Communication method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and a communication device. The method comprises the following steps: a terminal device performs backscatter communication; and under the condition that a preset condition is met, the terminal equipment is switched to actively transmit communication. According to the method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced while the transmission delay is ensured.

Description

Communication method and communication device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] With the advancement of communication technology, some communication systems have introduced dual-mode terminal devices, meaning they support both backscatter and active transmission. If a communication process allows a terminal device to use both backscatter and active transmission modes, how the terminal device determines whether to use the two communication modes remains a challenge.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device. The following describes various aspects of the embodiments of the present application.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a terminal device performs backscatter communication; when a preset condition is met, the terminal device switches to active transmission communication.

[0006] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a network device receives first information sent by a terminal device, wherein the first information is used by the network device to determine the maximum number of backscatter communications.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: a network device receiving second information sent by a terminal device, wherein the second information is used by the network device to determine the maximum backscatter communication time.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a backscattering unit for performing backscattering communication; and a switching unit for switching to active transmission communication when a preset condition is met.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a receiving unit, configured to receive first information sent by a terminal device, wherein the first information is used by the device to determine the maximum number of backscatter communications.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a receiving unit, configured to receive second information sent by a terminal device, wherein the second information is used by the device to determine the maximum backscatter communication time.

[0011] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a memory, a transceiver and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store programs, the processor sends and receives data through the transceiver, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory to execute the method described in the first aspect.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store programs, the processor sends and receives data through the transceiver, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory to execute the method described in the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory to execute the method described in the first aspect.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory to execute the method described in the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method described in the first aspect.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method described in the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0017] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a program is stored, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method described in the first aspect.

[0018] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a program is stored, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method described in the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0019] In a fifteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a program, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method described in the first aspect.

[0020] In a sixteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a program, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method described in the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0021] In the seventeenth aspect, a computer program is provided, which enables a computer to execute the method described in the first aspect.

[0022] In an eighteenth aspect, a computer program is provided, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the method described in the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0023] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device performs backscatter communication, which can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device. When the preset conditions are met, the terminal device switches to active transmission communication, which can avoid the situation where backscatter communication is always performed but transmission fails. It can improve the success rate of data transmission and reduce transmission delay. Therefore, the method in the embodiment of the present application can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device while ensuring the transmission delay. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a zero-power communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the energy harvesting module provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the backscatter communication principle provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] FIG5 is a circuit diagram of a terminal device based on resistive load modulation technology provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] FIG6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication method based on the maximum number of backscatter communications.

[0031] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a communication method based on maximum backscatter communication time.

[0032] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in one embodiment of the present application.

[0033] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0034] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0035] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0037] Figure 1 illustrates the architecture of a wireless communication system 100 applicable to embodiments of the present application. The architecture shown in Figure 1 includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. Network device 110 can be a device that communicates with terminal device 120. Network device 110 provides communication coverage for a specific geographic area and can communicate with terminal device 120 within that coverage area.

[0038] The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 can communicate based on backscattering communication technology. In backscattering communication technology, the signal used for backscattering communication is crucial. The signal used for backscattering communication is a wireless signal, for example, a wireless radio frequency signal. The signal used for backscattering communication may include, for example, a power supply signal and a carrier signal. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may send a power supply signal to the terminal device 120 to power the terminal device. In other embodiments, the terminal device 120 may send data to the network device 110 via a carrier signal. In some implementations, the power supply signal may also carry data or control information sent by the network device 110 to the terminal device 120. Of course, the power supply signal may also be used only for power supply, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0039] It should be noted that Figure 1 exemplarily shows a network device and a terminal device. Optionally, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices and each network device may include other numbers of terminal devices within its coverage area. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0040] In addition, in some implementations, the communication system 100 may also include other network entities such as a network controller and a mobility management entity, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0041] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), cellular Internet of Things, etc. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation mobile communication system, etc.

[0042] The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user and can be used to connect people, objects and machines, such as handheld devices with wireless connection functions, vehicle-mounted devices, household appliances, sensors, electronic tags, etc. The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application can be a zero-power terminal.

[0043] The network device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device. If the terminal device is an electronic tag, the network device may be a reader / writer for reading and writing the electronic tag (for example, a reader / writer based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology). The network device may also be an access network device or a wireless access network device, such as a base station. The network device in the embodiment of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal device to a wireless network. A base station can broadly cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmission point (TRP), transmission point (TP), master station MeNB, secondary station SeNB, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, a modem or a chip used to be set in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs base station functions in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, a network-side device in a 6G network, and a device that performs base station functions in future communication systems. The base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network equipment.

[0044] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move based on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a device that communicates with another base station.

[0045] In some deployments, the network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a CU or a DU, or the network device includes a CU and a DU. The gNB may also include an AAU.

[0046] The network equipment and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the scenarios in which the network equipment and terminal devices are located.

[0047] It should be understood that all or part of the functions of the communication device in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0048] To facilitate understanding of backscatter communication, the following introduces a terminal device supporting backscatter communication with reference to FIG2 .

[0049] Typically, the terminal device 120 may include an energy collection module 121 and a backscatter communication module 122. The energy collection module 121 and the backscatter communication module 122 will be introduced below in conjunction with Figures 3 to 5. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here. In some cases, the terminal device 120 may also include a low-power computing module 123. The low-power computing module 123 is used to provide computing functions for the terminal device 120, such as data processing. In other cases, the terminal device 120 may also include a sensor 124 for collecting external information (for example, ambient temperature, ambient humidity, etc.). In other cases, the terminal device 120 may also include a memory 125 for storing some information (for example, external information collected by the above-mentioned sensors, or such as item identification, etc.).

[0050] The energy harvesting module 121 is used to harvest energy. In some implementations, energy can be harvested via a power supply signal sent by a network device. The power supply signal can be a radio frequency signal sent by the network device. Therefore, the energy harvesting module is also referred to as a radio frequency energy harvesting module.

[0051] FIG3 shows a possible structure of an energy harvesting module. As shown in FIG3 , the energy harvesting module 121 can harvest the energy of the spatial electromagnetic waves of the radio frequency signal based on the principle of electromagnetic induction, and store the harvested energy in the capacitor C, which is the process of charging the capacitor C. When the charging process of the capacitor C is completed, the capacitor C can begin to discharge to provide energy for the operation of the terminal device. For example, the discharge of the capacitor C can be used to drive the terminal device to perform low-power demodulation of the data sent by the network device. For another example, the discharge of the capacitor C can be used to drive the terminal to modulate the data to be sent. For another example, the discharge of the capacitor C can be used to drive the sensor of the terminal device to collect data. For another example, the discharge of the capacitor C can be used to drive the terminal device to read the data in the memory 125, etc.

[0052] The above-mentioned backscatter communication module 122 is used for the terminal device 120 to perform backscatter communication with the network device 110. The following describes the backscatter communication principle of an embodiment of the present application in conjunction with Figure 4. Referring to Figure 4, the terminal device 120 receives the wireless signal sent by the network device 110 and modulates the wireless signal to load the data to be sent. Finally, the modulated signal is radiated from the antenna. This information transmission process is called backscatter communication. The above-mentioned wireless signal can also be called a carrier signal. The carrier signal can refer to a wireless signal that has not been modulated. The carrier signal can be, for example, a sine wave signal. Among them, backscatter communication and load modulation functions are inseparable. The load modulation function can be understood as adjusting and controlling the circuit parameters of the oscillation circuit of the terminal device according to the beat of the data stream, so that parameters such as the impedance of the terminal device change accordingly, thereby completing the modulation process.

