

[0070] The transmitting unit is used to transmit the first signal;

[0071] A receiving unit is configured to receive a second signal, wherein the second signal is a signal that modulates at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information onto a first signal, and the second signal and a third signal are orthogonal, wherein the third signal includes at least one of an uplink signal, a downlink signal, and a sidelink signal.

[0072] Fifthly, the steps in the methods designed in the first or second aspect above are applied to the terminal device or in the terminal device.

[0073] Sixthly, the steps in the method designed in the first aspect above are applied to network devices or network devices.

[0074] A seventh aspect is a terminal device according to this application, comprising a processor, a memory, and a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, wherein the processor executes the computer program or instructions to implement the steps in the method designed in the first or second aspect described above.

[0075] Eighthly, a network device according to this application includes a processor, a memory, and a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, wherein the processor executes the computer program or instructions to implement the steps in the method designed in the second aspect above.

[0076] A ninth aspect is a chip according to this application, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor performs the steps in the method designed in the first or second aspect described above.

[0077] A tenth aspect is a chip module according to this application, including a transceiver component and a chip, wherein the chip includes a processor, and the processor performs the steps in the method designed in the first or second aspect described above.

[0078] Eleventhly, there is a computer-readable storage medium of this application, wherein it stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the steps of the method designed in the first or second aspect described above. For example, the computer program or instructions are executed by a processor.

[0079] The twelfth aspect is a computer program product of this application, comprising a computer program or instructions, wherein, when executed, the computer program or instructions implement the steps of the method designed in the first or second aspect described above. For example, the computer program or instructions are executed by a processor.

[0080] The beneficial effects of the technical solutions in aspects two through twelfth can be found in the technical effects of the technical solution in aspect one, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0081] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a spectrum resource according to an embodiment of this application;

[0083] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of another spectrum resource according to an embodiment of this application;

[0084] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of another spectrum resource according to an embodiment of this application;

[0085] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a backscattering method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0086] Figure 6 This is a functional unit block diagram of a backscattering device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0087] Figure 7 This is a functional unit block diagram of another backscattering device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0088] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0089] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of another terminal device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0090] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0091] It should be understood that the terms "first," "second," etc., used in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, software, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but also includes steps or units not listed, or other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0092] The term "embodiment" as used in the embodiments of this application means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a mutually exclusive, independent, or alternative embodiment. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0093] In the embodiments of this application, "and / or" describes the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent the following three situations: A exists alone; A and B exist simultaneously; B exists alone. Among them, A and B can be singular or plural.

[0094] In this embodiment, the symbol " / " can indicate that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship. Alternatively, the symbol " / " can also represent a division sign, i.e., performing a division operation. For example, A / B can mean A divided by B.

[0095] In the embodiments of this application, "at least one item" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of a single item or a plurality of items. "One or more" means one or more, while "multiple" means two or more. For example, "at least one item" of a, b, or c can represent the following seven cases: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; a, b, and c. Each of a, b, and c can be an element or a set containing one or more elements.

[0096] In the embodiments of this application, "equal to" can be used with "greater than" and is applicable to technical solutions used when "greater than" is used; it can also be used with "less than" and is applicable to technical solutions used when "less than" is used. When "equal to" is used with "greater than", it is not used with "less than"; when "equal to" is used with "less than", it is not used with "greater than".

[0097] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "of", "corresponding / relevant", "corresponding", and "indicated" may sometimes be used interchangeably.

[0098] In the embodiments of this application, terms such as "including", "comprising", "carrying", and "having" may sometimes be used interchangeably.

[0099] In this application, "connection" refers to various connection methods, such as direct connection or indirect connection, to achieve communication between devices, and no limitation is made in this regard.

[0100] In the embodiments of this application, "network" can be expressed as the same concept as "system," and the communication system is the same as the communication network.

[0101] The following describes the relevant content, concepts, meanings, technical issues, technical solutions, and beneficial effects involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0102] I. Communication systems, terminal equipment, and network equipment

[0103] 1. Communication System

[0104] This application can be applied to various communication systems to meet different communication scenario requirements.

[0105] Optionally, this application can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) systems, New Radio (NR) systems, evolution systems of NR systems, LTE-based Access to Unlicensed Spectrum (LTE-U) systems, NR-based Access to Unlicensed Spectrum (NR-U) systems, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), and 6th-Generation (6G) communication systems, etc.

[0106] Optionally, this application can be applied to communication scenarios such as device-to-device (D2D) systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) systems, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) systems, and passive IoT communication.

[0107] Optionally, this application can be applied to beamforming, carrier aggregation (CA), dual connectivity (DC), or standalone (SA) deployment scenarios.

[0108] Since the embodiments of this application describe various embodiments in conjunction with terminal devices and network devices, the terminal devices and network devices involved will be described in detail below.

[0109] 2. Terminal equipment

[0110] Terminal equipment can be a device with transceiver capabilities, and can also be called a terminal, passive device, Internet of Things device, user equipment (UE), remote terminal equipment (remote UE), relay equipment (relay UE), access terminal equipment, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, mobile device, user terminal equipment, smart terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device.

[0111] For example, terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminal devices, augmented reality (AR) terminal devices, wireless terminal devices in industrial control, wireless terminal devices in autonomous driving, wireless terminal devices in remote medical care, wireless terminal devices in smart grids, wireless terminal devices in transportation safety, wireless terminal devices in smart cities, or wireless terminal devices in smart homes, etc.

[0112] For example, terminal devices can also be cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in next-generation communication systems (such as NR communication systems and 6G communication systems), or terminal devices in future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs), etc., without specific limitations.

[0113] Optionally, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can be deployed on water (such as ships); or it can be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites).

[0114] Optionally, the terminal device may include means for wireless communication, such as a chip system, a chip, or a chip module. For example, the chip system may include a chip, and may also include other discrete components.

[0115] Optionally, the terminal device can be a chip, chip module, device, unit, etc., without specific restrictions.

[0116] 3. Network equipment

[0117] A network device is a device with transceiver capabilities that can be used to communicate with terminal devices.

[0118] Optionally, network devices can be responsible for radio resource management (RRM), quality of service (QoS) management, data compression and encryption, and data transmission and reception on the air interface side.

[0119] Optionally, network devices may include base stations (BS) in a communication system or devices deployed in a radio access network (RAN) to provide wireless communication functions; that is, network devices may include devices in the RAN.

[0120] For example, devices in the RAN may include evolved node B (eNB or eNodeB) in the LTE communication system, next generation evolved node B (ng-eNB) in the NR communication system, next generation node B (gNB) in the NR communication system, master node (MN) in the dual connectivity architecture, and secondary node (SN) in the dual connectivity architecture, etc., without specific restrictions.

[0121] Optionally, network devices may include devices in the core network (CN).

[0122] For example, devices in a CN may include access and mobility management function (AMF), user plane function (UPF), session management function (SMF), etc.

[0123] Optionally, network devices can also be access points (APs) in WLANs, relay stations, communication devices in future PLMN networks, communication devices in NTN networks, etc.

[0124] Optionally, the network device may include means for providing wireless communication capabilities to terminal devices, such as a chip system, a chip, or a chip module. For example, the chip system may include a chip, or it may include other discrete devices.

[0125] Optionally, the network device can be a transmission and reception point (TRP).

[0126] Optionally, network devices can communicate with Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet, private IP networks, or other data networks.

[0127] Optionally, the network device may include a single independent node to implement the functions of the aforementioned base station, or it may include two or more independent nodes to implement the functions of the aforementioned base station. For example, the network device includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), such as gNB-CU and gNB-DU. Further, in some embodiments of this application, the network device may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some of the functions of the network device, and the DU implements other functions. For example, the CU is responsible for handling non-real-time protocols and services, implementing the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for handling physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer, and physical (PHY) layer. In addition, the AAU can implement some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and related functions of the active antenna. Since RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is derived from PHY layer information, in this network deployment, higher-layer signaling (such as RRC signaling) can be considered to be generated by the CU and sent by the DU, or jointly sent by the DU and AAU. It is understood that network devices can include at least one of CU, DU, and AAU. Furthermore, the CU can be classified as a RAN device, or it can be classified as a core network device; there are no specific limitations on this.

[0128] Optionally, the network device can be any station in a multi-site coherent joint transmission (CJT) with the terminal device, or other stations outside the multi-site group, or other network devices communicating with the terminal device; no specific limitations are imposed. Multi-site coherent joint transmission can refer to multiple stations jointly transmitting coherently, or different data belonging to the same physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) being sent from different stations to the terminal device, or multiple stations being virtually merged into one station for transmission. Names with the same meaning as those specified in other standards also apply to this application; that is, this application does not limit the names of these parameters. The stations in multi-site coherent joint transmission can be remote radio heads (RRHs), telecom operators (TRPs), etc., without specific limitations.

[0129] Optionally, the network device can be any one of the multiple sites performing noncoherent joint transmission with the terminal device, or other sites outside the multiple sites, or other network devices communicating with the terminal device; no specific limitations are imposed. The multi-site noncoherent joint transmission can be multiple sites jointly transmitting noncoherently, or different data belonging to the same PDSCH being sent to the terminal device from different sites. Names with the same meaning as those specified in other standards also apply to this application; that is, this application does not limit the names of these parameters. The sites in the multi-site noncoherent joint transmission can be RRH, TRP, etc., without specific limitations. The multi-TRP transmission scheme can include an S-DCI based M-TRP transmission scheme, or an M-DCI based M-TRP transmission scheme.

[0130] It should be noted that the TRP of this application is not limited to coherent joint transmission or non-coherent joint transmission scenarios, but can also be applied to other scenarios, and no specific restrictions are imposed on them.

[0131] Optionally, the network equipment may have mobility characteristics; for example, the network equipment may be a mobile device. Optionally, the network equipment 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 earthorbit (GEO) satellite, or a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite. Optionally, the network equipment may also be a base station located on land, water, or other similar locations.

[0132] Optionally, network equipment can provide services to a cell, and terminal devices within that cell can communicate with the network equipment through transmission resources (such as spectrum resources). This cell can be a macro cell, small cell, metro cell, micro cell, pico cell, or femto cell, etc.

[0133] Optionally, the network device in this application embodiment may be a chip, chip module, device, unit, etc., and there are no specific limitations thereto.

[0134] 4. Example Explanation

[0135] The following is an exemplary description of the communication system according to an embodiment of this application.

[0136] For example, the network architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of this application can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 1 .like Figure 1 As shown, the communication system 10 may include network device 110 and terminal device 120.

[0137] It should be noted that, Figure 1 This is merely an example of a network architecture for a communication system and does not constitute a limitation on the network architecture of the communication systems in the embodiments of this application.

[0138] For example, network device 110 in communication system 10 can be replaced with terminal device.

[0139] For example, the communication system 10 may also include a server or other devices.

[0140] For example, the communication system 10 may include other network devices besides network device 110.

[0141] For example, the communication system 10 may include other terminal devices besides the terminal device 120.

[0142] II. A Backscatter Method

[0143] 1. Description

[0144] In passive IoT, in order to achieve communication without generating radio frequency signals independently, this application can consider the receiver performing backscattering, thereby saving its own energy consumption through backscattering.

