Method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication and apparatus therefor

Abstract

The invention provides a method for IoT (Internet of Things) signal transmission in mobile communication and a device thereof. Various solutions for IoT signal transmission related to a reading device and an IoT device are described. A reading apparatus may transmit a message to an IoT device through an in-band frequency or a guard band frequency in a spectrum for an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signal. The start of transmission is aligned with boundaries of OFDM symbols of the OFDM signal. The reading apparatus may receive a backscattered IoT signal from the IoT device through an in-band frequency or a guard band frequency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application generally relates to mobile communications, and more particularly, to Internet of Things (IoT) signal transmission between a reading device and an IoT device in mobile communications. Background Art

[0002] Unless otherwise specified herein, the methods described in this section do not belong to the prior art of the claims listed below and are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of being included in this section.

[0003] Wireless communication systems can be widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. A typical wireless communication system may use multiple access technologies to support communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources. Examples of these multiple access technologies can include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0004] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate municipally, nationally, regionally, or even globally. An example of a telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution driven by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements related to latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., related to the Internet of Things (IoT)), and other requirements. Some aspects of 5G NR can be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. There is a need for further improvement in 5G NR technology. These improvements can also be applied to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that adopt these technologies.

[0005] However, in a Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) network, IoT devices communicating using the same frequency may face challenges due to potential interference from User Equipment (UE) behavior. Therefore, effective solutions may be needed to manage timing and configure frequency bands to ensure that IoT signals do not interfere with or are not interfered with by the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) operations of UEs within the same spectrum.

[0006] Accordingly, how to transmit IoT signals in a wireless communication environment such as Fifth Generation New Radio (5G NR) has become an important issue for newly developed wireless communication networks. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The following summary of the invention is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following summary of the invention is intended to introduce the concepts, highlights, advantages, and benefits of the novel and non - obvious technologies described herein. Specific embodiments will be further described in the following detailed description. Therefore, the following summary of the invention is not intended to identify the basic features of the claimed subject matter nor to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0008] The objective of the present disclosure is to propose solutions, concepts, designs, systems, methods, and apparatuses related to the transmission of Internet of Things (IoT) signals associated with reading devices and IoT devices in mobile communications. It is believed that by implementing one or more of the proposed solutions described herein, the above - mentioned problems will be avoided or alleviated in other ways.

[0009] In one aspect, a method can involve a reader device sending a message to an IoT device via an in-band frequency or a guard-band frequency in the spectrum of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal, wherein the start of the sending is aligned with the boundary of an OFDM symbol of the OFDM signal. The method can also involve the reader device receiving a backscattered IoT signal from the IoT device via the in-band frequency or the guard-band frequency.

[0010] In another aspect, a method can involve an IoT device receiving a message from a reader device via an in-band frequency or a guard-band frequency in the spectrum of an OFDM signal, wherein the start of the receiving is aligned with the boundary of an OFDM symbol of the OFDM signal. The method can also involve the IoT device performing a backscatter transmission via the in-band frequency or the guard-band frequency to send a backscattered IoT signal to the reader device.

[0011] In yet another aspect, a reader device can involve a transceiver that wirelessly communicates with at least one network node during operation. The device can also involve a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver such that, during operation, the processor can send a message to an IoT device via an in-band frequency or a guard-band frequency in the spectrum of an OFDM signal, wherein the start of the sending is aligned with the boundary of an OFDM symbol of the OFDM signal. The processor can also receive a backscattered IoT signal from the IoT device via the transceiver via the in-band frequency or the guard-band frequency.

[0012] It should be noted that although the descriptions provided herein can be in the context of certain radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies, such as fifth-generation systems (5GS) and 4G EPS mobile networks, the concepts, solutions, and any variants / derivatives thereof proposed can be implemented in other types of wireless and wired communication technologies, networks, and network topologies, such as but not limited to: Ethernet, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) / Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), sixth-generation (6G) systems, and any future-developed network technologies. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario of a communication environment in which various solutions and solutions according to the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario describing an A-IoT transmission architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another example scenario describing an A-IoT transmission architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario describing a reading device or IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of another example scenario describing a reading device or IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another example scenario describing a reading device or IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram depicting an example scenario of a communication process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of an in-band frequency configuration in a spectrum for DL communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a guard band frequency configuration in a spectrum for DL communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of an in-band frequency configuration in a spectrum for UL communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a guard band frequency configuration in a spectrum for UL communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of an A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 13 It is a schematic diagram of another example scenario of an A-IoT communication architecture based on DFT-s-OFDM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 14 It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of an A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 15 It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of an A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 16 It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of an A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 17 It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of an A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 18 It is a schematic diagram depicting an example scenario of a communication process within an FDD network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 19 It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of a communication process within an FDD network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 20It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of transmission in an HDX system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 21 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of transmission in an FDX system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 22 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a communication process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 23 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a heterogeneous network deployment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure 24 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a network deployment scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] Figure 25A - Figure 25B It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of an aggregation process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] Figure 26 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a UE in different communication layers reading configurations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] Figure 27A - Figure 27B It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a communication process in different communication layers according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] Figure 28 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of different communication formats according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] Figure 29A - Figure 29B It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a communication process of different communication formats according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] Figure 30 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a frame structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] Figure 31 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of an operation sequence related to an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] Figure 32 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of different configuration strategies according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0045] Figure 33 It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of an operation sequence related to an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 34A - Figure 34BIt is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of the communication process of an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] Figure 35A - Figure 35B It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of the communication process of an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0048] Figure 36 It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of the communication process of an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0049] Figure 37 It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of the communication process of an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0050] Figure 38 It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of the communication process of an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] Figure 39A - Figure 39B It is a schematic diagram showing another example scenario of the communication process of an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0052] Figure 40 It is a schematic diagram showing an example scenario of the communication process of different communication formats according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0053] Figure 41 It is a block diagram describing an example communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0054] Figure 42 It is a flowchart describing an example process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0055] Figure 43 It is a flowchart describing an example process according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Embodiments

[0056] Detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed subject matter are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely illustrative of the claimed subject matter, which can be embodied in various forms. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations set forth herein. On the contrary, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided so that the description of the present invention is thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. In the following description, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments and implementations.

[0057] Overview

[0058] Embodiments of the present invention relate to various technologies, methods, solutions, and / or schemes for IoT signal transmission related to user equipment and mobile communication network equipment. According to the present invention, multiple possible solutions can be implemented alone or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions may be described separately below, two or more of these possible solutions can be implemented in one or another combination.

[0059] Figure 1 FIG. 100 is a schematic diagram of an example scenario 100 of a communication environment in which various solutions and schemes according to the present disclosure can be implemented. Scenario 100 involves a user equipment (UE) 110 that communicates wirelessly with a network 120 (e.g., a wireless network including a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and a terrestrial network (TN)) via a terrestrial network node 125 (e.g., an evolved Node-B (eNB), a Next Generation Node-B (gNB), or a transmission / reception point (TRP)) and / or a non-terrestrial network node 128 (e.g., a satellite). For example, the terrestrial network node 125 and / or the non-terrestrial network node 128 can form an NTN service cell to communicate wirelessly with the UE 110. In some embodiments, the UE 110 can be an IoT device, e.g., an NB-IoT UE or an enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UE (e.g., a bandwidth reduced low complexity (BL) UE or a coverage enhancement (CE) UE). In such a communication environment, as described below, the UE 110, the network 120, the terrestrial network node 125, and the non-terrestrial network node 128 can implement various schemes related to an improved IoT signal transmission process according to the present invention. It should be noted that although the various proposed schemes may be described separately or individually below, in actual embodiments, some or all of the proposed schemes can be used or implemented in combination. Of course, each proposed scheme can also be used or implemented alone or separately.

[0060] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a reading device (e.g., UE 110) may send a message to an IoT device via an in-band frequency or a guard band frequency in the spectrum of an OFDM signal (e.g., a new radio (NR) spectrum). The start of the transmission may be aligned with the boundary of an OFDM symbol of the OFDM signal. Then, the reading device may receive the backscattered IoT signal from the IoT device via the in-band frequency or the guard band frequency.

[0061] In an embodiment, the in-band frequency may be configured for UL transmission or DL transmission of an OFDM signal (e.g., 'fd' or 'fu' as shown in Figure 8 and Figure 10 respectively).

[0062] In an embodiment, a guard band (GB) frequency may be configured between two OFDM signals (e.g., 'fdg' and 'fug' as shown in Figure 9 and Figure 11 respectively).

[0063] In an embodiment, an IoT guard band is configured between an OFDM signal and an IoT signal (e.g., 'A-IoT GB' as shown in Figure 8 - 11 ).

[0064] In an embodiment, the reading device may send a carrier waveform (CW) to the IoT device. The CW may be configured to provide energy to the IoT device.

[0065] In an embodiment, the carrier waveform may be transmitted in at least one of the UL spectrum and the DL spectrum for the OFDM signal. In an example, the CW may be transmitted inside the system / topology of the OFDM signal in the DL spectrum. In another example, the CW may be transmitted inside the system / topology of the OFDM signal in the UL spectrum. In another example, the CW may be transmitted outside the system / topology of the OFDM signal in the UL spectrum. The system / topology may be an NR system including at least one IoT device, a reader, and a network node. For example, when a device-to-reader (D2R) backscatter transmission is transmitted in the same carrier as the CW for D2R backscatter, for topology 1, the carrier waveform may be transmitted inside the topology and in the DL spectrum, the carrier waveform may be transmitted inside the topology and in the UL spectrum, or the carrier waveform may be transmitted outside the topology and in the UL spectrum.

[0066] In an embodiment, the CW may be transmitted via the carrier resource of a message (e.g., Figure 28 format 1) or via another carrier resource (e.g., Figure 28Format 2) Transmission.

[0067] Figure 2 FIG. shows a schematic diagram of an example scenario 200 of an A-IoT transmission architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 200 involves a reading device, an A-IoT device network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) as part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring to Figure 2 , the network node (e.g., gNB) can establish a connection with the reading device (e.g., UE or UE reading) via a wired cable. This configuration can eliminate the need for a new air interface between the network node and the A-IoT device. A new air interface between the reading device and the A-IoT device may not be introduced. As Figure 2 shown, the network node can access the A-IoT device via the reading device. That is, the reading device can be an intermediate node between the A-IoT device and the network node.

