Communication method and device

Abstract

Provided are a communication method, relating to the field of communications, the method comprising: sending first capability information, the first capability information being used for indicating the maximum length of a pilot frequency sequence supported by a first communication device when time-frequency transformation is performed on the pilot frequency sequence; a first time domain signal is received through the first channel, the first time domain signal carries a first pilot frequency sequence, the length of the first pilot frequency sequence is smaller than or equal to the maximum length, and the first pilot frequency sequence is used for estimating or measuring the first channel. Based on the scheme, the complexity of channel estimation can be effectively reduced, the improvement of the efficiency of channel estimation or measurement is facilitated, the energy consumption for channel estimation is reduced, and the improvement of the efficiency of charging the communication equipment based on the radio frequency signal is further facilitated.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a communication method and device. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the development of wireless networks and the evolution of service requirements, Internet of Things (IoT) technology is gradually popularized in various fields. Since the number of IoT nodes deployed in the Internet of Things is usually very large, the IoT nodes are usually powered by built-in batteries. However, in order to reduce the deployment cost of the Internet of Things, the IoT nodes are designed to be small in size, so they cannot carry a large-capacity battery, which leads to the problem of short standby life of the IoT nodes.

[0003] Considering that a large number of base stations are deployed in the communication network, and these base stations can emit preset radio frequency signals with corresponding radio frequency energy, emitting the radio frequency signals to the IoT nodes can achieve energy charging of the IoT nodes. In order to improve the energy transmission efficiency, the channel between the base station and the IoT node needs to be estimated before charging the IoT node through the radio frequency signal. However, in the process of channel estimation, the IoT node also needs to consume a certain amount of electric energy, and if the remaining electric energy of the IoT node is small, it may cause the risk of IoT shutdown. Therefore, an efficient and low-power channel estimation and measurement feedback scheme is urgently needed. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and device, which can effectively reduce the complexity of channel estimation, help to increase the efficiency of channel estimation or measurement, and reduce the energy consumption for channel estimation, thereby helping to increase the efficiency of charging the communication device based on the radio frequency signal.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a first communication device, the method comprising: sending first capability information, the first capability information being used to indicate a maximum length of a pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence; receiving a first time-domain signal through a first channel, the first time-domain signal carrying a first pilot sequence, the length of the first pilot sequence being less than or equal to the maximum length, and the first pilot sequence being used to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0006] It should be understood that the stronger the capability of the first communication device to perform time-frequency transformation on the signal indicated by the first capability information, the longer the length of the above-mentioned first pilot sequence.

[0007] For example, when the number of points in the Fourier transform (FT) / fast fourier transform (FFT) / discrete fourier transform (DFT) that the first communication device can perform is L, the length of the first pilot sequence is also L, thereby adapting to the first communication device's ability to perform time-frequency conversion of signals.

[0008] For example, the first time-domain signal mentioned above can be sent directly from the second communication device to the first communication device, or it can be sent indirectly from the second communication device to the first communication device through a relay base station or other relay equipment / devices.

[0009] For example, the first channel mentioned above can be a channel in a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication system.

[0010] Based on the above technical solution, during the channel estimation process, the first communication device segments the first time-domain signal, including the first pilot sequence, from the second communication device, performs time-frequency transformation on the segmented time-domain signals, and performs joint averaging on the transformed multiple frequency-domain signals. This processing not only reduces the complexity of processing the first time-domain signal but also preserves the full-band information corresponding to the first time-domain signal, thereby ensuring the accuracy of channel estimation and improving the efficiency of channel estimation or measurement. Especially in scenarios where the first communication device is charged using wireless energy transfer (WPT) technology, the efficient channel estimation performed by the first communication device helps improve the charging efficiency of the first communication device and also reduces the energy consumption of the first communication device in channel estimation or measurement.

[0011] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the aforementioned time-frequency transformation includes: FT, FFT, or DFT.

[0012] Based on the above technical solution, it can be compatible with various time-frequency transformation application scenarios, thus improving the flexibility and compatibility of this solution.

[0013] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first channel is determined to include L first subcarriers based on the first pilot sequence, where L is a positive integer.

[0014] It should be understood that the first channel includes L first subcarriers, or the subcarrier dimension of the first channel is L.

[0015] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the channel quality corresponding to each of the L first subcarriers is determined; the target frequency point number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality among the L first subcarriers is reported, the target frequency point number is used to instruct the second communication device to send a target radio frequency signal through the target subcarrier, the target radio frequency signal is used to power the first communication device, and the second communication device communicates with the first communication device through the first channel.

[0016] For example, the first communication device can perform a modulo operation on the first channel along the subcarrier dimension, that is, perform a modulo operation on L first subcarriers in the first channel. This modulo operation is used to obtain the energy value corresponding to each first subcarrier, and the magnitude of this energy value is used to indicate the channel quality.

[0017] It should be understood that the frequency point number corresponds to the subcarrier in the channel, so determining the frequency point number allows us to determine the corresponding subcarrier in the channel. Therefore, this frequency point number can correspond to the frequency component mentioned in the previous example.

[0018] Based on the above technical solution, by calculating the channel quality corresponding to multiple first subcarriers in the first channel, and directly reporting the target frequency point number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality to the second communication device, the second communication device can directly determine the target subcarrier used to send the target radio frequency signal to the first communication device. This channel measurement feedback mechanism can not only reduce the complexity of channel measurement, but also effectively reduce the amount of information fed back to the second communication device, thereby reducing the energy consumption of feedback information. Especially in the scenario of charging the first communication device based on WPT technology, it helps to improve the charging efficiency of the first communication device.

[0019] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a second communication device, the method comprising: receiving first capability information; and communicating with a first communication device according to the first capability information, wherein the first capability information is used to indicate the maximum length of the pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence.

[0020] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, an initial time-domain signal is sent to the first communication device through the first channel. The initial time-domain signal carries an initial pilot sequence, and the length of the initial pilot sequence is less than or equal to the maximum length.

[0021] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the initial pilot sequence is used to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0022] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, a target frequency point number is received, which corresponds to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality in the first channel; a target radio frequency signal is sent to the first communication device through the target subcarrier, and the target radio frequency signal is used to power the first communication device.

[0023] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, applied to a first communication device, the method comprising: receiving a first time-domain signal through a first channel, the first time-domain signal carrying a first pilot sequence having a length of N, where N is a positive integer; transforming the first time-domain signal into M first frequency-domain signals, where M is a positive integer; converting the M first frequency-domain signals into a second frequency-domain signal, the second frequency-domain signal including a second pilot sequence having a length of L, where L is less than N; and determining a third pilot sequence based on the second frequency-domain signal, the third pilot sequence having a length of N, the third pilot sequence being used to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0024] For example, the operation of converting M first frequency domain signals into second frequency domain signals can be an averaging operation, a joint averaging operation, or a weighted averaging operation, etc.

[0025] Based on the above technical solution, during the channel estimation process, the first communication device segments the first time-domain signal, including the first pilot sequence, from the second communication device, performs time-frequency transformation on the segmented time-domain signals, and then performs joint averaging on the transformed multiple frequency-domain signals. This processing not only reduces the complexity of processing the first time-domain signal but also preserves the full-band information corresponding to the first time-domain signal, thereby ensuring the accuracy of channel estimation and improving the efficiency of channel estimation or measurement. Especially in scenarios where the first communication device is charged based on WPT technology, the efficient channel estimation performed by the first communication device helps improve the charging efficiency of the first communication device and also reduces the energy consumption of the first communication device in channel estimation or measurement.

[0026] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, before receiving the first time-domain signal through the first channel, first capability information is sent. The first capability information is used to indicate the maximum length of the pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence. The length of the first pilot sequence is less than or equal to the maximum length.

[0027] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, multiple second frequency domain signals are inserted into a reference pilot sequence to determine a third pilot sequence, the reference pilot sequence being used to represent a channel with N subcarriers, and a first interval existing between the multiple second frequency domain signals.

[0028] For example, the aforementioned reference pilot sequence may be a ZC (zadoff-chu) sequence, which is an Euler complex number sequence.

[0029] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, N first subcarriers of the first channel are determined according to the third pilot sequence; the first channel is decimated according to the first interval to determine the second channel, which corresponds to L first subcarriers; and the channel quality corresponding to each of the L first subcarriers is determined.

[0030] For example, the first communication device can perform a modulo operation on the second channel along the subcarrier dimension, that is, perform a modulo operation on L first subcarriers in the second channel. This modulo operation is used to obtain the energy value corresponding to each first subcarrier, and the magnitude of this energy value is used to indicate the channel quality.

[0031] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the target frequency point number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality among the L first subcarriers is reported. The target frequency point number is used to instruct the second communication device to send a target radio frequency signal through the target subcarrier. The target radio frequency signal is used to power the first communication device. The second communication device and the first communication device communicate through the first channel.

[0032] Based on the above technical solution, by calculating the channel quality corresponding to multiple first subcarriers of the second channel extracted from the first channel, and directly reporting the target frequency point number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality to the second communication device, the second communication device can directly determine the target subcarrier used to send the target radio frequency signal to the first communication device. This channel measurement feedback mechanism can not only reduce the complexity of channel measurement, but also effectively reduce the amount of information fed back to the second communication device, thereby reducing the energy consumption of feedback information. Especially in the scenario of charging the first communication device based on WPT technology, it helps to improve the charging efficiency of the first communication device.

[0033] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first time-domain signal is split into M second time-domain signals; the M second time-domain signals are subjected to time-frequency transformation to determine M first frequency-domain signals.

[0034] Fourthly, a communication device is provided for use with a first communication device, the device comprising:

[0035] The transmitting unit is configured to transmit first capability information, which indicates the maximum length of the pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence; the receiving unit is configured to receive a first time-domain signal through a first channel, which carries a first pilot sequence, the length of which is less than or equal to the aforementioned maximum length, and the first pilot sequence is used to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0036] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned time-frequency transformation includes: FT, FFT, or DFT.