[0145] Meanwhile, in order to combine existing cellular networks and passive IoT to build new passive IoT and expand the application scenarios of passive IoT, this application may also consider making the backscattered signal orthogonal to the signal of the existing cellular network, so as to realize the reuse of the existing cellular network deployment for passive IoT, save the overhead of deploying passive IoT separately, and reduce the complexity of the receiver.

[0146] It should be noted that, in conjunction with the content of "I. Communication System, Terminal Equipment, and Network Equipment" above, the "transmitting end" mentioned in this application can be a party that transmits a signal, while the "receiving end" can be a party that performs backscattering using the signal transmitted by the transmitting end. The transmitting end can be a network device or terminal device in an existing cellular network deployment, or it can be a terminal device in a passive Internet of Things (IoT). Correspondingly, the receiving end can be a terminal device in a passive IoT.

[0147] The technical solutions, beneficial effects, and concepts involved in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below.

[0148] 2. Detailed Explanation

[0149] It should be noted that the following sections may be combined and related, parallel or independent, and no specific restrictions are imposed on them.

[0150] 1) First signal, second signal and third signal

[0151] Existing cellular network

[0152] Based on the above content regarding "communication systems," existing cellular networks can be understood as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems, LTE systems, NR systems, NTN systems, D2D systems, NB-IoT systems, etc. Therefore, the signals in existing cellular networks (which can be simply referred to as "cellular signals") can include uplink signals, downlink signals, and sidelink signals.

[0153] For ease of description and distinction, this application may refer to signals in existing cellular networks as "third signals." Other terms may also be used. The third signal may include at least one of uplink signals, downlink signals, and sidelink signals.

[0154] In existing cellular networks, spectrum is the most important resource, and it has different frequency ranges. For example, the spectrum is divided into frequency range 1 (FR1) and frequency range 2 (FR2). Based on FR1 and FR2, the corresponding frequencies are further divided into many different frequency bands, also known as operating bands, frequency bands, or channel bandwidth. At the same time, different frequency bands define the bandwidth occupied by uplink and downlink, and multiplexing modes can be further divided into frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), assisted downlink (SDL), and assisted uplink (SUL), etc.

[0155] For example, FR1 (450MHz~8000MHz) supports channel bandwidth of 5MHz~100MHz; FR2 (24GHz~52GHz) supports channel bandwidth of 50MHz~600MHz.

[0156] In addition, frequency bands can be used for uplink and downlink communication (such as uplink and downlink frequency bands) as well as for sidelink communication (such as sidelink frequency bands), and can include transmission bandwidth and guard band. Transmission bandwidth refers to the range of spectrum resources currently active and available for air interface transmission, also known as in-band, and corresponds to the active BWP. Guard band refers to the range of spectrum resources that cannot be used for air interface transmission, used to avoid inter-uplink and inter-downlink interference.

[0157] To save the overhead of deploying passive IoT separately and reduce the complexity of terminal devices, this application can combine existing cellular networks and passive IoT to build new passive IoT, thereby reusing existing cellular network deployments. This reuse of existing cellular network deployments can include in-band operation and guardband operation.

[0158] In-band deployment can be understood as passive IoT utilizing the spectrum resources of existing cellular networks for network deployment.

[0159] Guardband deployment can be understood as passive IoT utilizing the guardband resources of existing cellular networks for network deployment.

[0160] Of course, to avoid interference from reusing existing cellular networks and to ensure better communication quality for passive IoT, this application also allows for independent deployment of passive IoT. In this case, passive IoT does not rely on existing cellular networks but utilizes independent spectrum resources for communication. Independent deployment can also be referred to as out-band operation.

[0161] Backscattering

[0162] Backscattering can be understood as the receiver modulating its own generated information onto the RF signal transmitted by the transmitter without needing to generate its own RF signal. In this way, backscattering allows the receiver to transmit its own information to the transmitter without generating its own RF signal, thus saving energy.

[0163] For example, the transmitting end first generates a signal and sends it out. Then, the receiving end receives the signal, modulates its own generated information onto the original signal to generate a new signal, and finally sends the new signal out.

[0164] Furthermore, to enable passive IoT to reuse existing cellular network deployments, this application can orthogonalize the new signal with the signals under the existing cellular network. In this way, orthogonality can not only achieve orthogonality between subcarriers, reducing inter-symbol interference and cross-carrier interference, but also enable the signal to be distributed to different orthogonal subcarriers for transmission, making full use of the channel bandwidth in the frequency domain.

[0165] Optionally, the orthogonality may include OFDM. In this way, this application can realize a passive IoT multiplexing / OFDM compatible system.

[0166] [First Signal]

[0167] For ease of description and distinction, this application may refer to the signal transmitted by the transmitting end as the "first signal." Of course, other terms may also be used. The first signal may be an IoT signal, an OFDM band signal, etc.

[0168] It should be noted that the transmitting end can generate the first signal by modulation or by no modulation.

[0169] For example, taking modulation as an example, the first signal can be modulated with first information, which can be known information or predefined information. In this way, the first signal can be regarded as a known modulated signal through known information or predefined information, which is easy to demodulate later.

[0170] Furthermore, to reduce the complexity of the transmitting end, the first information can be all-1 information or other simple information. Thus, this application can generate the first signal using all-1 information or other simple information in a simple modulation manner, making the first signal a simply modulated signal, which is easy to demodulate subsequently.

[0171] Optionally, the waveform of the first signal can be continuous.

[0172] For example, the expression for the first signal S1 can be:

[0173] S1=A1sin(2πf+θ), or S1=A1cos(2πf+θ);

[0174] Where f represents the frequency of the first signal S1 or the frequency of the resources used to carry the first signal S1, A1 represents the amplitude of the first signal S1, and θ represents the phase of the first signal S1.

[0175] Optionally, the first signal can be an OFDM band signal.

[0176] It should be noted that this application can modulate the data on each parallel branch after serial-to-parallel conversion of the data stream onto a number of corresponding subcarriers, and add all the modulated branch signals together and take the real part to obtain the OFDM baseband signal. Then, the OFDM baseband signal is up-converted to obtain the OFDM frequency band signal.

[0177] For example, the expression for the OFDM baseband signal S can be:

[0178]

[0179] Where ω0 represents the frequency of the subcarrier, a k coskω0t-b k sinkω0t can be represented as

[0180] At this point, if the first signal S1 is an OFDM band signal modulated from the OFDM baseband signal S, then the expression for the first signal S1 can be:

[0181]

[0182] Where, ω c Indicates the frequency of the radio frequency carrier.

[0183] Of course, this application does not limit the first signal to a signal under an OFDM system, but it can also be a signal under other systems, depending on the final implementation of different systems, and no specific restrictions are imposed on it.

[0184] [Second Signal]

[0185] For ease of description and distinction, this application may refer to the new signal transmitted by the receiving end as the "second signal." Of course, other terms may also be used.

[0186] It should be noted that the receiving end generates certain information and transmits this information to the sending end via a second signal, thus achieving interactive communication regarding this information. This information can be used for passive IoT services.

[0187] Thus, during the backscattering process, the receiver modulates this information onto the first signal to generate the second signal. In other words, the first signal is modulated to obtain the second signal.

[0188] Optionally, the information may include at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information. That is, the second signal may include at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information.

[0189] Optionally, the receiving end modulates the first signal, which may include: the receiving end may perform amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation on the first signal to obtain a second signal.

[0190] In this way, through amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation, the amplitude used for amplitude modulation of the first signal and / or the phase used for phase modulation of the first signal correspond to the information generated at the receiving end, thereby achieving the modulation of the information onto the first signal. Simultaneously, since amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation do not change the orthogonality of the signals, this facilitates the reuse of existing cellular network deployments.

[0191] Of course, this application may also employ modulation methods other than amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation without changing the orthogonality of the signal, so as to achieve reuse of existing cellular network deployments.

[0192] Optionally, the receiving end modulates the first signal, which may include modulating the first signal at each frequency domain unit granularity according to the time domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal. In this case, the second signal can be regarded as a time domain signal. The frequency domain unit granularity includes RE, RB, subcarrier, etc., and the time domain unit granularity includes time slot, mini-slot, symbol, sampling, etc.

[0193] As can be seen, when the receiving end modulates the first signal, it can modulate the first signal at the frequency domain unit granularity according to the time domain unit granularity. In this way, this modulation method can improve parallel resource utilization and the number of receiving ends that can be accessed simultaneously under large-scale connections.

[0194] Optionally, the receiving end modulates the first signal, which may include modulating the first signal according to the time-domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal. In this case, the second signal can be regarded as a time-domain signal. The time-domain unit granularity includes time slots, micro-time slots, symbols, and samples.

[0195] It can be seen that when the receiver modulates the first signal, it can modulate the first signal according to the time-domain unit granularity in order to achieve time-domain level modulation.

[0196] 2) First resource and first frequency band

[0197] It should be noted that a network can schedule or configure resources to carry signals for transmission. For ease of distinction and description, this application refers to the resource used to carry the first signal as the "first resource".

[0198] In other words, the sending end can send the first signal on the first resource; correspondingly, the receiving end can receive the first signal on the first resource.

[0199] Based on the above information regarding "existing cellular networks," the first resource can be a spectrum resource within a frequency band. For ease of distinction and description, the frequency band containing the first resource is referred to as the "first frequency band." In other words, the first resource can be located within the first frequency band.

[0200] First frequency band

[0201] It should be noted that the first frequency band can be a segment of spectrum resources, which may include multiple resource blocks (RBs). For example, taking a 100MHz frequency band as an example, when the subcarrier spacing is 30kHz, the maximum number of RBs corresponding to 100MHz is 275. Among them, RBs are 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain, that is, 12 resource elements (REs).

[0202] Optionally, the first frequency band can be used for uplink and / or sidelink communication.

[0203] In this way, passive IoT can utilize the spectrum resources in existing cellular networks used for uplink and / or sidelink communication for network deployment, i.e., in-band deployment.

[0204] Optionally, the first frequency band may include a guard band for uplink and downlink communication and / or a guard band for sidelink communication.

[0205] In this way, passive IoT can utilize the guard band resources in existing cellular networks for network deployment, i.e., guard band deployment.

[0206] Optionally, the first frequency band can be a frequency band other than the third and fourth frequency bands. The third frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, and the fourth frequency band includes a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication.

[0207] In this way, passive IoT can utilize independent spectrum resources for network deployment, i.e., out-of-band deployment.

[0208] [First Resource]

[0209] It should be noted that when passive IoT needs to reuse existing cellular networks for deployment, both passive IoT communication and existing cellular network communication require certain resources. Therefore, this application needs to configure the spectrum resources of the first frequency band, configuring available resources for IoT services and available resources for existing cellular network services. In this way, the first resource can be included within the available resources for IoT services, so that IoT service transmission can be carried out using the first resource. The IoT services can include passive IoT services, NB-IoT services, etc.

[0210] Optionally, the available resources for IoT services can be a segment of frequency domain resources in the first frequency band, or a sub-band in the first frequency band, etc.

[0211] For example, the available resources for IoT services can be one, multiple, or some RBs, one, multiple, or some subcarriers, one, multiple, or some REs, etc.