[0068] Figure 3 FIG. is a schematic diagram describing another example scenario 300 of an A-IoT transmission architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 300 involves a reading device, an A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) as part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring to Figure 3 , the network node (e.g., gNB) can establish a connection with the reading device (e.g., UE or UE reading) via a wireless air interface. The air interface can be an NR-Uu interface to minimize the specification change of the reading device. In addition, the air interface between the reading device and the A-IoT device can be determined based on the use cases and requirements between the reading device and the A-IoT device.

[0069] Figure 4 FIG. shows a schematic diagram of an example scenario 400 of a reading device or IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 4 , the IoT device can be designed with a specific target. The IoT device can be designed for power consumption during transmission or reception (≤1 μW or ≤10 μW), and for complexity, aiming to be comparable to ultra-high-frequency radio-frequency identification (UHF RFID) ISO18000-6C (EPC C1G2). In addition, as Figure 4As shown, the IoT device may not have energy storage or independent signal generation and amplification capabilities. The IoT device may rely on backscatter transmission. The IoT device may require a backscatter activation power threshold, an experienced reflection loss, and a long-distance carrier source to send signals for positioning. As Figure 4 As shown, the IoT device may include a low pass filter (LPF) for suppressing adjacent sub-carrier interference (ASCI) and adjacent carrier interference (ACI). The IoT device may also include an envelope detector (ED) supporting OOK signals. The IoT device may also include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for digital baseband processing. The IoT device may also include a digital baseband (DBB) for sequence matching. The IoT device may also include a modulator (or switch) controlled by an incoming signal to add payload data for OOK modulation. The IoT device may also include a radio frequency energy harvester that converts RF signals into an energy source.

[0070] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another example scenario 500 of a reading device or an IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Referring to Figure 5 , the IoT device may be designed with specific goals. Additionally, as Figure 5 As shown, the IoT device may have energy storage but no independent signal generation. The IoT device may rely on backscatter transmission. The stored energy may be used for signal amplification. The IoT device may also require a backscatter activation power threshold, experience reflection loss, and require a long-distance carrier source for positioning. As Figure 5As shown, the IoT device may include an LPF for suppressing ASCI and ACI. The IoT device may also include an ED supporting OOK signals. The IoT device may also include an ADC for digital baseband processing. The IoT device may also include a DBB for sequence matching. The IoT device may also include a modulator controlled by an incoming signal to add payload data for OOK modulation. The IoT device may also include an RF energy harvester that converts RF signals into an energy source. The IoT device may also include additional energy harvesters for different types of environmental sources, such as RF radios, solar energy, thermal energy, and piezoelectric power sources. The IoT device may also include energy storage, such as capacitors and solid-state batteries. The IoT device may also include a reflection amplifier to amplify the signal input to the tag and the signal backscattered to the reader device.

[0071] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another example scenario 600 of a reader device or IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Referring to Figure 6 , the IoT device may be designed with specific goals. For example, the IoT device may be designed for power consumption during transmission or reception (≤1 μW or ≤10 μW), and the complexity is much lower than that of Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT). In addition, as Figure 6 shown, the IoT device may have energy storage, independent signal generation, and an active RF component for transmission. The IoT device may also have mobility management capabilities, at least for cell selection and reselection. As Figure 6 shown, the IoT device may include an LPF for suppressing ASCI and ACI. The IoT device may also include an ED supporting OOK signals. The IoT device may also include an ADC for digital baseband processing. The IoT device may also include a DBB for synchronization, payload decoding, and cyclic redundancy check (CRC). The IoT device may also include an RF energy harvester that converts RF signals into an energy source. The IoT device may also include additional energy harvesters for different types of environmental sources, such as RF radios, solar energy, thermal energy, and piezoelectric power sources. The IoT device may also include energy storage, such as capacitors and solid-state batteries. The IoT device may also include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) and a power amplifier (PA) to amplify received and transmitted signals.

[0072] Figure 7A schematic diagram showing an example scenario of a communication process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 700 involves a reading device, an A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that are part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring to Figure 7 , there can be an innovative air interface for communication between a reading device (e.g., UE reading or network node (e.g., gNB)) and an A-IoT device. As Figure 7 shown, the communication process is initiated when the reading device powers the A-IoT device and sends a command. The command can include basic communication parameters, such as tag rate, tag data encoding method, and the total number of available time periods. When the A-IoT device has collected enough energy, the A-IoT device can be activated and listen for commands from the reading device. After the A-IoT device decodes the command, the A-IoT device can randomly select a time period from the available range and generate a random sequence. Then, the A-IoT device can send the random sequence to the reading device during the selected time period. The random sequence can be modulated by frequency shift keying 0 (FM0), and there can be a known preamble sequence before the random sequence. In response to the random sequence from the A-IoT device, the reading device can decode the random sequence and send an acknowledgment to the A-IoT device at a predetermined time aligned with the A-IoT rate configuration. The above reading device can be a node, such as a UE, UE reading, relay, IAB node, NR / LTE UE, repeater, or base station (gNB).

[0073] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication link from the UE to the A-IoT device (U2A link) can use a modulation scheme such as amplitude shift keying (ASK) or OOK to facilitate data transmission using pulse interval encoding (PIE). The U2A link can include two types of preambles. One preamble is a long U2A preamble for initial transmission, and the other preamble is a short U2A preamble for subsequent signaling. The UE can send a long U2A preamble and a control signal (or command) specifying the control parameters of the A-IoT device to the A-IoT device.

[0074] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication link from the A-IoT device to the UE (A2U link) can use ASK or phase shift keying (PSK) modulation. A-IoT can use FM0 baseband or Miller modulation controlled by the UE or gNB via the A2U link to encode backscattered data. One of two Miller subcarrier preambles can be initiated based on a command or control signal for A2U link signaling. The A-IoT device can use backscattering modulation to transmit data based on the reflection coefficient of its antenna. The A2U link can be used to transmit electronic product code (EPC) and protocol-control (PC) information.

[0075] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in an FDD network, A-IoT devices communicating using the UL frequency may face challenges due to potential interference with UE behavior. Therefore, effective solutions may be needed to manage timing and configure guard bands to ensure that A-IoT signals do not disrupt the UL and DL operations of UEs within the same spectrum.

[0076] Figure 8 An example scenario 800 of in-band frequency configuration in the spectrum of DL communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 800 involves an A-IoT device and a reader device (e.g., a network node or a UE). Referring Figure 8 , the DL frequency used by the A-IoT device can be denoted as 'fd'. The A-IoT device can receive a query command from a reader device (e.g., a UE reader or a gNB) via the DL frequency in the spectrum of DL communication. When the A-IoT device receives the command, the A-IoT device can communicate with the reader device using a backscattering technique. Specifically, the A-IoT device can reflect and modulate the incoming DL frequency signal to send its response via the same DL frequency 'fd'. As Figure 8 shown, the A-IoT device may not generate its own signal. Therefore, power can be saved and complexity can also be reduced.

[0077] Referring Figure 8, To reduce possible intra-cell interference when A-IoT signals may be close to other subcarriers used for cellular communication (e.g., physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)), an A-IoT guard band (A-IoT GB) can be configured in the spectrum used for DL communication. The A-IoT GB can form a buffer between the A-IoT backscatter signal and the PDSCH. Thus, interference from neighboring subcarriers can be effectively prevented. The network node can configure the A-IoT GB. The network node can determine the size of the A-IoT GB according to the deployment requirements, which can be from zero to two resource elements (RE) wide. The configuration of the A-IoT GB can be read by the A-IoT device and the UE via system information (SI) or Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages to ensure that the A-IoT device and the UE can synchronize in the spectrum and maintain the integrity of the A-IoT communication channel.

[0078] Figure 9 An example scenario 900 of guard band frequency configuration in the spectrum for DL communication is shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 900 involves an A-IoT device and a reading device (e.g., a network node or a UE). Refer to Figure 9 , The A-IoT device can communicate using the guard band frequencies in the cellular network (e.g., the guard band of NR) to mitigate inter-cell interference. The guard band frequencies can be referred to as the downlink NR guard band (NR GB). The guard band frequencies can be configured on both sides of the configured channel bandwidth (e.g., 100 MHz or 20 MHz). Within the guard band frequencies, the reading device (e.g., UE reading or gNB) can broadcast a query command via a dedicated DL frequency (or A-IoT frequency), which is labeled 'fdg'. The dedicated DL frequency can be selected from the guard band frequencies that provide interference protection.

[0079] Refer to Figure 9, the A-IoT GB around the A-IoT frequency 'fdg' can be configured to enhance this interference protection. The A-IoT GB can be a further safeguard against potential inter-cell interference that may come from neighboring cells. The network node can configure the span of the A-IoT GB from zero to six REs according to the requirements of interference mitigation. The configuration of the A-IoT GB can be read by the sending A-IoT device and the UE through SI broadcast or RRC message. The configuration of the A-IoT GB can be used to ensure that both the A-IoT device and the UE can operate within the parameters set by the network node to prevent interference from adjacent cells and maintain robust A-IoT communication.

[0080] Figure 10 FIG. 1000 is an example scenario showing an in-band frequency configuration in the spectrum for UL communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 1000 involves an A-IoT device and a reading device (e.g., a network node or a UE). Referring to Figure 10 , the A-IoT device can communicate using the UL frequency within the UL communication spectrum of the cellular network. The UL frequency used by the A-IoT device can be denoted as 'fu'. The A-IoT device can receive a query command sent by the reading device (e.g., UE or gNB) through the UL frequency. According to the command, the A-IoT device can reflect the received signal back on the same UL frequency 'fu' using the backscatter communication method. The backscatter communication method can allow the A-IoT device to communicate by modulating the reflected signal. Therefore, the need for active signal transmission can be reduced, and the power consumption can also be reduced.

[0081] Referring to Figure 10 , to reduce the in-cell interference between the A-IoT signal and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) used by other UEs within the UL communication spectrum, the A-IoT GB can be configured in the spectrum of UL communication. The A-IoT GB can be configured between the A-IoT signal and the PUSCH to prevent interference from neighboring frequency subcarriers. The network node can configure the size of the A-IoT GB. The network node can determine the size of the A-IoT GB from zero to two REs according to the requirements of A-IoT deployment. In addition, the network node can send the configuration of the A-IoT GB to the sending A-IoT device and the UE through SI broadcast or RRC message to ensure that the A-IoT device and the UE can be synchronized in the spectrum and maintain the clarity and integrity of A-IoT communication.