[0053] In some implementations, the transmit (transmit, TX) path of the network device 110 may be further provided with other devices for processing the transmitted signal, such as an amplifier (AMP). The receive (receive, RX) path of the network device 110 may also be provided with other devices for processing the received signal, such as a low noise amplifier (LNA).

[0054] In other implementations, the terminal device 120 may include an energy harvesting module, which can be used to harvest any signal in the environment. For example, the energy harvesting module can be used to harvest energy from a power supply signal sent by a network device. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the form of the power supply signal. For example, the power supply signal can be a modulated wireless signal or an unmodulated wireless signal. The carrier signal described above can also serve as the power supply signal. For another example, the power supply signal can also be a wireless signal of any waveform, such as a sine wave, a square wave, etc.

[0055] Of course, a logic processing module may also be provided in the terminal device 120 to perform corresponding calculation functions.

[0056] It should be noted that, whether it is the network device 110 or the terminal device 120, Figure 4 only shows the connection structure of the signal processing circuit by way of example. The processing circuit of the network device 110 and / or the terminal device 120 may include other components, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0057] Typically, load modulation can be achieved through resistive load modulation and capacitive load modulation. Figure 5 shows a circuit diagram of a terminal device based on resistive load modulation technology. It should be noted that the circuit shown in Figure 5 implements load modulation technology in a manner similar to existing circuits implementing load modulation technology. For the sake of brevity, the functions of resistors R2 and R3, capacitors C1 and C2, and inductors L1 and L2 shown in Figure 5 are not further described.

[0058] In resistive load modulation, a resistor RL is connected in parallel with the load. A switch S can be controlled by a binary data stream to turn the resistor RL on and off. This switching of the resistor RL causes a change in the circuit voltage, which in turn controls the amplitude of the backscattered signal from the terminal device, thereby modulating the backscattered signal through amplitude-shift keying (ASK).

[0059] Similarly, in capacitive load modulation, the on / off switching of the capacitor can be controlled based on a binary data stream to change the circuit resonant frequency, thereby changing the operating frequency of the backscattered signal to implement frequency-shift keying (FSK) modulation.

[0060] As mentioned above, a terminal device can use load modulation to modulate the incoming signal (i.e., the carrier signal) to implement backscatter communication. Therefore, terminal devices in backscatter communication generally have the following advantages.

[0061] Advantage 1: Since the terminal device does not need to actively transmit signals, there is no need to construct a complex RF path. For example, the RF path can be free of components such as power amplifiers (PAs) and RF filters, thus reducing the cost and size of the terminal.

[0062] The second advantage is that since the terminal device does not need to actively generate high-frequency signals, a high-frequency crystal oscillator is not required, thereby reducing the cost and size of the terminal device.

[0063] Advantage three: Since the terminal device can use backscatter technology to communicate with the network device, the terminal device consumes less energy during communication and does not even need to consume its own energy.

[0064] In addition to the backscatter communication, energy harvesting, and load modulation functions described above, terminal devices can also have encoding functions. The data transmitted by the encoding end (such as the terminal device or electronic tag) can use different forms of codes to represent binary "1" and "0". In zero-power communication systems, commonly used encoding methods may include: reverse non-return-to-zero (NRZ) encoding, Manchester encoding, unipolar return-to-zero (Unipolar RZ) encoding, differential bi-phase (DBP) encoding, Miller encoding, and differential encoding. In layman's terms, the encoding process is to use different pulse signals to represent 0 and 1.

[0065] Based on the above introduction to backscatter communication, we can see that terminal devices (such as zero-power terminal devices) consume very little or no energy when performing backscatter communication. Therefore, based on the terminal device's energy source and how it uses energy, zero-power terminal devices can be divided into three categories: passive zero-power terminals, semi-passive zero-power terminals, and active zero-power terminals.

[0066] 1. Passive Zero-Power Terminal

[0067] Passive zero-power terminals usually do not require built-in batteries. When the terminal device is close to the network device, the terminal device is within the near field formed by the radiation of the network device's antenna. At this time, the terminal device's antenna can generate an induced current through electromagnetic induction, and the induced current can power the terminal device to achieve demodulation of the received signal and / or modulation and encoding of the transmitted signal. In some implementations, the above-mentioned passive zero-power terminal can be an electronic tag, and accordingly, the network device can be a reader / writer of a (radio frequency identification, RFID) system, which is used to read the content in the electronic tag and / or to change the content in the electronic tag.

[0068] 2. Semi-passive zero-power terminal

[0069] The semi-passive zero-power terminal does not have a conventional battery installed. Instead, it uses the energy harvesting module 121 to harvest radio wave energy and stores the harvested energy in an energy storage unit (such as a capacitor). After the energy storage unit harvests energy, it can power the terminal device to perform tasks such as demodulating received signals and / or modulating and encoding transmitted signals.

[0070] 3. Active Zero Power Consumption Terminal

[0071] Active zero-power terminals can have built-in batteries. The batteries power the terminal device to demodulate received signals and / or modulate and encode transmitted signals. However, when the terminal device communicates using backscatter technology, it does not consume battery power. Therefore, for this type of terminal device, "zero power" is primarily reflected in scenarios where the terminal device uses backscatter technology for communication.

[0072] In some implementations, the active zero-power terminal can be an electronic tag, and the network device can be an RFID reader / writer. In this case, the internal battery can power the RFID chip in the terminal device, thereby increasing the read / write distance between the RFID reader / writer and the electronic tag. Furthermore, the internal battery can power the RFID chip in the terminal device, thereby shortening the read / write latency between the RFID reader / writer and the electronic tag, thereby improving communication reliability.

[0073] The zero-power terminal in the embodiment of the present application has the characteristics of low complexity, support for environmental power supply, backscattering, new waveforms, etc. The naming of the zero-power terminal in the embodiment of the present application does not limit the source and use of its energy, as long as the energy required for its operation mainly comes from the external environment. In this case, the terminal device can be a zero-power or low-power device. In some embodiments, the zero-power terminal can also be called an environmentally powered terminal, a terminal based on energy collection, etc.

[0074] From the above introduction, it can be seen that the power consumption of terminal devices (such as zero-power terminal devices) when performing backscatter communication is extremely low (even reaching zero power consumption). However, compared with traditional active transmission communication, the coverage range of backscatter communication is smaller and the communication performance is relatively poor. It should be noted that backscatter communication means that the terminal device can perform backscatter transmission based on the incoming wave signal. For specific descriptions, please refer to the description in the aforementioned embodiment; active transmission communication means that the terminal device can actively transmit wireless signals based on a traditional transmitter (different from the transmitter of the above-mentioned zero-power terminal) without the need for backscatter transmission based on the incoming wave signal.