[0212] Optionally, taking available resources for IoT services as available RBs as an example, the first resource may include at least one RE or at least one subcarrier among the available RBs for IoT services located in the first frequency band. The available RB may be at least one RB, at least one RB close to the guard band, or at least one RB far from the guard band; no specific restrictions are imposed.

[0213] As can be seen, when the first resource includes at least one RE, since an RE is a subcarrier in the frequency domain, and subcarrier / RE is the smallest granularity unit in the frequency domain, this application can carry the first signal using subcarrier-level / RE-level resources to save resource overhead. In this case, the first signal can be considered as a subcarrier-level / RE-level signal. This reduces the complexity of the receiver (e.g., reducing the filter requirements of the receiver), improves parallel resources, and increases the number of simultaneously accessing receivers under large-scale connections.

[0214] At least one RE from the available RBs

[0215] It should be noted that at least one RE included in the first resource can exist in various ways to adapt to the communication needs of various scenarios and improve the flexibility of passive IoT to reuse existing cellular network deployments.

[0216] Scenario 1:

[0217] In “Scenario 1”, the first resource may include at least one RE located in the middle position of the available RB. In this way, the transmitter can use at least one RE in the middle position to carry the first signal.

[0218] Optionally, at least one RE in the intermediate position can be determined based on the RE index, which can be a network configuration.

[0219] For example, taking the available RB as a single RB, an RB can include 12 REs with indices 0 to 11. Thus, the RE in the middle position can be the RE with the middle index.

[0220] For example, in Figure 2 In the middle, the RE in the middle position has an RE with index 6, i.e., RE 5; for example, in Figure 3 In the middle position, there are REs with indices 5 to 7, namely RE4, RE5, and RE6.

[0221] For example, if there are two available RBs, these two RBs can include 24 REs with indices 0 to 23. In this case, the RE in the middle position can be the RE with the middle index. For example, the RE with index 11 is RE 12; or the REs with indices 10 to 12 are RE9, RE10, RE11, RE12, RE13, etc.

[0222] Scenario 2:

[0223] In “Scenario 2”, the first resource may include at least one RE located at any position in the available RBs. In this way, the transmitter can use at least one RE located at any position to carry the first signal.

[0224] Optionally, at least one RE at any location can be determined based on the RE index, which can be a network configuration.

[0225] Scenario 3:

[0226] In “Scenario 3”, if the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, the first resource may include at least one RE in the available RB that is close to or far from the guard band, which is the guard band for uplink and / or sidelink communication. Thus, the transmitter can utilize at least one RE that is close to or far from the guard band to carry the first signal.

[0227] Optionally, at least one RE, either near or far from the protection zone, can be determined based on the RE index, which may be part of the network configuration.

[0228] For example, taking the available RB as an example, an RB can include 12 REs with indices from 0 to 11. In this case, REs with lower RE indices can be regarded as REs closer to the protection zone, such as RE0, RE1, etc., while REs with higher RE indices can be regarded as REs farther away from the protection zone, such as RE10, RE11, etc.

[0229] For example, in Figure 4Among them, REs close to the protective zone are RE0, RE1, and RE2.

[0230] Scenario 4:

[0231] In “Scenario 4”, the first resource may include all REs in the available RB. In this way, the transmitter can utilize all REs to carry the first signal.

[0232] [Second Information]

[0233] In summary, when at least one RE in the available RBs carries a first signal modulated with the first information, the other REs in the available RBs, excluding the at least one RE, can be filled with second information. This second information is known information or predefined information that differs from the first information. The purpose of filling the other REs with the second information is to ensure that no signal is transmitted on those other REs.

[0234] As can be seen, this application can use a portion of the available REs in the RBs to carry a first signal modulated with the first information, while filling the remaining REs with the second information so that no signal is transmitted on the other REs.

[0235] Optionally, if the first information is all 1s, then the second information can be all 0s.

[0236] For example, the transmitter can use at least one RE in a certain RB to carry a first signal modulated with all 1s, while the other REs in the RB are filled with all 0s. It should be noted that filling the other REs with all 0s indicates that no signal is transmitted on those other REs. Since the entire resource of the RB is used for passive IoT, this application can transmit the first signal only on a portion of the REs in the RB, while no signal is transmitted on the other REs. This facilitates the design of the receiver's filter.

[0237] 3) Whether frequency shifting is performed during backscattering

[0238]

describe

[0239] Based on the above, the receiving end can modulate the first signal to obtain the second signal, and then transmit the second signal to the transmitting end, thereby achieving backscattering. However, in this section, since the frequency of the first resource (i.e., the frequency of the first signal) may be the same as or different from the frequency of the resource used to carry the second signal (i.e., the frequency of the second signal), this application also needs to consider whether frequency shifting is required during backscattering. This frequency shift can be understood as a frequency offset.

[0240] For ease of distinction and description, this application refers to the resource used to carry the second signal as the "second resource". That is, the receiving end can transmit the second signal on the second resource; correspondingly, the sending end can receive the second signal on the second resource.

[0241] Thus, when the frequency of the first resource is the same as that of the second resource, it means that the receiver does not need to perform frequency shifting during backscattering, but can directly perform backscattering. When the frequency of the first resource is different from that of the second resource, it means that the receiver needs to perform frequency shifting during backscattering. This frequency shift can include frequency shifting within the same frequency band and frequency shifting between different frequency bands, as explained below.

[0242] Optionally, whether frequency shifting is required during backscattering can be configured / indicated by the network.

[0243] For example, taking network configuration as an example, the sending end can determine whether frequency shifting is required during backscattering based on the current network configuration environment, network resource usage, and the device capabilities of the receiving end. Then, it can instruct the receiving end whether frequency shifting is required or not by issuing network signaling (such as RRC signaling, MAC signaling, UE-specific signaling, DCI, etc.).

[0244] Frequency shift

[0245] It should be noted that the "frequency shift" in this application can be achieved through "phase shift". This is because phase is the time integral of frequency, while frequency is the time derivative of phase. Therefore, frequency shift can be implemented as phase shift through appropriate processing. The following explanation mainly uses frequency shift as an example, while phase shift can be understood similarly and will not be elaborated further.

[0246] To achieve frequency shift, this application may introduce a first frequency shift amount, which can represent the frequency interval between the frequency points of the second resource and the frequency points of the first resource. Therefore, this application can generate a second signal based on the first frequency shift amount.

[0247] For example, taking the first signal S1 as an example, the receiving end performs amplitude modulation and frequency shifting on the first signal S1 to finally generate the second signal. The expression for the second signal S2 can be:

[0248] S2=A2S1*e ±2πΔf ;

[0249] Where A2 represents the amplitude, and Δf represents the first frequency shift. Thus, the frequency of the second resource is f ± Δf.

[0250] For example, taking the first signal S1 as an example, the receiving end performs phase modulation and frequency shifting on the first signal S1 to finally generate the second signal. The expression for the second signal S2 can be:

[0251]

[0252] in, Let f represent the phase, and Δf represent the first frequency shift. Thus, the frequency of the second resource is f ± Δf.

[0253] Optionally, the first frequency shift can be configured by the network.

[0254] For example, taking network configuration as an example, the sending end can determine whether the receiving end needs to perform frequency shift based on the current network configuration environment, network resource usage, and the equipment capabilities of the receiving end, and then configure the first frequency shift amount to the receiving end by issuing network signaling (such as RRC signaling, MAC signaling, UE-specific signaling, DCI, etc.).

[0255] Frequency shift within the same frequency band

[0256] Frequency shift within the same frequency band can be understood as the frequency point of the first resource being different from that of the second resource, and the first resource and the second resource being located within the same frequency band.

[0257] For example, the frequency point f±Δf of the second resource is in the same frequency band as the frequency point f of the first resource.

[0258] To achieve frequency shift within the same frequency band, the first frequency shift amount can be implemented in various ways to adapt to the communication needs of various scenarios and improve the flexibility of frequency shift during backscattering.

[0259] Method A:

[0260] In “Method A”, the first frequency shift can be determined based on the number of subcarriers and the subcarrier spacing between the first resource and the second resource.

[0261] Thus, since the subcarrier is the smallest granularity unit in the frequency domain, this application can determine the first frequency shift based on the number of subcarriers, thereby achieving subcarrier-level frequency shift. Optionally, the number of subcarriers and / or the subcarrier spacing can be configured / indicated by the network.

[0262] For example, taking network configuration as an example, the transmitting end can determine whether the receiving end needs to perform frequency shifting based on the current network configuration environment, network resource usage, and the equipment capabilities of the receiving end. Then, it can send an indication message to the receiving end to indicate the number of subcarriers and / or the subcarrier spacing. This indication message can be carried by RRC signaling, MAC signaling, UE-specific signaling, DCI, etc.

[0263] Method B:

[0264] In "Mode B", the first frequency shift can be the product of the number of subcarriers and the subcarrier spacing.

[0265] In this way, the present application can determine the first frequency shift amount based on the product of the number of subcarriers and the subcarrier spacing, thereby realizing the frequency shift of the subcarrier level within the first frequency band.

[0266] Optionally, the subcarrier spacing can be configured by the network.

[0267] For example, taking the number of subcarriers n2 and the subcarrier spacing of 15kHz as an example, the first frequency shift Δf is the product of the number of subcarriers n2 and the subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, that is, Δf = n2 * 2 μ *15. At this point, the expression for the second signal S2 can be:

[0268] or,

[0269] Method C:

[0270] In “Method C”, the first frequency shift can be determined based on the subcarrier index of the first resource and the subcarrier index of the second resource.

[0271] It should be noted that the network configures / schedules the first and second resources to the receiving end. In this way, the receiving end can obtain the subcarrier indices of the first and second resources, and then determine the number of subcarriers between the first and second resources based on the subcarrier indices of the first and second resources. Finally, the first frequency shift amount is determined based on the number of subcarriers.

[0272] Optionally, the subcarrier index of the second resource can be configured by the network.

[0273] For example, taking network configuration as an example, the sending end indicates the subcarrier index of the second resource to the receiving end by sending out indication information. This indication information can be carried by RRC signaling, MAC signaling, UE-specific signaling, DCI, etc.

[0274] Frequency shift between different frequency bands

[0275] Frequency shift between different frequency bands can be understood as the frequency point of the first resource being different from that of the second resource, and the first frequency band where the first resource is located being different from that where the second resource is located.

[0276] For example, in an FDD system, the frequency of the first resource may be in the downlink band of FR1, while the frequency of the second resource may be in the uplink band of FR1. Table 1 shows the NR band in FR1.

[0277] For example, the frequency point f±Δf of the second resource is located in a different frequency band than the frequency point f of the first resource.

[0278] For example, in FDD, the first resource is in the downlink band, while the second resource is in the uplink band.

[0279] For ease of distinction and description, the frequency band where the second resource is located is referred to as the "second frequency band". In other words, the second resource can be located in the second frequency band.

[0280] Optionally, the second frequency band can be used for uplink and / or sidelink communication.

[0281] In this way, passive IoT can utilize the spectrum resources in existing cellular networks used for uplink and / or sidelink communication for backscattering, i.e., in-band deployment.

[0282] Optionally, the second frequency band may include a guard band for uplink and downlink communication and / or a guard band for sidelink communication.

[0283] In this way, passive IoT can utilize the guard band resources in existing cellular networks for backscattering.