[0082] Figure 11Example scenario 1100 showing a guard band frequency configuration in the spectrum for UL communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is presented. Scenario 1100 involves A-IoT devices and a reading device (e.g., a network node or a UE). Referring to Figure 11 , an A-IoT device may use guard band frequencies (e.g., guard bands within the NR UL spectrum). UL NR GBs may be configured on both sides of the channel bandwidth (e.g., 10 MHz or 20 MHz) to reduce inter-cell interference. Within the guard band frequencies, the reading device (e.g., UE reading or gNB) may broadcast a query command via the UL frequency (or A-IoT frequency), which is labeled 'fug'. The UL frequencies within the guard band frequencies may be configured for A-IoT devices to communicate to avoid interference with the primary UL traffic channel.

[0083] Referring to Figure 11 , to provide additional protection and reduce interference from adjacent cell signals, A-IoT GBs may be configured on both sides of the A-IoT frequency 'fug'. A-IoT GBs may configure a clear separation between A-IoT communication and the regular UL traffic of neighboring cells. The network node may configure the A-IoT GB to extend from zero to six REs according to the requirements of the A-IoT deployment. The configuration of the A-IoT GB may be read by the sending A-IoT device and the UE via SI broadcast or an RRC message to ensure that the A-IoT device and the UE reading can operate according to the network-defined parameters to maintain robust and interference-free A-IoT communication.

[0084] Figure 12 Example field 1200 of an A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 1200 involves at least one reading device (e.g., UE and UE 2), at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that is part of a wireless network (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G / NR network, an IoT network, or a 6G network). Referring to Figure 12 , an A-IoT device may operate within the UL frequencies of an FDD network. As Figure 12 shown, the UE reading may send a query command to the A-IoT device via the UL frequency represented as 'fu'. An A-IoT device that supports backscattering on UL transmissions may reflect the signal back to the UE reading without frequency shifting. That is, the A-IoT device is capable of using only the same UL frequency 'fu' for both the reception and transmission of backscattered signals.

[0085] In a normal FDD network, the UE read can receive signals only on the DL frequency and not on the UL frequency. Therefore, when the UE read sends a query on the UL frequency 'fu', the UE read may also need to be able to receive the backscatter response from the A-IoT device on the same UL frequency 'fu'. As a result, potential interference may occur. For example, when the UL frequency is congested with other signals from different devices, receiving the A-IoT response signal may be interrupted.

[0086] To solve the above problems, the UE read can monitor specific time instances on the UL frequency 'fu' to receive the response from the A-IoT device. These time instances can be predefined by the network node. The network node can send the information of the time instances to the UE read via RRC or SI messages. In addition, the network node can use the timing advance (TA) mechanism to synchronize the UL transmissions of all UE reads and A-IoT devices to ensure that the network node can receive the UL transmissions in a coordinated manner. The TA value (e.g., absolute value or incremental value) may indicate the time adjustment required to respond to the A-IoT device to ensure that the UL transmission arrives at the network node precisely and can be aligned with the time grid of the network node. The absolute TA value can be adjusted based on the DL reception timing, and the incremental TA value can be adjusted based on the timing of the previous UL transmission. The network node can provide the TA value to the UE read in the query command or acknowledgment (ACK). The network node can also send the TA value to the A-IoT device via the medium-access-control control-element (MAC CE) or RRC message. The above proposed solution can ensure that the UL backscatter transmission of the A-IoT device can be accurately executed to avoid interference and maintain the integrity of the communication link.

[0087] Figure 13 is another example scenario 1300 of the DFT-s-OFDM-based A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 1300 involves at least one reading device (e.g., UE and UE 2), at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring to Figure 13 , the frequency bands for the UL spectrum or DL spectrum (e.g., dedicated sub-1GHz band or dedicated guard band) can be referred to as 'fug' and 'fdg' respectively. The frequency bands 'fug' and 'fdg' can be used for A-IoT communication to prevent overlap with the frequency bands used by the network node. Therefore, the interference risk can be eliminated.

[0088] The network node may configure time and frequency domain resources for the two-way communication between the UE Reader and the A-IoT device. The network node may send the configuration to the UE Reader via RRC or SI messages. The frequency domain resources may be specifically allocated as dedicated A-IoT bands, UL guard bands, or DL guard bands according to the A-IoT integration strategy. For the UL guard band 'fug', the transmission timing of A-IoT communication may be synchronized with the UL timing of the UE Reader. The network node may manage these timings through TA MAC CE. The UE Reader may provide one or more UL timing resources to the A-IoT device. Then, the A-IoT device may select the most suitable timing resource to respond within the UL guard band 'fug'. Similarly, for the DL guard band 'fdg', the transmission timing of the A-IoT device may be aligned (or synchronized) with the DL timing of the UE Reader through the synchronization signal block (SSB) and the channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). The UE Reader may also provide various UL timing resources to the A-IoT device for A-IoT communication. Then, the A-IoT device may select the most suitable timing resource to respond within the DL guard band 'fdg'. Figure 13 The solution can ensure that the A-IoT device can operate within the existing network without affecting the existing cellular infrastructure and maintain a clear and interference-free communication channel.

[0089] Figure 14 Another example scenario 1400 of the A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 1400 involves at least one reader device (e.g., UE and UE 2), at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that may be part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring Figure 14 , A-IoT communication may be applied to the FFD network (or FDD spectrum). As Figure 14 shown, the DL frequency (or DL spectrum) used in the FDD spectrum may be represented as 'f1'. In the FDD spectrum, the UE Reader may be configured to monitor the DL frequency 'f1' of its DL signal. However, if the UE Reader broadcasts a query command on the DL frequency 'f1', the broadcast may be interfered with by the DL reception of another UE Reader. To mitigate the interference, the network node may allocate UE-specific DL resources to the UE Reader, such as dynamic PDSCH resources, semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) DL resources, or measurement gaps.

[0090] PDSCH resources can be dynamically allocated based on a range from 4 to 12 OFDM symbols. SPS resources can be configured to have a periodicity from 10 ms to 640 ms to flexibly schedule PDSCH. The measurement gap can provide a specific duration. During the measurement gap, the UE can read and monitor other frequencies without missing its own DL transmission. To ensure that certain time-domain resources on DL frequency 'f1' are dedicated to a specific UE, the network node can block other UEs (e.g., UE 2) from reading and monitoring the same time-frequency (T / F) resources. Thus, interference between different UE readings and interference between the UE and A-IoT devices can be reduced.

[0091] Even if the DL frequency 'f1' is used for A-IoT communication, the UE reading or the network node may still need to manage the UL timing of the backscatter response of the A-IoT device. The network node can send a TA command to the UE reading to control the UL transmission timing of the A-IoT device to ensure synchronization with the network node. Similarly, the UE reading can send a TA command in a query or acknowledgment (ACK) command to indicate the timing of the A-IoT device. It should be noted that when the network node allocates T / F resources on DL frequency 'f1' for A-IoT communication, the network node can avoid transmitting any other signals on the allocated resources. In addition, the UE reading does not receive any signals on the allocated T / F resources except for the A-IoT communication signal to ensure a clear and dedicated channel for A-IoT operation.

[0092] Figure 15 Another example scenario 1500 of the A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 1500 involves a reading device, an A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., a (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G / NR network, an IoT network, or a 6G network). Referring to Figure 15 , the DL frequency (or DL spectrum) can be used to perform communication between the A-IoT device and the network node. The DL frequency can be identified as 'f1'. The network node can communicate with the A-IoT device through the T / F resources on frequency 'f1', where the T / F resources are not allocated to other UEs (e.g., UE 2) at the same time. This method can ensure that there is no interference from other UE DL receptions in the communication network. Existing DL NR signals or channels (e.g., PDSCH, SPS DL, and measurement gap configuration) can be reused for A-IoT communication without interference.

[0093] However, when an A-IoT device performs backscattering through the DL frequency 'f1', potential challenges may arise. The network node may need to ensure that the UL timing of the backscattered signal of the A-IoT device does not interfere with the DL reception of other UEs in the communication network. The network node may not have the exact location information of all UEs' receptions. Therefore, it may be necessary to prevent timing conflicts. Thus, the network node can use TA commands to control the UL timing of the A-IoT device. In addition, the network node can reserve a guard band (or guard time) expressed in microseconds or OFDM symbols. During the guard band (i.e., the empty signal period), no signal transmission occurs to prevent interference.

[0094] The network node can send information about the guard band and TA commands to the A-IoT device to ensure that the timing of the UL transmission of backscattering does not overlap with the DL reception time of other UEs in the same cell. By signaling or configuring information (or parameters) to the A-IoT device, the network node can effectively coordinate T / F resources to maintain a coordinated communication environment. Thus, all UEs' receptions, including those not participating in A-IoT communication, will not be interfered with by the A-IoT signals transmitted through backscattering on the DL frequency 'f1'.

[0095] Figure 16 Another example scenario 1600 of an A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 1600 involves at least one reading device, at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., a (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G / NR network, an IoT network, or a 6G network). Referring to Figure 16 , the UL frequency (or UL spectrum) for communication between the network node and the A-IoT device can be referred to as 'f2'. As Figure 16 shown, the network node can allocate T / F resources on the UL frequency 'f2' for communication between the network node and the A-IoT device to ensure that the resources are not used simultaneously by other UEs' receptions (e.g., UE 2). Thus, the network node can effectively prevent interference with UL transmissions of other UEs in the communication network. Existing UL NR signals or channels (e.g., PUSCH or configured grant (CG) UL) can be reused for A-IoT communication.

[0096] However, potential challenges may arise when the network node needs to listen for signals and transmit signals simultaneously on the UL spectrum 'f2'. Therefore, a guard band (guard time) may be required. During the guard band, the network node may not listen for UL transmissions from UEs' receptions on the T / F resources allocated to A-IoT communication on the UL frequency 'f2' to ensure that there is no overlap between A-IoT communication and the regular UL traffic of other UEs' receptions.

[0097] The network node can read information for a specific duration reserved for A-IoT communication from all UEs through SI broadcast. In addition, the UL timing of the A-IoT device can be configured by a TA command from the network node. The TA command can be used to synchronize the UL transmission of the A-IoT device with the timing of the network node to ensure that the A-IoT signal does not interfere with the UL transmissions read by other UEs. By controlling the UL timing with the TA command and broadcasting the reserved communication duration, the network node can effectively coordinate the UL frequency 'f2' to perform interference-free communication between the network node and the A-IoT device and maintain the integrity of the UL transmissions read by UEs in the communication network.