[0075] With the continuous advancement of communication technology, some communication systems have introduced terminal devices that support dual-mode transmission (hereinafter referred to as dual-mode terminals). These devices support both backscatter and active transmission. Compared to existing traditional terminal devices that only use active transmission, dual-mode terminals have lower overall power consumption and can provide longer operating times. Compared to terminal devices that only support backscatter communication (such as zero-power terminals), the active transmission method of dual-mode terminals can significantly extend communication range. However, it is currently unclear how these dual-mode transmission terminals communicate.

[0076] In order to solve one or more of the above technical problems, the present application proposes a communication method and a communication device. The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to Figures 6 to 8.

[0077] FIG6 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method 600 shown in FIG6 may include steps S610 and S620, which are as follows:

[0078] S610: The terminal device performs backscatter communication.

[0079] The terminal device may be a dual-mode terminal, meaning that the terminal device supports both backscatter and active transmission. For example, the terminal device may include a structure similar to the zero-power terminal described in the preceding embodiments, or may include a traditional transmitter capable of actively transmitting wireless signals. Alternatively, the terminal device's transmitter may support both backscatter and active transmission.

[0080] In some embodiments, the terminal device may specify various features.

[0081] For example, the terminal device may be a passive terminal, a semi-passive terminal, or an active terminal.

[0082] For another example, the terminal device may be a terminal with energy storage capability, or a terminal without energy storage capability.

[0083] For another example, a receiving path of the terminal device may be provided with a low noise amplifier (LNA), and the LNA may be used to process the received signal during backscatter communication; or, the receiving path of the terminal device may not be provided with an LNA.

[0084] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device first performs backscatter communication, which can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0085] In some embodiments, the backscatter communication may include one or more backscatter transmissions. Optionally, when the backscatter communication includes multiple backscatter transmissions, the time domain resources used by the multiple backscatter transmissions may be continuous or discrete in the time domain.

[0086] Backscatter communication may include one backscatter initial transmission (i.e., initial transmission based on the backscatter method) and / or one or more backscatter retransmissions (i.e., retransmissions based on the backscatter method). For example, a terminal device may perform an initial backscatter transmission, but the network device fails to receive the transmission. In this case, the terminal device may continue to perform backscatter retransmissions.

[0087] Optionally, the multiple backscatter transmissions may include a first backscatter transmission and a second backscatter transmission, and the first backscatter transmission and the second backscatter transmission may be two adjacent backscatter transmissions.

[0088] Optionally, the first backscatter transmission and the second backscatter transmission may be separated by at least a second time interval. For example, if no confirmation information is received from the network device within the second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, the terminal device may perform the second backscatter transmission.

[0089] The unit of the second time interval may be any one of the following: minute (min), second (s), millisecond (ms), symbol, time slot, frame, or subframe.

[0090] The starting time domain position of the second backscatter transmission may be any of the following: a position at the second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, a position at the second time interval and a preset offset after the first backscatter transmission, the first time unit available for backscatter communication after the second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, or the first time unit available for backscatter communication after the second time interval and a preset offset after the first backscatter transmission. The second time interval may be configured by a network device, agreed upon by a protocol, or determined by a terminal device. Alternatively, the preset offset may be agreed upon by a protocol, configured by the network, or scheduled by the network.

[0091] However, due to the characteristics of backscatter communication (such as small coverage and low signal power), as dual-mode terminals continuously perform backscatter retransmissions, the latency may continue to increase without successful transmission. For example, a typical situation is that the terminal device is far away from the network device. In this case, the backscattered signal strength is too low when it reaches the network device, resulting in the network device being unable to correctly receive it. In this case, even if the terminal device performs multiple backscatter retransmissions, the network device may still not be able to correctly receive the signal, and the latency will only increase. In this case, the terminal device can switch to active transmission communication.

[0092] In some embodiments, the terminal device may operate in a first communication mode. The terminal device operating in the first communication mode can switch from backscatter communication to active transmission communication. For example, the first communication mode may refer to the terminal device being able to switch from backscatter communication to active transmission communication when a preset condition is met. Switching from backscatter communication to active transmission communication may also be referred to as falling back from backscatter communication to active transmission communication. Therefore, the first communication mode may also refer to the terminal device supporting backscatter communication fallback (backscatter fallback mechanism).

[0093] The first communication mode may be scheduled by the network device. For example, the first communication mode may be scheduled by the network device through any of the following configuration information: dynamic configuration information, semi-static configuration information, or configured grant configuration information. Optionally, the configuration information may instruct the terminal device to operate in the first communication mode.

[0094] Of course, the network device can also schedule the terminal device to perform backscatter communication (cannot actively transmit communication) or active transmit communication (cannot backscatter communication) through the above configuration information. Accordingly, the terminal device can only perform backscatter communication or active transmit communication.

[0095] The first communication mode may also be initiated by the terminal device. For example, when the terminal device performs measurement reporting, random access, initial access, system information (SI) request, etc., the terminal device operates in the first communication mode.

[0096] S620: When a preset condition is met, the terminal device switches to active transmission communication.

[0097] In some embodiments, the frequency domain resources used by backscatter communication and the frequency domain resources used by active transmission communication may be correlated with each other.

[0098] Optionally, the center frequencies of the frequency domain resources used for backscatter communication and the frequency domain resources used for active transmission communication may be aligned or misaligned. For example, as shown in the lower middle portion of FIG. 7 or the lower middle portion of FIG. 8 , the center frequencies of the frequency domain resources used for backscatter communication and the center frequencies of the frequency domain resources used for active transmission communication may be aligned, or the center frequencies of the frequency domain resources used for backscatter communication and the center frequencies of the frequency domain resources used for active transmission communication may be misaligned.

[0099] Optionally, the frequency domain resources used for backscatter communication and the frequency domain resources used for active transmission communication may satisfy a preset offset relationship. For example, the frequency domain resources used for backscatter communication and the frequency domain resources used for active transmission communication may differ by a preset offset, and the terminal device may determine the frequency domain resources used for active transmission communication based on the frequency domain resources used for backscatter communication and the preset offset. Of course, the terminal device may also determine the frequency domain resources used for backscatter communication based on the frequency domain resources used for active transmission communication and the preset offset. The preset offset may be configured by the network device or agreed upon by the protocol.

[0100] In some embodiments, the preset condition may include: a backscatter communication transmission number (BSCTN) is greater than or equal to a maximum backscatter communication number.

[0101] Optionally, the terminal device may first perform backscatter communication. If the number of backscatter communication transmissions is greater than or equal to the maximum backscatter communication number, the terminal device may switch to active transmit communication and perform active transmit communication during the next data transmission. For example, as shown in the upper portion of FIG7 , assuming the maximum backscatter communication number is Nmax, the terminal device may switch to active transmit communication when BSCTN equals Nmax, where Nmax is a positive integer.

[0102] Backscatter communication may include one initial backscatter transmission and / or one or more backscatter retransmissions, and the number of backscatter communication transmissions may include the number of initial backscatter communication transmissions and / or the number of retransmissions. For example, the number of backscatter communication transmissions may be the total number of backscatter communication transmissions (the number of initial backscatter communication transmissions and the number of retransmissions), or the number of retransmissions in the backscatter communication.

[0103] In some embodiments, before S620, the terminal device may use a first counter to count the number of backscatter communication transmissions. In this case, the preset condition may include: the value of the first counter is greater than or equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications.

