A communication method, a communication device, and a communication system

Abstract

The application provides a communication method, a communication device and a communication system, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method can be applied to a positioning scene. In the method, when a terminal device is paged by a reader, the reader receives a random access request message from the terminal device, configures time domain resources and a plurality of frequency domain resources for the terminal device in response to the random access request message, and the plurality of frequency domain resources belong to the same carrier. The reader receives an uplink signal from the terminal device, the uplink signal is carried on the time domain resources, and the position of the terminal device is determined based on a plurality of pieces of information contained in the uplink signal and carried on the plurality of frequency domain resources. Therefore, the reader determines a plurality of phase values corresponding to the plurality of pieces of information, and then the reader can determine the position of the terminal device based on the plurality of phase values, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, communication device and communication system. Background Technology

[0002] In communication systems, to improve communication sustainability and performance while reducing wireless power consumption, the ambient internet of things (AIoT) has been introduced. AIoT services enable AIoT devices to respond to and execute operations such as inventory checks or commands, realizing various value scenarios, such as warehousing, transportation, inventory management of goods, and asset management. However, for scenarios with large-scale deployment of AIoT devices (such as inventory or location tracking in logistics warehousing), improving the accuracy of AIoT device positioning is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a communication method, communication device, and communication system that can improve the positioning accuracy of terminal devices.

[0004] Firstly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a reader, or by a component configured in the reader (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of a terminal device. This application does not limit this approach. The following description uses a reader as an example.

[0005] The method includes: when a terminal device is paged by a reader, the reader receives a random access request message from the terminal device and, in response to the random access request message, configures time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for the terminal device, wherein the multiple frequency-domain resources belong to the same carrier. The reader receives an uplink signal from the terminal device, the uplink signal being carried on time-domain resources, and the location of the terminal device being determined based on multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signal, each carried on multiple frequency-domain resources.

[0006] Therefore, it can be seen that the reader configures time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for the terminal device. The uplink signal sent by the terminal device and received by the reader is carried on the time-domain resources, and the multiple information contained in the uplink signal is carried on multiple frequency-domain resources respectively. This allows the reader to determine multiple phase values ​​corresponding to multiple information by receiving one uplink signal. In addition, the reader can determine the location of the terminal device based on multiple phase values, which not only saves the signaling transmission overhead, but also greatly improves the positioning accuracy of the terminal device.

[0007] In one possible implementation, time-domain resources are determined based on the signal quality of the random access request message.

[0008] In this implementation, due to differences in the distance between different terminal devices and the reader, and differences in the hardware capabilities of different terminal devices, the signal quality of the random access request messages sent by different terminal devices to the reader varies. The reader configures time-domain resources for the terminal devices based on the signal quality of the random access request messages sent by the terminal devices, which not only reduces the probability of transmission errors caused by differences in signal quality, but also optimizes the allocation of time-domain resources.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the time-domain resource corresponds to the signal quality interval in which the signal quality of the random access request message is located.

[0010] In this implementation, the signal quality range of the random access request message has a certain mapping relationship with the time domain resources. Based on the signal quality range of the random access request message, the reader can quickly configure the corresponding time domain resources for the terminal device, thereby improving the efficiency of resource configuration.

[0011] In one possible implementation, configuring time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for the terminal device includes: the reader sending a random access response message to the terminal device; wherein the random access response message includes configuration information indicating the time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources. Therefore, the reader carries the configuration information in the random access response message and instructs the terminal device to avoid additional configuration overhead.

[0012] In one possible implementation, configuration information is used to configure frequency shift values ​​corresponding to multiple frequency domain resources, where the frequency shift value is the frequency domain offset relative to the reference frequency domain position.

[0013] In this implementation, the reader uses configuration information to configure multiple frequency shift values ​​for the terminal device to determine the frequency domain resources used to transmit different bits. This eliminates the need for the reader to transmit multiple trigger signals, reducing the complexity of the reader. The terminal device can determine multiple frequency domain resources using its existing capabilities without adding any extra burden to the reader.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the configuration information includes bit duration and frequency shift factors corresponding to multiple frequency domain resources. The frequency shift value for each frequency domain resource is determined based on the bit duration and the corresponding frequency shift factor. Thus, the reader configures multiple frequency shift factors for the terminal device to determine the frequency domain resources used for transmitting different information. This eliminates the need for the reader to transmit multiple trigger signals, reducing the reader's complexity. The terminal device can determine multiple frequency domain resources using its existing capabilities without adding any extra burden to the reader.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the configuration information includes a bit duration and a frequency shift factor. Multiple frequency domain resources correspond to the same frequency shift value, and there are multiple reference frequency domain locations. The frequency shift value is determined based on the bit duration and the frequency shift factor. Thus, the reader configures a frequency shift factor for the terminal device. After determining the frequency shift value based on the frequency shift factor and the bit duration, the terminal device determines multiple frequency domain resources based on multiple reference frequency domain locations and the frequency shift value, achieving the goal of configuring multiple frequency domain resources for the terminal device.