[0098] Figure 17 Another example scenario 1700 of the A-IoT communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 1700 involves at least one reading device, at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring Figure 17 , the A-IoT device can use a frequency band. The frequency band can be a dedicated sub-1GHz frequency or a guard band frequency for UL and DL. The guard band frequencies for UL and DL can be labeled 'fug' and 'fdg' respectively. The guard band frequencies can be used to ensure that A-IoT communication does not interfere with the normal operation transmissions of UEs and network nodes.

[0099] In the UL guard band frequency 'fug' or the DL guard band frequency 'fdg', the network node can control the transmission timing of A-IoT communication through a timing advance command (TAC). The TAC can be used for synchronization between the transmission of the A-IoT device and the timing grid of the network node. Therefore, potential timing conflicts with other network operations can be avoided.

[0100] For the DL guard band frequency 'fdg', the transmission timing of the A-IoT device can be aligned with the DL timing read by the UE to ensure that when the UE reads and receives the DL transmission from the network node, it will not be interfered by the backscattered DL signal of the A-IoT device. By using the TAC to manage the timing, the network node can coordinate A-IoT communication within the guard band frequency. Therefore, the A-IoT device can be applied to the existing communication network structure without affecting the performance or reliability of traditional UE communication.

[0101] Figure 18An example scenario 1800 of the communication process within an FDD network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 1800 involves at least one reading device (e.g., UE or UE reading), at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring to Figure 18 , the UE reading can send a query command to the A-IoT device and the network node via the UL frequency 'fu'. When the network node receives this query command, the network node can identify a specific UL timing for which the UE reading is waiting for a response from the A-IoT device. The scheduling information including the TA value can be sent to the sending UE reading via an RRC or SI message. The UE reading can monitor the UL frequency 'fu' at a predefined timing and backscatter the query command to the A-IoT device via the UL frequency 'fu'.

[0102] When responding to the query command, the A-IoT device can backscatter a signal using the same UL frequency 'fu' to reflect the signal without changing the frequency (i.e., no frequency shift). To ensure the synchronization of the entire communication network, the network node can use the TA mechanism to coordinate the timing of all UE readings and A-IoT devices. The network node can send a MAC CE or RRC message to the A-IoT device. The MAC CE or RRC message can include the necessary TA values. The A-IoT device can adjust its UL transmission timing according to these TA values to ensure that its backscattered response is precisely synchronized. The A-IoT device can backscatter the response on the UL frequency 'fu'. Thus, the network node can coordinate with other services in the network to receive the response. Figure 18 The communication process shown in

[0103] Figure 19 Another example scenario 1900 of the communication process within an FDD network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 1900 involves at least one reading device (e.g., user equipment or UE reading), at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, fifth-generation / new radio (5G / NR) network, Internet of Things network, or sixth-generation (6G) network). Referring to Figure 19 , the UE reading, the A-IoT device, and the network node can use the UL spectrum 'f2' in the FDD network. The network node can start the communication process by broadcasting SI, where the SI includes time-frequency (T / F) resources reserved for A-IoT communication and a guard time (or guard band). The UE reading can monitor the SI and adjust its UL transmission schedule to avoid interference from the reserved T / F resources.

[0104] During the protection time indicated in SI, the network node can stop listening for UL transmissions read from the UE on the UL frequency 'f2'. The network node can focus only on A-IoT communication during the protection time. The network node can send a TA command to the A-IoT device to precisely control its UL transmission timing, ensuring that the transmission of the A-IoT device does not interfere with the communication read from the UE. When the protection time starts, the network node can stop listening for the UE read on 'f2'. The A-IoT device can send its UL signal on the UL frequency 'f2' resource during the allocated protection time, and the network node can receive the UL signal from the A-IoT device without being interfered by the UE read. During the allocated protection time, the network node can use other resources to perform UL transmissions with the UE read.

[0105] Figure 19 The communication process shown in can maintain an interference-free communication environment on the UL frequency 'f2' to ensure the transmission integrity of the A-IoT device and the UE read in the communication network.

[0106] A half-duplex (HDX) radio frequency identification (RFID) system operating in time-sharing communication between a reader (e.g., a reading device) and a tag (e.g., an IoT device) can provide a simpler reading design and a longer reading range (e.g., 2 times) than a full-duplex (FDX) system. However, the FDX system allows simultaneous two-way communication. Therefore, a more complex reading device may be required to distinguish the response of the tag from the background noise.

[0107] Figure 20 FIG. shows an example scenario 2000 of transmissions in an HDX system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 2000 involves an A-IoT device and a reading device (e.g., a network node or a UE). Referring to Figure 20 , the operation of the HDX system applied in A-IoT communication is shown. As Figure 20 shown, according to the time-sharing communication protocol of the HDX mode, the A-IoT device (or tag) can be charged by the electromagnetic field generated by the reading device. The reading device can include a network node (e.g., a gNB), a reader, or an independent energy source. The reading device can generate an alternating current (AC) field for charging the internal capacitor of the A-IoT device.

[0108] When the A-IoT device obtains sufficient power, the reading device can send commands by modulating the power supply field. After the reading device sends a command to the A-IoT device, the reading device may stop transmitting the field and switch to the receiving state, waiting for a response from the A-IoT device. Then, the A-IoT device can use the energy stored in its capacitor to backscatter a response to the reading device. The reading device can process the response. The HDX system has a non-simultaneous exchange characteristic. Therefore, the reading device and the A-IoT device can switch between the transmission mode and the reception mode.

[0109] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure should not be limited to HDX. The communication system of the present disclosure can be capable of supporting both the HDX mode and the FDX mode.

[0110] Figure 21 An example scenario 2100 of transmission in an FDX system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 2100 involves an A-IoT device and a reading device (e.g., a network node or a UE). Refer to Figure 21 , an operation of an FDX system applied in A-IoT communication is shown. As Figure 21 shown, in an FDX communication system, an A-IoT device (or a tag) can be capable of receiving power and commands from a reading device and accordingly sending a response to the reading device. The reading device can include a network node (e.g., a gNB), a UE reader, or an independent power source. The reading device can transmit a continuous AC magnetic field to the A-IoT device, where the AC magnetic field is used to provide power to the A-IoT device and carry modulated commands to the A-IoT device.

[0111] In the FDX mode, the A-IoT device can superimpose its own signal onto the carrier frequency by frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation. Simultaneous transmission and reception can enable continuous exchange of information between the reading device and the A-IoT device. In an FDX system, the role of the reading device is complex. The reading device can be involved in maintaining the power supply field, modulating commands into the field, and simultaneously demodulating the response superimposed by the A-IoT device. The circuit of the reading device may need to separate the response of the A-IoT device from the carrier signal and any external noise that may exist in the environment.

[0112] As Figure 21 shown, the advantage of an FDX system is that it can achieve a faster data transmission rate due to its simultaneous two-way communication ability. However, an FDX system may require a complex design for the reading device. The reading device may need to have a filtering mechanism to ensure the integrity of the communication process. Even though a complex design for the reading device is required, the FDX system is still valuable in scenarios where speed and efficiency are needed.

[0113] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure should not be limited to FDX. The communication system of the present disclosure may be capable of supporting both the HDX mode and the FDX mode.

[0114] Figure 22 An example scenario 2200 of a communication flow according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 2200 involves an A-IoT device and a reading device (e.g., a network node or a UE). As Figure 22 shown, the reading device (e.g., UE reading or network node) may establish a continuous AC magnetic field. The AC magnetic field can be used to supply power to the A-IoT device and carry modulated commands.

[0115] The A-IoT device can collect (or obtain) energy and receive commands from the reading device. Then, the A-IoT device can backscatter the FSK-modulated response onto the carrier signal. The A-IoT device can superimpose the reflected FSK response onto the carrier. The reading device can simultaneously send power and commands to the A-IoT device and receive the backscattered signal from the A-IoT device.

[0116] The reading device can continuously modulate the AC magnetic field with commands, and the A-IoT device can continuously respond with backscattered modulated data. The reading device can demodulate and process the response from the A-IoT device and acknowledge (or confirm) the received data to maintain a continuous communication loop. As Figure 22 shown in the communication flow, full-duplex communication can be performed to achieve efficient and uninterrupted data exchange between the A-IoT device and the reading device.

[0117] When FDD is applied to both the UL transmission and the DL transmission of UE reading, the UE reading may require an additional receiver for the UL spectrum. This requirement may increase the complexity and cost of UE design.

[0118] Figure 23 An example scenario 2300 of a heterogeneous network deployment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 2300 involves at least one reading device (e.g., a UE or UE reading), at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G / NR network, an IoT network, or a 6G network). Refer to Figure 23, HetNet deployment can integrate large FDD cells with macro base stations and smaller TDD cells with micro base stations. In the deployment, the UE Reader can aggregate FDD and TDD bands to establish a robust connection with network nodes and A-IoT devices. The FDD band (e.g., frequencies below 1 GHz) can be used for the link between the network node and the UE Reader to utilize the stronger and larger coverage characteristics of low frequencies. The TDD band can be used for the link between the UE Reader and the A-IoT device to simplify the design of the UE Reader, i.e., the UE Reader may not require an additional UL receiver.

[0119] In HetNet deployment, the UE Reader can dynamically select the best communication band to maintain service continuity and network efficiency. The macro base station and the micro base station can coordinate interference management between the FDD and TDD cells. The UE Reader can adjust its transmission power for TDD communication with the A-IoT device according to the power control command from the network node to ensure minimum interference and optimal signal strength. Synchronization between the UE Reader and the network node can be maintained to align with the UL / DL configuration of the TDD cell to prevent signal conflicts and interference. In addition, the UE can be configured to switch between the FDD and TDD cells to ensure uninterrupted service.

[0120] Figure 24 An example scenario 2400 of a network deployment scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 2400 involves at least one reading device (e.g., UE or UE Reader), at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring to Figure 24 , the network node can manage the allocation of time and frequency resources and UL timing and power to reduce interference between the UE Reader, the network node, and the A-IoT device. The UE Reader can receive commands from the network node to regulate the UL power and timing of the A-IoT device to achieve an orderly and efficient network environment.