[0284] Optionally, the second frequency band can be a frequency band other than the third and fourth frequency bands. The third frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, and the fourth frequency band includes a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication.

[0285] In this way, passive IoT can utilize independent spectrum resources for backscattering, i.e., out-of-band deployment.

[0286] To achieve frequency shift between different frequency bands, the first frequency shift amount can be implemented in various ways to adapt to the communication needs of various scenarios and improve the flexibility of frequency shift during backscattering.

[0287] Table 1 shows the NR bands in FR1.

[0288]

[0289]

[0290]

[0291] Method 1:

[0292] In "Method 1", the first frequency shift can be determined based on the inter-band offset, the number of subcarriers, and the subcarrier spacing. The inter-band offset can be the offset between the second frequency band and the first frequency band. The number of subcarriers can be the number of subcarriers in the interval between the first and second subcarriers. The first subcarrier is the subcarrier in the second frequency band with the same subcarrier index as the first resource, and the second subcarrier is the subcarrier of the second resource.

[0293] In this way, this application can shift the first frequency band to the second frequency band based on the inter-band offset, and then perform subcarrier-level offset within the second frequency band based on the number of subcarriers, thereby realizing frequency shift between different frequency bands.

[0294] Optionally, the number of subcarriers and / or the subcarrier spacing can be configured / indicated by the network.

[0295] For example, taking network configuration as an example, the transmitting end can determine whether the receiving end needs to perform frequency shifting based on the current network configuration environment, network resource usage, and the equipment capabilities of the receiving end. Then, it can send an indication message to the receiving end to indicate the number of subcarriers. This indication message can be carried by RRC signaling, MAC signaling, UE-specific signaling, DCI, etc.

[0296] Method 2:

[0297] In "Method 2", the first frequency shift can be the inter-band offset plus the product of the number of subcarriers and the subcarrier spacing. The inter-band offset can be the offset between the second frequency band and the first frequency band, and the number of subcarriers can be the number of subcarriers in the interval between the first and second subcarriers. The first subcarrier is the subcarrier in the second frequency band with the same subcarrier index as the first resource, and the second subcarrier is the subcarrier of the second resource.

[0298] In this way, this application can shift the first frequency band to the second frequency band based on the inter-band offset, and then perform subcarrier-level offset within the second frequency band according to the product of the number of subcarriers and the subcarrier spacing, thereby realizing frequency shift between different frequency bands.

[0299] Optionally, the number of subcarriers can be configured / indicated by the network.

[0300] Optionally, the subcarrier spacing can be configured / indicated by the network.

[0301] Optionally, the inter-band offset can include the offset between uplink and downlink frequency bands. For example, in an FDD system, there is a fixed offset between uplink frequency bands.

[0302] For example, taking the inter-band offset Δf1, the number of subcarriers n2, and the subcarrier spacing of 15kHz as an example, the first frequency shift Δf is the inter-band offset Δf1 plus the product of the number of subcarriers n2 and the subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, that is, Δf = n2 * 2 μ *15+Δf1. At this point, the expression for the second signal S2 can be:

[0303] or,

[0304] Taking the NR system as an example, the inter-band offset Δf1 is expressed as follows:

[0305] Δf1=f DL -f UL =f DL,PointA +DL carrier_offset -f UL,PointA +UL carrier_offset ;

[0306] Among them, f DL,PointA DL represents the frequency domain location of the downlink Point A. carrier_offset Indicates from f DL,PointA The offset to the downlink carrier, f UL,PointA Indicates the frequency domain position of uplink PointA, UL carrier_offset Indicates from f UL,PointA The offset to the uplink carrier.

[0307] 4) Example Explanation

[0308] Based on the above content, the following examples will illustrate the points.

[0309]

Example 1

[0310] •Sender

[0311] The transmitter selects a resource in the existing cellular network and sends the first signal on the selected resource.

[0312] Optionally, the first signal is a continuous waveform or a time-domain waveform.

[0313] Optionally, the selected resource is one or a portion of the REs from one or more RBs.

[0314] Furthermore, one or part of the RE is located in the middle of the RB. This helps to reduce the filter requirements at the receiver.

[0315] Optionally, the selected resource is located near the protection zone among the resources within the zone.

[0316] Optionally, the first signal is modulated with all-1 on the selected resource.

[0317] Furthermore, fill in 0 for resources other than the selected resource. For example, if the selected resource is a portion of REs in an RB, then fill in 0 for the remaining REs in that RB.

[0318] In addition, the sending end can provide the following instructions based on the capabilities of the terminal device: offset-related information.

[0319] Optionally, offset-related information includes offset type indication information and / or offset amount indication information.

[0320] The offset type indication information can be used to indicate one of the following: frequency shift within the same frequency band during backscattering, frequency shift between different frequency bands during backscattering, or direct backscattering; and / or,

[0321] The offset indication information can be used to indicate the first frequency shift and / or the direction of the frequency shift, such as indicating the number of subcarriers, the inter-band offset, the subcarrier spacing, etc. For example, the y1 bit information in the Y bit information is used to indicate the direction of the frequency shift, and the y2 bit information is used to indicate the number of subcarriers, the inter-band offset, etc.

[0322] The offset type indicator information can occupy X (X is a positive integer) bits, and the offset amount indicator information can occupy Y (Y is a positive integer) bits.

[0323] Optional, the number of bits is related to the number of offset types.

[0324] For example, taking X bits as 2 bits, "00" can indicate that the receiver performs frequency shift within the same frequency band when performing backscattering; "01" can indicate frequency shift between different frequency bands when performing backscattering; "10" can indicate direct backscattering.

[0325] Optionally, the Y bits occupied by the offset indication information are related to the offset type indicated by the offset type indication information.

[0326] For example, when the offset type indication information indicates that the receiver is performing a frequency shift within the same frequency band or a frequency shift between different frequency bands during backscattering, the value of Y is not 0. In other words, the transmitter will only indicate the offset indication information when the offset type indication information indicates that the receiver is performing a frequency shift within the same frequency band or a frequency shift between different frequency bands during backscattering.

[0327] For example, when the offset type indicator indicates direct backscattering, the transmitter will not send offset indicator information.

[0328] For example, when the offset type indication information indicates direct backscattering, the Y bits of the offset indication information sent by the transmitter are all 0.

[0329] • Receiver

[0330] The receiving end modulates the first signal to obtain the second signal according to the instruction of the transmitting end, and then transmits the second signal.

[0331] Optionally, the subcarrier spacing of existing cellular network resources can be the same as or different from the subcarrier spacing of passive IoT resources (which may include resources for carrying a first signal and / or resources for carrying a second signal). This can be specifically indicated by the network. For example, cellular network (such as NR) resources may currently have a 30kHz subcarrier spacing, and an RB may be allocated within the cellular network resources for use by the passive IoT, but the subcarrier spacing within that RB may not be 30kHz but rather another subcarrier spacing.

[0332] Optionally, the first signal can be modulated, which may include amplitude modulation of the first signal, such as OOK / ASK inverse modulation. In this way, by changing only the amplitude, the first signal and the second signal can still remain orthogonal.

[0333] Optionally, modulating the first signal can include modulating the first signal at each frequency domain unit granularity according to the time domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal. In this case, the second signal can be regarded as a time domain signal. The frequency domain unit granularity includes RE, RB, subcarrier, etc., and the time domain unit granularity includes time slot, micro-time slot, symbol, sample, etc.

[0334] For example, the receiver can modulate the first signal according to the symbol on each subcarrier to obtain the second signal.

[0335] Taking the first signal S1(i), the number of subcarriers n2, the subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, and the frequency band offset Δf1 as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the sign on each subcarrier. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0336]

[0337] Where j = 1, 2. i corresponds to the index of the symbol, with an amplitude of A1 under high load and an amplitude of A2 under low load.

[0338] Alternatively, taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the symbol on each subcarrier. In this case, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0339] S2(i)=A j S1(i).

[0340] Optionally, modulating the first signal may include phase modulation, such as PSK inverse modulation. In this way, by changing only the phase, the first and second signals can still remain orthogonal.

[0341] Taking a first signal S1(i), a subcarrier number n2, and a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz as an example, the first signal S1(i) is phase-modulated according to its sign on each subcarrier. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0342]

[0343] in, N1 depends on the number of phase modulations. If two phases are used, N1 is 2, where the phases can be 0 or π; if four phases are used, N1 is 4, where the phases can be 0, π, or π. π.

[0344] Alternatively, taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the symbol on each subcarrier. In this case, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0345]

[0346] Optionally, the frequency of the second signal may be located within the in-band resources, guard band, or out-of-band resources of the existing cellular network.

[0347]

Example 2

[0348] •Sender

[0349] The transmitter selects a resource in the existing cellular network and sends the first signal on the selected resource.

[0350] Optionally, the first signal is a continuous waveform or a time-domain waveform.

[0351] Optionally, the selected resource is any RE in one or more RBs.

[0352] Optionally, the selected resource is located near the protection zone among the resources within the zone.

[0353] Optionally, the first signal is modulated with all-1 on the selected resource.

[0354] Furthermore, fill in 0 for resources other than the selected resource. For example, if the selected resource is a portion of REs in an RB, then fill in 0 for the remaining REs in that RB.

[0355] In addition, the sending end can provide the following instructions based on the capabilities of the terminal device: offset-related information.

[0356] Optionally, offset-related information includes offset type indication information and / or backscattered subcarrier indication information.

[0357] The offset type indication information is used to indicate one of the following: frequency shift within the same frequency band when the receiver performs backscattering, frequency shift between different frequency bands when the receiver performs backscattering, or direct backscattering.

[0358] Among them, the backscatter subcarrier indication information is used to indicate the subcarrier in which the signal is located during backscattering, and the relative position of the subcarrier does not change during backscattering.

[0359] Here, X bits represent information with X bits; Z bits represent information with Z bits.

[0360] • Receiver

[0361] The receiving end modulates the first signal to obtain the second signal according to the instruction of the transmitting end, and then transmits the second signal.

[0362] Optionally, the subcarrier spacing of existing cellular network resources can be the same as or different from the subcarrier spacing of passive IoT resources (which may include resources for carrying a first signal and / or resources for carrying a second signal). This can be specifically indicated by the network.

[0363] For example, cellular network (such as NR) resources are currently 30kHz subcarrier spacing. An RB (Radio Receptor Block) is allocated within these cellular network resources for use by passive IoT, and the subcarrier spacing within this RB can be different from 30kHz. Optionally, modulation of the first signal can include amplitude modulation, such as OOK / ASK inverse modulation. In this way, by changing only the amplitude, the first and second signals can still remain orthogonal.

[0364] Optionally, modulating the first signal can include modulating the first signal at each frequency domain unit granularity according to the time domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal. In this case, the second signal can be regarded as a time domain signal. The frequency domain unit granularity includes RE, RB, subcarrier, etc., and the time domain unit granularity includes time slot, micro-time slot, symbol, sampling, etc.

[0365] For example, the receiver can modulate the first signal according to the symbol on each subcarrier to obtain the second signal.

[0366] Taking the first signal S1(i), the number of subcarriers n2, the subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, and the frequency band offset Δf1 as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the sign on each subcarrier. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0367]

[0368] Where j = 1, 2. i corresponds to the index of the symbol, with an amplitude of A1 under high load and an amplitude of A2 under low load.