[0016] In one possible implementation, before receiving the uplink signal from the terminal device, the method further includes: the reader sending a downlink signal to the terminal device; the downlink signal is used to trigger the terminal device to send the uplink signal, and the downlink signal is carried on time domain resources and reference frequency domain location.

[0017] In this implementation, when the terminal device is a passive tag, it does not have the ability to actively send uplink signals to the reader. The terminal device only triggers the transmission of uplink signals to the reader after receiving downlink signals from the reader. Furthermore, since the downlink signals are carried in a reference frequency domain location, after receiving the downlink signals, the terminal device can determine multiple frequency domain resources based on the reference frequency domain location and a pre-configured frequency shift value.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the location of the terminal device is determined based on the weighting factors, phase differences, and frequency differences corresponding to multiple pieces of information; the phase difference is the phase difference between any two adjacent phase values ​​among the phase values ​​corresponding to the multiple pieces of information; and the frequency difference is the frequency difference between any two adjacent frequency domain resources among the multiple frequency domain resources.

[0019] In this implementation, the reader considers a weighting factor when determining the position of the terminal device, combining multiple measurements such as phase difference and frequency difference. This not only reduces the impact of measurement errors on positioning accuracy but also avoids the impact of multipath effects on positioning accuracy, thus improving positioning accuracy.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the location of the terminal device is obtained by least-squares fitting with multiple information values ​​as independent variables and phase differences as dependent variables, based on weighting factors corresponding to each value. Thus, since the reader can dynamically adjust the weighting factors based on multiple phase values, it achieves the goal of suppressing abnormal phase values. Obtaining the terminal device's location based on least-squares fitting with multiple weighting factors improves positioning accuracy and efficiency.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the weighting factor is related to at least one of the linear fit weight and the neighborhood smoothness weight; wherein, the linear fit weight is used to characterize the degree of deviation of the phase value corresponding to the current information relative to the distance estimate; the neighborhood smoothness weight is used to characterize the continuity of the phase value corresponding to the current information relative to the phase value corresponding to at least one adjacent information; the distance estimate is obtained by least-squares fitting with the frequency difference as the independent variable and the phase difference as the dependent variable. It can be seen that the reader dynamically adjusts the weighting factor based on the phase value error when locating the terminal device, which helps to improve positioning accuracy.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the linearity weight is determined based on the phase difference and frequency difference; the neighborhood smoothness weight is determined based on the phase value corresponding to the current information, the phase value corresponding to at least one adjacent information, and a pre-configured smoothness scaling factor. This implementation provides a feasible solution for determining the linearity weight and the neighborhood smoothness weight.

[0023] Secondly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the terminal device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. This application does not limit this. The following description uses a terminal device as an example.

[0024] The method includes: when a terminal device is paged by a reader, the terminal device sends a random access request message to the reader, and then receives time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources configured for the terminal device from the reader, wherein the multiple frequency-domain resources belong to the same carrier; the time-domain resources and the multiple frequency-domain resources are configured by the reader in response to the random access request message. The terminal device sends an uplink signal to the reader, the uplink signal being carried on the time-domain resources, and the location of the terminal device is determined based on the multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signal, which are respectively carried on the multiple frequency-domain resources.

[0025] Therefore, it can be seen that the terminal device carries the uplink signal on time-domain resources, and the multiple information contained in the uplink signal is carried on multiple frequency-domain resources and sent to the reader. This allows the reader to determine multiple phase values ​​corresponding to multiple pieces of information after receiving the uplink signal, and thus determine the location of the terminal device based on these multiple phase values. It is evident that the terminal device does not need to transmit multiple uplink signals to the reader; transmitting only one uplink signal is sufficient for the reader to determine multiple phase values. This not only saves signaling transmission overhead but also significantly improves the positioning accuracy of the terminal device.

[0026] In one possible implementation, time-domain resources are determined based on the signal quality of the random access request message.

[0027] In this implementation, due to differences in the distance between different terminal devices and the reader, and differences in the hardware capabilities of different terminal devices, the signal quality of the random access request messages sent by different terminal devices to the reader varies. The reader configures time-domain resources for the terminal devices based on the signal quality of the random access request messages sent by the terminal devices. This not only reduces the probability of transmission errors caused by differences in signal quality, but also optimizes the allocation of time-domain resources.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the time-domain resource corresponds to the signal quality interval in which the signal quality of the random access request message is located.