[0121] As Figure 24As shown, the network node can configure resource allocation, frequency bands, time slots, and power levels for the UE reading and A-IoT devices for UL and DL communications. The UE reading can be designed to be backward compatible and capable of working seamlessly with modern and legacy systems in different network environments. The receiver within the UE reading can be designed to control the operation of a hybrid FDD / TDD network without the need for an additional UL receiver. The centralized control of the network node can ensure precise management of the UL power and timing of A-IoT devices to optimize network performance and reduce interference. Additionally, the UE reading can be regarded as an intermediary to send information between the network node and A-IoT devices for coordinated management and control within the communication network.

[0122] The above-described operational implementation among the UE reading, A-IoT devices, and network node within the communication network can seamlessly combine the advantages of FDD and TDD to ensure efficient communication and resource utilization within the heterogeneous network framework.

[0123] Figure 25A - Figure 25B An example scenario 2500 of a band aggregation process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 2500 involves at least one reading device (e.g., UE or UE reading), at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring Figure 25A - Figure 25B , the UE reading can initiate a band aggregation process to establish a robust connection with the network node and A-IoT devices. The UE reading can select the best communication frequency band. The network node can send power control commands to manage interference and ensure optimal signal strength. The UE reading can adjust its transmission power for TDD communication to align with the power control. The UE reading can request a handover to a TDD cell. The network node can determine the necessity of the handover based on the movement of the UE reading. The network node can indicate (or command) the handover and synchronize the timing to prevent signal conflicts and interference.

[0124] After the UE reading confirms the handover, the UE reading can continuously perform communications within the TDD cell. The network node can perform a seamless transition between the FDD and TDD cells. The network node can allocate time and frequency resources for the A-IoT devices to optimize network performance. The UE reading can communicate with the A-IoT devices based on the allocated resources. The A-IoT devices can operate according to the parameters configured by the network / UE reading. The A-IoT devices can report UL timing and power to the network node for centralized control of interference management. Finally, the network node can adjust the TDD communication parameters of the UE reading to ensure efficient interaction with the A-IoT devices.

[0125] The band aggregation process can provide a clear and structured representation of the UE read and the signaling and behavior within a heterogeneous network using FDD and TDD technologies by a network node.

[0126] A-IoT devices may be able to backscatter signals and communicate directly with network nodes. However, when an A-IoT device is located indoors, backscattering to a network node may not be applicable.

[0127] Figure 26 An example scenario 2600 of UE read configurations for different communication layers according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 2600 involves a reading device (e.g., a UE or UE read), an A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., a (macro / micro) base station) that may be part of a wireless network (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G / NR network, an IoT network, or a 6G network). Referring Figure 26 , the UE read may be configured to act as a relay in two different communication layers: a layer 3 (L3) relay and a layer 2 (L2) relay. The UE read may include multiple communication layers to perform two-way communication with the network node and the A-IoT device.

[0128] According to a first embodiment where the UE read acts as an L3 relay, the UE read may include an RRC layer, a MAC layer, and a physical (PHY) layer. The RRC layer may be configured to manage high-level protocol functions, such as connection establishment, maintenance, and mobility management between the UE read and the network node, but the present disclosure should not be limited thereto. The MAC layer and the PHY layer may be used to communicate with the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device may include corresponding MAC and PHY layers, but not an RRC layer. The UE read may perform DL and UL transmissions with the network node and act as an intermediary to transfer information between the network node and the A-IoT device.

[0129] According to a second embodiment where the UE read acts as an L2 relay, the UE read may only include the MAC layer and the PHY layer for communication. The configuration may simplify the relay role of the UE read and focus on communication for data link and physical transmission. The network node may send commands to the A-IoT device through the UE read. That is, the UE read may receive commands from the network node through the MAC layer and the PHY layer and send commands to the A-IoT device. The communication between the UE read and the network node may also be performed through the MAC layer and the PHY layer with the intervention of high-level processing.

[0130] In both of these embodiments, UE read can be regarded as a relay for communication between a network node and an A-IoT device. The difference between the two relay embodiments is the communication layer used by UE read for communication. In the L3 relay embodiment, UE read can handle more complex interactions with the network node. In the L2 relay embodiment, UE read can focus on data link layer functions (e.g., frame processing and error detection) and physical layer functions (e.g., signal transmission and reception).

[0131] The different embodiments of UE read in a communication network can be selected according to communication requirements and the capabilities of A-IoT devices. This adaptability can ensure the efficient utilization of network resources and compatibility with A-IoT devices with different communication stack complexities.

[0132] Figure 27A - Figure 27B An example scenario 2700 of the communication flow 2700 for different communication layers according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 2700 involves at least one reading device (e.g., UE or UE read), at least one A-IoT device, and a network node (e.g., (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring to Figure 27A - Figure 27B , a message sequence exchanged between UE read, the network node, and the A-IoT device under L3 and L2 relay configurations is shown. UE read can be regarded as a relay. UE read can adaptively select an operation mode (e.g., L2 relay configuration or L3 relay configuration) according to the requirements of the network and the capabilities of the A-IoT device. As Figure 27A - Figure 27B shown, the interactions and processes of the communication flow can enable UE read to perform efficient and compatible communication within the A-IoT communication system. UE read can send an L3 relay connection request to the network node to establish an L3 relay connection. The network node can evaluate the parameters of the connection request and send a connection establishment confirmation back to UE read. Then UE read can initiate RRC layer functions. UE read can relay DL commands from the network node to the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device can process the DL commands and send UL information to UE read. UE read can relay the UL information to the network node for efficient and compatible communication within the A-IoT communication system. For the L2 relay configuration, UE read can send an L2 relay connection request to the network node to establish an L2 relay connection with the network node. In addition, in addition to performing operations similar to those under the L3 relay configuration described above, after receiving the connection establishment confirmation, UE read can bypass the RRC layer functions.

[0133] It may not be clear how A-IoT devices collect energy. Before the preamble, a continuous waveform or carrier waveform (CW) that facilitates better energy accumulation may be necessary to optimize device activation and ensure continuous operation within the A-IoT communication system.

[0134] Figure 28 An example scenario 2800 of different communication formats according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 2800 involves an A-IoT device and a reading device (e.g., a network node or a UE). As Figure 28 shown, two communication formats between the reading device (e.g., network node or UE reading) and the A-IoT device are shown. In the example, the reading device may use communication format 1 to provide energy and a message to the A-IoT device. In another example, the reading device may use communication format 2 to provide a message to the A-IoT device, and another carrier source may provide a carrier waveform to the A-IoT device for charging. The reading device and the carrier source may be controlled by the network node to prevent interference. For example, the carrier source may broadcast a carrier waveform within the T / F resources configured by the network node using the UL frequency (or UL spectrum).

[0135] Communication format 1 may be an integrated communication structure. Communication format 1 may include four components: a carrier, a preamble, a command, and a CRC. In the example, the carrier may include a duration of 400 microseconds (us) and serve as an energy source. The A-IoT device may collect (or obtain) the necessary energy from the carrier for activation. The preamble may follow the carrier. The A-IoT device may use the preamble for synchronization. The command may include broadcast query information from the reading device. The A-IoT device may obtain the basic instructions required for response from the command, e.g., the T / F resources or the ID of the UE reading. Additionally, the reading device may append a CRC for error checking, and the A-IoT device may use the CRC for error detection and error correction.

[0136] Communication format 2 may not include a carrier component. Communication format 2 may only include a preamble, a command, and a CRC. Communication format 2 may be used when the A-IoT device does not require an RF charging signal, or when the A-IoT device may have other energy sources.

[0137] Figure 28Two communication strategies between a reading device and an A-IoT device can be shown. The first strategy can involve communication format 1. In the first strategy, the reading device can directly provide energy and messages to the A-IoT device. The second strategy can involve communication format 2. In the second strategy, the reading device can only send messages to the A-IoT device, while a separate carrier source can provide a carrier waveform for the A-IoT device to charge. To avoid interference, the reading device and the carrier source can be coordinated by a network node. For example, the carrier source can use the UL frequency (or UL spectrum) to broadcast the carrier waveform within the T / F resources allocated by the network node. The coordination can ensure that the A-IoT device can receive energy and information without signal conflicts.

[0138] Figure 29A - Figure 29B An example scenario 2900 of the communication process for different communication formats according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 2900 involves a reading device (e.g., a UE, UE reader, or network node), an A-IoT device, a carrier source, and a network node (e.g., a (macro / micro) base station) that can be part of a wireless network (e.g., an LTE network, 5G / NR network, IoT network, or 6G network). Referring to Figure 29A - Figure 29B , two DL communication formats can be used between the reading device and the A-IoT device. For communication format 1, the reading device can directly provide energy to the A-IoT device through a carrier signal. The IoT device collects energy from the carrier for activation. The reading device can also send a preamble for synchronization to the A-IoT device. Then the IoT device can synchronize with the reading device based on the preamble. The reading device can also send (or broadcast) a command including basic information (e.g., T / F resources, reading ID) for the response of the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device can decode the command and prepare a response based on the basic information. The reading device can also send (or append) a CRC for error checking.

[0139] For communication format 2, a separate carrier source can provide a carrier waveform for the A-IoT device to charge, while the reading device can only send a preamble, command, and CRC to the A-IoT device. The network node can coordinate the reading device and the carrier source to prevent interference, ensuring that the A-IoT device can receive the necessary information and energy without conflicts. The reading device can send a preamble for synchronization, and the A-IoT device can use the preamble to synchronize without an RF charging signal. The reading device can also broadcast a command including time-frequency resources, reading ID, etc. The A-IoT device can decode the command to obtain the basic instructions required for the response. In addition, the reading device can append a CRC for error checking, and the A-IoT device can use the CRC for error detection and error correction.

[0140] Figure 30An example scenario 3000 of a frame structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 3000 involves A-IoT devices (e.g., A-IoT tags), DL data sources, DL energy sources, and UL carrier sources, where the DL data source and the DL energy source can be reading devices (e.g., UE reading or network nodes). As Figure 30 shown, the frame structure can include four cases for performing battery charging through a charging signal (CS). The CS can vary from a single-tone signal with different complexities to a multi-tone signal. For DL data transmission, the frame structure can be similar to the signal format of RFID, including a preamble for synchronization, a data payload, and a CRC for error checking. UL data transmission can be performed through CW suitable for backscattering. The CW can also include single-tone and multi-tone.