[0037] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned signal processing unit is further configured to: determine, based on the first pilot sequence, that the first channel comprises L first subcarriers, where L is a positive integer.

[0038] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned signal processing unit is further configured to: determine the channel quality corresponding to each of the L first subcarriers;

[0039] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the aforementioned reporting unit is further used to: report the target frequency point number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality among the L first subcarriers, the target frequency point number is used to instruct the second communication device to send a target radio frequency signal through the target subcarrier, the target radio frequency signal is used to power the first communication device, and the second communication device communicates with the first communication device through the first channel.

[0040] Fifthly, a communication device is provided for use with a second communication device. The device includes: a receiving unit for receiving first capability information; the first capability information is used for the second communication device to communicate with a first communication device, and the first capability information is used to indicate the maximum length of the pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence.

[0041] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the above-mentioned apparatus further includes: a transmitting unit, configured to transmit an initial time-domain signal to a first communication device via a first channel, the initial time-domain signal carrying an initial pilot sequence, the length of the initial pilot sequence being less than or equal to the aforementioned maximum length.

[0042] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the aforementioned initial pilot sequence is used to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0043] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the receiving unit is further configured to: receive a target frequency point number, which corresponds to a target subcarrier with the highest channel quality in the first channel. The transmitting unit is further configured to: transmit a target radio frequency signal to the first communication device via the target subcarrier, the target radio frequency signal being used to power the first communication device.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are connected together, wherein the memory is used to store program code, and the processor is used to call the program code to execute a method in any possible implementation of the method design of the first aspect above, or to execute a method in any possible implementation of the method design of the second aspect above, or to execute a method in any possible implementation of the method design of the third aspect above.

[0045] In a seventh aspect, a chip system is provided, which is applied to an electronic device. The chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors. The interface circuits and processors are interconnected via lines. The interface circuits are used to receive signals from the memory of the electronic device and send signals to the processor, the signals including computer instructions stored in the memory. When the processor executes the computer instructions, the electronic device executes the method in any possible implementation of the method design in the first aspect, or executes the method in any possible implementation of the method design in the second aspect, or executes the method in any possible implementation of the method design in the third aspect.

[0046] Eighthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, storing a computer program or instructions for implementing the method in any possible implementation of the method design of the first aspect, or the method in any possible implementation of the method design of the second aspect, or the method in any possible implementation of the method design of the third aspect.

[0047] Ninthly, a computer program product is provided, wherein when the computer program code or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer performs the method in any possible implementation of the method design of the first aspect, or performs the method in any possible implementation of the method design of the second aspect, or performs the method in any possible implementation of the method design of the third aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0048] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a scenario where an energy receiving device is charged based on WRT.

[0049] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for wireless power transfer between communication devices.

[0050] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a system architecture 300 applicable to an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of an O-RAN system 400 applicable to an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a RAN chip system 500 applicable to an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method 600 proposed in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating another communication method 700 proposed in an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method 700 of system 400 as proposed in an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figure 9 This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method 700 of the chip system 500 according to an embodiment of this application.

[0057] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a system 1000 for a terminal device applicable to an embodiment of this application;

[0058] Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method 600 of the system 1000 proposed in this application embodiment;

[0059] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1200 for a terminal device applicable to an embodiment of this application;

[0060] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method 600 of the chip system 1200 according to an embodiment of this application;

[0061] Figure 14 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1400 provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0062] Figure 15 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1500 provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0063] It should be noted that, in the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " means "or". For example, A / B can mean A or B. The "and / or" in this article is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone.

[0064] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments of this application, "multiple" refers to two or more, and "at least one" and "one or more" refer to one, two, or more than two. The singular expressions "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more," unless the context explicitly indicates otherwise.

[0065] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" as described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0066] In this application, "for indication" can be understood as "enabling," which can include direct and indirect enabling. When describing information as enabling A, it can include whether the information directly or indirectly enables A, but does not necessarily mean that the information carries A. The information enabled by the information is called the information to be enabled. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to enable the information to be enabled, such as, but not limited to, directly enabling the information to be enabled, such as the information to be enabled itself or its index. It can also indirectly enable the information to be enabled by enabling other information, where there is a correlation between the other information and the information to be enabled. It can also enable only a part of the information to be enabled, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed. For example, enabling specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement order of various information, thereby reducing enabling overhead to some extent. At the same time, common parts of various information can be identified and enabled uniformly to reduce the enabling overhead caused by individually enabling the same information.

[0067] In this application, "pre-configuration" may include pre-defined terms, such as protocol definitions. These "pre-defined terms" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means of indicating relevant information in the device (e.g., including various network elements). This application does not limit the specific implementation method.

[0068] The term "storage" or "preservation" in this application can refer to storage in one or more memory devices. These memory devices can be separately configured or integrated into an encoder, decoder, processor, or communication device. Alternatively, some memory devices can be separately configured, while others can be integrated into the decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, and this is not limited.

[0069] The term "protocol" in this application may refer to standard protocols in the field of communications, such as fourth-generation (4G) network protocols, fifth-generation (5G) network protocols, new radio (NR) protocols, and related protocols applied in future communication networks. This application does not limit the scope of these protocols.

[0070] In the schematic diagrams of the accompanying drawings of this application, the dashed arrows or boxes indicate optional steps or optional modules.

[0071] With the development of wireless networks and the evolution of business needs, a massive number of Internet of Things (IoT) nodes exist in the network to meet various service needs of users, such as those in smart homes, smart agriculture, and intelligent transportation. However, these IoT node devices (hereinafter referred to as IoT nodes) are low in manufacturing cost and small in size, and cannot carry large-capacity batteries, so these IoT nodes face the problem of short standby time.

[0072] To address this issue, an environmental energy harvesting method has been proposed to provide power to IoT nodes, ensuring their long standby time. Radio frequency (RF) energy is an important energy source, offering advantages such as controllable energy quantity and source, good penetration, and long transmission distance. Therefore, using RF energy to power IoT nodes is a significant area of ​​technological research.

[0073] For energy receiving devices (such as the IoT nodes mentioned above), radio frequency energy harvesting schemes can collect radio electromagnetic waves present in the natural environment. However, since the energy sources are not matched and optimized in a coordinated manner, the efficiency of energy harvesting is very low and cannot meet the daily usage needs of IoT nodes.

[0074] Considering that communication networks, such as cellular mobile communication networks, have a large number of base stations deployed, and these base stations have multiple antennas, they can emit any preset electromagnetic waves and provide directional beams to enhance radio frequency energy in certain directions, frequency bands and time periods, thereby greatly improving the problem of low energy transmission efficiency. Therefore, implementing WPT through base stations is one of the important ways to solve the problem of short standby time of IoT nodes in the future.

[0075] It should be noted that the embodiments of this application do not limit the scenario in which the network device / terminal device is located. In addition, the network device / terminal device can be a hardware device or a software function running on dedicated hardware or general-purpose hardware. For example, it can be an entity that includes dedicated or general-purpose hardware devices and software functions. This application does not limit the specific form of the network device / terminal device.

[0076] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to wireless communication / charging between communication devices. Wireless communication / charging between communication devices can include: wireless communication / charging between network devices and terminals, wireless communication / charging between network devices, and wireless communication / charging between terminals. In this application, the term "wireless communication" can also be abbreviated as "communication," and can be described as "data transmission" or "information transmission." The term "wireless charging" can also be abbreviated as "charging," "energy transfer," or "charging," and can be described as "wireless energy transfer," "wireless charging," "wireless energy transmission," "radio frequency energy transmission," "radio frequency energy transfer," "radio frequency charging," "radio frequency charging," etc.

[0077] For ease of understanding, the following will be used as... Figure 1 The communication system shown is used as an example to describe the communication systems that can be applied to the various embodiments of this application.

[0078] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a scenario where WRT is used to charge an energy receiving device.

[0079] refer to Figure 1 As shown, this scenario includes at least an energy transmitter and an energy receiver. For ease of description, in... Figure 1 In the scenario example shown, the base station acts as the energy transmitter and the IoT node acts as the energy receiver.

[0080] A base station includes multiple antennas to transmit radio frequency signals carrying a certain amount of radio frequency energy to IoT nodes. To improve charging efficiency, MIMO communication technology is considered an effective WPT solution. The base station, acting as the energy transmitter, uses multi-antenna technology and digital beamforming (or energy beamforming) to concentrate the wireless energy to be transmitted in the direction of the IoT node, which acts as the energy receiver. The radio frequency signal carrying the wireless energy is then transmitted to the IoT node through multiple channels.

[0081] The multiple antennas on the IoT node increase the effective area for receiving radio frequency (RF) energy. After receiving RF signals, the antennas can transmit them to a rectifier integrated within the IoT node, converting the RF signals into DC signals and outputting them to the IoT node's rechargeable battery. During this energy transmission process, the IoT node can also use an energy meter to report its current charging status to the base station via a feedback link, thus achieving closed-loop control of the base station's charging of the IoT node.

[0082] As can be seen from the above explanation, communication between base stations and IoT nodes based on MIMO technology helps to improve energy transmission efficiency.

[0083] However, in the energy transmission process, both the energy transmitter and receiver rely on channel state information (CSI) for beamforming techniques. In communication systems, CSI can typically be obtained through the following two methods:

[0084] Method 1: The energy receiver sends a reference signal, the energy transmitter performs channel estimation, and uses the reciprocity of the channel, i.e., infers the CSI of the downlink channel from the CSI of the uplink channel. However, this scheme is only applicable to time-division duplex (TDD) systems.