[0029] In one possible implementation, receiving time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources configured for the terminal device from the reader includes: the terminal device receiving a random access response message from the reader; wherein the random access response message includes configuration information indicating the time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources.

[0030] In one possible implementation, configuration information is used to configure frequency shift values ​​corresponding to multiple frequency domain resources, where the frequency shift value is the frequency domain offset relative to the reference frequency domain position.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the configuration information includes bit duration and frequency shift factors corresponding to multiple frequency domain resources, wherein the frequency shift value corresponding to each frequency domain resource is determined based on the bit duration and the frequency shift factor corresponding to each frequency domain resource.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the configuration information includes a bit duration and a frequency shift factor, multiple frequency domain resources have the same frequency shift value, there are multiple reference frequency domain locations, and the frequency shift value is determined based on the bit duration and a frequency shift factor.

[0033] In one possible implementation, before sending an uplink signal to the reader, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving a downlink signal from the reader; wherein the downlink signal is used to trigger the terminal device to send an uplink signal, and the downlink signal is carried on time domain resources and a reference frequency domain location.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the location of the terminal device is determined based on the weighting factors, phase differences, and frequency differences corresponding to multiple pieces of information; wherein, the phase difference is the phase difference between every two adjacent phase values ​​among the phase values ​​corresponding to the multiple pieces of information; and the frequency difference is the frequency difference between every two adjacent frequency domain resources among the multiple frequency domain resources.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the location of the terminal device is obtained by least-squares fitting based on weighting factors corresponding to multiple pieces of information, with frequency difference as the independent variable and phase difference as the dependent variable.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the weighting factor is related to at least one of the linear fit weight and the neighborhood smoothness weight; wherein the linear fit weight is used to characterize the degree of deviation of the phase value corresponding to the current information relative to the distance estimate; the neighborhood smoothness weight is used to characterize the continuity of the current corresponding phase value relative to the phase value corresponding to at least one adjacent information, and the distance estimate is obtained by least squares fitting with frequency difference as independent variable and phase difference as dependent variable.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the linear compliance weights are determined based on the phase difference and frequency difference;

[0038] The neighborhood smoothness weight is determined based on the phase value corresponding to the current information, the phase value corresponding to at least one neighboring information, and a pre-configured smoothness scaling factor.

[0039] The second aspect is the implementation on the device side, which corresponds to the first aspect. The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of the beneficial effects of the first aspect also apply to the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0040] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, comprising a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module is used to, when a terminal device is paged by a reader, after the reader receives a random access request message from the terminal device;

[0041] This processing module is used to respond to random access request messages and configure time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for the terminal device, wherein the multiple frequency-domain resources belong to the same carrier;

[0042] The transceiver module is also used to receive uplink signals from the terminal device. The uplink signals are carried on time domain resources, and the location of the terminal device is determined based on the multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signals, which are carried on multiple frequency domain resources.

[0043] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module is used to send a random access request message to a reader when the terminal device is paged by the reader.

[0044] The transceiver module is also used to receive time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources configured for the terminal device from the reader, wherein the multiple frequency-domain resources belong to the same carrier; the time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources are configured by the reader in response to a random access request message. The transceiver module is also used to send uplink signals to the reader, which are carried on time-domain resources, and the location of the terminal device is determined based on the multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signals, which are carried on multiple frequency-domain resources respectively.

[0045] The third and fourth aspects are the implementation on the device side, which correspond to the first and second aspects. The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of the beneficial effects of the first and second aspects also apply to the third and fourth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0046] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect described above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0047] In one implementation, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0048] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in the reader. When the communication device is a chip configured in the reader, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0049] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect described above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0050] In one implementation, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0051] In a seventh aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is used to receive signals through the input circuit and to transmit signals through the output circuit, causing the processor to execute a method in any possible implementation of any aspect.

[0052] In specific implementation, the processor can be one or more chips, the input circuit can be input pins, the output circuit can be output pins, and the processing circuit can be transistors, gate circuits, flip-flops, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. Furthermore, the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as both the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0053] Eighthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor is used to read instructions stored in the memory, receive signals via a receiver, and transmit signals via a transmitter to execute the method in any possible implementation of any of the preceding aspects.

[0054] Optionally, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0055] Ninthly, a computer program product is provided, comprising: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when executed, causes a computer to perform a method in any possible implementation of any of the above aspects.

[0056] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods in any possible implementation of any of the above aspects.