[0141] The frame structure can provide specific waveforms for each function to improve performance. However, for system simplification requirements, shared waveforms and frame structures can be used to perform multiple functions. In the frame structure, a single signal can be optimized for the corresponding task, or a common signal (e.g., a carrier or a preamble) can be used to simultaneously handle energy transfer and data synchronization.

[0142] Figure 30 The design cases shown in can consider the dual use of signals. In the example, as shown in Case 1, the CS can be used for DL energy charging. In addition, the CW can be regarded as a UL carrier. In the example, as shown in Case 2, the CW can be used for DL energy transmission and regarded as a UL carrier. In another example, as shown in Case 3, the preamble can be used for charging and synchronizing DL data. In addition, the CW can be regarded as a UL carrier. In addition, as shown in Case 4, the preamble can also be used for DL data, UL carrier, and DL charging to simplify the frame structure.

[0143] Figure 31 An example scenario 3100 of an operation sequence related to an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 3100 involves an A-IoT device (e.g., an A-IoT tag), a DL data source, a DL energy source, and a UL carrier source. As shown in Figure 3100, in the operation sequence (or operation timeline), the A-IoT device can receive a charging signal (CS) to obtain the energy required for its function. When the A-IoT device is fully charged, it can start monitoring the preamble signal to perform time and frequency synchronization, thereby ensuring that the A-IoT device can accurately interpret the incoming data.

[0144] After synchronization, the A-IoT device can demodulate the data payload, which includes the main content of the communication allocated to the A-IoT device. After demodulation, the A-IoT device may check the CRC to ensure data integrity and detect any transmission errors.

[0145] If the received payload indicates that UL transmission is required, the A-IoT device may perform UL backscattering. In an embodiment, the A-IoT device can use CW to modulate and reflect its own data back to the reading device (e.g., UE reading or network node) to complete the communication cycle. The operation sequence from energy charging to UL communication (i.e., UL backscattering) can include all activities of the A-IoT device in the communication session.

[0146] Figure 32 An example scenario 3200 of different configuration strategies according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 3200 involves an A-IoT device (e.g., A-IoT tag), a DL data source, a DL energy source, and a UL carrier source. As Figure 32 shown, different strategies for configuring (or deploying) the sources of DL data, UL carrier, and DL energy in the A-IoT network are shown. Figure 32 Different configurations (locations) of the above sources can be provided to optimize interface efficiency and spectrum resource utilization.

[0147] In an ideal configuration (deployment) scenario, the DL data source, the UL carrier source, and the DL energy source can be allocated at different locations to reduce interference between different types of signals and better utilize the available spectrum.

[0148] In an example, as shown in Case 1, a simpler configuration method can involve colocating all sources, and all sources can share a location. This configuration can have a straightforward setup, but there may be higher signal interference and lower spectrum utilization efficiency.

[0149] In another example, as shown in Cases 2-4, one of the sources (e.g., DL energy source, UL carrier source, or DL data source) can be independently located. Each configuration can have its own advantages and challenges based on network performance.

[0150] The analysis of the configuration strategy may focus on practical impacts, such as the design of the communication frame allocated to the A-IoT device, the allocation and management of radio resources, and the method of managing potential interference. The most effective and practical configuration strategy may be determined for applying the A-IoT device to the communication network to ensure reliable communication and maintain a manageable level of network complexity.

[0151] Figure 33Another example scenario 3300 showing an operation sequence related to an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 3300 involves an A-IoT device (e.g., an A-IoT tag), a DL data source, a DL energy source, and a UL carrier source. As Figure 33 shown, a forward error correction (FEC) method can be used in an RFID system (e.g., an A-IoT system). Compared with CRC, although FEC can increase complexity and data payload, FEC can reduce unnecessary retransmissions by directly correcting certain errors.

[0152] The CRC method can be straightforward. In the CRC method, a checksum can be generated from the data using a polynomial formula. If the checksum at the receiving end does not match, it means an error has occurred. However, the CRC method can stop at error detection. That is, the CRC method may not provide a solution for error correction. Therefore, it may be necessary to retransmit the data to overcome the detected error.

[0153] The FEC method (e.g., Hamming code) can provide a more proactive approach. In the FEC method, additional redundant bits can be incorporated into the data to allow for error detection and error correction to be enabled. The immediate correction ability of FEC can reduce the latency and payload caused by retransmissions.

[0154] Compared with the CRC method, the FEC method can have higher complexity, but it can reduce latency based on its error correction ability. Therefore, even if the data payload can increase in the FEC method, reducing retransmissions can achieve a more efficient overall communication system.

[0155] Figure 34A - Figure 34B An example scenario 3400 of the communication process of an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 3400 involves an A-IoT device (e.g., an A-IoT tag), a DL data source, a DL energy source, and a UL carrier source. As Figure 34A - Figure 34BAs shown, the communication process may include an operation of sending a dedicated frame structure request from the A-IoT device to the DL data source. Then, the DL data source may determine the optimal frame structure for DL data transmission. The communication process may also include an operation of sending new downlink control information (DCI) with the frame structure for DL data from the DL data source to the A-IoT device. Then, the A-IoT device may process the DCI and prepare to receive DL data. The communication process may also include an operation of broadcasting the CS for battery charging from the DL energy source. Then, the A-IoT device may identify the CS and initiate battery charging. The communication process may also include an operation of sending an acknowledgement of the DCI from the A-IoT device to the DL data source and preparing to receive DL data. Then, the DL data source may schedule DL data transmission based on the acknowledgement. The communication process may also include an operation of the DL data source sending DL data with a preamble for synchronization and sending a CRC for error detection. Then, the A-IoT device may synchronize according to the preamble and check for errors according to the CRC. The communication process may also include an operation of the UL carrier source managing the UL carrier for backscattering. Then, the A-IoT device may use CW for UL data transmission (single tone / multi-tone). The communication process may also include an operation of adapting a new frame structure for operation. Then, the DL data source may ensure dynamic configuration and scheduling for the A-IoT device. The communication process may also include an operation of sending backscattered UL data to the UL carrier source via CW. Then, the UL carrier source may receive the UL data and manage UL spectrum resources. The communication process may also include an operation of evaluating error detection and correction strategies (e.g., simple FEC or CRC). Then, the A-IoT device may implement FEC for error correction to reduce retransmissions. The correction strategy may include using a simple FEC method to minimize retransmissions and optimize system efficiency. Figure 34A - Figure 34B The communication process may focus on battery charging, DL data transmission, and UL data transmission within the A-IoT frame structure.

[0156] Figure 35A - Figure 35B Another example scenario 3500 of the A-IoT device communication process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 3500 involves an A-IoT device (e.g., an A-IoT tag), a DL data source, a DL energy source, and a UL carrier source. As Figure 35A - Figure 35BAs shown, the communication process may include encoding a DCI message with the A-IoT format by a DL data source, and transmitting the DCI message with the A-IoT format on a PDCCH that may include a demodulation reference signal (DMRS). The A-IoT device may decode information (e.g., DMRS, DCI format, and instructions in the DCI message) for A-IoT specific operations or A-IoT operations, and send an acknowledgment or a scheduling request to the DL data source. The DL data source may schedule A-IoT specific operations according to the capabilities of the A-IoT device to ensure efficient use of resources for A-IoT operations, and notify the DL energy source and the UL carrier source respectively about the scheduling of the charging of the A-IoT device and the UL transmission. Then, the DL energy source may prepare for the charging session of the A-IoT device, and the UL carrier source may prepare for the UL transmission of the A-IoT device. The DL energy source may broadcast a CS for battery charging to the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device may receive the CS and accumulate energy. The UL carrier source may provide a CW for backscattering by the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device may use the CW for UL data transmission to complete the communication cycle. The A-IoT device may backscatter UL data to the UL carrier source using the CW. The UL carrier source may receive the UL data and manage UL spectrum resources. Figure 35A - Figure 35B The communication process can focus on A-IoT specific operations and coordination among different sources to ensure efficient use of resources and communication.

[0157] Figure 36 Another example scenario 3600 of the communication process of an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 3600 involves an A-IoT device (e.g., an A-IoT tag), a DL data source, a DL energy source, and a UL carrier source. As Figure 36As shown, the UL power control process can be applied to the A-IoT system. In the communication process, the DL data source can transmit (or send) power control commands to the A-IoT device. Then, the A-IoT device can measure the charging power received from the DL energy source and the CW power received from the UL carrier source for charging and backscattering. The A-IoT device can evaluate the power levels for charging and backscattering. The A-IoT device can adjust its transmission power according to the new A-IoT power control rules to ensure the optimal transmission power for A-IoT operations and report the received power levels to the DL data source. The DL data source can receive the power level reports and use (or implement) new power control algorithms to manage the transmission power of the A-IoT device. The DL data source can also monitor and adjust the power of the charging signal to optimize the operation of the DL energy source (i.e., optimize the charging operation of the A-IoT device). The DL data source can also monitor and adjust the CW to optimize the operation of the UL carrier source (i.e., optimize the CW power for backscattering). Figure 36 The communication process can focus on A-IoT specific power control and coordination between different sources to ensure effective power management and device operation.

[0158] Figure 37 Another example scenario 3700 of the communication process of the A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Scenario 3700 involves an A-IoT device (e.g., an A-IoT tag), a DL data source, a DL energy source, and a UL carrier source. As Figure 37 shown, the UL carrier source can provide CW for the UL transmission of the A-IoT device. In the communication process, CW may be required for backscattering. The communication process can start with scheduling DL data DL transmission and charging from the DL data source and ensure no interference between the two signals (i.e., data and charging signals). The DL data source can send DL data to the A-IoT device in a unified or dedicated frame structure. Then, the A-IoT device can detect and decode the DL data. The DL energy source can send a charging signal to the A-IoT device. Then, the A-IoT device can detect and decode the charging signal. The A-IoT device can manage its operation mode based on the type of the received DL signal (or DL data) and switch between data reception and charging. The A-IoT device can also confirm the successful reception of DL data. The A-IoT device can also indicate to the DL data source to start or stop charging. The UL carrier source can provide CW for the UL transmission of the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device can perform UL backscattering using the CW. The A-IoT device can backscatter UL data to the UL carrier source using the CW. The UL carrier source can receive the UL data and manage the UL spectrum resources. Figure 37The communication process can focus on A-IoT specific channel access and coordination between different sources to ensure effective data transmission, energy management, and UL communication.