[0085] Method 2 involves the energy transmitter sending a downlink reference signal, and the energy receiver performing channel estimation. However, this method requires additional baseband signal processing for channel estimation at the energy receiver, which is not feasible for low-cost wireless power transfer terminals (such as the aforementioned IoT nodes) that lack baseband signal processing hardware. Furthermore, for power transfer terminals with baseband signal processing hardware, the remaining power may be insufficient to support the measurement phase during the low-battery (cold start) stage, making high-power measurement operations unsuitable in this scenario.

[0086] To solve the above problems, channel estimation can be achieved in the following way.

[0087] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for wireless power transfer between communication devices.

[0088] refer to Figure 2 As shown, assuming the base station is the energy transmitter and the terminal device is the energy receiver, the two can achieve wireless energy transmission from the base station to the terminal device through the following signaling interaction process, thereby charging the terminal device.

[0089] S210: The base station sends the first pilot sequence to the terminal equipment;

[0090] Among them, the pilot sequence can also be called pilot signal or reference signal, etc. The first pilot signal is used to help the terminal device estimate the channel conditions from the base station to the terminal device.

[0091] S220: The terminal device performs channel estimation based on the first pilot sequence and the locally stored second pilot sequence to determine the CSI;

[0092] The second pilot sequence can be considered as a copy of the first pilot sequence.

[0093] It should be understood that after receiving the first pilot signal sent by the base station, the terminal will use its local second pilot sequence to perform correlation calculation with the received first pilot sequence, thereby estimating the channel characteristics from the base station to the terminal device. For example, by comparing the differences between the first and second pilot sequences, the Channel Identity System (CSI) is estimated. The CSI includes parameters such as channel gain, phase, and delay, and this process usually involves estimating the channel's impulse response, frequency response, or channel matrix.

[0094] S230: The terminal device extracts the estimated channel, measures the level of the extracted channel, and feeds back the measured level to the base station.

[0095] It should be understood that since complete channel state information may contain a large amount of data, the terminal may extract the most critical information for subsequent processing, such as the channel's main gain and phase information. This process is called channel extraction. Correspondingly, "performing level measurements on the extracted channel" refers to extracting a portion of the channel from multiple channels for level measurement. That is, the transmitting end (e.g., the base station) sends several subcarriers, which reach the receiving end (e.g., the terminal) after passing through the channel. After receiving these subcarriers, the receiving end extracts a portion of them and then performs level measurements on these extracted subcarriers. This level measurement refers to predicting or calculating the signal level that the terminal can receive after transmission through the current channel at a given transmit power. The result of this level measurement (referred to as the level value) can be used to indicate the received signal strength or quality, reflecting the signal attenuation after transmission through the channel. It is an important indicator for evaluating signal quality and system performance. After receiving this level value, the base station can understand the quality of the current channel.

[0096] S240: The base station calculates the beam weight corresponding to the maximum level and sends the wireless radio frequency signal corresponding to the beam weight to the terminal device to power the terminal device.

[0097] It should be understood that the goal of beam weight calculation is to maximize the signal level (i.e., signal power) of the synthesized beam in the desired direction while suppressing interference from other directions. Therefore, the aforementioned "maximum signal level" represents the strongest signal strength that the base station can transmit to the terminal device under that beam weight.

[0098] However, the above-mentioned wireless power transfer method has the following problems:

[0099] Question 1: During the stage of terminal device feedback measurement level, it is necessary to measure the level through the selected channel and feed the level value back to the base station. The measurement level process takes a long time, and the overhead of feeding the level back to the base station is relatively large, which will reduce the efficiency of the base station in charging the terminal device.

[0100] Question 2: When the terminal device has poor time-domain processing, channel estimation, and channel measurement capabilities, directly performing channel estimation based on the first pilot sequence sent by the base station may take longer, which further reduces the efficiency of the base station in powering the terminal device.

[0101] In view of this, embodiments of this application propose a communication method and apparatus to solve the above problems, thereby increasing the efficiency of the energy transmitter charging the energy receiver via wireless radio frequency signals in WPT scenarios.

[0102] For ease of understanding, the system architecture that may be applied in the embodiments of this application will be introduced first below.

[0103] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a system architecture 300 applicable to an embodiment of this application.

[0104] The embodiments of this application are for long term evolution (LTE), NR, or protocol frameworks applied in future communication networks, and can be applied to a variety of mobile communication scenarios, such as multi-hop / multi-relay transmission between base stations and terminal devices, dual connectivity (DC) or multiple connectivity between multiple base stations and terminal devices, etc.

[0105] It should be noted that, Figure 3 This is merely an exemplary drawing and does not limit the system framework applicable to the embodiments of this application. Any system architecture applicable to the embodiments of this application can be used as long as any network-side device in a wireless network charges other communication devices.

[0106] For application scenarios, the application scenarios of this application embodiment include, but are not limited to, base stations charging terminal devices (see reference). Figure 3 (a) in the text, base station charging base station (refer to) Figure 3 (b) in the text, base station charging relay base station (refer to) Figure 3 (c) In this context, the base station charges the terminal equipment through the relay base station (see reference). Figure 3 (d) In the middle, multiple base stations charge a single terminal device (refer to) Figure 3 (e) in the middle), multiple base stations charge multiple terminal devices (refer to) Figure 3 The scenario in which any one or more network-side devices, such as (f) in the example, charge one or more communication devices.

[0107] In a communication system, a device can use air interface resources to send signals to or receive signals from another device. These signals can include information, signaling, or data. Air interface resources can include at least one of time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, code resources, and spatial resources. The device can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, communication equipment, communication module, node, or communication node; this application describes a communication equipment as an example.

[0108] In this application embodiment, the terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver function, which may refer to user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user equipment.

[0109] In this application embodiment, the terminal device can also be a satellite phone, cellular phone, smartphone, wireless data card, wireless modem, machine-type communication device, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), customer-premises equipment (CPE), point of sale (POS) machine, handheld device with wireless communication function, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, vehicle-mounted device, communication device mounted on a high-altitude aircraft, wearable device, drone, robot, terminal in device-to-device (D2D) communication, terminal in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal in industrial control, wireless terminal in self-driving, and remote medical care. Wireless terminals in medical applications, smart grids, transportation safety, smart cities, smart homes, or future communication networks are not limited to this category. In this embodiment, the device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system or a chip. This device can be installed in the terminal device. In this embodiment, the chip system can consist of chips or include chips and other discrete components.

[0110] In this embodiment of the application, the terminal device may also be a device with communication function in a future communication network, and the form or type of the terminal device in the future communication network is not limited.

[0111] In one possible scenario, network equipment, also known as access network equipment or radio access network (RAN) nodes, can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in future communication networks, a base station in future mobile communication systems, or an access node in a WiFi system. Base stations can be macro base stations, micro base stations, indoor stations, relay nodes, donor nodes, or radio controllers in cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenarios. Optionally, base stations can also be servers, wearable devices, vehicles, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, the access network equipment can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0112] In this application embodiment, the device for implementing the function of the network device can be a network device itself; it can also be a device capable of supporting the network device in implementing the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the network device. In the technical solution provided in the embodiments of this application, the device for implementing the function of the network device is a network device, and the network device is a base station, as an example, to describe the technical solution provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0113] In another possible scenario, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and DU can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as the baseband unit (BBU). The CU and DU nodes separate the gNB's protocol layers; some protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. As one implementation, the CU deploys the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, and the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer from the protocol stack; the DU deploys the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and the Physical Layer (PHY) from the protocol stack. Therefore, the CU has RRC, PDCP, and SDAP processing capabilities. The DU has RLC, MAC, and PHY processing capabilities. It is understood that the above functional division is merely an example and does not constitute a limitation on the CU and DU. The RU may be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radiohead (RRH).

[0114] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open access network (openRAN, ORAN, or O-RAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0115] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of an O-RAN hardware system 400 applicable to an embodiment of this application.

[0116] refer to Figure 4 As shown, system 400 includes core network (CN) equipment, RAN equipment, and terminal equipment. The RAN equipment can communicate with the CN equipment through a backhaul link and with the terminal equipment through an air interface.

[0117] In some possible embodiments, the baseband unit (BBU) in the RAN device can communicate with the CN device via a backhaul link, and the radio unit (RU) in the RAN device can communicate with at least one terminal device via an air interface. The BBU can communicate with at least one RU via a fronthaul link, wherein the BBU and RU may or may not be co-located.

[0118] The BBU includes at least one CU and at least one DU, which can communicate with each other via at least one midhaul link.

[0119] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a RAN chip system 500 applicable to an embodiment of this application.

[0120] refer to Figure 5As shown, a typical RAN chip may include a CU, DU, and RU. The CU performs Layer 2 (L2) and Layer 3 (L3) functions. The interfaces of the midhaul and backhaul links carry traffic between the CU and DU, and between the CU and CN. The interfaces of the fronthaul and midhaul links carry traffic between the RU and DU, and between the CU and DU. The DU performs Layer 1 (L1) and some L2 functions, while the RU performs some L1-related calculations and RF digital signal processing functions. An integrated DU combines the functions of both the DU and RU.

[0121] Here, L1, L2, and L3 refer to the hierarchical structure defined in the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, with each layer corresponding to a different functional communication protocol layer.

[0122] In some possible embodiments, the CU / DU hardware includes a chassis platform, a motherboard, peripheral devices, and cooling equipment. The motherboard includes processing units, memory, internal input / output (I / O) interfaces, and external connection ports. The hardware accelerator is designed with interfaces, and the hardware functional components include: storage for software, hardware, and system debugging interfaces, and a single-board management controller.

[0123] In some possible embodiments, the DU system can be implemented using a multi-core processor and one or more hardware accelerators. Parts of the DU protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the multi-core processor, while computationally intensive L1 and L2 functions can be offloaded to hardware accelerators such as FPGAs / GPUs / other accelerators; or all L1 functions can be integrated into an FPGA / GPU-based hardware accelerator, while other protocol stack components are implemented in software running on the processor; or the entire protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the processor. The hardware accelerator supports interconnection with x86 or non-x86 processors. Similarly, the accelerator has a multi-channel high-speed serial computer expansion bus (PCIe) interface pointing to the central processing unit (CPU) and external connections via Gigabit Ethernet (GbE). The CPU can be an x86-based or ARM-based CPU.