[0104] In some embodiments, the number of backscatter communication transmissions may be the actual number of backscatter communication transmissions. Alternatively, the value of the first counter may be the actual number of transmissions. It should be noted that the actual number of transmissions here may refer to the number of actual transmissions (i.e., backscattering), with each transmission being counted. For example, the value of the first counter may be incremented by 1 each time a transmission (i.e., backscattering) is performed.

[0105] Optionally, the value of the first counter is related to the initial value of the first counter and a preset condition. For example, if the preset condition is that BSCTN is equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications, the initial value of the first counter is 0 (or 1 or other values), and when the value of the first counter is Nmax-1, the value of the first counter can be considered equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications; if the preset condition is that BSCTN is equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications, the initial value of the first counter is 1, and when the value of the first counter is Nmax, the value of the first counter can be considered equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications.

[0106] In some embodiments, the number of transmissions of the backscatter communication may include the number of initial transmissions and / or the number of retransmissions of the backscatter communication.

[0107] For example, the number of backscatter communication transmissions may include the number of initial transmissions and / or retransmissions of the backscatter communication. In this case, the initial transmission of the backscatter communication may include M repetitions, and each repetition of the backscatter communication may also include M repetitions. The value of the first counter may be the number of repetitions included in the initial transmission and retransmissions of the backscatter communication divided by M, rounded up, where M is a positive integer. Assuming that the maximum number of backscatter communications is Nmax (in this case, Nmax can be considered to represent the maximum number of initial transmissions and retransmissions), and the preset condition is that BSCTN is equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications, then when the preset condition is met, the terminal device has performed 1 initial transmission and Nmax-1 retransmissions. Since the initial transmission and each retransmission include M repetitions, the terminal device has actually performed Nmax*M backscatter transmissions. Accordingly, when updating the first counter, the value of the first counter may be the number of repetitions included in the initial transmission and retransmissions of the backscatter communication divided by M, rounded up.

[0108] For another example, the number of backscatter communication transmissions may include the number of backscatter communication retransmissions. In this case, each retransmission of the backscatter communication may also include M repeated transmissions. The value of the first counter may be the number of repeated transmissions included in the retransmission of the backscatter communication divided by M and rounded up. Assuming that the maximum number of backscatter communications is Nmax (in this case, Nmax can be considered to represent the maximum number of retransmissions), and the preset condition is that BSCTN is equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications, then when the preset condition is met, the terminal device performs 1 initial transmission and Nmax retransmissions. Since each retransmission includes M repeated transmissions, the terminal device actually performs (Nmax+1)*M backscatter transmissions. Accordingly, when updating the first counter, the value of the first counter may be the number of repeated transmissions included in the retransmission of the backscatter communication divided by M and rounded up.

[0109] In some embodiments, when the terminal device switches to active transmission communication, the terminal device may use a second counter to count the number of transmissions of the active transmission communication. In other words, the terminal device may use two different counters to count the number of transmissions of backscatter communication and the number of transmissions of the active transmission communication, respectively.

[0110] Optionally, the terminal device may initialize the first counter when a preset condition is met; or, the terminal device may initialize the first counter the next time it uses the first counter.

[0111] The terminal device may determine (or adjust) the transmit power of the active transmission communication based on the value of the second counter. For example, the active transmission communication may include multiple active transmissions, and the terminal device may continuously reduce the transmit power of the active transmission communication based on the value of the second counter, or the terminal device may continuously increase the transmit power of the active transmission communication based on the value of the second counter.

[0112] In some embodiments, when the terminal device switches to active transmission communication, the terminal device uses a first counter to count the number of transmissions of the active transmission communication. In other words, the terminal device can use one counter to count the number of transmissions of backscatter communication and the number of transmissions of active transmission communication.

[0113] Optionally, when a preset condition is met, the terminal device may not initialize the first counter, and continue to add 1 to the value of the first counter each time an active transmission is performed.

[0114] The terminal device can determine the transmission power of the active transmission communication according to the value of the first counter.

[0115] In some embodiments, the maximum backscatter communication number may be indicated by a network device, agreed upon by a protocol, or determined by a terminal device.

[0116] The maximum number of backscatter communications may be indicated by the network device through dynamic configuration information or semi-static configuration information. The dynamic configuration information may be scheduling information for the network device to schedule backscatter communications or the first communication mode.

[0117] Optionally, the dynamic configuration information or semi-static configuration information may include at least one of the following: a backscatter communication count, a configuration index for the backscatter communication count, or a communication model configured by the network device. The communication model may be one of multiple communication models, each of which may correspond to a backscatter communication count. For example, the network device may configure three communication models for a terminal device: a type 1 model, a type 2 model, and a type 3 model. Each of these three communication models may correspond to a maximum backscatter communication count. In this case, the network device may indicate the communication model to the terminal device via configuration information, thereby enabling the terminal device to determine the maximum backscatter communication count.

[0118] In some embodiments, before step S620, the method 600 may further include step S630:

[0119] S630: The terminal device sends first information to the network device.

[0120] The first information may be used by the network device to determine a maximum number of backscatter communications.

[0121] Optionally, the first information may include a maximum number of backscatter communications expected by the terminal device and / or an energy storage capacity of the terminal device.

[0122] The maximum number of backscatter communications may also be the number of backscatter communications agreed upon by a protocol.

[0123] The maximum number of backscatter communications may also be determined by the terminal device based on the service type and / or latency requirements. Alternatively, the maximum number of backscatter communications may be determined by the terminal device from among multiple preset candidate backscatter values. For example, a protocol may pre-determine multiple candidate backscatter values, and the terminal device may determine the maximum number of backscatter communications from among the multiple candidate backscatter values ​​based on the service type and latency requirements.

[0124] The starting time domain position of the active transmission communication can be any of the following:

[0125] The position of the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission in backscatter communication, or the first time unit available for active transmit communication after the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission. For example, active transmit communication may include multiple active transmit transmissions, and the terminal device may continuously reduce the transmit power of the active transmit communication based on the value of the first counter, or the terminal device may continuously increase the transmit power of the active transmit communication based on the value of the first counter. Optionally, the first time interval may be configured by the network device, agreed upon by the protocol, or determined by the terminal device.

[0126] In some embodiments, the preset condition may include: a transmission time of backscatter communication is greater than or equal to a maximum backscatter communication time.

[0127] Optionally, the terminal device may first perform backscatter communication. If the backscatter communication transmission time is greater than or equal to the maximum backscatter communication time, the terminal device may switch to active transmit communication and perform active transmit communication during the next data transmission. For example, as shown in the upper portion of FIG8 , assuming the maximum backscatter communication time is Tmax, the terminal device may switch to active transmit communication when the backscatter communication transmission time is equal to Tmax, where Tmax is a positive number.

[0128] Optionally, the unit of the maximum backscatter communication time may be any one of the following: minute, second, millisecond, symbol, time slot, frame, or subframe.

[0129] The start time of the backscatter communication transmission time can be any of the following:

[0130] The starting position of the first backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication, the ending position of the first backscatter transmission, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the starting position of the first backscatter transmission is located, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the ending position of the first backscatter transmission is located, the ending position of the scheduling information of the backscatter communication, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the scheduling information is located, the position separated by a preset offset after the ending position of the scheduling information, and the position indicated by the scheduling information.