[0159] Figure 38 FIG. 3800 shows another exemplary scenario of the communication process of an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 3800 involves an A-IoT device (e.g., an A-IoT tag), a DL data source, a DL energy source, and a UL carrier source. As Figure 38 shown, the UL carrier source can send a CW for UL backscattering to the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device can receive the CW and use the CW to backscatter a signal with encoded UL data to the UL carrier resource. The UL carrier source can detect and decode the backscattered signal. The DL data source can schedule the CW transmission for UL backscattering according to the energy state of the A-IoT device. The UL carrier source can manage the CW transmission schedule. The A-IoT device can manage its UL transmission according to the schedule of the DL data source and the available energy provided by the DL energy source to optimize the energy efficiency of the UL transmission. The DL energy source can provide energy for backscattering to the A-IoT device. Then, the A-IoT device can accumulate energy for UL transmission. The DL data source can receive the relayed backscattered signal from the UL carrier source and detect and decode the backscattered signal from the A-IoT device. Then, the DL data source can process the UL data from the A-IoT device. Figure 38 The communication process can focus on A-IoT specific channel access and coordination between different sources to ensure efficient UL communication and energy management.

[0160] Figure 39A - Figure 39B FIG. 3900 shows the communication process of an A-IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 3900 involves an A-IoT device (e.g., an A-IoT tag), a DL data source, a DL energy source, and a UL carrier source. As Figure 39A - Figure 39BAs shown, the UL carrier source can schedule the UL backscattering CW and send the CW to the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device can receive the CW and use the CW to backscatter a signal with encoded UL data to the UL carrier source. Then, the UL carrier source can detect and decode the backscattered signal. The DL data source can schedule the CW transmission for UL backscattering according to the energy state of the A-IoT device. The UL carrier source manages the CW transmission schedule. The A-IoT device can manage its UL transmission according to the schedule of the DL data source and the available energy provided by the DL energy source for reflection to optimize the energy efficiency of the UL transmission. The DL energy source can provide the energy for backscattering to the A-IoT device. Then, the A-IoT device can accumulate energy for UL transmission. The DL data source can receive the relayed backscattered signal from the UL carrier source, as well as detect and decode the backscattered signal from the A-IoT device. Then, the DL data source can process the UL data from the A-IoT device. The DL data source can also confirm the successful reception of the UL data. The A-IoT device can receive the confirmation of the UL transmission and an indication of the completion of the UL transmission. The DL data source can confirm the end of the UL activity. The DL data source and the UL carrier source can cooperate to optimize the spectrum resources. The UL carrier source can adjust the CW transmission. Figure 39A - Figure 39B The communication process in Figure 39A - Figure 39B can focus on A-IoT specific channel access and coordination between different sources to ensure the efficiency of UL communication and energy management.

[0161] Figure 40 Fig. 4000 shows an example scenario of the communication process of different communication formats according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Scenario 4000 involves an A-IoT device (e.g., an A-IoT tag), a DL data source, a DL energy source, and a UL carrier source. As Figure 40 shown, the A-IoT device can report its capabilities to the DL data source. The DL data source can confirm these capabilities and configure the network to support these capabilities. The DL data source can query the A-IoT device for additional capabilities. The A-IoT device can respond with the additional capabilities. Based on the energy reception capability of the A-IoT device, the DL data source can configure the DL energy source to adjust the charging signal. The DL energy source can adjust the charging signal according to the configuration. The DL data source can also configure the UL carrier source based on the channel access method of the A-IoT device to provide a CW that matches the reflection capability of the A-IoT device. The UL carrier source can adapt and adjust the carrier waveform attributes for the backscattering of the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device can adapt and adjust its operation according to the negotiated capabilities. The DL data source can ensure that the network operation supports the capabilities of the A-IoT device. The DL energy source and the UL carrier source can coordinate with the DL data source to optimize the energy transmission and channel access to ensure the efficient operation of the A-IoT system.

[0162] Example Embodiment

[0163] Figure 41 An example communication system 4100 is shown that includes at least an example communication device 4110 and an example network device 4120 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Each of the communication device 4110 and the network device 4120 can perform various functions to implement the solutions, techniques, processes, and methods related to IoT signal transmission described herein, including the various proposed designs, concepts, solutions, and methods described above, as well as the solutions related to user equipment and network devices in mobile communication, including the above scenarios / solutions and the processes 4200 and 4300 described below.

[0164] The communication device 4110 can be part of an electronic device, which can be a UE, for example, a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, the communication device 4110 can be implemented in a smart phone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, an electronic control unit (ECU) in a vehicle, a digital camera, or a computing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a notebook computer. The communication device 4110 can also be part of a machine type device, which can be an IoT, NB-IoT, eMTC, IIoT UE such as a fixed or stationary device, a home device, a roadside unit (RSU), a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, the communication device 4110 can be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. Alternatively, the communication device 4110 can be implemented in the form of one or more integrated-circuit (IC) chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors. The communication device 4110 can include Figure 41 at least some of the components shown, such as a processor 4112. The communication device 4110 can also include one or more other components (e.g., an internal power supply, a display device, and / or a user interface device) that are not relevant to the solutions proposed in the present invention, and thus, for simplicity and conciseness, such components of the communication device 4110 are neither shown Figure 41 nor described below.

[0165] The network device 4120 can be part of an electronic device, which can be a network node such as a satellite, a base station, a small cell, a router, or a gateway of an IoT network. For example, the network device 4120 can be implemented in a satellite or in an eNB / gNB / TRP in a 4G / 5G / B5G / 6G, NR, IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT network. Alternatively, the network device 4120 can be implemented in the form of one or more IC chips, such as but not limited to one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more RISC or CISC processors. The network device 4120 can include Figure 41 at least some of those components shown, e.g., the processor 4122. The network device 4120 can also include one or more other components (e.g., an internal power supply, a display device, and / or a user interface device) that are not relevant to the proposed solution of the present invention, and thus, for simplicity and conciseness, such components of the network device 4120 are neither shown in Figure 41 nor described below.

[0166] In one aspect, each of the processors 4112 and 4122 can be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, although the singular term "processor" is used herein to refer to the processors 4112 and 4122, according to the present invention, in some embodiments, each of the processors 4112 and 4122 can include multiple processors, while in other embodiments, it can include a single processor. In another aspect, each of the processors 4112 and 4122 can be implemented in the form of hardware (and optionally firmware) having electronic components, the electronic components including, for example but not limited to, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors, and / or one or more varactors, which are configured and arranged to implement a specific purpose according to the present invention. In other words, in at least some embodiments, each of the processors 4112 and 4122 is a dedicated machine specifically designed, set up, and configured to perform specific tasks, the specific tasks including IoT signal transmission in devices (e.g., represented by the communication device 4110) and networks (e.g., represented by the network device 4120) according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0167] In some embodiments, the communication device 4110 may further include a transceiver 4116 coupled to the processor 4112. The transceiver 4116 is capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the transceiver 4116 may be capable of wireless communication with different types of UEs and / or wireless networks of different radio access technologies (RATs). In some embodiments, the transceiver 4116 may be equipped with a plurality of antenna ports (not shown), for example, four antenna ports. That is, the transceiver 4116 may be equipped with a plurality of transmit antennas and a plurality of receive antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication.

[0168] In some embodiments, the network device 4120 may further include a transceiver 4126 coupled to the processor 4122. The transceiver 4126 is capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the transceiver 4126 may be capable of wireless communication with different types of UEs and / or wireless networks of different RATs. In some embodiments, the transceiver 4126 may be equipped with a plurality of antenna ports (not shown), for example, four antenna ports. That is, the transceiver 4126 may be equipped with a plurality of transmit antennas and a plurality of receive antennas for MIMO wireless communication.

[0169] In some embodiments, the communication device 4110 may further include a memory 4114 coupled to the processor 4112 and accessible by the processor 4112 for storing data therein. In some embodiments, the network device 4120 may further include a memory 4124 coupled to the processor 4122 and accessible by the processor 4122 for storing data therein. Each of the memories 4114 and 4124 may be of the random access memory (RAM) type, such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and / or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively, each of the memories 4114 and 4124 may include a read-only memory (ROM) type, such as mask ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), and / or electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM). Alternatively, each of the memories 4114 and 4124 may include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) type, such as flash memory, solid-state memory, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and / or phase change memory.

[0170] Each of the communication device 4110 and the network device 4120 can be a communication entity capable of communicating using various solutions of the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes and without limitation, the capabilities of the communication device 4110 as a UE and the network device 4120 as a network node (e.g., a TRP) are described below in conjunction with processes 4200 and 4300.

[0171] Example process

[0172] Figure 42 FIG. 4200 shows an example process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Process 4200 can be an example embodiment of the above-described scenario / solution, whether in part or in whole, regarding the IoT signal transmission of the present disclosure. Process 4200 can represent an aspect of an embodiment of the functional characteristics of the communication device 4110. Process 4200 can include one or more operations, actions, or functions shown as one or more blocks 4210 and 4220. Although shown as discrete blocks, depending on the required embodiment, the various blocks of process 4200 can be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or deleted. In addition, the blocks of process 4200 can be executed in the Figure 33 order shown, or in a different order. Process 4200 can be implemented by the communication device 4110 or any suitable reading device. For illustrative purposes and without limitation, process 4200 is described below in the context of the communication device 4110. Process 4200 can start at block 4210.

[0173] In block 4210, process 4200 can involve the processor 4112 of the communication device 4110 sending a message to the IoT device via the transceiver 4116 at an in-band frequency or a guard band frequency in the spectrum for OFDM, where the start of the transmission is aligned with the boundary of the OFDM symbol of the OFDM signal. Process 4200 can continue from block 4210 to block 4220.

[0174] In block 4220, process 4200 can involve the processor 4112 receiving the backscattered IoT signal from the IoT device via the transceiver 4116 at an in-band frequency or a guard band frequency.

[0175] In some embodiments, the in-band frequency is configured for UL transmission or DL transmission of the OFDM signal.

[0176] In some embodiments, the guard band frequency is configured between two OFDM signals.

[0177] In some embodiments, the IoT guard band is configured between the OFDM signal and the IoT signal.

[0178] In some embodiments, process 4200 may involve the processor 4112 sending a carrier waveform to the IoT device via the transceiver 4116, where the carrier waveform is configured to provide energy to the IoT device.

[0179] In some embodiments, the carrier waveform is transmitted in at least one of the UL spectrum and the DL spectrum for an OFDM signal, and the carrier waveform is transmitted within the OFDM system in the DL spectrum, or the carrier waveform is transmitted within the OFDM system in the UL spectrum, or the carrier waveform is transmitted outside the OFDM system in the UL spectrum.