[0369] Alternatively, taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the symbol on each subcarrier. In this case, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0370] S2(i)=A j S1(i).

[0371] Optionally, modulating the first signal may include phase modulation, such as PSK inverse modulation. In this way, by changing only the phase, the first and second signals can still remain orthogonal.

[0372] Taking a first signal S1(i), a subcarrier number n2, and a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz as an example, the first signal S1(i) is phase-modulated according to its sign on each subcarrier. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0373]

[0374] in, N1 depends on the number of phase modulations. If two phases are used, N1 is 2, where the phases can be 0 or π; if four phases are used, N1 is 4, where the phases can be 0, π, or π. π.

[0375] Alternatively, taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the symbol on each subcarrier. In this case, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0376]

[0377] Optionally, the frequency of the second signal may be located within the in-band resources, guard band, or out-of-band resources of the existing cellular network.

[0378]

Example 3

[0379] •Sender

[0380] The transmitter selects a resource in the existing cellular network and sends the first signal on the selected resource.

[0381] Optionally, the first signal is a continuous waveform or a time-domain waveform.

[0382] Optionally, the selected resource is any RE in one or more RBs.

[0383] Optionally, the selected resource is located near the protection zone among the resources within the zone.

[0384] Optionally, the first signal is modulated with all-1 on the selected resource.

[0385] Furthermore, fill in 0 for resources other than the selected resource. For example, if the selected resource is a portion of REs in an RB, then fill in 0 for the remaining REs in that RB.

[0386] In addition, the sending end can provide the following instructions based on the capabilities of the terminal device: offset-related information.

[0387] Optionally, offset-related information includes offset type indication information and / or modulation indication information.

[0388] The offset type indication information can be used to indicate one of the following: frequency shift within the same frequency band when the receiver performs backscattering, frequency shift between different frequency bands when the receiver performs backscattering, or direct backscattering.

[0389] The modulation indication information can be used to indicate whether symbol-level modulation, sample-level modulation, or time-domain modulation is used during backscattering. Optionally, the m1 bits in the M-bit information indicate the number of samples at the sample level.

[0390] ●Receiver

[0391] The receiving end modulates the first signal to obtain the second signal according to the instruction of the transmitting end, and then transmits the second signal.

[0392] Optionally, the subcarrier spacing of existing cellular network resources can be the same as or different from the subcarrier spacing of passive IoT resources (which may include resources for carrying a first signal and / or resources for carrying a second signal). This can be specifically indicated by the network.

[0393] For example, cellular network (such as NR) resources are currently 30kHz subcarrier spacing. An RB is allocated within the cellular network resources for use by passive IoT, and the subcarrier spacing within this RB may not be 30kHz but other subcarrier spacings. Optionally, modulation of the first signal may include amplitude modulation of the first signal.

[0394] Optionally, modulating the first signal may include modulating the first signal according to the time-domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal. In this case, the second signal can be regarded as a time-domain signal. The time-domain unit granularity includes time slots, micro-time slots, symbols, and samples.

[0395] For example, the receiving end can modulate the first signal according to the symbols to obtain the second signal.

[0396] Taking the first signal S1(i) and the inter-band offset Δf1 as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to its symbol. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0397]

[0398] Where j = 1, 2. i corresponds to the index of the symbol, with an amplitude of A1 under high load and an amplitude of A2 under low load.

[0399] or, Taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to its sign. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0400] S2(i)=A j S1(i).

[0401] Optionally, modulating the first signal may include phase modulation, such as PSK inverse modulation. In this way, by changing only the phase, the first and second signals can still remain orthogonal.

[0402] Taking the first signal S1(i) and the inter-band offset Δf1 as examples, the first signal S1(i) is phase-modulated according to its sign. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0403]

[0404] in, N1 depends on the number of phase modulations. If two phases are used, N1 is 2, where the phases can be 0 or π; if four phases are used, N1 is 4, where the phases can be 0, π, or π. π 。

[0405] Taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is phase-modulated according to its sign. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0406]

[0407] Optionally, the frequency of the second signal may be located within the in-band resources, guard band, or out-of-band resources of the existing cellular network.

[0408]

Example 4

[0409] ●Sender

[0410] The transmitter selects a resource in the existing cellular network's guard band or out-of-band resources and sends the first signal on the selected resource.

[0411] Optionally, the first signal is a continuous waveform or a time-domain waveform.

[0412] Optionally, the selected resource is one or a portion of the REs from one or more RBs.

[0413] Furthermore, one or part of the RE is located in the middle of the RB. This helps to reduce the filter requirements at the receiver.

[0414] Optionally, the first signal is modulated with all-1 on the selected resource.

[0415] Furthermore, fill in 0 for resources other than the selected resource. For example, if the selected resource is a portion of REs in an RB, then fill in 0 for the remaining REs in that RB.

[0416] In addition, the sending end can provide the following instructions based on the capabilities of the terminal device: offset-related information.

[0417] Optionally, offset-related information includes offset type indication information and / or offset amount indication information.

[0418] Offset type indication information can be used to indicate one of the following: frequency shift within the same frequency band when the receiver performs backscattering, frequency shift between different frequency bands when the receiver performs backscattering, or direct backscattering;

[0419] Offset indication information can be used to indicate the first frequency shift, such as the number of subcarriers, inter-band offset, subcarrier spacing, etc. Optionally, the y1 bit information in the Y-bit information is used to indicate the direction of the frequency shift, and the y2 bit information is used to indicate the number of subcarriers, inter-band offset, etc.

[0420] ●Receiver

[0421] The receiving end modulates the first signal to obtain the second signal according to the instruction of the transmitting end, and then transmits the second signal.

[0422] Optionally, the subcarrier spacing of existing cellular network resources can be the same as or different from the subcarrier spacing of passive IoT resources (which may include resources for carrying a first signal and / or resources for carrying a second signal). This can be specifically indicated by the network.

[0423] For example, cellular network (such as NR) resources are currently 30kHz subcarrier spacing. An RB (Radio Receptor Block) is allocated within these cellular network resources for use by passive IoT, and the subcarrier spacing within this RB can be different from 30kHz. Optionally, modulation of the first signal can include amplitude modulation, such as OOK / ASK inverse modulation. In this way, by changing only the amplitude, the first and second signals can still remain orthogonal.

[0424] Optionally, modulating the first signal can include modulating the first signal at each frequency domain unit granularity according to the time domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal. In this case, the second signal can be regarded as a time domain signal. The frequency domain unit granularity includes RE, RB, subcarrier, etc., and the time domain unit granularity includes time slot, micro-time slot, symbol, sample, etc.

[0425] For example, the receiver can modulate the first signal according to the symbol on each subcarrier to obtain the second signal.

[0426] Taking the first signal S1(i), the number of subcarriers n2, the subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, and the frequency band offset Δf1 as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the sign on each subcarrier. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0427]

[0428] Where j = 1, 2. i corresponds to the index of the symbol, with an amplitude of A1 under high load and an amplitude of A2 under low load.

[0429] Alternatively, taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the symbol on each subcarrier. In this case, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0430] S2(i)=A j S1(i).

[0431] Optionally, modulating the first signal may include phase modulation, such as PSK inverse modulation. In this way, by changing only the phase, the first and second signals can still remain orthogonal.

[0432] Taking a first signal S1(i), a subcarrier number n2, and a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz as an example, the first signal S1(i) is phase-modulated according to its sign on each subcarrier. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0433]

[0434] in, N1 depends on the number of phase modulations. If two phases are used, N1 is 2, where the phases can be 0 or π; if four phases are used, N1 is 4, where the phases can be 0, π, or π. π.

[0435] Alternatively, taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the symbol on each subcarrier. In this case, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0436]

[0437] Optionally, the frequency of the second signal may be located within the in-band resources, guard band, or out-of-band resources of the existing cellular network.

[0438]

Example 5

[0439] ●Sender

[0440] The transmitter selects a resource in the existing cellular network's guard band or out-of-band resources and sends the first signal on the selected resource.

[0441] Optionally, the first signal is a continuous waveform or a time-domain waveform.

[0442] Optionally, the selected resource is any RE in one or more RBs.

[0443] Optionally, the first signal is modulated with all-1 on the selected resource.

[0444] Furthermore, fill in 0 for resources other than the selected resource. For example, if the selected resource is a portion of REs in an RB, then fill in 0 for the remaining REs in that RB.

[0445] In addition, the sending end can provide the following instructions based on the capabilities of the terminal device: offset-related information.

[0446] Optionally, offset-related information includes offset type indication information and / or backscattered subcarrier indication information.

[0447] The offset type indication information can be used to indicate one of the following: frequency shift within the same frequency band when the receiver performs backscattering, frequency shift between different frequency bands when the receiver performs backscattering, or direct backscattering.

[0448] Among them, the backscatter subcarrier indication information can be used to indicate the subcarrier in which the signal is located during backscattering, without changing the relative position of the subcarrier during backscattering.

[0449] ●Receiver

[0450] The receiving end modulates the first signal to obtain the second signal according to the instruction of the transmitting end, and then transmits the second signal.

[0451] Optionally, the subcarrier spacing of existing cellular network resources can be the same as or different from the subcarrier spacing of passive IoT resources (which may include resources for carrying a first signal and / or resources for carrying a second signal). This can be specifically indicated by the network.

[0452] For example, cellular network (such as NR) resources are currently 30kHz subcarrier spacing. An RB (Radio Receptor Block) is allocated within these cellular network resources for use by passive IoT, and the subcarrier spacing within this RB can be different from 30kHz. Optionally, modulation of the first signal can include amplitude modulation, such as OOK / ASK inverse modulation. In this way, by changing only the amplitude, the first and second signals can still remain orthogonal.

[0453] Optionally, modulating the first signal can include modulating the first signal at each frequency domain unit granularity according to the time domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal. In this case, the second signal can be regarded as a time domain signal. The frequency domain unit granularity includes RE, RB, subcarriers, etc., and the time domain unit granularity includes time slots, micro-time slots, symbols, sampling, etc. For example, the receiver can modulate the first signal according to symbols on each subcarrier to obtain the second signal.

[0454] Taking the first signal S1(i), the number of subcarriers n2, the subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, and the frequency band offset Δf1 as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the sign on each subcarrier. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0455]

[0456] Where j = 1, 2. i corresponds to the index of the symbol, with an amplitude of A1 under high load and an amplitude of A2 under low load.

[0457] Alternatively, taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the symbol on each subcarrier. In this case, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0458] S2(i)=A j S1(i).

[0459] Optionally, modulating the first signal may include phase modulation, such as PSK inverse modulation. In this way, by changing only the phase, the first and second signals can still remain orthogonal.

[0460] Taking a first signal S1(i), a subcarrier number n2, and a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz as an example, the first signal S1(i) is phase-modulated according to its sign on each subcarrier. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0461]

[0462] in, N1 depends on the number of phase modulations. If two phases are used, N1 is 2, where the phases can be 0 or π; if four phases are used, N1 is 4, where the phases can be 0, π, or π. π.

[0463] Alternatively, taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to the symbol on each subcarrier. In this case, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0464]

[0465] Optionally, the frequency of the second signal may be located within the in-band resources, guard band, or out-of-band resources of the existing cellular network.