[0057] Eleventhly, a chip system is provided, comprising one or more processors for calling and executing instructions stored in memory, such that the methods in any of the foregoing aspects or any possible implementations of the foregoing aspects are executed. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0058] The chip system may include input circuits or interfaces for transmitting information or data, and output circuits or interfaces for receiving information or data.

[0059] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, including the aforementioned reader and terminal device. Optionally, the communication system may further include other devices that communicate with the reader and / or terminal device. Attached Figure Description

[0060] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0061] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating an AIoT operation process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0062] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating a scenario application of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0063] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0064] Figure 5A schematic diagram illustrating a time-domain resource determination process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0065] Figure 6 An example diagram of a time-domain resource configuration provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0066] Figure 7 An example diagram illustrating the configuration of a frequency shift factor provided in this application embodiment;

[0067] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a data frame format for a D2R message provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0068] Figure 9 A modulated waveform is provided as an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figure 10 Another modulated waveform provided in this application embodiment;

[0070] Figure 11 This application provides a schematic diagram of the architecture of a positioning system.

[0071] Figure 12 A flowchart illustrating the process of determining the location of a terminal device, as provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0072] Figure 13 A schematic diagram of an uplink signal format provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 14 A schematic diagram illustrating the determination of a two-dimensional position of a terminal device, provided as an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 15 A schematic diagram illustrating another method for determining the two-dimensional position of a terminal device, provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0075] Figure 16 An example diagram illustrating another configuration of the frequency shift factor provided in this application embodiment;

[0076] Figure 17 A schematic diagram of another process for determining the location of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 18 A schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 19 A schematic block diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0079] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0080] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) systems, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, sidelink communication systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication systems, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, or new radio access technology (NR). Among these, 5G mobile communication systems can include non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA) networking. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems. This application does not limit the scope of these applications.

[0081] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system may include ambient internet of things (AIoT) devices and a reader. The reader and AIoT devices can communicate via a wireless link.

[0082] Figure 1 An example is shown with multiple AIoT devices and a reader. Optionally, the communication system may also include multiple AIoT devices and multiple readers.

[0083] The aforementioned AIoT device is a device for inventorying and locating assets. Assets may include hardware assets, software assets, and data assets related to the AIoT device; this application embodiment does not limit these. In some embodiments, hardware assets may be the quantity and location of goods in a logistics warehouse; this application embodiment does not limit these. In some embodiments, software assets may be the name, version, developer, functional description, or scope of use of application software; this application embodiment does not limit these. In some embodiments, data assets may be user data using the AIoT device, such as user identity information and user usage habits; this application embodiment does not limit these.

[0084] It should be understood that AIoT devices can also be called A-IoT devices, tags, electronic AIoT devices, AIoT tags, smart AIoT devices, etc., and this application embodiment does not limit the terminology. For ease of understanding, the following description uses AIoT devices as an example. Some or all of the characteristics of AIoT devices can be found in the descriptions in existing standards of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). It should also be understood that this is only one possible example description, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto. As communication standard protocol versions evolve or are updated, some or all of the descriptions of AIoT devices herein can refer to the evolved or updated versions; or some or all of the characteristics of AIoT devices can also refer to the descriptions in related technologies.

[0085] There are two ways AIoT devices operate. One is that when the AIoT device enters the effective identification range of a reader, it receives the radio frequency signal emitted by the reader and uses the energy obtained from the induced current to transmit the information stored in its chip. In this case, the AIoT device can be understood as a passive tag or device 1. The other way is that the AIoT device can store some electrical energy through solar energy or other means, enabling it to actively transmit signals at a specific frequency. In this case, the AIoT device can be called a semi-passive or semi-active tag, or device 2b or device C.

[0086] AIoT devices can be applied in various scenarios, such as logistics warehousing, smart buildings, asset tracking, agriculture, smart homes, smart wearables, and healthcare. For example, AIoT devices can be cargo tags, smart switches, smart locks, smart meters, sensor-based devices for monitoring machine status, environmental conditions, building automation and control equipment, asset tagging devices, etc., but this application does not limit the scope of these applications.