[0180] In some embodiments, the carrier waveform may be transmitted via the carrier resources of a message or via another carrier resource.

[0181] Figure 43 An example process 4300 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Process 4300 may be an example implementation of the above scenario / scheme, whether in part or in whole, with respect to the IoT signal transmission of the present disclosure. Process 4300 may represent an aspect of an implementation of the functional characteristics of the communication device 4110. Process 4300 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as shown by one or more blocks 4310 and 4320. Although shown as discrete blocks, depending on the desired implementation, the various blocks of process 4300 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or deleted. In addition, the blocks of process 4300 may be executed in the Figure 33 order shown, or in a different order. Process 4300 may be implemented by the communication device 4110 or any suitable reading device. For illustrative purposes only and without limitation, process 4300 is described below in the context of the communication device 4110. Process 4300 may begin at block 4310.

[0182] Figure 43 An example process 4300 in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Process 4300 may be an example implementation of the above scenario / scheme, whether in part or in whole, with respect to the IoT signal transmission of the present disclosure. Process 4300 may represent an aspect of an implementation of the characteristics of the communication device 4110. Process 4300 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as shown by one or more blocks 4310 and 4320. Although shown as discrete blocks, the various blocks of process 4300 may be divided into more blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated depending on the desired implementation. In addition, the blocks of process 4300 may be arranged in accordance with Figure 43The steps shown are performed in the order presented, or, alternatively, may be performed in a different order. Process 4300 may be implemented by communication device 4110 or any suitable IoT device. For illustrative purposes only and without limitation, process 4300 is described below in the context of communication device 4110. Process 4300 may begin at block 4310.

[0183] In block 4310, process 4300 may involve processor 4112 of communication device 4110 receiving a message from a reading device via transceiver 4116, over an in-band frequency or a guard-band frequency in the spectrum of an OFDM signal, where the start of the reception is aligned with the boundary of an OFDM symbol of the OFDM signal. Process 4300 may continue from block 4310 to block 4320.

[0184] In block 4320, process 4300 may involve processor 4112 performing backscatter transmission over an in-band frequency or a guard-band frequency to send a backscattered IoT signal to the reading device.

[0185] In some embodiments, process 4300 may involve processor 4112 receiving a carrier waveform from the reading device via transceiver 4116, where the carrier waveform is used to provide energy to the IoT device.

[0186] In some embodiments, the carrier waveform is transmitted in at least one of the UL spectrum and the DL spectrum of the OFDM signal, and the carrier waveform is received within the system of the OFDM signal in the DL spectrum, or the carrier waveform is received within the system of the OFDM signal in the UL spectrum, or the carrier waveform is received outside the system of the OFDM signal in the UL spectrum.

[0187] Additional Notes

[0188] The subject matter described herein sometimes shows different components contained within or connected to different other components. It should be understood that such described architectures are merely examples, and in fact, many other architectures with the same functionality can be implemented. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components that achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Thus, any two components combined herein to achieve a particular function can be considered to be "associated" with each other such that the required functionality is achieved, regardless of the architecture or intermediate components. Similarly, any two components so associated can also be considered to be "operatively connected" or "operatively coupled" to each other to achieve the required functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be considered to be "operatively coupled" to each other to achieve the required functionality. Specific examples of operatively coupled include, but are not limited to, physically mating and / or physically interacting components and / or wirelessly interacting and / or wirelessly interactive components and / or logically interacting and / or logically interactive components.

[0189] Moreover, regarding the use of substantially any plural and / or singular terms herein, those skilled in the art can appropriately convert from plural to singular and / or from singular to plural according to the context and / or application. For clarity, various singular / plural permutations may be explicitly set forth herein.

[0190] In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that, generally speaking, the terms used herein, particularly the terms used in the appended claims, such as the subject matter of the appended claims, are generally intended to be "open" terms. For example, the term "comprising" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to", the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least", and the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to". Those skilled in the art will further understand that if a specific number of introduced claim recitations is desired, such an intention will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such a recitation, there is no such intention. For example, for the purpose of assisting understanding, the following appended claims may include the use of introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed as implying that a claim recitation introduced by the indefinite article "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to an embodiment containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrase "one or more" or "at least one", and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an", e.g., "a" and / or "an", should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"; the same applies to the use of definite articles introducing claim recitations. In addition, even if the specific number of introduced claim recitations is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such a recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number. For example, a bare recitation of "two recitations" without any other modifiers means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations. In addition, in those cases, the convention is similar to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc.". Generally, in the sense understood by those skilled in the art of the convention, using such a construction, e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" will include, but not be limited to, systems having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc. In those cases where the convention is similar to "at least one of A, B, or C". Generally, such a construction is intended to be used in the sense understood by those skilled in the art of the convention. For example, "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" will include, but not be limited to, systems having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together. Those skilled in the art will further understand that, whether in the specification, the claims, or the drawings, any disjunctive word and / or phrase that actually presents two or more alternative terms should be understood to cover the possibility of including one of the terms, any one of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B".

[0191] From the above, it will be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention have been described for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, and the true scope and spirit are indicated by the claims.

Claims

1. A method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication, characterized in that: include: Sending, by a processor of the reading device, a message to an IoT device via an in-band frequency or a guard band frequency in a spectrum for an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signal, wherein the start of the transmission is aligned with a boundary of an OFDM symbol of the OFDM signal; and The processor receives a backscattered IoT signal from the IoT device via the in-band frequency or the guard band frequency.

2. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that: The in-band frequency configuration is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission of the OFDM signal.

3. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guard band frequency is arranged between two OFDM signals.

4. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that: The IoT guard band is configured between the OFDM signal and the IoT signal.

5. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that: Further including: The processor sends a carrier waveform to the IoT device, wherein the carrier waveform is configured to provide energy to the IoT device.

6. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 5, characterized in that: The carrier waveform is transmitted in at least one of an uplink spectrum and a downlink spectrum for the OFDM signal, and wherein the carrier waveform is transmitted within the system of the OFDM signal in the downlink spectrum, or the carrier waveform is transmitted within the system of the OFDM signal in the uplink spectrum, or the carrier waveform is transmitted outside the system of the OFDM signal in the uplink spectrum.

7. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 5, characterized in that: The carrier waveform is transmitted via the carrier resource of the message or via another carrier resource.

8. A method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication, characterized in that: include: A processor of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, receiving a message from a reading device via an in-band frequency or a guard band frequency in a spectrum for an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signal, wherein the start of the reception is aligned with a boundary of an OFDM symbol of the OFDM signal; as well as The processor performs backscatter transmission via the in-band frequency or the guard band frequency to send a backscattered IoT signal to the reading device.

9. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 8, characterized in that: The in-band frequency configuration is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission of the OFDM signal.

10. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 8, characterized in that: The guard band frequency is arranged between two OFDM signals.

11. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 8, characterized in that: The IoT guard band frequency is configured between the OFDM signal and the IoT signal.

12. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 8, characterized in that: Further including: The processor receives a carrier waveform from the reading device, wherein the carrier waveform is used to provide energy to the IoT device.

13. The method for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 12, characterized in that: The carrier waveform is received in at least one of an uplink spectrum and a downlink spectrum for the OFDM signal, and wherein the carrier waveform is received inside the system of the OFDM signal in the downlink spectrum, or the carrier waveform is received inside the system of the OFDM signal in the uplink spectrum, or the carrier waveform is received outside the system of the OFDM signal in the uplink spectrum.

14. A device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication, characterized in that: include: a transceiver that, during operation, wirelessly communicates with at least one wireless network node of the wireless network; as well as A processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver such that during operation the processor performs operations including: Transmitting a message to an IoT device via the transceiver at an in-band frequency or a guard band frequency in a spectrum for an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signal, wherein the start of the transmission is aligned with a boundary of an OFDM symbol of the OFDM signal; and A backscattered IoT signal is received from an IoT device via the transceiver via the in-band frequency or the guard band frequency.

15. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 14, characterized in that: The in-band frequency configuration is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission of the OFDM signal.

16. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 14, characterized in that: The guard band frequency is arranged between two OFDM signals.

17. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 14, characterized in that: The IoT guard band is configured between the OFDM signal and the IoT signal.

18. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 14, characterized in that: The processor is further configured to perform operations comprising: A carrier waveform is transmitted to the IoT device via the transceiver, wherein the carrier waveform is configured to provide energy to the IoT device.

19. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 18, characterized in that: The carrier waveform is transmitted in at least one of an uplink spectrum and a downlink spectrum for the OFDM signal, and wherein the carrier waveform is transmitted within the system of the OFDM signal in the downlink spectrum, or the carrier waveform is transmitted within the system of the OFDM signal in the uplink spectrum, or the carrier waveform is transmitted outside the system of the OFDM signal in the uplink spectrum.

20. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 18, characterized in that: The carrier waveform is transmitted via the carrier resource of the message or via another carrier resource.

21. A device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication, characterized in that: include: a transceiver that, during operation, wirelessly communicates with a reader; and A processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver, the processor during operation performing the following operations: receiving, via the transceiver, a message from a reading device at an in-band frequency or a guard band frequency in a spectrum for an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal, wherein the start of the reception is aligned with a boundary of an OFDM symbol of the OFDM signal; as well as Backscatter transmission is performed via the transceiver over the in-band frequency or the guard band frequency to send a backscattered IoT signal to the reading device.

22. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 21, characterized in that: The in-band frequency configuration is used for uplink transmission or downlink transmission of the OFDM signal.

23. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 21, characterized in that: The guard band frequency is arranged between two OFDM signals.

24. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 21, characterized in that: The IoT guard band frequency is configured between the OFDM signal and the IoT signal.

25. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 21, characterized in that: The process further performs the following operations: A carrier waveform is received from the reading device, wherein the carrier waveform is used to provide energy to an IoT device.

26. The device for IoT signal transmission in mobile communication according to claim 25, characterized in that: The carrier waveform is received in at least one of an uplink spectrum and a downlink spectrum for the OFDM signal, and wherein the carrier waveform is received inside the system of the OFDM signal in the downlink spectrum, or the carrier waveform is received inside the system of the OFDM signal in the uplink spectrum, or the carrier waveform is received outside the system of the OFDM signal in the uplink spectrum.

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