[0466]

Example 6

[0467] ●Sender

[0468] The transmitter selects a resource from the existing out-of-band resources of the cellular network or from the out-of-band resources, and transmits the first signal on the selected resource.

[0469] Optionally, the first signal is a continuous waveform or a time-domain waveform.

[0470] Optionally, the selected resource is any RE in one or more RBs.

[0471] Optionally, the first signal is modulated with all-1 on the selected resource.

[0472] Furthermore, fill in 0 for resources other than the selected resource. For example, if the selected resource is a portion of REs in an RB, then fill in 0 for the remaining REs in that RB.

[0473] In addition, the sending end can provide the following instructions based on the capabilities of the terminal device:

[0474] Offset-related information.

[0475] Optionally, offset-related information includes offset type indication information and / or modulation indication information.

[0476] The offset type indication information can be used to indicate one of the following: frequency shift within the same frequency band when the receiver performs backscattering, frequency shift between different frequency bands when the receiver performs backscattering, or direct backscattering.

[0477] The modulation indication information can be implemented using symbol-level modulation, sample-level modulation, or time-domain modulation during backscattering. Optionally, the m1 bits in the M-bit information indicate the number of samples at the sample level.

[0478] ●Receiver

[0479] The receiving end modulates the first signal to obtain the second signal according to the instruction of the transmitting end, and then transmits the second signal.

[0480] Optionally, the subcarrier spacing of existing cellular network resources and the subcarrier spacing of passive IoT resources (which may include resources for carrying a first signal and / or resources for carrying a second signal) may be the same or different. This can be specifically indicated by the network.

[0481] For example, cellular network (such as NR) resources are currently 30kHz subcarrier spacing. An RB is allocated in the cellular network resources for use by passive IoT, and the subcarrier spacing in the RB may not be 30kHz but other subcarrier spacing.

[0482] Optionally, modulating the first signal may include amplitude modulation of the first signal.

[0483] Optionally, modulating the first signal may include modulating the first signal according to the time-domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal. In this case, the second signal can be regarded as a time-domain signal. The time-domain unit granularity includes time slots, micro-time slots, symbols, and samples.

[0484] For example, the receiving end can modulate the first signal according to the symbols to obtain the second signal.

[0485] Taking the first signal S1(i) and the inter-band offset Δf1 as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to its symbol. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0486]

[0487] Where j = 1, 2. i corresponds to the index of the symbol, with an amplitude of A1 under high load and an amplitude of A2 under low load.

[0488] Alternatively, taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is amplitude modulated according to its sign. In this case, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0489] S2(i)=A j S1(i).

[0490] Optionally, modulating the first signal may include phase modulation, such as PSK inverse modulation. In this way, by changing only the phase, the first and second signals can still remain orthogonal.

[0491] Taking the first signal S1(i) and the inter-band offset Δf1 as examples, the first signal S1(i) is phase-modulated according to its sign. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0492]

[0493] in, N1 depends on the number of phase modulations. If two phases are used, N1 is 2, where the phases can be 0 or π; if four phases are used, N1 is 4, where the phases can be 0, π, or π. π.

[0494] Taking the first signal S1(i) as an example, the first signal S1(i) is phase-modulated according to its sign. Then, the expression for the second signal S2(i) is:

[0495] Optionally, the frequency of the second signal may be located within the in-band resources, guard band, or out-of-band resources of the existing cellular network.

[0496]

Example 7

[0497] The generation of the first signal can be as described in Examples 1-6, but if there are guard bands on both sides of a certain frequency band, such as in... Figure 4 In the middle, there are guard bands above and below RB. When modulating the first signal, it can be modulated onto one of the guard bands or onto the other guard band.

[0498] If the generation of the first signal adopts Embodiment 1 / 2 / 4 / 5, the first signal can be modulated onto the guard band in the opposite direction to the first signal when it is modulated, while the signal in the same direction is given to the receiving end for Device A / B.

[0499] If the generation of the first signal adopts the method of embodiment 3 / 6, the first signal can be modulated to the guard bands on both sides of FDDUL, that is, similar to FSK modulation, to improve performance.

[0500] 3. An example of a backscattering method

[0501] 1) Description

[0502] Based on the above content, the following example, taking the interaction between the sending end and the receiving end as an example, will illustrate a backscattering method according to an embodiment of this application.

[0503] like Figure 5 The diagram shown is a flowchart of a backscattering method according to an embodiment of this application, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0504] S510, the transmitting end sends the first signal.

[0505] Correspondingly, the receiving end receives the first signal.

[0506] S520, The receiving end modulates the first signal to obtain a second signal. The second signal includes at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information. The second signal and the third signal are orthogonal. The third signal includes at least one of uplink signal, downlink signal, and sidelink signal. The first message is used to request network access, and the first message indicates the device capabilities of the terminal device.

[0507] S530, the receiving end sends a second signal.

[0508] Correspondingly, the transmitting end receives the second signal.

[0509] It should be noted that terms such as "first signal," "second signal," "third signal," and "modulation of the first signal" are detailed in the above-mentioned content and will not be repeated here.

[0510] As can be seen, in the passive Internet of Things, in order to achieve communication without generating radio frequency signals independently, this application can consider modulating its own information onto the received first signal to obtain a second signal, and then sending the second signal, thereby achieving backscattering, so as to save its own energy consumption through backscattering.

[0511] Meanwhile, in order to combine existing cellular networks and passive IoT to build new passive IoT and expand the application scenarios of passive IoT, this application may also consider making the second signal and the third signal orthogonal, so as to realize the reuse of existing cellular network deployment for passive IoT, save the overhead of deploying passive IoT separately, and reduce the complexity of the receiver.

[0512] Optionally, the first signal is modulated, including:

[0513] The first signal is subjected to amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation.

[0514] In this way, through amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation, the amplitude used for amplitude modulation of the first signal and / or the phase used for phase modulation of the first signal correspond to the information generated at the receiving end, thereby achieving the modulation of the information onto the first signal. Simultaneously, since amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation do not change the orthogonality of the signals, this facilitates the reuse of existing cellular network deployments.

[0515] Optionally, the first signal is modulated, including: modulating the first signal at each frequency domain unit granularity according to the time domain unit granularity.

[0516] As can be seen, when the receiving end modulates the first signal, it can modulate the first signal at the frequency domain unit granularity according to the time domain unit granularity. In this way, this modulation method can improve the parallel resource utilization and the number of receiving ends that can be accessed simultaneously under large-scale connections.

[0517] Optionally, modulating the first signal includes: modulating the first signal according to the time-domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal.

[0518] It can be seen that when the receiver modulates the first signal, it can modulate the first signal according to the time-domain unit granularity in order to achieve time-domain level modulation.

[0519] Optionally, receiving a first signal includes:

[0520] The first resource receives the first signal, which is modulated with first information, which is known information or predefined information.

[0521] In this way, the first signal can be regarded as a signal with known modulation by using known or predefined information, which facilitates subsequent decoding.

[0522] Optionally, the first signal is modulated with first information, including:

[0523] The first signal uses all-1 information modulation.

[0524] In this way, the present application can generate the first signal in a simple modulation manner through all-1 information, so that the first signal can be regarded as a simply modulated signal, which is easy to demodulate later.

[0525] Optionally, a second signal may be sent, including:

[0526] Send a second signal from the second resource;

[0527] Wherein, the frequency of the second resource is the same as that of the first resource; or, the frequency of the second resource is spaced apart from that of the first resource by a first frequency shift.

[0528] Thus, when the frequency of the first resource is the same as that of the second resource, it means that no frequency shift is needed during backscattering; backscattering can be performed directly. When the frequency of the second resource is separated from that of the first resource by a first frequency shift, it means that a frequency shift is needed during backscattering, and the frequencies of the first and second resources are not the same.

[0529] Optionally, the second resource and the first resource may be located in the same frequency band.

[0530] In this way, this application can achieve frequency shifting within the same frequency band.

[0531] Optionally, the first frequency shift is determined based on the number of subcarriers and the subcarrier spacing between the first and second resources.

[0532] Thus, since the subcarrier is the smallest unit of frequency domain, this application can determine the first frequency shift based on the number of subcarriers and the subcarrier spacing, thereby achieving subcarrier-level frequency shift.

[0533] Optionally, the first resource is located in the first frequency band, and the second resource is located in the second frequency band.

[0534] In this way, this application can achieve frequency shifting between different frequency bands.

[0535] Optionally, the first frequency shift is determined based on the inter-band offset, the number of subcarriers, and the subcarrier spacing;

[0536] The frequency band offset is the offset between the second frequency band and the first frequency band;

[0537] The number of subcarriers is the number of subcarriers in the interval between the first subcarrier and the second subcarrier. The first subcarrier is the subcarrier in the second frequency band that has the same subcarrier index as the first resource, and the second subcarrier is the subcarrier of the second resource.

[0538] Thus, this application can shift the first frequency band to the second frequency band based on the inter-band offset, and then perform subcarrier-level offset within the second frequency band based on the number of subcarriers, thereby achieving frequency shifting between different frequency bands. Optionally, the above method further includes:

[0539] Receive the first indication information, which indicates the number of subcarriers.

[0540] Thus, this application can realize the number of network-indicating subcarriers based on the first indication information.

[0541] Optionally, the first frequency shift is determined based on the subcarrier index of the first resource and the subcarrier index of the second resource.

[0542] In this way, since the receiving end can know the subcarrier index of the first resource and the subcarrier index of the second resource, the receiving end can determine the number of subcarriers between the first resource and the second resource based on the subcarrier index of the first resource and the subcarrier index of the second resource, and finally determine the first frequency shift amount based on the number of subcarriers.

[0543] Optionally, the above methods also include:

[0544] Receive second indication information, which indicates the subcarrier index of the second resource.

[0545] Thus, this application can implement a subcarrier index for network indication of a second resource based on the second indication information.

[0546] Optionally, the subcarrier index of the first resource can be network-configured, predefined, or determined by the receiver according to a certain strategy / rule, etc., without specific restrictions.

[0547] Optionally, the above methods also include:

[0548] A second signal is generated based on the first frequency shift.

[0549] Thus, this application requires frequency shifting to generate a second signal during backscattering.

[0550] Optionally, the first resource is located in the first frequency band;

[0551] Wherein, the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication; or, the first frequency band includes a protection band for uplink and / or sidelink communication; or, the first frequency band is a frequency band other than the third and fourth frequency bands, the third frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, and the fourth frequency band includes a protection band for uplink and / or sidelink communication.

[0552] Thus, if the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, passive IoT can utilize the spectrum resources in existing cellular networks used for uplink and / or sidelink communication for network deployment, i.e., in-band deployment.

[0553] If the first frequency band includes a guard band for uplink and downlink communication and / or a guard band for sidelink communication, then passive IoT can utilize the guard band resources in the existing cellular network for network deployment, i.e., guard band deployment.

[0554] If the first frequency band is a frequency band other than the third and fourth frequency bands, then passive IoT can utilize independent spectrum resources for network deployment, i.e., out-of-band deployment.

[0555] Optionally, the first resource includes at least one resource element from an available resource block for IoT services located in the first frequency band.