[0124] In some possible embodiments, the O-RU may include an O-RAN processing unit (OPU) that receives data frames from the O-RAN fronthaul interface (enhanced common public radio interface, eCPRI), also known as eCPRI frames; and performs fronthaul interface, L1 layer (encoding, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding), synchronization, beamforming, and resource unit mapping; and the OPU may be implemented as a CPU, FPGA, or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0125] In some possible embodiments, the O-RU may also include a digital processing unit (DPU) that can perform operations such as synchronization, digital down-conversion (DDC) in the uplink (UL), digital up-conversion (DUC) in the downlink (DL), channel frequency response (CFR), and digital pre-distortion (DPD). It can also improve power amplifier efficiency by reducing the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) / adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) of the RF front end. The DPU can be implemented as an FPGA or ASIC.

[0126] In some possible embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) processing unit of the O-RU may include a transceiver module, up / down converters, power amplifiers (PA), low noise amplifiers (LNA), and transmit (Tx) / receive (Rx) filters. Furthermore, all conversions between the analog and digital domains (digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters), such as RF sampling, using RF in up-conversion and down-conversion, and frequency conversion by mixing signals generated by the intermediate frequency (IF) and the local oscillator (LO), can be performed within the transceiver module. It should be noted that the physical and logical partitions within the RF processing unit do not require specific boundaries.

[0127] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method 600 proposed in an embodiment of this application.

[0128] refer to Figure 6 As shown, the first communication device can be an energy receiver in a WPT scenario, and the second communication device can be an energy transmitter in a WPT scenario. For details regarding the physical devices corresponding to the energy receiver and energy transmitter, please refer to the aforementioned extended descriptions; they will not be repeated here.

[0129] The following is a detailed description of the steps performed by the first communication device in communication method 600:

[0130] S610: Receives a signal from the first time domain via the first channel.

[0131] The first time-domain signal carries a first pilot sequence, the length of which is N, where N is a positive integer.

[0132] In some possible embodiments, the first time-domain signal can be sent directly from the second communication device to the first communication device, or it can be sent indirectly from the second communication device to the first communication device through a relay base station or other relay device / device.

[0133] It should be understood that, under normal circumstances, the first channel is a noisy channel. Therefore, the first time-domain signal is not completely consistent with the initial time-domain signal sent by the second communication device. The first time-domain signal is also mixed with noise from the first channel, and there is corresponding attenuation and phase shift compared to the initial time-domain signal.

[0134] In some possible embodiments, the first channel described above may be a channel in a MIMO communication system.

[0135] It should be understood that the aforementioned first pilot sequence is a known signal sequence embedded in the first time-domain signal. It can be embedded into the frequency-domain signal after time-frequency transformation and used by the first communication device for channel estimation. Its length refers to the number of signal samples in this known sequence.

[0136] The time-frequency transformation can be Fourier Transform (FT), Direct-Time Transform (DFT), or Fast-Frequency Transform (FFT). Therefore, this solution is compatible with various time-frequency transformation application scenarios, thus enhancing its flexibility and compatibility.

[0137] In addition, in the frequency domain, each subcarrier of the channel corresponds to a specific frequency component, and the aforementioned first pilot sequence can be embedded in these frequency components, thereby introducing known signal characteristics to these subcarriers.

[0138] S620: Transforms the first time-domain signal into M first frequency-domain signals.

[0139] Where M is greater than 1.

[0140] In some possible embodiments, the first time-domain signal can be split into M second time-domain signals, and then an FFT can be performed on the M second time-domain signals to determine the M first frequency-domain signals. Alternatively, an FFT can be performed on the first time-domain signal first, and then the frequency-domain signal obtained after the transformation can be split to obtain the aforementioned M second time-domain signals.

[0141] It should be understood that pilot signals are based on subcarriers (resource elements, REs), and the number of REs corresponds one-to-one with the number of FFT points. Therefore, assuming the length of the first pilot sequence is N, it means that the first channel includes N REs, and correspondingly, an N-point FFT can be performed on the first pilot sequence. Thus, the length of the first pilot sequence is related to the number of FFT points in the frequency domain signal obtained after performing an FFT on the first time domain signal. This number of FFT points refers to the number of sample points collected in the first time domain signal during the FFT transformation. The number of FFT points determines the number of frequency components in the resulting frequency domain signal, which are used to embed the first pilot sequence for estimating the first channel. Correspondingly, if the number of FFT points corresponds to, for example, the number of subcarriers in the first channel, they are equal, and therefore the length of the first pilot sequence also corresponds to the number of subcarriers in the first channel.

[0142] S630: Converts M first-frequency domain signals into second-frequency domain signals.

[0143] The second frequency domain signal includes a second pilot sequence, wherein the length of the second pilot sequence is L, and L is less than N.

[0144] In some possible embodiments, the operation of converting M first frequency domain signals into second frequency domain signals may be an averaging operation, a joint averaging operation, or a weighted averaging operation, etc., of the M first frequency domain signals.

[0145] It should be understood that for frequency domain signals, the length of the frequency domain signal is used to represent the spectral width of the frequency domain signal, that is, the frequency coverage range of the signal, or bandwidth. Therefore, the length of the second frequency domain signal mentioned above is L0, which represents the spectral width of the second frequency domain signal. The unit of L0 is Hz or kHz. In addition, based on the above content, it is known that there is a corresponding relationship or conversion relationship between L0 and L.

[0146] In addition, the length of a time-domain signal is used to represent the duration of the time-domain signal. Although the length of a time-domain signal and the length of a frequency-domain signal have different meanings, there is a corresponding conversion relationship between the two. This conversion relationship can be briefly described by the uncertainty principle, that is, the shorter the duration of a signal in the time domain, the wider the spectrum in the frequency domain corresponding to the signal, and vice versa.

[0147] Therefore, the above-mentioned S620 and S630 can be implemented through the following detailed process:

[0148] S1: Receive the first time-domain signal (denoted as r), the spectral width of the first time-domain signal is N0, and there is a correspondence or conversion relationship between N0 and the length N of the first pilot sequence, so that N can be determined.

[0149] It should be understood that the spectral width corresponding to the first time-domain signal mentioned above can be determined by the aforementioned uncertainty principle and other related calculation methods.

[0150] S2: Divide the first time-domain signal into M segments of the second time-domain signal (denoted as r1 to r2). M The spectral width of the second time-domain signal is L0. There is a correspondence or conversion relationship between L0 and the length L of the second pilot sequence, so that L can be determined.

[0151] Therefore, M = N / L, or or

[0152] The second time-domain signal of the above M segment can be represented as: r1(1:L), r2(L+1:2L), ..., r M ((M-1)L+1:N).

[0153] S3: Perform FFT on the above M segments of the second time-domain signal to obtain M first frequency-domain signals (denoted as: R1 to R2). M ).

[0154] S4: The second frequency domain signal (denoted as:) is determined by the following joint averaging formula (1). ), and the length of the second frequency domain signal is L.

[0155]

[0156] It should be understood that the first communication device can reduce the complexity of time-domain data processing and obtain the full-band information corresponding to the first time-domain signal by segmenting the first time-domain signal into time-domain segments, performing FFT on the M second time-domain signals obtained after segmentation, obtaining M first frequency-domain signals, and averaging the M first frequency-domain signals together.

[0157] S640: Determine the third pilot sequence based on the second frequency domain signal.

[0158] The length of the third pilot sequence is N, and the third pilot sequence is used to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0159] It should be understood that since the length of the second frequency domain signal is L0, the corresponding number of FFT points can be L. Therefore, the length of the second frequency domain signal is insufficient to embed the first pilot sequence (also of length N) whose length matches the spectral width (i.e., N) of the first time domain signal. So, it is necessary to restore the second frequency domain signal to a frequency domain signal of length N0 in order to obtain a third pilot sequence of the same length as the first pilot sequence.

[0160] In some possible embodiments, the third pilot sequence can be determined in the following manner:

[0161] Multiple second-frequency domain signals are inserted into a reference pilot sequence to determine a third pilot sequence, wherein the reference pilot sequence represents a channel with N subcarriers, and a first interval exists between the multiple second-frequency domain signals. In other words, in the reference pilot sequence, a second-frequency domain signal is inserted every first interval, and all subcarrier channels (i.e., frequency bands) unrelated to the second-frequency domain signals are set to 0.

[0162] In some possible embodiments, the first interval described above may be equal to the M described above.

[0163] In some possible embodiments, the aforementioned reference pilot sequence may be a ZC (zadoff-chu) sequence, which is an Euler complex number sequence.

[0164] It should be understood that since the length of the final third pilot sequence is equal to the length of the first pilot sequence, the length of the reference pilot sequence can also be equal to the length of the first pilot sequence.

[0165] For example, suppose the length of the first pilot sequence is N, meaning the first channel includes N subcarriers. Suppose the length of the second frequency domain signal is L0, meaning the number of FFT points corresponding to the second frequency domain signal is equal to L. Then the second frequency domain signal can be used to represent a channel including L subcarriers. Based on the foregoing explanation, L should be less than N. Therefore, it is difficult to estimate the first channel using only the pilot sequence in the second frequency domain signal. Thus, it is necessary to interpolate the reference pilot sequence of length N using multiple second frequency domain signals, with the interpolation interval being the first interval, to obtain a third pilot sequence of length N.

[0166] Based on the above technical solution, during the channel estimation process, the first communication device segments the first time-domain signal, including the first pilot sequence, from the second communication device, performs time-frequency transformation on the segmented time-domain signals, and then performs joint averaging on the transformed multiple frequency-domain signals. This processing not only reduces the complexity of processing the first time-domain signal but also preserves the full-band information corresponding to the first time-domain signal, thereby ensuring the accuracy of channel estimation and improving the efficiency of channel estimation or measurement. Especially in scenarios where the first communication device is charged based on WPT technology, the efficient channel estimation performed by the first communication device helps improve the charging efficiency of the first communication device and also reduces the energy consumption of the first communication device in channel estimation or measurement.