[0131] For example, as shown in part A of FIG8 , the starting moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication may be the starting position of the first backscatter transmission (BSCTN=1), or, as shown in parts B and C of FIG8 , the starting moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication may also be the ending position of the first backscatter transmission (BSCTN=1).

[0132] The starting position of the first backscatter transmission can be any of the following:

[0133] The end position of the scheduling information, the start or end point of the time unit where the scheduling information is located, the position separated by a preset offset after the end position of the scheduling information, and the position indicated by the scheduling information.

[0134] Optionally, as shown in part C of Figure 8, the starting position of the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication may be before the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, or, as shown in parts A and B of Figure 8, the ending position of the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication may be before the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, or be at the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication.

[0135] In some embodiments, the maximum backscatter communication time may be indicated by a network device, agreed upon by a protocol, or determined by a terminal device.

[0136] The maximum backscatter communication time may be indicated by the network device through dynamic configuration information or semi-static configuration information. The dynamic configuration information may be scheduling information for the network device to schedule backscatter communication or the first communication mode.

[0137] Optionally, the dynamic configuration information or semi-static configuration information may include: backscatter communication time, a configuration index for the backscatter communication time, or a communication model configured by the network device. The communication model is one of multiple communication models, and each of the multiple communication models corresponds to a backscatter communication time. For example, the network device configures three communication models for a terminal device, namely, a type 1 model, a type 2 model, and a type 3 model. These three communication models may each correspond to a maximum backscatter communication time. In this case, the network device may indicate the communication model to the terminal device via configuration information, thereby enabling the terminal device to determine the maximum backscatter communication time.

[0138] In some embodiments, before step S620, the method 600 may further include step S640:

[0139] S640: The terminal device sends second information to the network device.

[0140] The second information may be used by the network device to determine a maximum backscatter communication time.

[0141] Optionally, the second information may include a maximum backscatter communication time expected by the terminal device and / or an energy storage capacity of the terminal device.

[0142] The maximum backscatter communication time may also be a backscatter communication time agreed upon by a protocol.

[0143] The maximum backscatter communication time may also be determined by the terminal device based on the service type and / or latency requirements. Alternatively, the maximum backscatter communication time may be determined by the terminal device from a plurality of preset candidate backscatter time values. For example, a protocol may pre-determine a plurality of candidate backscatter time values, and the terminal device may determine the maximum backscatter communication time from the plurality of candidate backscatter time values ​​based on the service type and latency requirements.

[0144] The starting time domain position of the active transmission communication can be any of the following:

[0145] The position of the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission in backscatter communication, or the first time unit that can be used for actively transmitting communication after the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission, the end time of the transmission time of backscatter communication, the position of the first time interval after the end time of the transmission time of backscatter communication, or the first time unit that can be used for actively transmitting communication after the first time interval after the end time of the transmission time of backscatter communication. Optionally, the first time interval can be configured by the network device, agreed upon by the protocol, or determined by the terminal device.

[0146] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device performs backscatter communication, which can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device. When the preset conditions are met, the terminal device switches to active transmission communication, which can avoid the situation where backscatter communication is always performed but transmission fails. It can improve the success rate of data transmission and reduce transmission delay. Therefore, the method in the embodiment of the present application can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device while ensuring the transmission delay.

[0147] The method embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 1 to 8 . The device embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 9 to 12 . It should be understood that the description of the method embodiment corresponds to the description of the device embodiment. Therefore, for parts not described in detail, reference can be made to the above method embodiment.

[0148] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , the device 900 includes a backscattering unit 910 and a switching unit 920, specifically as follows:

[0149] Backscatter unit 910, configured to perform backscatter communication;

[0150] The switching unit 920 is configured to switch to active transmission communication when a preset condition is met.

[0151] Optionally, the preset condition includes: the number of transmissions of the backscatter communication is greater than or equal to a maximum backscatter communication number, or the transmission time of the backscatter communication is greater than or equal to a maximum backscatter communication time.

[0152] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a counting unit 930, configured to use a first counter to count the number of transmissions of the backscatter communication; wherein the preset condition includes: a value of the first counter is greater than or equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications.

[0153] Optionally, the number of transmissions of the backscatter communication is the actual number of transmissions of the backscatter communication.

[0154] Optionally, the value of the first counter is the actual number of transmissions.

[0155] Optionally, the number of transmissions of the backscatter communication includes the number of initial transmissions and / or the number of retransmissions of the backscatter communication.

[0156] Optionally, the initial transmission of the backscatter communication includes M repeated transmissions and / or each retransmission of the backscatter communication includes M repeated transmissions, and the value of the first counter is the number of repeated transmissions included in the initial transmission and / or retransmission of the backscatter communication divided by M and rounded up, where M is a positive integer.

[0157] Optionally, the counting unit 930 is further configured to: when switching to active transmission communication, use a second counter to count the number of transmissions of the active transmission communication.

[0158] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a determining unit 940, configured to determine the transmit power of the active transmit communication according to the value of the second counter.

[0159] Optionally, the counting unit 930 is further configured to: when switching to active transmission communication, use a first counter to count the number of transmissions of the active transmission communication.

[0160] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a determining unit 940, configured to determine the transmit power of the active transmit communication according to the value of the first counter.

[0161] Optionally, the maximum number of backscatter communications is indicated by a network device, agreed upon by a protocol, or determined by the apparatus.

[0162] Optionally, the maximum backscatter communication number is indicated by the network device through dynamic configuration information, or indicated by the network device through semi-static configuration information.

[0163] Optionally, the dynamic configuration information is scheduling information for the network device to schedule the backscatter communication.

[0164] Optionally, the dynamic configuration information or semi-static configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of backscatter communications, the configuration index of the backscatter communication number, or the communication model configured by the network device, wherein the communication model is one of multiple communication models, and each communication model in the multiple communication models corresponds to a backscatter communication number.

[0165] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a sending unit 950, configured to: send first information to the network device, where the first information is used by the network device to determine the maximum number of backscatter communications.

[0166] Optionally, the first information includes a maximum number of backscatter communications expected by the device and / or an energy storage capacity of the device.

[0167] Optionally, the maximum backscatter communication number is a backscatter communication number agreed upon by a protocol.

[0168] Optionally, the maximum number of backscatter communications is determined by the device according to a service type and / or delay requirement.

[0169] Optionally, the maximum backscatter communication number is determined by the apparatus from a plurality of preset candidate values ​​of the backscatter number.

[0170] Optionally, the starting time of the transmission time of the backscatter communication is any one of the following:

[0171] The starting position of the first backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication, the ending position of the first backscatter transmission, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the starting position of the first backscatter transmission is located, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the ending position of the first backscatter transmission is located, the ending position of the scheduling information of the backscatter communication, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the scheduling information is located, the position separated by a preset offset after the ending position of the scheduling information, and the position indicated by the scheduling information.

[0172] Optionally, the starting position of the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication is before the end time of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, or the ending position of the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication is before the end time of the transmission time of the backscatter communication.

[0173] Optionally, the unit of the maximum backscatter communication time is any one of the following: minute, second, millisecond, symbol, time slot, frame, subframe.

[0174] Optionally, the maximum backscatter communication time is indicated by a network device, agreed upon by a protocol, or determined by the apparatus.