[0087] The term "reader" can be replaced with alternative descriptions such as AIoT reader, AIoT read / write device, AIoT reading device, or simply reader / writer, without limitation. The reader acts as an intermediary node for communication between AIoT devices and access network devices or core network devices. This reader can be an access network device (radio access network, RAN), such as an AIoT RAN or next-generation RAN (NG-RAN). Specifically, the reader can be a base station (such as an aggregated generation node B (aggregated gNB)), a pole-mounted station, a micro base station, a macro base station, etc., or it can be a terminal device, such as a mobile phone, IoT device, or handheld reader. Base stations supporting AIoT functionality (such as those supporting reader functionality) (e.g., AIoT enabled gNB) or access network devices (e.g., AIoT RAN) conduct contactless bidirectional data communication via radio frequency, using radio frequency to read and write data from AIoT devices, thereby achieving target identification and data exchange. After receiving the information, the reader sends it to the Ambient Internet of Things Function (AIOTF), which then processes it (through the Capability Opening Function) and sends it to the server.

[0088] In this application, the means for implementing the functions of a network device can be a network device itself, or a means capable of supporting the network device in implementing those functions, such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system. This means can be installed in or connected to the network device. In the technical solutions provided in this application, the example of a network device being used to implement the functions of a network device is used to describe the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0089] In practical applications, multiple network devices can collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different network devices each implementing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, network devices can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CUs (control planes, CPs), CUs (user planes, UPs), or radio units (RUs), etc. CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0090] 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 ORAN 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. 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 and hardware modules. CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, and RU can implement different protocol layer functions.

[0091] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the terminology used in this application will be briefly explained first. Optionally, the explanation of some terms can also be found in the 3GPP standard protocol.

[0092] AIoT operation process:

[0093] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an AIoT operation flow provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 As shown, the specific process includes the following steps:

[0094] S201, AF sends the first request message to AIOTF.

[0095] The first request message contains one or more of the following: AF identifier, operation type information, or target device information.

[0096] The identifier for AF can be AF ID, which is the identification information of the application server and is used for subsequent business authorization.

[0097] Operation type information indicates a specified operation, which can be divided into two main categories: inventory and commands. Inventory (also known as stocktaking) involves taking stock of the existing AIoT devices, or retrieving their identification information. Commands include read, write, and deactivation operations. A read operation involves reading data from an AIoT device. A write operation involves writing data to an AIoT device. A deactivation operation disables or deactivates an AIoT device.

[0098] Target device information (or device filtering information) is used to filter AIoT devices and may include one or more of the following: regional location information, device group information, and device identification information. Regional location information indicates that the current request is for all devices within a specified region (or location), such as all AIoT devices in region A. Device group information indicates that the current request is for devices belonging to a target group, such as AIoT devices belonging to a specific device group. Device identification information indicates that the current request is for devices with a specified identifier (or identification information), such as AIoT devices whose device ID has digits 5 through 8 as 0011. Target device information can also directly include the device identifier of the AIoT device, such as the permanent identifier of the AIoT device. For example, when performing inventory or command processing for a single AIoT device, the target device information may include the device identifier of the AIoT device, such as the permanent identifier of the AIoT device.

[0099] Optionally, the AF can send the first request message to the AIOTF through the network exposure function (NEF). For example, the AF can pass the first request message to the AIOTF through the NEF, or the NEF can process the received first request message, such as changing the message type, before sending it to the AIOTF; the specific processing method is not limited. Alternatively, the AF can also send the first request message directly to the AIOTF.

[0100] It should be understood that an exemplary name for the first request message could be the AIoT service operation request message, without any specific restrictions, and any message that can achieve the functionality of the first request message is applicable.

[0101] S202, AIOTF sends the first response message to AF.

[0102] The first response message can be a response message to the first request message. For example, an exemplary message name for the first response message could be "AIoT service response." There are no limitations; any message that can implement the functionality of the first response message is applicable. The first response message is used to indicate whether AIOTF agrees to the AF's operation request.

[0103] Optionally, AIOTF can send a first response message to AF via NEF. For example, AIOTF can pass the first response message to AF through NEF, or NEF can process the received first response message, such as changing the message type, before sending it to AF; the specific processing method is not limited. Alternatively, AIOTF can also send the first response message directly to AF.

[0104] S203a, AIOTF sends a second request message to the reader.

[0105] The second request message may carry one or more device identification information, or AIoT device identification information. AIoT device identification information can be identification information determined by AIOTF based on the target device information for paging devices, or it can be a mask, filter, or wildcard, etc. The second request message may also omit AIoT device identification information, indicating an inventory of all AIoT devices within the reader's coverage area.

[0106] Specifically, the relationship between AIoT device identification information and device identifier can be one-to-many. For example, if the AIoT device identification information is a mask ####1234, there may be multiple device identifiers that match this mask. For example, device identifiers with a length of 8 bits and the last 4 bits being 1234 (i.e., regardless of the value of the first 4 bits) all correspond to this mask. Alternatively, the relationship between the mask and the device identifier can also be one-to-one. For example, if the mask is 12345678, the device identifier that matches this mask is unique, that is, the device identifier is 12345678.