[0167] It should be understood that after determining the aforementioned third pilot sequence, the first communication device can estimate the aforementioned first channel. This channel estimation operation may include the following operations:

[0168] S650: Determine the N first subcarriers of the first channel based on the third pilot sequence.

[0169] It should be understood that the above estimation of the first channel requires not only the third pilot sequence but also the fourth pilot sequence of the first communication device.

[0170] In some possible embodiments, the fourth pilot sequence described above can be stored locally on the first communication device or stored on a server and loaded by the first communication device. This fourth pilot sequence is at least partially identical to the first pilot sequence.

[0171] It should be understood that the first channel includes N first subcarriers, or the subcarrier dimension of the first channel is N.

[0172] In some possible embodiments, after determining the N first subcarriers of the first channel, the first communication device may further measure the first channel, and the measurement operation may include the following operations:

[0173] S660: The first channel is decimated according to the first interval to determine the second channel, which includes L first subcarriers, and the channel quality corresponding to each of the L first subcarriers is determined.

[0174] In some possible embodiments, the first communication device can transmit the second channel (denoted as: H) L Modulo operation is performed along the subcarrier dimension, that is, modulo operation is performed on the L first subcarriers in the second channel. This modulo operation is used to obtain the energy value corresponding to each first subcarrier, and the magnitude of this energy value is used to indicate the channel quality. The result of this modulo operation is denoted as: |H1|, |H2|, ..., |H... L |

[0175] Based on the above technical solution, a second channel is determined by extracting the first channel, and the channel quality corresponding to each of the multiple first subcarriers of the second channel is determined by measuring the first subcarriers, thereby estimating the first channel. Since the estimation object is the second channel extracted from the first channel, the overhead incurred during channel measurement is effectively reduced, thus improving the efficiency of channel measurement. This is particularly beneficial in scenarios where the first communication device is charged using WPT technology, as it improves the charging efficiency and reduces the energy consumption of the first communication device for channel measurement.

[0176] In some possible embodiments, after determining the channel quality corresponding to each of the L first subcarriers, the first communication device may also perform the following operations:

[0177] S670: Report the target frequency number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality among the L first subcarriers.

[0178] The target frequency point number is used to indicate that the second communication device transmits a target radio frequency signal through the target subcarrier, and the target radio frequency signal is used to power the first communication device.

[0179] It should be understood that the frequency point number corresponds to the subcarrier in the channel, so determining the frequency point number allows us to determine the corresponding subcarrier in the channel. Therefore, this frequency point number can correspond to the frequency components mentioned in the aforementioned embodiments.

[0180] In some possible embodiments, after the second communication device receives the target frequency point number reported by the first communication device, it can determine the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality and perform the following operations:

[0181] S680: Send a target radio frequency signal to the first communication device via the target subcarrier to power the first communication device.

[0182] Based on the above technical solution, by calculating the channel quality corresponding to multiple first subcarriers of the second channel extracted from the first channel, and directly reporting the target frequency point number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality to the second communication device, the second communication device can directly determine the target subcarrier used to send the target radio frequency signal to the first communication device. This channel measurement feedback mechanism can not only reduce the complexity of channel measurement, but also effectively reduce the amount of information fed back to the second communication device, thereby reducing the energy consumption of feedback information. Especially in the scenario of charging the first communication device based on WPT technology, it helps to improve the charging efficiency of the first communication device.

[0183] Considering the differences in time-domain signal processing capabilities among different first communication devices, and in order to further reduce the time overhead of the first terminal device in processing time-domain signals, channel estimation, and measurement, this application proposes another communication method.

[0184] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating another communication method 700 proposed in an embodiment of this application.

[0185] and Figure 6 The illustrated embodiments are similar, in Figure 7 In this context, the first communication device can be an energy receiver in a WPT scenario, and the second communication device can be an energy transmitter in a WPT scenario. For details regarding the physical devices corresponding to the energy receiver and energy transmitter, please refer to the aforementioned extended descriptions; they will not be repeated here.

[0186] The following is a detailed description of the steps performed by the first communication device in communication method 700:

[0187] S710: Sends first capability information.

[0188] The first capability information mentioned above may be sent from the first communication device to the second communication device, and the first capability information is used to indicate the maximum length of the pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence. The pilot sequence is used by the first communication device to estimate or measure the channel.

[0189] In some possible embodiments, the aforementioned first capability information may directly indicate the first communication device's ability to perform time-frequency conversion of signals.

[0190] In some possible embodiments, the aforementioned first capability information may be the number of points of the FT / FFT / DFT that the first communication device can perform. This number of points refers to the number of points the first communication device can process, which includes L data points (or frequency points), and convert the signal from the time domain to the frequency domain. The larger this number of points, the stronger the first communication device's ability to perform time-frequency conversion on the signal.

[0191] In some possible embodiments, the first communication device may send the maximum length of the pilot sequence it can process or the aforementioned FT / FFT / DFT (i.e., the aforementioned first capability information) to the second communication device via uplink control information (UCI) from the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0192] S720: Receives the first time-domain signal through the first channel.

[0193] The first time-domain signal carries a first pilot sequence, the length of which is less than or equal to the maximum length mentioned above. The first pilot sequence is used to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0194] In some possible embodiments, the first time-domain signal can be sent directly from the second communication device to the first communication device, or it can be sent indirectly from the second communication device to the first communication device through a relay base station or other relay device / device.

[0195] It should be understood that, under normal circumstances, the first channel is a noisy channel. Therefore, the first time-domain signal is not completely consistent with the initial time-domain signal sent by the second communication device. The first time-domain signal is also mixed with noise from the first channel, and there is corresponding attenuation and phase shift compared to the initial time-domain signal.

[0196] It should be noted that, Figure 7 The first time-domain signal and the first pilot sequence mentioned in the corresponding embodiment are... Figure 6 The first time-domain signal and the first pilot sequence mentioned in the corresponding embodiments are not necessarily completely identical. Similarly, the numbering of nouns such as "first," "second," etc., in these two embodiments may correspond to different objects even if the same number is used in the two embodiments.

[0197] It should be understood that the stronger the first communication device indicated by the first capability information is in its ability to perform time-frequency conversion of signals, the longer the length of the aforementioned first pilot sequence will be.

[0198] In some possible embodiments, when the first capability information is used to indicate the number of FT / FFT / DFT points that the first communication device can perform is L, the length of the first pilot sequence is also L, thereby adapting to the first communication device's ability to perform time-frequency conversion on the signal.

[0199] S730: Perform time-frequency conversion on the first time-domain signal to determine the first frequency-domain signal.

[0200] It should be understood that the aforementioned time-frequency conversion may include FT, FFT, or DFT, etc.

[0201] In addition, after determining the first pilot sequence, the first communication device can estimate the first channel. This channel estimation operation can include the following operations:

[0202] S740: Based on the first pilot sequence, determine that the first channel includes L first subcarriers.

[0203] Where L is a positive integer.

[0204] It should be understood that the above estimation of the first channel requires not only the first pilot sequence but also the second pilot sequence of the first communication device.

[0205] It should be understood that the first channel includes L first subcarriers, or the subcarrier dimension of the first channel is L.

[0206] In some possible embodiments, the second pilot sequence described above can be stored locally on the first communication device or stored on a server and loaded by the first communication device. The second pilot sequence can be at least partially identical to the first pilot sequence.

[0207] Based on the above technical solution, and considering the differences in time-domain signal processing capabilities among different first communication devices, a mechanism is introduced whereby the first communication device reports capability information to the second communication device. This allows the second communication device to dynamically adjust the length of the transmitted pilot sequence based on the reported capability information, thereby reducing the time complexity of the first communication device in processing time-domain signals and improving the efficiency of channel estimation or measurement. Especially in scenarios where the first communication device is charged using WPT technology, it can achieve high-efficiency channel estimation with low complexity, improving the charging efficiency and reducing the energy consumption for channel estimation.

[0208] In some possible embodiments, after determining the L first subcarriers of the first channel, the first communication device may further measure the first channel, and the measurement operation may include the following operations:

[0209] S750: Determine the channel quality corresponding to each of the L first subcarriers.

[0210] In some possible embodiments, the first communication device can transmit a first channel (denoted as: H) LModulo operation is performed along the subcarrier dimension, that is, modulo operation is performed on the L first subcarriers in the first channel. This modulo operation is used to obtain the energy value corresponding to each first subcarrier, and the magnitude of this energy value is used to indicate the channel quality. The result of this modulo operation is denoted as: |H1|, |H2|, ..., |H... L |

[0211] S760: Report the target frequency number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality among the L first subcarriers.

[0212] The target frequency point number is used to indicate that the second communication device transmits a target radio frequency signal through the target subcarrier, and the target radio frequency signal is used to power the first communication device.

[0213] For details regarding the extended content of the aforementioned target frequency point number, please refer to the specific description at the corresponding position in Method 600, which will not be repeated here.

[0214] It should be noted that in ordinary channel estimation, the pilot sequence sent by the second communication device and the pilot sequence stored by the first communication device should be the same. However, in this embodiment, after the first communication device feeds back its capability to the second communication device, assuming that the first communication device has poor time-frequency conversion capability, the initial pilot sequence transmitted by the second communication device to the first communication device is shorter. Therefore, the initial pilot sequence should be at least partially the same as the third pilot sequence.

[0215] Therefore, to complete the estimation of the entire first channel, the above method 700 needs to be repeated multiple times. For example, if the second pilot sequence is N, where N = 3 × L, the first pilot sequence 1 is compared with the first 1 / 3 of the second pilot sequence. Then, in the second iteration of method 700, the first pilot sequence 2 is compared with the middle 1 / 3 of the second pilot sequence. Then, in the third iteration of method 700, the first pilot sequence 3 is compared with the last 1 / 3 of the second pilot sequence.