[0175] Optionally, the maximum backscatter communication time is indicated by the network device through dynamic configuration information, or indicated by the network device through semi-static configuration information.

[0176] Optionally, the dynamic configuration information is scheduling information for the network device to schedule the backscatter communication.

[0177] Optionally, the dynamic configuration information or semi-static configuration information includes at least one of the following: backscatter communication time, a configuration index of the backscatter communication time, or a communication model configured by the network device, wherein the communication model is one of multiple communication models, and each communication model in the multiple communication models corresponds to a backscatter communication time.

[0178] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a sending unit 950, configured to: send second information to the network device, where the second information is used by the network device to determine the maximum backscatter communication time.

[0179] Optionally, the second information includes a maximum backscatter communication time expected by the device and / or an energy storage capacity of the device.

[0180] Optionally, the maximum backscatter communication time is a backscatter communication time agreed upon by a protocol.

[0181] Optionally, the maximum backscatter communication time is determined by the device according to service type and / or delay requirements.

[0182] Optionally, the maximum backscatter communication time is determined by the device from a plurality of preset candidate backscatter time values.

[0183] Optionally, the starting time domain position of the active transmission communication is any one of the following: the position of the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication, or the first time unit that can be used for active transmission communication after the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission.

[0184] Optionally, the starting time domain position of the active transmission communication is any one of the following: the position of the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication, or the first time unit that can be used for active transmission communication after the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission, the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, the position of the first time interval after the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, or the first time unit that can be used for active transmission communication after the first time interval after the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication.

[0185] Optionally, the device operates in a first communication mode, which is scheduled by a network device or actively initiated by the device. The device operating in the first communication mode can switch from backscatter communication to active transmission communication when the preset conditions are met.

[0186] Optionally, the first communication mode is scheduled by the network device through any one of the following configuration information: dynamic configuration information, semi-static configuration information or configuration authorization configuration information.

[0187] Optionally, the configuration information instructs the device to operate in the first communication mode.

[0188] Optionally, the frequency domain resources used by the backscatter communication and the frequency domain resources used by the active transmission communication are correlated with each other.

[0189] Optionally, the center frequency of the frequency domain resources used for the backscatter communication is aligned with the center frequency of the frequency domain resources used for the active transmission communication, or the frequency domain resources used for the backscatter communication and the frequency domain resources used for the active transmission communication satisfy a preset offset relationship.

[0190] Optionally, the backscatter communication includes multiple backscatter transmissions, and time domain resources used by the multiple backscatter transmissions are continuous or discrete in the time domain.

[0191] Optionally, the backscatter communication includes multiple backscatter transmissions, the first backscatter transmission and the second backscatter transmission are two adjacent backscatter transmissions in the multiple backscatter transmissions, and the backscatter unit 910 is also used to: if no confirmation information is received from the network device within a second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, then perform the second backscatter transmission.

[0192] Optionally, a unit of the second time interval is any one of the following: minute, second, millisecond, symbol, time slot, frame, or subframe.

[0193] Optionally, the starting time domain position of the second backscatter transmission is any one of the following: the position of the second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, the position of the second time interval and a preset offset after the first backscatter transmission, the first time unit that can be used for backscatter communication after the second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, or the first time unit that can be used for backscatter communication after the second time interval and a preset offset after the first backscatter transmission.

[0194] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1000 in FIG10 includes a receiving unit 1010, which is specifically as follows:

[0195] The receiving unit 1010 is configured to receive first information sent by a terminal device, where the first information is used by the apparatus to determine the maximum number of backscatter communications.

[0196] Optionally, the first information includes a maximum number of backscatter communications expected by the terminal device and / or an energy storage capacity of the terminal device.

[0197] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1100 in FIG11 includes a receiving unit 1110, which is specifically as follows:

[0198] The receiving unit 1110 is configured to receive second information sent by a terminal device, where the second information is used by the apparatus to determine the maximum backscatter communication time.

[0199] Optionally, the second information includes a maximum backscatter communication time expected by the terminal device and / or an energy storage capacity of the terminal device.

[0200] FIG12 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The dashed lines in FIG12 indicate that the unit or module is optional. Apparatus 1200 may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. Apparatus 1200 may be a chip or a communication device.

[0201] The device 1200 may include one or more processors 1210. The processor 1210 may support the device 1200 to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. The processor 1210 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0202] The apparatus 1200 may further include one or more memories 1220. The memories 1220 store programs that can be executed by the processor 1210, causing the processor 1210 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. The memories 1220 may be independent of the processor 1210 or integrated into the processor 1210.

[0203] The apparatus 1200 may further include a transceiver 1230. The processor 1210 may communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1230. For example, the processor 1210 may transmit and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1230.

[0204] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the communication device provided in the present application, and the program enables a computer to execute the method performed by the communication device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0205] The present application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to the communication device provided in the present application, and the program causes a computer to execute the method performed by the communication device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0206] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program. The computer program can be applied to the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables a computer to execute the method executed by the communication device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0207] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0208] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this document simply describes a relationship between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0209] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0210] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0211] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0212] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0213] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. 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 computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0214] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The terminal device performs backscatter communication; When a preset condition is met, the terminal device switches to active transmission communication.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The preset condition includes: the number of transmissions of the backscatter communication is greater than or equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications, or the transmission time of the backscatter communication is greater than or equal to the maximum backscatter communication time.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device uses a first counter to count the number of transmissions of the backscatter communication; The preset condition includes: the value of the first counter is greater than or equal to the maximum backscatter communication number.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The number of transmissions of the backscatter communication is the actual number of transmissions of the backscatter communication.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The value of the first counter is the actual number of transmissions.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The number of transmissions of the backscatter communication includes the number of initial transmissions and / or the number of retransmissions of the backscatter communication.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The initial transmission of the backscatter communication includes M repeated transmissions and / or each retransmission of the backscatter communication includes M repeated transmissions, and the value of the first counter is the number of repeated transmissions included in the initial transmission and / or retransmission of the backscatter communication divided by M and rounded up, where M is a positive integer.

8. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: In a case where the terminal device switches to active transmission communication, the terminal device uses a second counter to count the number of transmissions of the active transmission communication.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device determines the transmission power of the active transmission communication according to the value of the second counter.

10. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: In a case where the terminal device switches to active transmission communication, the terminal device uses a first counter to count the number of transmissions of the active transmission communication.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device determines the transmission power of the active transmission communication according to the value of the first counter.

12. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 11, characterized in that The maximum number of backscatter communications is indicated by a network device, agreed upon by a protocol, or determined by the terminal device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication times are indicated by the network device through dynamic configuration information, or indicated by the network device through semi-static configuration information.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The dynamic configuration information is scheduling information for the network device to schedule the backscatter communication.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The dynamic configuration information or semi-static configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of backscatter communications, the configuration index of the backscatter communication number, or the communication model configured by the network device, wherein the communication model is one of multiple communication models, and each communication model in the multiple communication models corresponds to a backscatter communication number.

16. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device sends first information to the network device, where the first information is used by the network device to determine the maximum number of backscatter communications.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The first information includes a maximum number of backscatter communications expected by the terminal device and / or an energy storage capacity of the terminal device.

18. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication number is the backscatter communication number agreed upon by the protocol.