[0556] As can be seen, when the first resource includes at least one RE, since an RE is a subcarrier in the frequency domain, and subcarrier / RE is the smallest granularity unit in the frequency domain, this application can carry the first signal using subcarrier-level / RE-level resources to save resource overhead. In this case, the first signal can be considered as a subcarrier-level / RE-level signal. This reduces the complexity of the receiver (e.g., reducing the filter requirements of the receiver), improves parallel resources, and increases the number of simultaneously accessing receivers under large-scale connections.

[0557] Optionally, the first resource includes at least one resource element located in the middle position of an available resource block in the first frequency band; or,

[0558] If the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, the first resource includes at least one resource element located in the available resource block of the first frequency band that is close to the guard band, where the guard band is the guard band for uplink and / or the guard band for sidelink communication; or,

[0559] The first resource includes all resource elements in the available resource blocks located in the first frequency band.

[0560] In this way, this application can flexibly determine the first resource for carrying the first signal from the available resource blocks of the first frequency band based on the current network configuration environment, network resource usage, and the device capabilities of the receiving end, so as to improve the flexibility of passive Internet of Things reuse of existing cellular network deployment.

[0561] Optionally, all resource elements in the available resource blocks of the first frequency band, except for at least one resource element, are filled with zero information.

[0562] As can be seen, this application can utilize some REs in the available RBs to carry a first signal modulated with the first information, while filling the remaining REs with all 0 information so that no signal is transmitted on the other REs.

[0563] III. An example of a backscattering device

[0564] The above primarily describes the solutions of the embodiments of this application from a methodological perspective. It is understood that, in order to achieve the above functions, the receiving end includes corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in a hardware or computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can 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.

[0565] This application embodiment can divide the receiving end into functional units according to the above method example. For example, each function can be divided into separate functional units, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software program module. It should be noted that the unit division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents a logical functional division, while other division methods may be used in actual implementation.

[0566] When using integrated units, Figure 6 This is a functional unit block diagram of a backscattering device according to an embodiment of this application. The backscattering device 600 includes a receiving unit 601, a modulation unit 602, and a transmitting unit 603.

[0567] Optionally, the receiving unit 601 can be a module unit for receiving signals, data, information, etc., and there are no specific limitations on this.

[0568] Optionally, the modulation unit 602 can be a module unit used to modulate signals, data, information, etc., without specific limitations.

[0569] Optionally, the transmitting unit 603 can be a module unit used to transmit signals, data, information, etc., and there are no specific limitations on this.

[0570] Optionally, the backscattering device 600 may further include a storage unit for storing computer program code or instructions executed by the backscattering device 600. The storage unit may be a memory.

[0571] Optionally, the backscattering device 600 can be a chip or a chip module.

[0572] Optionally, the receiving unit 601, the modulation unit 602, and the transmitting unit 603 can be integrated into the same unit or into different units.

[0573] For example, the receiving unit 601 and the transmitting unit 603 can be integrated into the communication unit, while the modulation unit 602 can be integrated into the processing unit.

[0574] For example, the receiving unit 601, the modulation unit 602, and the transmitting unit 603 can be integrated into the communication unit or into the processing unit.

[0575] It should be noted that the communication unit can be a communication interface, transceiver, transceiver circuit, etc.

[0576] The processing unit can be a processor or controller, such as a baseband processor, baseband chip, central processing unit (CPU), general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processing unit can also be a combination that implements computational functions, such as including one or more microprocessor combinations, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc.

[0577] Optionally, the backscattering device 600 is used to perform any of the steps performed by the receiver / chip / chip module / terminal device, etc., as described in the above method embodiments.

[0578] In specific implementation, the receiving unit 601, the modulation unit 602, and the transmitting unit 603 are used to execute the steps as described in the above method embodiments, and when performing actions such as transmitting, other units may be selectively invoked to complete the corresponding operations. A detailed description follows.

[0579] The receiving unit 601 is used to receive the first signal;

[0580] The modulation unit 602 is used to modulate the first signal to obtain a second signal. The second signal includes at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information. The second signal and the third signal are orthogonal. The third signal includes at least one of uplink signal, downlink signal, and sidelink signal.

[0581] The transmitting unit 603 is used to transmit a second signal.

[0582] As can be seen, in the passive Internet of Things, in order to achieve communication without generating radio frequency signals independently, this application can consider modulating its own information onto the received first signal to obtain a second signal, and then sending the second signal, thereby achieving backscattering, so as to save its own energy consumption through backscattering.

[0583] Meanwhile, in order to combine existing cellular networks and passive IoT to build new passive IoT and expand the application scenarios of passive IoT, this application may also consider making the second signal and the third signal orthogonal, so as to realize the reuse of existing cellular network deployment for passive IoT, save the overhead of deploying passive IoT separately, and reduce the complexity of the receiver.

[0584] It should be noted that, Figure 6 The specific implementation of each operation in the embodiments can be found in the description of the method embodiments shown above, and will not be repeated here.

[0585] IV. Another example of a backscattering device

[0586] The above primarily describes the solutions of the embodiments of this application from a methodological perspective. It is understood that, in order to achieve the above functions, the transmitting end includes corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can 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.

[0587] This application embodiment can divide the transmitting end into functional units according to the above method example. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional unit, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software program module. It should be noted that the unit division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents a logical functional division, while other division methods may be used in actual implementation.

[0588] When using integrated units, Figure 7 This is a functional unit block diagram of another backscattering device according to an embodiment of this application. The backscattering device 700 includes a transmitting unit 701 and a receiving unit 702.

[0589] Optionally, the transmitting unit 701 can be a module unit used to transmit signals, data, information, etc., without specific limitations.

[0590] Optionally, the receiving unit 702 can be a module unit for receiving signals, data, information, etc., and there are no specific limitations on this.

[0591] Optionally, the backscattering device 700 may further include a storage unit for storing computer program code or instructions executed by the backscattering device 700. The storage unit may be a memory.

[0592] Optionally, the backscattering device 700 can be a chip or a chip module.

[0593] Optionally, the transmitting unit 701 and the receiving unit 702 can be integrated into the same unit or into different units.

[0594] For example, the transmitting unit 701 and the receiving unit 702 can be integrated into the communication unit or into the processing unit.

[0595] It should be noted that the communication unit can be a communication interface, transceiver, transceiver circuit, etc.

[0596] The processing unit can be a processor or controller, such as a baseband processor, baseband chip, central processing unit (CPU), general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processing unit can also be a combination that implements computational functions, such as including one or more microprocessor combinations, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc.

[0597] In some possible implementations, the backscattering device 700 is used to perform any of the steps performed by the transmitter / chip / chip module / network device / terminal device, etc., as described in the above method embodiments.

[0598] In specific implementation, the sending unit 701 and the receiving unit 702 are used to perform any of the steps in the above method embodiments, and when performing actions such as sending, other units can be selectively invoked to complete the corresponding operations. A detailed description follows.

[0599] Transmitting unit 701 is used to transmit a first signal;

[0600] The receiving unit 702 is used to receive a second signal, which is a signal that modulates at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information onto a first signal, and the second signal and a third signal are orthogonal, the third signal including at least one of uplink signal, downlink signal, and sidelink signal.

[0601] As can be seen, in the passive Internet of Things, in order to achieve communication without generating radio frequency signals independently, this application can consider modulating its own information onto the received first signal to obtain a second signal, and then sending the second signal, thereby achieving backscattering, so as to save its own energy consumption through backscattering.

[0602] Meanwhile, in order to combine existing cellular networks and passive IoT to build new passive IoT and expand the application scenarios of passive IoT, this application may also consider making the second signal and the third signal orthogonal, so as to realize the reuse of existing cellular network deployment for passive IoT, save the overhead of deploying passive IoT separately, and reduce the complexity of the receiver.

[0603] It should be noted that, Figure 7 The specific implementation of each operation in the embodiments can be found in the description of the method embodiments shown above, and will not be repeated here.

[0604] V. Example Description of a Terminal Device

[0605] Please see Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application. The terminal device 800 may include a processor 810, a memory 820, and a communication bus for connecting the processor 810 and the memory 820.

[0606] In some possible implementations, the memory 820 includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and the memory 820 is used to store program code executed by the terminal device 800 and data transmitted.

[0607] In some possible implementations, the terminal device 800 also includes a communication interface for receiving and sending data.

[0608] In some possible implementations, processor 810 can be one or more CPUs. In the case where processor 810 is a CPU, the CPU can be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0609] In some possible implementations, the processor 810 may be a baseband chip, a chip, a CPU, a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof.

[0610] In a specific implementation, the processor 810 in the terminal device 800 executes the computer program or instructions 821 stored in the memory 820 to perform the following operations:

[0611] Receive the first signal;

[0612] The first signal is modulated to obtain the second signal, which includes at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information, and the second signal and the third signal are orthogonal, the third signal including at least one of uplink signal, downlink signal, and sidelink signal;

[0613] Send a second signal.

[0614] As can be seen, in the passive Internet of Things, in order to achieve communication without generating radio frequency signals independently, this application can consider modulating its own information onto the received first signal to obtain a second signal, and then sending the second signal, thereby achieving backscattering, so as to save its own energy consumption through backscattering.

[0615] Meanwhile, in order to combine existing cellular networks and passive IoT to build new passive IoT and expand the application scenarios of passive IoT, this application may also consider making the second signal and the third signal orthogonal, so as to realize the reuse of existing cellular network deployment for passive IoT, save the overhead of deploying passive IoT separately, and reduce the complexity of the receiver.

[0616] It should be noted that the specific implementation of each operation can be described in the corresponding description of the method embodiments shown above. The terminal device 800 can be used to execute the method embodiments of this application, and will not be described again here.

[0617] VI. Another example of a terminal device

[0618] Please see Figure 9 , Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this application. The terminal device 900 may include a processor 910, a memory 920, and a communication bus for connecting the processor 910 and the memory 920.

[0619] In some possible implementations, the memory 920 includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and the memory 920 is used to store program code executed by the terminal device 900 and data transmitted.

[0620] In some possible implementations, the terminal device 900 also includes a communication interface for receiving and sending data.

[0621] In some possible implementations, processor 910 can be one or more CPUs. In the case where processor 910 is a CPU, the CPU can be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0622] In some possible implementations, the processor 910 can be a baseband chip, a chip, a CPU, a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof.

[0623] In specific implementation, the processor 910 in the terminal device 900 executes the computer program or instructions 921 stored in the memory 920 to perform the following operations:

[0624] Send the first signal;

[0625] The second signal is received, which is a signal that modulates at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information onto the first signal, and the second signal and the third signal are orthogonal, the third signal including at least one of uplink signal, downlink signal, and sidelink signal.

[0626] As can be seen, in the passive Internet of Things, in order to achieve communication without generating radio frequency signals independently, this application can consider modulating its own information onto the received first signal to obtain a second signal, and then sending the second signal, thereby achieving backscattering, so as to save its own energy consumption through backscattering.

[0627] Meanwhile, in order to combine existing cellular networks and passive IoT to build new passive IoT and expand the application scenarios of passive IoT, this application may also consider making the second signal and the third signal orthogonal, so as to realize the reuse of existing cellular network deployment for passive IoT, save the overhead of deploying passive IoT separately, and reduce the complexity of the receiver.