[0216] Accordingly, during the measurement and testing of the entire first channel, the first communication device also needs to send three target frequency point numbers to the second communication device. Based on this, after obtaining the three target frequency point numbers, the second communication device acquires the modulus values ​​corresponding to these three target frequency point numbers, determines the target frequency point number with the largest modulus value, and sends the target radio frequency signal to the first communication device based on that target frequency point number. Alternatively, it can randomly select one of the three target frequency point numbers and send the target radio frequency signal to the first communication device based on that target frequency point number.

[0217] Based on the above technical solution, by calculating the channel quality corresponding to multiple first subcarriers in the first channel, and directly reporting the target frequency point number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality to the second communication device, the second communication device can directly determine the target subcarrier used to send the target radio frequency signal to the first communication device. This channel measurement feedback mechanism can not only reduce the complexity of channel measurement, but also effectively reduce the amount of information fed back to the second communication device, thereby reducing the energy consumption of feedback information. Especially in the scenario of charging the first communication device based on WPT technology, it helps to improve the charging efficiency of the first communication device.

[0218] The following provides a detailed description of the steps performed by the second communication device in communication method 700:

[0219] S710: Receive first capability information.

[0220] The first capability information may come from the aforementioned first communication device. This first capability information indicates the maximum length of the pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence. Further details regarding the first capability information can be found in the preceding specific description of the first capability information, and will not be repeated here.

[0221] Then, the second communication device can communicate with the first communication device based on the aforementioned first capability information. The communication process may include the following steps:

[0222] S720: Sends an initial time-domain signal to the first communication device through the first channel.

[0223] The initial time-domain signal carries an initial pilot sequence, the length of which is less than or equal to the aforementioned maximum length. As explained above, the length of this initial pilot sequence is related to the first capability information, and this initial pilot sequence is used by the first communication device to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0224] It should be understood that, since noise is usually present in the first channel, the time-domain signal sent by the second communication device to the first communication device is usually not completely consistent with the time-domain signal received by the first communication device. In other words, the aforementioned third time-domain signal can be an initial time-domain signal mixed with noise from the first channel. Therefore, assuming that the first channel is free of noise, the initial time-domain signal would be the same as the first time-domain signal received by the first communication device.

[0225] In some possible embodiments, when the first capability information is used to indicate that the number of FT / FFT / DFT points that the first communication device can perform is L, the second communication device can correspondingly determine the length of the initial pilot sequence as L based on the first capability information, thereby adapting to the first communication device's ability to perform time-frequency conversion on the signal.

[0226] Alternatively, the length of the initial pilot sequence can be less than L.

[0227] After the second communication device sends the aforementioned initial time-domain signal to the first communication device, and the first communication device receives the signal, it initiates the aforementioned channel estimation and measurement process. After the process is completed, the second communication device may also perform the following operations:

[0228] S760: Target frequency number for receiving.

[0229] The target frequency point number corresponds to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality in the first channel.

[0230] S770: Transmits a target radio frequency signal to a first communication device via a target subcarrier. This target radio frequency signal is used to power the first communication device.

[0231] For ease of understanding, the corresponding operation of the physical components of the energy emitting end in the method 700 proposed in the present application will be described below with reference to the system 400 proposed in the foregoing embodiments.

[0232] Based on the above technical solution, considering the differences in time-domain signal processing capabilities among different first communication devices, a mechanism is introduced whereby the first communication device reports capability information to the second communication device. This allows the second communication device to dynamically adjust the length of the transmitted pilot sequence based on the reported capability information, thereby reducing the time complexity of the first communication device in processing time-domain signals and improving the efficiency of channel estimation or measurement. Furthermore, the first communication device directly reports the target frequency number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality to the second communication device. This enables the second communication device to directly determine the target subcarrier used to transmit the target radio frequency signal to the first communication device. This channel measurement feedback mechanism not only reduces the complexity of channel measurement but also effectively reduces the amount of information fed back to the second communication device, thus reducing the energy consumption of feedback information. Especially in scenarios where the first communication device is charged using WPT technology, the first communication device can achieve high-efficiency channel estimation in a low-complexity manner, improving the charging efficiency of the first communication device and reducing the energy consumption of the first communication device in channel estimation.

[0233] In some possible embodiments, the operations of methods 600 and 700 described above can be combined. For example, in method 600, before S610, the first communication device can send first capability information to the second communication device, so that the second communication device sends an initial time-domain signal adapted to the first communication device according to the first capability information. This embodiment combines the advantages of methods 600 and 700, which can further improve the efficiency of channel estimation or measurement, help to further improve the charging efficiency of the first communication device, and also further reduce the energy consumption of the first communication device in performing channel estimation.

[0234] Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method 700 of system 400 as proposed in an embodiment of this application.

[0235] In this embodiment, the energy transmitter is a network-side device, such as a base station (RAN device), and the interaction process between the base station and the core network device is shown; correspondingly, the energy receiver is a terminal device. Of course, in practical applications, the devices corresponding to the energy transmitter and energy receiver are not limited to the devices given in this example.

[0236] S805: The CN device sends a channel measurement request and the time-domain processing capability information of the terminal device to the RAN device through the backhaul link;

[0237] Among them, the aforementioned channel measurement request and the time-domain processing capability information of the terminal equipment are received by the CU of the RAN equipment.

[0238] It should be understood that the aforementioned time-domain processing capability information may be the first capability information in method 700.

[0239] In some possible embodiments, S805 is an optional step. When S805 is not executed, the CU can actively trigger an instruction to the terminal device for channel estimation and measurement; or, the terminal device can directly send a channel measurement request and time-domain processing capability information to the RAN device.

[0240] S810: The CU determines the length of the first pilot sequence based on the time-domain processing capability information and sends the channel measurement command and the length of the first pilot sequence to the DU.

[0241] S815: DU sends channel measurement commands and the length of the first pilot sequence to RU via the fronthaul link.

[0242] S820: The RU sends an initial time-domain signal to the terminal device through the first channel. The initial time-domain signal includes a pilot sequence, the length of which is the length of the first pilot sequence.

[0243] S825: The terminal device receives the first time-domain signal, performs FT / FFT / DFT on the first time-domain signal, estimates and measures the first channel based on the processing results, and feeds back the channel measurement results to the RAN device.

[0244] S830: RU performs down-conversion processing on the channel measurement results to obtain the first baseband signal, and sends the first baseband signal to DU.

[0245] S835:DU analyzes the first baseband signal, determines the target frequency information in the channel measurement results, and transmits the target frequency information to CU through the mid-pass link.

[0246] S840: The CU calculates the corresponding target beam weights based on the target frequency information.

[0247] S845: The CU returns the target beam weights to the CN device.

[0248] S850: The CN device sends a charging command to the CU based on the target beam weight information fed back by the CU. The CU sends the charging command to the RU through the midhaul link and the fronthaul link. The charging command is used to instruct the RU to send the target radio frequency signal corresponding to the target beam weight. The target radio frequency signal is used to charge the terminal device.

[0249] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned S845 is an optional step. When S845 is not executed, the CU can directly determine the above-mentioned charging command based on the target beam weight and send it to the RU.

[0250] Based on the above technical solution, the CN device can request the RAN device to perform channel measurement, or the CU can actively trigger channel measurement. The RAN device completes the channel measurement by the terminal device through the cooperation between the CU / DU / RU. Based on the channel measurement results fed back by the terminal device, the corresponding target beam weight is determined, and the RU transmits the radio frequency signal corresponding to the target beam weight to power the terminal device, thereby improving the power-up efficiency of the terminal device. Moreover, before triggering the terminal device to perform channel estimation, the time-domain data processing capability of the terminal device is taken into consideration, and a differentiated pilot sequence is designed to further reduce the time consumed by the terminal device to perform time-frequency conversion on the time-domain signal including the pilot sequence, thereby further improving the power-up efficiency.

[0251] Furthermore, the following description, in conjunction with the chip system 500 proposed in the foregoing embodiments, will explain the corresponding operation of the chip unit of the energy transmitter (e.g., RAN device) in the method 700 proposed in the embodiments of this application.

[0252] Figure 9This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method 700 of the chip system 500 proposed in this application embodiment.

[0253] S905: CN sends channel measurement requests and time-domain processing capability information of terminal equipment to RAN equipment via the backhaul link.

[0254] In some possible embodiments, the CU of the RAN device performs logical operations on the channel measurement request and the time-domain processing capability information of the terminal device to determine a first processing result, and sends the first processing result to the CPU in the CU. The first processing result may include a first pilot sequence length adapted to the time-domain processing capability information of the terminal device.

[0255] In some possible embodiments, the CPU in the CU may be an X86-based or ARM-based CPU. In addition, the CU may also include chips of the type of FPGA, GPU or other accelerator.

[0256] In some possible embodiments, simple logical operations, such as summation, can be processed by chips of the FPGA, GPU, or other accelerator types mentioned above. The processing result (e.g., the first processing result mentioned above) is then fed back to the CPU of the CU, allowing the CPU of the CU to perform subsequent control operations based on the processing result, such as determining whether to send corresponding control commands to the DU. The interface between the CPU of the CU and the FPGA, GPU, or other accelerator can be a PCIe interface.

[0257] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned S905 is an optional step. When S905 is not executed, the CU can directly send the channel measurement request and the time domain processing capability information of the terminal device without going through the CN.

[0258] Among them, the terminal device can send the length of the pilot sequence that it can process or the above-mentioned FT / FFT / DFT (i.e. the above-mentioned first capability information) to the base station through the UCI of PUCCH or PUSCH. This information can be transmitted directly to the CU unit through the air interface without going through CN.