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The maximum number of backscatter communications is determined by the terminal device according to the service type and / or delay requirements.

20. The method according to claim 12, wherein The maximum backscatter communication number is determined by the terminal device from a plurality of preset candidate values ​​of the backscatter number.

21. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The starting time of the transmission time of the backscatter communication is any one of the following: The starting position of the first backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication, the ending position of the first backscatter transmission, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the starting position of the first backscatter transmission is located, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the ending position of the first backscatter transmission is located, the ending position of the scheduling information of the backscatter communication, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the scheduling information is located, the position separated by a preset offset after the ending position of the scheduling information, and the position indicated by the scheduling information.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The start position of the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication is before the end time of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, or the end position of the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication is before the end time of the transmission time of the backscatter communication.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that The unit of the maximum backscatter communication time is any one of the following: minute, second, millisecond, symbol, time slot, frame, subframe.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication time is indicated by a network device, agreed upon by a protocol, or determined by the terminal device.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication time is indicated by the network device through dynamic configuration information, or indicated by the network device through semi-static configuration information.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The dynamic configuration information is scheduling information for the network device to schedule the backscatter communication.

27. The method according to claim 25 or 26, characterized in that The dynamic configuration information or semi-static configuration information includes at least one of the following: backscatter communication time, a configuration index of the backscatter communication time, or a communication model configured by the network device, wherein the communication model is one of multiple communication models, and each communication model in the multiple communication models corresponds to a backscatter communication time.

28. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 27, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device sends second information to the network device, where the second information is used by the network device to determine the maximum backscatter communication time.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that The second information includes the maximum backscatter communication time expected by the terminal device and / or the energy storage capacity of the terminal device.

30. The method according to claim 24, wherein The maximum backscatter communication time is the backscatter communication time agreed upon by the protocol.

31. The method according to claim 24, wherein The maximum backscatter communication time is determined by the terminal device according to the service type and / or delay requirement.

32. The method according to claim 24, wherein The maximum backscatter communication time is determined by the terminal device from a plurality of preset candidate backscatter time values.

33. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that The starting time domain position of the active transmission communication is any one of the following: The position of the backscatter communication after the last backscatter transmission at the first time interval, or the first time unit that can be used for active transmission communication after the last backscatter transmission at the first time interval.

34. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 32, characterized in that The starting time domain position of the active transmission communication is any one of the following: The position of the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication, or the first time unit that can be used for active transmission of communication after the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission, the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, the position of the first time interval after the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, or the first time unit that can be used for active transmission of communication after the first time interval after the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication.

35. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 34, characterized in that The terminal device operates in a first communication mode, which is scheduled by a network device or actively initiated by the terminal device. The terminal device operating in the first communication mode can switch from backscatter communication to active transmission communication when the preset conditions are met.

36. The method according to claim 35, characterized in that The first communication mode is scheduled by the network device through any one of the following configuration information: dynamic configuration information, semi-static configuration information or configuration authorization configuration information.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein The configuration information instructs the terminal device to operate in the first communication mode.

38. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 37, characterized in that The frequency domain resources used by the backscatter communication and the frequency domain resources used by the active transmission communication are correlated with each other.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein The center frequency of the frequency domain resources used for the backscatter communication is aligned with the center frequency of the frequency domain resources used for the active transmission communication, or the frequency domain resources used for the backscatter communication and the frequency domain resources used for the active transmission communication satisfy a preset offset relationship.

40. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 39, characterized in that The backscatter communication includes multiple backscatter transmissions, and time domain resources used by the multiple backscatter transmissions are continuous or discrete in the time domain.

41. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 40, characterized in that The backscatter communication includes multiple backscatter transmissions, the first backscatter transmission and the second backscatter transmission are two adjacent backscatter transmissions in the multiple backscatter transmissions, and the method further includes: If no confirmation information is received from the network device within a second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, the terminal device performs the second backscatter transmission.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein The unit of the second time interval is any one of the following: minute, second, millisecond, symbol, time slot, frame, or subframe.

43. The method according to claim 41 or 42, characterized in that The starting time domain position of the second backscatter transmission is any one of the following: The position of the second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, the position of the second time interval and the preset offset after the first backscatter transmission, the first time unit that can be used for backscatter communication after the second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, or the first time unit that can be used for backscatter communication after the second time interval and the preset offset after the first backscatter transmission.

44. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The network device receives first information sent by the terminal device, where the first information is used by the network device to determine the maximum number of backscatter communications.

45. The method according to claim 44, wherein The first information includes a maximum number of backscatter communications expected by the terminal device and / or an energy storage capacity of the terminal device.

46. ​​A communication method, characterized in that: include: The network device receives second information sent by the terminal device, where the second information is used by the network device to determine the maximum backscatter communication time.

47. The method according to claim 46, wherein The second information includes the maximum backscatter communication time expected by the terminal device and / or the energy storage capacity of the terminal device.

48. A communication device, characterized in that include: a backscatter unit, configured to perform backscatter communication; The switching unit is used to switch to active transmission communication when a preset condition is met.

49. The device according to claim 48, characterized in that The preset condition includes: the number of transmissions of the backscatter communication is greater than or equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications, or the transmission time of the backscatter communication is greater than or equal to the maximum backscatter communication time.

50. The device according to claim 49, characterized in that The apparatus further includes a counting unit configured to use a first counter to count the number of transmissions of the backscatter communication; wherein the preset condition includes: a value of the first counter being greater than or equal to the maximum number of backscatter communications.

51. The method according to claim 50, characterized in that The number of transmissions of the backscatter communication is the actual number of transmissions of the backscatter communication.

52. The method according to claim 51, characterized in that The value of the first counter is the actual number of transmissions.

53. The device according to claim 50, characterized in that The number of transmissions of the backscatter communication includes the number of initial transmissions and / or the number of retransmissions of the backscatter communication.

54. The device according to claim 53, characterized in that The initial transmission of the backscatter communication includes M repeated transmissions and / or each retransmission of the backscatter communication includes M repeated transmissions, and the value of the first counter is the number of repeated transmissions included in the initial transmission and / or retransmission of the backscatter communication divided by M and rounded up, where M is a positive integer.

55. The device according to any one of claims 51 to 54, characterized in that The counting unit is further configured to: when switching to active transmission communication, use a second counter to count the number of transmission times of the active transmission communication.

56. The device according to claim 55, characterized in that The device further includes a determining unit configured to determine the transmission power of the active transmission communication according to the value of the second counter.

57. The device according to any one of claims 51 to 54, characterized in that The counting unit is further configured to: when switching to active transmission communication, use a first counter to count the number of transmission times of the active transmission communication.

58. The device according to claim 57, characterized in that The device further includes a determining unit configured to determine the transmit power of the active transmit communication according to the value of the first counter.

59. The device according to any one of claims 49 to 58, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication number is indicated by a network device, agreed upon by a protocol, or determined by the apparatus.

60. The device according to claim 59, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication times are indicated by the network device through dynamic configuration information, or indicated by the network device through semi-static configuration information.

61. The device according to claim 60, characterized in that The dynamic configuration information is scheduling information for the network device to schedule the backscatter communication.