[0107] It should be understood that an exemplary name for the second request message could be an operation request message or an inventory request message, without any specific limitation; any message that can achieve the functionality of the second request message is applicable.

[0108] S203b, the reader sends a second response message to AIOTF.

[0109] The second response message corresponds to the second request message, such as a response to the second request message. It should be understood that an exemplary name for the second response message could be an operation response message or an inventory response message; there are no specific limitations, and any message that can achieve the functionality of the second response message is applicable.

[0110] S204, the reader sends a paging message.

[0111] Paging messages are used to select a group of AIoT devices (i.e., devices corresponding to device identifiers and masks), or in other words, to trigger these AIoT devices to access the network. Paging messages may contain information from the second request message. It should be understood that if the second request message does not carry AIoT device identifier information, the paging message will also not contain AIoT device identifier information. In this case, the reader sending a paging message can be understood as broadcasting a paging message to inventory all AIoT devices within the reader's coverage area.

[0112] S205, AIoT devices are randomly connected.

[0113] When an AIoT device receives a broadcast paging message, and its device identifier matches the AIoT device identifier information in the paging message (meaning the AIoT device is the paged device), the AIoT device will randomly connect. For example, if the AIoT device identifier information is a mask... In the sequence number 1234, the device identifier of an AIoT device is 12341234. Since the device identifier matches the mask, this AIoT device performs random access. However, an AIoT device with the device identifier 1234123 does not perform random access. During the random access process, the AIoT device sends a random access message #1, indicating that it requests access to the reader. This message may include a preamble to resolve contention. The reader responds to random access message #1 by sending a random access message #2 to the AIoT device. Random access message #2 indicates that the AIoT device has successfully accessed the reader. This message may include resources allocated by the reader for communication, such as uplink grants. It should be understood that random access messages #1 and #2 are exemplary names; any message that implements the functionality of random access messages #1 and #2 is applicable.

[0114] It should also be understood that S205 is optional. If the AIoT device and the reader are pre-configured with resources for communication, the AIoT device may not perform random access, that is, skip S205 and execute S206.

[0115] S206, the AIoT device sends a device-to-reader (D2R) message.

[0116] D2R messages are used to respond to inventory, including the device identifier of the AIoT device.

[0117] S207, the reader sends a report message to AIOTF.

[0118] The report message may include the device identifier from S206. An exemplary name for the report message could be "inventory report," but there are no specific limitations; any message that can perform the function of this report message is applicable.

[0119] It should be understood that the above S201-S207 can also refer to the relevant introduction of steps 1-6 in section 6.2.3 of 3GPP TS 23.369[2].

[0120] It is understandable that the operation type information in S201 can indicate disk storage, that is, specify the operation type as disk storage; the operation type information in S201 can also indicate positioning, that is, specify the operation type as positioning, without limitation.

[0121] It should be understood that the technical terms used in this application are for illustrative purposes only and not as limiting. For example, as technology evolves, technical terms may also change, and other technical terms that have the same technical meaning should also apply to this application.

[0122] Currently, the inventory counting process in logistics warehousing generally faces numerous challenges. For example, inventory counting operations rely heavily on manual labor, resulting in low efficiency; staff must use scanning devices to check the barcodes or QR codes of goods one by one, a process that is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to errors, especially in large warehouses where a comprehensive inventory count can often take several days, severely impacting normal operations; inventory data updates are lagging, failing to reflect inventory dynamics in real time, and "data black holes" easily appear where the system records do not match the actual locations after goods are moved or picked; manual scanning also makes it difficult to avoid missed scans, duplicates, or location entry errors, leading to decreased inventory accuracy and consequently affecting the quality of supply chain decisions, while also making it difficult to achieve real-time, online dynamic inventory monitoring without interrupting production.

[0123] The application of multi-tag positioning technology has brought about a fundamental change to the logistics warehousing and inventory management scenario. For example, ... Figure 3As shown, in logistics and warehousing scenarios, by deploying passive tags on boxes, pallets, and even individual items, and combining this with a network of readers deployed within the warehouse, the system can automatically and continuously poll all tags, achieving "second-level inventory counting" and unmanned operation. This system supports real-time inventory visualization, dynamically tracks the entire process of goods delivery, and automatically updates the location information of all tags. With a positioning accuracy of 1-3 meters, it can accurately identify the shelf and area where goods are located, completely solving the "difficulty in finding goods" problem, and providing real-time alarms when goods are misplaced. It is evident that from goods entering the warehouse, shelving, and in storage to picking and outbound, the entire warehousing process achieves full traceability, significantly improving operational efficiency and data reliability. Alternatively, in equipment monitoring scenarios, the system can collect data such as equipment temperature and vibration, but cannot obtain the real-time location of the equipment. Existing manual updates of equipment location information are inefficient and prone to errors. Meanwhile, the linkage control between devices is based on fixed logic settings, which makes it difficult to adapt to dynamically adjusted production environments; the management and maintenance of mobile assets are difficult, the location of important tools and equipment is unclear, the utilization rate is low, and the search is time-consuming; in addition, there are blind spots in safety monitoring, and it is impossible to provide real-time warnings for personnel or equipment accidentally entering dangerous areas, which poses safety hazards.