[0628] It should be noted that the specific implementation of each operation can be described in the corresponding description of the method embodiments shown above. The terminal device 900 can be used to execute the method embodiments of this application, and will not be described again here.

[0629] VII. Example of a network device

[0630] Please see Figure 10 , Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of this application. The network device 1000 includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020, and a communication bus for connecting the processor 1010 and the memory 1020.

[0631] In some possible implementations, the memory 1020 is, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM or CD-ROM, and the memory 1020 is used to store related instructions and data.

[0632] In some possible implementations, the network device 1000 also includes a communication interface for receiving and sending data.

[0633] In some possible implementations, processor 1010 can be one or more CPUs. In the case where processor 1010 is a CPU, the CPU can be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0634] In some possible implementations, the processor 1010 can be a baseband chip, a chip, a CPU, a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof.

[0635] In some possible implementations, the processor 1010 in the network device 1000 is used to execute the computer program or instructions 1021 stored in the memory 1020 to perform the following operations:

[0636] Send the first signal;

[0637] The second signal is received, which is a signal that modulates at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information onto the first signal, and the second signal and the third signal are orthogonal, the third signal including at least one of uplink signal, downlink signal, and sidelink signal.

[0638] As can be seen, in the passive Internet of Things, in order to achieve communication without generating radio frequency signals independently, this application can consider modulating its own information onto the received first signal to obtain a second signal, and then sending the second signal, thereby achieving backscattering, so as to save its own energy consumption through backscattering.

[0639] Meanwhile, in order to combine existing cellular networks and passive IoT to build new passive IoT and expand the application scenarios of passive IoT, this application may also consider making the second signal and the third signal orthogonal, so as to realize the reuse of existing cellular network deployment for passive IoT, save the overhead of deploying passive IoT separately, and reduce the complexity of the receiver.

[0640] It should be noted that the specific implementation of each operation can be described in the corresponding description of the method embodiments shown above. The network device 1000 can be used to execute the above method embodiments of this application, and will not be described again here.

[0641] VIII. Other relevant examples

[0642] In some possible implementations, the above method embodiments can be applied to or incorporated into a terminal device. That is, the executing entity of the above method embodiments can be a terminal device, a chip, a chip module, or a module, etc., without specific limitations.

[0643] In some possible implementations, the above method embodiments can be applied to network devices or incorporated into network devices. That is, the executing entity of the above method embodiments can be a network device, a chip, a chip module, or a module, etc., without specific limitations.

[0644] This application also provides a chip, including a processor, a memory, and a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, wherein the processor executes the computer program or instructions to implement the steps described in the above method embodiments.

[0645] This application also provides a chip module, including a transceiver component and a chip. The chip includes a processor, a memory, and a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, wherein the processor executes the computer program or instructions to implement the steps described in the above method embodiments.

[0646] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the steps described in the above method embodiments.

[0647] This application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the steps described in the above method embodiments.

[0648] This application also provides a communication system, including the terminal device and the network device described above.

[0649] It should be noted that, for the sake of simplicity, the above embodiments are all described as a series of actions. Those skilled in the art should understand that this application is not limited to the described order of actions, as some steps in the embodiments of this application can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. Furthermore, those skilled in the art should also understand that the embodiments described in the specification are preferred embodiments, and the actions, steps, modules, or units involved are not necessarily essential to the embodiments of this application.

[0650] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment in this application have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions in other embodiments.

[0651] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, portable hard disk, read-only optical disk (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Furthermore, the ASIC can reside in a terminal device or management device. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium can exist as discrete components in the terminal device or management device.

[0652] Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in one or more of the examples above, the functions described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented, in whole or in part, by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When these computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0653] The modules / units included in the various devices and products described in the above embodiments can be software modules / units, hardware modules / units, or a combination of both. For example, for devices and products applied to or integrated into a chip, all modules / units can be implemented using hardware methods such as circuits, or at least some modules / units can be implemented using software programs that run on a processor integrated within the chip, while the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented using hardware methods such as circuits. For devices and products applied to or integrated into a chip module, all modules / units can be implemented using hardware methods such as circuits. Different modules / units can be located in the same component (e.g., chip, circuit module, etc.) or different components of the chip module, or at least some modules / units can be implemented using hardware methods such as circuits. The implementation is achieved through a software program that runs on a processor integrated within the chip module. The remaining modules / units (if any) can be implemented using hardware methods such as circuits. For various devices and products applied to or integrated into terminal equipment, each of their modules / units can be implemented using hardware methods such as circuits. Different modules / units can be located in the same component (e.g., chip, circuit module, etc.) or different components within the terminal equipment. Alternatively, at least some modules / units can be implemented using a software program that runs on a processor integrated within the terminal equipment, while the remaining modules / units (if any) can be implemented using hardware methods such as circuits.

[0654] The specific embodiments described above further illustrate the purpose, technical solution, and beneficial effects of the embodiments of this application. It should be understood that the above descriptions are merely specific embodiments of the embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the embodiments of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made on the basis of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application should be included within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A backscattering method, characterized in that, include: Receive the first signal; The first signal is modulated to obtain a second signal. The second signal is a backscattered signal of a passive Internet of Things. The second signal includes at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction signal. The second signal and the third signal are orthogonal. The third signal is a cellular network signal. The third signal includes at least one of uplink signal, downlink signal, and sidelink signal. Send the second signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The modulation of the first signal includes: The first signal is subjected to amplitude modulation and / or phase modulation.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The modulation of the first signal includes: modulating the first signal according to the time-domain unit granularity to obtain the second signal.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Receiving the first signal includes: The first signal is received in the first resource, and the first signal is modulated with first information, which is known information or predefined information.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first signal is modulated with first information, including: The first signal is modulated using all-1 information.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The sending of the second signal includes: The second signal is sent from the second resource; Wherein, the frequency of the second resource is the same as the frequency of the first resource; or, the frequency of the second resource is spaced apart from the frequency of the first resource by a first frequency shift amount.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The second resource and the first resource are located in the same frequency band.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first frequency shift is determined based on the number of subcarriers and the subcarrier spacing between the first resource and the second resource.

9. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first resource is located in the first frequency band, and the second resource is located in the second frequency band.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first frequency shift is determined based on the inter-band offset, the number of subcarriers, and the subcarrier spacing; The frequency band offset is the offset between the second frequency band and the first frequency band; The number of subcarriers is the number of subcarriers in the interval between the first subcarrier and the second subcarrier, wherein the first subcarrier is the subcarrier in the second frequency band that has the same subcarrier index as the first resource, and the second subcarrier is the subcarrier of the second resource.

11. The method according to claim 8 or 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive first indication information, which indicates the number of subcarriers.

12. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first frequency shift is determined based on the subcarrier index of the first resource and the subcarrier index of the second resource.

13. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second indication information, which indicates the subcarrier index of the second resource.

14. The method according to any one of claims 6, 8, 10 or 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second signal is generated based on the first frequency shift.

15. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first resource is located in the first frequency band; Wherein, the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication; or, the first frequency band includes a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication; or, the first frequency band is a frequency band other than the third and fourth frequency bands, wherein the third frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, and the fourth frequency band includes a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The first resource includes at least one resource element in an available resource block for IoT services located in the first frequency band.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The first resource includes at least one resource element located in the middle position of the available resource block in the first frequency band; or, If the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, the first resource includes at least one resource element located in the available resource block of the first frequency band near the guard band, wherein the guard band is a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication; or, The first resource includes all resource elements located in the available resource block of the first frequency band.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, In the available resource blocks of the first frequency band, all resource elements except for the at least one resource element are filled with zero information.

19. A backscattering method, characterized in that, include: Send the first signal; The system receives a second signal, which is a signal modulated onto a first signal by at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information. The second signal is a backscattered signal of a passive Internet of Things (IoT) and is orthogonal to a third signal. The third signal is a signal of a cellular network and includes at least one of an uplink signal, a downlink signal, and a sidelink signal.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, Sending the first signal includes: The first signal is transmitted in the first resource, the first signal is modulated with first information, the first information being known information or predefined information.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The first signal is modulated with first information, including: The first signal is modulated using all-1 information.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The receiving of the second signal includes: The second signal is received at the second resource; Wherein, the frequency of the second resource is the same as the frequency of the first resource; or, the frequency of the second resource is spaced apart from the frequency of the first resource by a first frequency shift amount.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The second resource and the first resource are located in the same frequency band.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The first frequency shift is determined based on the number of subcarriers spaced between the first resource and the second resource.

25. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The first resource is located in the first frequency band, and the second resource is located in the second frequency band.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The first frequency shift is determined based on the inter-band offset and the number of subcarriers; The frequency band offset is the offset between the second frequency band and the first frequency band; The number of subcarriers is the number of subcarriers in the interval between the first subcarrier and the second subcarrier, wherein the first subcarrier is the subcarrier in the second frequency band that has the same subcarrier index as the first resource, and the second subcarrier is the subcarrier of the second resource.

27. The method according to claim 24 or 26, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first indication message, which indicates the number of subcarriers.

28. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The first frequency shift is determined based on the subcarrier index of the first resource and the subcarrier index of the second resource.

29. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second indication message, which indicates the subcarrier index of the second resource.

30. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The first resource is located in the first frequency band; Wherein, the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication; or, the first frequency band includes a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication; or, the first frequency band is a frequency band other than the third and fourth frequency bands, wherein the third frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, and the fourth frequency band includes a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that, The first resource includes at least one resource element in the resource block available for IoT services located in the first frequency band.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the first resource comprises a resource element located in the middle position of the available resource block in the first frequency band; or, If the first frequency band is used for uplink and / or sidelink communication, the first resource includes resource elements located in the available resource block of the first frequency band that are close to the guard band, wherein the guard band is a guard band for uplink and / or a guard band for sidelink communication; or, The first resource includes all resource elements located in the available resource block of the first frequency band.

33. The method according to claim 31 or 32, characterized in that, The available resource elements in the first frequency band, excluding the at least one resource element, carry signals modulated with all zeros.

34. A backscattering device, characterized in that, include: A receiving unit is used to receive the first signal; A modulation unit is used to modulate the first signal to obtain a second signal. The second signal is a backscattered signal of a passive Internet of Things. The second signal includes at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information. The second signal and the third signal are orthogonal. The third signal is a signal of a cellular network. The third signal includes at least one of uplink signal, downlink signal, and sidelink signal. A transmitting unit is used to transmit the second signal.

35. A backscattering device, characterized in that, include: The transmitting unit is used to transmit the first signal; A receiving unit is configured to receive a second signal, wherein the second signal is a signal modulated onto a first signal by at least one of data information, control information, access information, and interaction information, the second signal is a backscattered signal of a passive Internet of Things, and the second signal and a third signal are orthogonal, the third signal is a signal of a cellular network, and the third signal includes at least one of an uplink signal, a downlink signal, and a sidelink signal.

36. A terminal device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, characterized in that, The processor executes the computer program or instructions to implement the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-18 or 19-33.

37. A network device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, characterized in that, The processor executes the computer program or instructions to implement the steps of the method according to any one of claims 19-33.

38. A chip, comprising a processor and a communication interface, characterized in that, The processor performs the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-18, 19-33.

39. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1-18, 19-33.

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