62. The device according to claim 60 or 61, characterized in that The dynamic configuration information or semi-static configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of backscatter communications, the configuration index of the backscatter communication number, or the communication model configured by the network device, wherein the communication model is one of multiple communication models, and each communication model in the multiple communication models corresponds to a backscatter communication number.

63. The device according to any one of claims 49 to 62, characterized in that The apparatus further includes a sending unit configured to send first information to the network device, where the first information is used by the network device to determine the maximum number of backscatter communications.

64. The device according to claim 63, characterized in that The first information includes a maximum number of backscatter communications expected by the device and / or an energy storage capacity of the device.

65. The device according to claim 59, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication number is the backscatter communication number agreed upon by the protocol.

66. The device according to claim 59, characterized in that The maximum number of backscatter communications is determined by the device according to service type and / or delay requirements.

67. The device according to claim 59, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication number is determined by the apparatus from a plurality of preset candidate values ​​of the backscatter number.

68. The device according to claim 49, characterized in that The starting time of the transmission time of the backscatter communication is any one of the following: The starting position of the first backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication, the ending position of the first backscatter transmission, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the starting position of the first backscatter transmission is located, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the ending position of the first backscatter transmission is located, the ending position of the scheduling information of the backscatter communication, the starting point or end point of the time unit where the scheduling information is located, the position separated by a preset offset after the ending position of the scheduling information, and the position indicated by the scheduling information.

69. The device according to claim 67 or 68, characterized in that The start position of the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication is before the end time of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, or the end position of the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication is before the end time of the transmission time of the backscatter communication.

70. The device according to any one of claims 67 to 69, characterized in that The unit of the maximum backscatter communication time is any one of the following: minute, second, millisecond, symbol, time slot, frame, subframe.

71. The device according to any one of claims 67 to 70, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication time is indicated by a network device, agreed upon by a protocol, or determined by the apparatus.

72. The device according to claim 71, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication time is indicated by the network device through dynamic configuration information, or indicated by the network device through semi-static configuration information.

73. The device according to claim 72, characterized in that The dynamic configuration information is scheduling information for the network device to schedule the backscatter communication.

74. The device according to claim 72 or 73, characterized in that The dynamic configuration information or semi-static configuration information includes at least one of the following: backscatter communication time, a configuration index of the backscatter communication time, or a communication model configured by the network device, wherein the communication model is one of multiple communication models, and each communication model in the multiple communication models corresponds to a backscatter communication time.

75. The device according to any one of claims 67 to 74, characterized in that The apparatus further includes a sending unit configured to send second information to the network device, where the second information is used by the network device to determine the maximum backscatter communication time.

76. The device according to claim 75, characterized in that The second information includes the maximum backscatter communication time expected by the device and / or the energy storage capacity of the device.

77. The device according to claim 71, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication time is the backscatter communication time agreed upon by the protocol.

78. The device according to claim 71, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication time is determined by the device according to the service type and / or delay requirement.

79. The device according to claim 71, characterized in that The maximum backscatter communication time is determined by the apparatus from a plurality of preset candidate backscatter time values.

80. The device according to any one of claims 48 to 67, characterized in that The starting time domain position of the active transmission communication is any one of the following: the position of the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication, or the first time unit that can be used for active transmission communication after the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission.

81. The device according to any one of claims 68 to 79, characterized in that The starting time domain position of the active transmission communication is any one of the following: the position of the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission in the backscatter communication, or the first time unit that can be used for active transmission communication after the first time interval after the last backscatter transmission, the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, the position of the first time interval after the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication, or the first time unit that can be used for active transmission communication after the first time interval after the end moment of the transmission time of the backscatter communication.

82. The device according to any one of claims 48 to 81, characterized in that The device operates in a first communication mode, which is scheduled by a network device or actively initiated by the device. The device operating in the first communication mode can switch from backscatter communication to active transmission communication when the preset conditions are met.

83. The device according to claim 82, characterized in that The first communication mode is scheduled by the network device through any one of the following configuration information: dynamic configuration information, semi-static configuration information or configuration authorization configuration information.

84. The device according to claim 83, characterized in that The configuration information instructs the device to operate in the first communication mode.

85. The device according to any one of claims 48 to 84, characterized in that The frequency domain resources used by the backscatter communication and the frequency domain resources used by the active transmission communication are correlated with each other.

86. The device according to claim 85, characterized in that The center frequency of the frequency domain resources used for the backscatter communication is aligned with the center frequency of the frequency domain resources used for the active transmission communication, or the frequency domain resources used for the backscatter communication and the frequency domain resources used for the active transmission communication satisfy a preset offset relationship.

87. The device according to any one of claims 48 to 86, characterized in that The backscatter communication includes multiple backscatter transmissions, and time domain resources used by the multiple backscatter transmissions are continuous or discrete in the time domain.

88. The device according to any one of claims 48 to 87, characterized in that The backscatter communication includes multiple backscatter transmissions, the first backscatter transmission and the second backscatter transmission are two adjacent backscatter transmissions in the multiple backscatter transmissions, and the backscatter unit is further used to: if no confirmation information from the network device is received within a second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, then perform the second backscatter transmission.

89. The device according to claim 88, characterized in that The unit of the second time interval is any one of the following: minute, second, millisecond, symbol, time slot, frame, or subframe.

90. The device according to claim 88 or 89, characterized in that The starting time domain position of the second backscatter transmission is any one of the following: the position of the second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, the position of the second time interval and a preset offset after the first backscatter transmission, the first time unit that can be used for backscatter communication after the second time interval after the first backscatter transmission, or the first time unit that can be used for backscatter communication after the second time interval and a preset offset after the first backscatter transmission.

91. A communication device, characterized in that include: A receiving unit is used to receive first information sent by a terminal device, where the first information is used by the device to determine the maximum number of backscatter communications.

92. The device according to claim 91, characterized in that The first information includes a maximum number of backscatter communications expected by the terminal device and / or an energy storage capacity of the terminal device.

93. A communication device, characterized in that include: A receiving unit is used to receive second information sent by a terminal device, where the second information is used by the apparatus to determine the maximum backscatter communication time.

94. The device according to claim 93, characterized in that The second information includes the maximum backscatter communication time expected by the terminal device and / or the energy storage capacity of the terminal device.

95. A communication device, characterized in that It includes a memory, a transceiver and a processor, the memory is used to store programs, the processor sends and receives data through the transceiver, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 43.

96. A communication device, characterized in that It includes a memory, a transceiver and a processor, the memory is used to store programs, the processor sends and receives data through the transceiver, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory to execute the method as described in any one of claims 44 to 47.

97. A communication device, characterized in that The device comprises a processor configured to call a program from a memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 43.

98. A communication device, characterized in that The device comprises a processor for calling a program from a memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 44 to 47.

99. A chip, characterized in that The device comprises a processor configured to call a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 43.

100. A chip, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor configured to call a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 44 to 47.

101. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that A program is stored thereon, the program causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 43.

102. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that A program is stored thereon, the program causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 44 to 47.

103. A computer program product, characterized in that A program is included, the program causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 43.

104. A computer program product, characterized in that A program is included, which causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 44 to 47.

105. A computer program, characterized in that The computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 43.

106. A computer program, characterized in that The computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 44 to 47.

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