[0124] In scenarios such as inventory management in logistics warehousing or positioning of industrial equipment, a large number of tags are typically deployed to achieve comprehensive coverage of goods or equipment. AIoT-based multi-tag positioning technology's core advantage lies in its ability to achieve automatic, real-time, and accurate location sensing of massive amounts of goods with extremely low equipment and maintenance costs. However, due to the different deployment locations of various tags, the signal quality received by the reader varies significantly, making it significantly more difficult to locate all tags simultaneously. Tags with lower signal quality will experience a severe reduction in positioning accuracy. Furthermore, signals from multiple tags received by the reader may overlap, making it difficult for the reader to distinguish the received signals; simultaneously, the multipath effect also significantly impacts positioning accuracy. Clearly, compared to positioning a single tag, simultaneously locating a large number of tags results in a substantial decrease in both positioning speed and accuracy.

[0125] In view of this, this application provides a communication method in which, when a terminal device is paged by a reader, the terminal device sends a random access request message to the reader. Upon receiving the random access request message, the reader, in response, configures time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for the terminal device, where the multiple frequency-domain resources belong to the same carrier. The reader receives an uplink signal from the terminal device; the uplink signal is carried on time-domain resources, and the location of the terminal device is determined based on the multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signal, which are carried on multiple frequency-domain resources. It is evident that, since the multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signal received by the reader are transmitted on multiple frequency-domain resources, the reader can determine the phase values ​​corresponding to each piece of information, and thus determine the location of the terminal device based on these phase values. This avoids the impact of multipath effects on the positioning accuracy of the terminal device, thus improving positioning accuracy. Furthermore, the terminal device only needs to send an uplink signal to the reader once, and the reader can determine multiple phase values ​​based on the multiple pieces of information included in the uplink signal, saving signaling transmission overhead and reducing device power consumption.

[0126] The following detailed explanation of the solution provided in this application, in conjunction with the corresponding flowcharts, illustrates the method in detail. It is understood that the illustrative flowcharts provided in this application primarily use different devices (e.g., terminal devices, readers) as examples of the execution entities for this interactive illustration, but this application does not limit the execution entities of the interactive illustrations. For example, the devices (e.g., terminal devices, readers) in the illustrative flowcharts can also be chips, chip systems, or processors that support the implementation of this method on the device, or logic modules or software capable of implementing all or part of the device's functions.

[0127] As a general statement, the message or signaling interactions involved in the interaction process of this application embodiment can be standard messages or signaling or newly introduced messages or signaling. This application embodiment does not make specific limitations on this.

[0128] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. It can be understood that... Figure 4 The reader in the middle can be Figure 1 The term "reader" can refer to the device within the reader (e.g., processor, chip, or chip system), and can be a base station reader or a terminal reader. The specific form is not limited; any device capable of implementing the functions of the reader in the embodiments of this application is applicable. For details, please refer to the aforementioned description of the reader, which will not be repeated here. The terminal device can be... Figure 1 Any AIoT device, such as Figure 4 As shown, the method includes the following steps S410 to S430.

[0129] S410, when the terminal device is paged by the reader, the terminal device sends a random access request message, and the reader receives the random access request message from the terminal device accordingly.

[0130] The specific implementation of the reader paging terminal device can be found in the relevant description of S204 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0131] The random access request message is the first message (message 1, MSG1) sent by the terminal device to the reader. It can be referred to as MSG1 hereafter. It can instruct the terminal device to request access to the reader, such as the random access message #1 in S205 above. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction of S205 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0132] In S420, the reader responds to the random access request message by configuring time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for the terminal device. These multiple frequency-domain resources belong to the same carrier.

[0133] In this embodiment, after receiving a random access request message from a terminal device, the reader, in response to the random access request message, configures time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for the terminal device that sent the random access request message. Optionally, the random access request message carries a device identifier of the terminal device. After receiving random access request messages from multiple terminal devices, the reader configures corresponding time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for each terminal device based on the device identifier of the terminal device carried in the random access request message.