[0259] S910: The CPU of the CU determines the length of the first pilot sequence based on the channel measurement request and the time-domain processing capability information of the terminal device, and sends the channel measurement command and the length of the first pilot sequence to the DU.

[0260] In some possible embodiments, the DU performs logical operations based on the channel measurement command and the length of the first pilot sequence to determine a second processing result, and then sends the second processing result to the CPU in the DU. The second processing result may include the channel measurement command and the length of the first pilot sequence.

[0261] In some possible embodiments, the CPU in the DU described above may also be an X86 architecture or an ARM architecture CPU. In addition, the DU may also include chips of the type of FPGA, GPU or other accelerator.

[0262] In some possible embodiments, simple logical operations, such as summation, can be processed by chips of the FPGA, GPU, or other accelerator types mentioned above. The processing result (e.g., the second processing result mentioned above) is then fed back to the CPU of the DU, enabling the DU's CPU to perform subsequent control operations based on the processing result, such as determining whether to send corresponding control commands to the RU. The interface between the DU's CPU and the FPGA, GPU, or other accelerator can be a PCIe interface.

[0263] S915: DU sends channel measurement commands and the length of the first pilot sequence to RU via the fronthaul link.

[0264] S920: The RU determines the initial time-domain signal based on the channel measurement command and the length of the first pilot sequence, and sends the initial time-domain signal to the terminal device through the first channel. The initial time-domain signal includes a pilot sequence, and the length of the pilot sequence is the length of the first pilot sequence.

[0265] In some possible embodiments, the RU includes a fronthaul processing chip for processing relevant indication signaling from the DU. The fronthaul processing chip can be a CPU or a dedicated chip, such as an FPGA or ASIC type chip. The fronthaul processing chip can instruct the digital signal processing chip to process the signal from the RF processing chip based on the instructions of the DU through scheduling instructions. The digital signal processing chip performs related operations including FFT, modulation and demodulation. The RF processing chip mainly handles downconversion, spectrum splicing / shifting operations, and sends the processing results to the digital processing chip to determine the initial time domain signal.

[0266] S925: The terminal device receives the first time-domain signal, performs FFT on the first time-domain signal, estimates and measures the first channel based on the processing result, and feeds back the channel measurement result to the RAN device.

[0267] The first time-domain signal is the initial time-domain signal mixed with noise from the first channel.

[0268] S930: RU performs down-conversion processing on the channel measurement results to obtain the first baseband signal, and sends the first baseband signal to DU.

[0269] S935:DU analyzes the first baseband signal, determines the target frequency information in the channel measurement results, and transmits the target frequency information to CU through the mid-pass link.

[0270] S940: The CU calculates the corresponding target beam weight based on the target frequency information and returns the target beam weight to the CN device.

[0271] S945: The CN device sends a charging command to the CU based on the target beam weight information fed back by the CU. The CU sends the charging command to the RU through the midhaul link and the fronthaul link. The charging command is used to instruct the RU to send the target radio frequency signal corresponding to the target beam weight. The target radio frequency signal is used to charge the terminal device.

[0272] In some possible embodiments, the operation of the CU returning the target beam weight to the CN device is an optional step. If this step is not performed, the CU can directly determine the charging command based on the target beam weight and send it to the RU.

[0273] Based on the above technical solution, the RAN equipment improves signal processing efficiency through the collaboration between different internal chips, such as CPU control logic decision-making, accelerator parallel processing logic operations, and digital processing chips performing digital signal processing operations. Furthermore, in addition to dynamically issuing pilot sequences of appropriate length based on the time-domain processing capabilities reported by the terminal device, the RAN equipment chips also need to analyze the channel measurement results fed back by the terminal device. Finally, based on the target frequency point mentioned above by the terminal device, the target beam weight is determined, and the target radio frequency signal corresponding to the target beam weight is sent to the terminal device to power it. This achieves efficient channel measurement and low-power feedback of channel measurement results, thereby improving the efficiency of powering the terminal device via wireless radio frequency signals.

[0274] For ease of understanding, the following describes the corresponding operation of the physical components of the energy receiving end in the method 600 proposed in this application embodiment, in conjunction with the hardware system architecture of the terminal device.

[0275] In this embodiment, the energy receiver is a terminal device, such as a smartphone; correspondingly, the energy transmitter is a base station. Of course, in practical applications, the devices corresponding to the energy transmitter and energy receiver are not limited to those given in this example.

[0276] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a hardware system 1000 of a terminal device applicable to an embodiment of this application.

[0277] refer to Figure 10 As shown, system 1000 includes: a signal receiver, an RF front-end unit, and a system-on-chip (SOC).

[0278] The radio frequency front-end unit includes a receiver and a transmitter, which are used to receive and transmit signals, respectively. The SOC includes a radio frequency signal processing unit, a baseband signal processing unit, an application processor, and a memory. The input terminals of the radio frequency signal processing unit and the baseband signal processing unit are connected, and the memory is connected to the output terminal of the baseband signal processing unit. The memory includes computer program code for implementing the corresponding functions.

[0279] Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method 600 of the system 1000 proposed in this application embodiment.

[0280] S1105: The radio frequency front-end unit receives the first time domain signal 1 sent by the base station through the first channel via the signal receiver, and sends the first time domain signal 1 to the radio frequency signal processing unit.

[0281] It should be understood that the first time-domain signal 1 mentioned above may include noise from the first channel and may not be completely consistent with the initial time-domain signal sent by the base station.

[0282] S1110: The radio frequency signal processing unit performs analog-to-digital conversion and down-conversion processing on the first time domain signal 1 to determine the first time domain signal 2, and sends the first time domain signal 2 to the baseband signal processing unit.

[0283] S1115: The baseband signal processing unit divides the first time domain signal 2 into multiple segments at equal intervals and performs FFT on each segment to obtain multiple first frequency domain signals.

[0284] S1120: The baseband signal processing unit performs a joint average of multiple first frequency domain signals to obtain a second frequency domain signal.

[0285] S1125: The baseband signal processing unit restores the second frequency domain signal to the length corresponding to the first time domain signal 2 by interpolation, and performs channel estimation with the third pilot sequence stored locally in the baseband signal processing unit to obtain the first channel with subcarrier dimension N.

[0286] S1130: The baseband signal processing unit extracts the first channel with subcarrier dimension N according to the length of the second frequency domain signal, calculates the extracted channel magnitude, and feeds back the target frequency point corresponding to the subcarrier with the largest magnitude to the radio frequency signal processing unit.

[0287] S1135: The radio frequency signal processing unit sends the target frequency information to the radio frequency front-end unit through digital-to-analog conversion and up-conversion.

[0288] S1140: The radio frequency front-end unit transmits the target frequency point to the base station via wireless signal through carrier modulation.

[0289] Furthermore, the operation of the chip unit of the energy receiving end (e.g., terminal device) in the method 600 proposed in this application embodiment will be described below in conjunction with a chip system of a terminal device.

[0290] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1200 for a terminal device applicable to an embodiment of this application.

[0291] refer to Figure 12 As shown, the chip system 1200 includes: a demodulation signal receiver, an RF front-end unit, an RF signal processing unit, and a baseband signal processing unit. The demodulation signal receiver is connected to the RF front-end unit, the RF front-end unit is connected to the RF signal processing unit, and the RF signal processing unit is connected to the baseband signal processing unit.

[0292] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating the execution method 600 of the chip system 1200 according to an embodiment of this application.

[0293] S1305: The radio frequency front-end unit receives the first time domain signal 1 sent by the base station through the first channel via the demodulation signal receiver, and sends the first time domain signal 1 to the radio frequency signal processing unit.

[0294] S1310: The first processing chip of the radio frequency signal processing unit performs analog-to-digital conversion and down-conversion processing on the first time domain signal 1 to determine the first time domain signal 2, and sends the first time domain signal 2 to the baseband signal processing unit.

[0295] S1315: The second processing chip of the baseband signal processing unit divides the first time domain signal 2 into multiple segments at equal intervals and performs FFT on each segment to obtain multiple first frequency domain signals.

[0296] S1320: The second processing chip of the baseband signal processing unit performs a joint average of multiple first frequency domain signals to obtain a second frequency domain signal.

[0297] S1325: The second processing chip of the baseband signal processing unit restores the second frequency domain signal to the length corresponding to the first time domain signal 2 by interpolation, and performs channel estimation with the third pilot sequence stored locally in the baseband signal processing unit to obtain the first channel with subcarrier dimension N.

[0298] S1330: The second processing chip of the baseband signal processing unit extracts the first channel with subcarrier dimension N according to the length of the second frequency domain signal, calculates the extracted channel modulus, and feeds back the target frequency point corresponding to the subcarrier with the largest modulus to the radio frequency signal processing unit.

[0299] S1335: The first processing chip of the radio frequency signal processing unit sends the target frequency information to the radio frequency front-end unit through digital-to-analog conversion and up-conversion.

[0300] S1340: The radio frequency front-end unit transmits the target frequency point to the base station via wireless signal through carrier modulation.

[0301] In some possible embodiments, the first and second processing chips described above may include CPUs based on x86 or ARM architectures, as well as chips of the type such as FPGAs, GPUs, or other accelerators. Additionally, the carrier modulation function of the aforementioned radio frequency front-end unit can also be performed by a processing chip integrated into the radio frequency front-end unit, which may also include CPUs based on x86 or ARM architectures, as well as chips of the type such as FPGAs, GPUs, or other accelerators. The interface between the processor in each of the aforementioned functional units and the FPGA, GPU, or other accelerator can be a PCIe interface.

[0302] Based on the above technical solution, the collaboration between different chips within the terminal device—such as CPU control logic decision-making, accelerator parallel processing logic operations, and digital processing chips performing digital signal processing operations—improves signal processing efficiency. This inter-chip cooperation enables efficient time-frequency domain data processing, thereby improving charging efficiency. Furthermore, during the processing of the first time-domain signal, the terminal device chip segments the signal and performs FFT on the segments to obtain multiple frequency-domain signals. These multiple frequency-domain signals are then jointly averaged, allowing the terminal device to obtain all bandwidth information of the first time-domain signal and perform channel extraction with lower complexity, thus reducing signal processing complexity and energy consumption.

[0303] Furthermore, embodiments of this application also provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a unit (or means) for implementing any of the above communication methods.

[0304] Figure 14 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1400 provided in an embodiment of this application. The device 1400 can be mounted on the aforementioned first communication device to implement the aforementioned method 600. The device 1400 includes:

[0305] The receiving unit 1410 is used to receive a first time-domain signal through a first channel. The first time-domain signal carries a first pilot sequence, the length of which is N, where N is a positive integer.

[0306] The signal processing unit 1420 is used to transform the first time-domain signal into M first frequency-domain signals, where M is a positive integer; to transform the M first frequency-domain signals into second frequency-domain signals, the second frequency-domain signals including a second pilot sequence, the length of the second pilot sequence being L, where L is less than N; and to determine a third pilot sequence based on the second frequency-domain signals, the length of the third pilot sequence being N, the third pilot sequence being used to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0307] In some possible embodiments, the signal processing unit 1420 is specifically used to: split the first time-domain signal into M second time-domain signals; perform time-frequency transformation on the M second time-domain signals to determine M first frequency-domain signals.

[0308] In some possible embodiments, the above-described apparatus 1400 further includes a transmitting unit 1430, which is configured to: transmit first capability information before receiving a first time-domain signal through a first channel, the first capability information being used to indicate the maximum length of the pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence, wherein the length of the first pilot sequence is less than or equal to the aforementioned maximum length.

[0309] In some possible embodiments, the signal processing unit 1420 is specifically used to: insert a plurality of second frequency domain signals into a reference pilot sequence to determine a third pilot sequence, the reference pilot sequence being used to represent a channel having N subcarriers, and a first interval existing between the plurality of second frequency domain signals.

[0310] In some possible embodiments, the signal processing unit 1420 is further configured to: determine N first subcarriers of the first channel according to the third pilot sequence; decimate the first channel according to a first interval to determine a second channel, the second channel corresponding to L first subcarriers; and determine the channel quality corresponding to each of the L first subcarriers.

[0311] In some possible embodiments, the above-described device 1400 further includes:

[0312] The reporting unit 1440 is used to report the target frequency point number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality among the L first subcarriers. The target frequency point number is used to instruct the second communication device to send a target radio frequency signal through the target subcarrier. The target radio frequency signal is used to charge the first communication device. The second communication device communicates with the first communication device through the first channel.

[0313] The functions of the reporting unit 1440 and the sending unit 1430 can be integrated into a single logical function module.

[0314] In some possible embodiments, the above-described apparatus 1400 can also be used to implement the above-described method 700. In the above-described method 700, the above-described transmitting unit 1430 is used to: transmit first capability information, which indicates the maximum length of the pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency conversion on the pilot sequence.

[0315] The receiving unit 1410 is configured to: receive a first time-domain signal through a first channel, the first time-domain signal carrying a first pilot sequence, the length of the first pilot sequence being less than or equal to the maximum length mentioned above, and the first pilot sequence being used to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0316] In some possible embodiments, the above time-frequency transformation includes: FT, FFT or DFT.

[0317] In some possible embodiments, the signal processing unit 1420 is further configured to: determine, based on the first pilot sequence, that the first channel comprises L first subcarriers, where L is a positive integer.

[0318] In some possible embodiments, the signal processing unit 1420 is further configured to: determine the channel quality corresponding to each of the L first subcarriers;

[0319] The aforementioned reporting unit 1440 is also used to: report the target frequency point number corresponding to the target subcarrier with the highest channel quality among the L first subcarriers, the target frequency point number is used to instruct the second communication device to send a target radio frequency signal through the target subcarrier, the target radio frequency signal is used to charge the first communication device, and the second communication device communicates with the first communication device through the first channel.

[0320] Figure 15 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1500 provided in an embodiment of this application. The device 1500 can be mounted on the aforementioned second communication device to implement the aforementioned method 600 or method 700. The device 1500 includes:

[0321] The receiving unit 1510 is used to receive first capability information; the first capability information is used for the second communication device to communicate with the first communication device, and the first capability information is used to indicate the maximum length of the pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence.

[0322] In some possible embodiments, the above-described device 1500 further includes:

[0323] The transmitting unit 1520 is used to transmit an initial time-domain signal to the first communication device through the first channel. The initial time-domain signal carries an initial pilot sequence, and the length of the initial pilot sequence is less than or equal to the maximum length mentioned above.

[0324] In some possible embodiments, the above-described initial pilot sequence is used to estimate or measure the first channel.

[0325] In some possible embodiments, the receiving unit 1510 is further configured to: receive a target frequency point number, which corresponds to a target subcarrier with the highest channel quality in the first channel. The transmitting unit 1520 is further configured to: transmit a target radio frequency signal to the first communication device via the target subcarrier, the target radio frequency signal being used to power the first communication device.

[0326] Furthermore, this application also proposes a communication system, including a first communication device and a second communication device, wherein the first communication device includes the aforementioned device 1400, and the second communication device includes the aforementioned device 1500.

[0327] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0328] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0329] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0330] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0331] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0332] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0333] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method applied to a first communication device comprises: sending first capability information, the first capability information being used to indicate a maximum length of a pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence; receiving a first time-domain signal through a first channel, the first time-domain signal carrying a first pilot sequence, a length of the first pilot sequence being less than or equal to the maximum length, the first pilot sequence being used to estimate or measure the first channel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The time-frequency transformation comprises Fourier transformation, fast Fourier transformation or discrete Fourier transformation.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further comprises: determining, according to the first pilot sequence, that the first channel comprises L first subcarriers, L being a positive integer.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The method further comprises: determining channel quality corresponding to the L first subcarriers respectively; reporting a target frequency point number corresponding to a target subcarrier with the highest channel quality among the L first subcarriers, the target frequency point number being used to instruct a second communication device to send a target radio frequency signal through the target subcarrier, the target radio frequency signal being used to charge the first communication device, the second communication device communicating with the first communication device through the first channel.

5. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method applied to a second communication device comprises: receiving first capability information; communicating with a first communication device according to the first capability information, the first capability information being used to indicate a maximum length of a pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The communicating with the first communication device according to the first capability information comprises: sending an initial time-domain signal to the first communication device through a first channel, the initial time-domain signal carrying an initial pilot sequence, a length of the initial pilot sequence being less than or equal to the maximum length.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The initial pilot sequence is used to estimate or measure the first channel.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving a target frequency point number corresponding to a target subcarrier with the highest channel quality in the first channel; sending a target radio frequency signal to the first communication device through the target subcarrier, the target radio frequency signal being used to charge the first communication device.

9. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method applied to a first communication device comprises: receiving a first time-domain signal through a first channel, the first time-domain signal carrying a first pilot sequence, a length of the first pilot sequence being N, N being a positive integer; transforming the first time-domain signal into M first frequency-domain signals, M being a positive integer; converting the M first frequency-domain signals into a second frequency-domain signal, the second frequency-domain signal comprising a second pilot sequence, a length of the second pilot sequence being L, L being less than N; determining a third pilot sequence according to the second frequency-domain signal, a length of the third pilot sequence being N, the third pilot sequence being used to estimate or measure a first channel.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, Before the receiving the first time-domain signal through the first channel, the method further comprises: The first capability information is used to indicate a maximum length of a pilot sequence supported by the first communication device when performing time-frequency transformation on the pilot sequence, and a length of the first pilot sequence is less than or equal to the maximum length.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The determining the third pilot sequence according to the second frequency domain signal comprises: The plurality of second frequency domain signals are inserted into a reference pilot sequence to determine the third pilot sequence, the reference pilot sequence is used to represent a channel having N subcarriers, and a first interval exists between the plurality of second frequency domain signals.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The method further comprises: determining N first subcarriers of the first channel according to the third pilot sequence; extracting the first channel according to the first interval to determine a second channel, the second channel corresponding to L first subcarriers; determining channel qualities corresponding to the L first subcarriers respectively.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The method further comprises: reporting a target frequency point number corresponding to a target subcarrier having a highest channel quality among the L first subcarriers, the target frequency point number being used to instruct a second communication device to transmit a target radio frequency signal through the target subcarrier, the target radio frequency signal being used to charge the first communication device, and the second communication device being used to communicate with the first communication device through the first channel.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that, The transforming the first time domain signal into M first frequency domain signals comprises: splitting the first time domain signal into M second time domain signals; performing time-frequency transformation on the M second time domain signals to determine the M first frequency domain signals.

15. A communications device, characterized by The method comprises a module or unit for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 4, or the method of any one of claims 5 to 8, or the method of any one of claims 9 to 14.

16. A communications device, characterized by The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are connected, wherein the memory is used to store program code, and the processor is used to call the program code to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 4, or the method of any one of claims 5 to 8, or the method of any one of claims 9 to 14.

17. A communication system, characterized by The method comprises a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device is used to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 4, or perform the method of any one of claims 9 to 14, and the second communication device is used to perform the method of any one of claims 5 to 8.

18. A chip system, characterized by The chip system is applied to an electronic device; the chip system comprises one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; the interface circuit and the processor are connected through a circuit; the interface circuit is used to receive a signal from a memory of the electronic device and send a signal to the processor, the signal comprising computer instructions stored in the memory; when the processor executes the computer instructions, the electronic device performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 4, or the method of any one of claims 5 to 8, or the method of any one of claims 9 to 14.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, which is executed by the processor to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 4, or the method of any one of claims 5 to 8, or the method of any one of claims 9 to 14.

20. A computer program product, characterised in that, comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 4, or the method of any one of claims 5 to 8, or the method of any one of claims 9 to 14 to be performed.

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