[0134] For example, time-domain resources may include at least one of the following: system frame (SF), subframe, slot, or symbol, etc. Optionally, time-domain resources may also include the periodic configuration of the at least one time-domain resource. Frequency-domain resources may include at least one of the following, either continuous or non-continuous: subcarrier, resource block (RB), resource block group (RBG), component carrier (CC), or carrier, etc.

[0135] In some embodiments, after receiving a random access request message from a terminal device, the reader determines the time-domain resources for the terminal device to transmit uplink signals based on the signal quality of the random access request message. Because the distance between different terminal devices and the reader may vary, and because the hardware capabilities of different terminal devices may differ, the signal quality of the random access request messages sent by different terminal devices to the reader can also vary. By configuring time-domain resources for the terminal device based on the signal quality of the random access request message sent by the terminal device, the reader not only reduces the probability of transmission errors caused by signal quality differences but also optimizes the allocation of time-domain resources.

[0136] Optionally, the reader determines the time-domain resources corresponding to the terminal device based on the signal quality range in which the received random access request message from the terminal device falls. For example, there is a certain mapping relationship between different signal quality ranges and time-domain resources. After determining the signal quality range in which the random access request message from the terminal device falls, the reader can determine the time-domain resources corresponding to the random access request message from the terminal device based on the mapping relationship between the signal quality range and the time-domain resources. Thus, by using the mapping relationship between the signal quality range in which the random access request message falls and the time-domain resources, the reader can quickly configure the corresponding time-domain resources for the terminal device, improving the efficiency of resource configuration.

[0137] The signal quality of a random access request message includes, but is not limited to, the reference signal strength indicator (RSSI), the reference signal received power (RSRP), the reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), or the reference signal to interference plus noise ratio (RS-SINR).

[0138] Combination Figure 5 The process by which a reader determines the time-domain resources corresponding to a terminal device is described by way of example.

[0139] like Figure 5As shown, assume the reader pre-sets P-1 quality thresholds, and these P-1 quality thresholds divide the signal quality of MSG1 into P signal quality intervals. That is, the reader pre-divides P time-domain resources, and each signal quality interval corresponds to one time-domain resource. Taking the reader determining the time-domain resource corresponding to terminal device A as an example, after determining that the signal quality of MSG1 sent by terminal device A is quality A, the reader compares quality A with the P-1 quality thresholds sequentially to determine the signal quality interval to which quality A belongs. Further, the reader determines the time-domain resource corresponding to terminal device A based on the signal quality interval to which quality A belongs. If the reader determines that quality A is greater than quality threshold 1, then the time-domain resource configured by the reader for terminal device A is time-domain resource #1; if the reader determines that quality A is less than or equal to quality threshold 1 and greater than quality threshold 2, then the time-domain resource configured by the reader for terminal device A is time-domain resource #2, and so on; if the reader determines that quality A is less than or equal to quality threshold P-1, then the time-domain resource configured by the reader for terminal device A is time-domain resource #P.

[0140] For example, there are 9 terminal devices within the coverage area of ​​the reader, numbered Tagi (where 1 i 9) Taking the MSG1 signal quality as RSSI and the time domain resource configured for the terminal device as a time slot (which can also be described as a transmission time slot, timing, transmission timing, etc.) as an example, after the reader sends a paging message, all 9 terminal devices return MSG1 to the reader. After receiving the 9 MSG1s, the reader pre-divides the signal quality into 3 signal quality intervals and the corresponding transmission timing for each signal quality interval based on the RSSI of the received 9 MSG1s. For example, Table 1 shows the correspondence between signal quality intervals and transmission timings. As shown in Table 1, the reader divides the RSSI value into three signal quality intervals with RSSI values ​​of -50 dBm and -80 dBm, respectively, and each signal quality interval corresponds to a transmission timing.

[0141] Table 1

[0142]

[0143] As shown in Table 1 above, if the reader determines that the RSSI of MSG1 sent by terminal devices numbered Tag1 to Tag3 is greater than or equal to -50dBm, then the reader configures the transmission timing for terminal devices numbered Tag1 to Tag3 as T1. If the reader determines that the RSSI of MSG1 sent by terminal devices numbered Tag4 to Tag6 is greater than -80dBm and less than -50dBm, then the reader configures the transmission timing for terminal devices numbered Tag4 to Tag6 as T2. If the reader determines that the RSSI of MSG1 sent by terminal devices numbered Tag7 to Tag9 is less than or equal to -80dBm, then the reader configures the transmission timing for terminal devices numbered Tag7 to Tag9 as T3. Therefore, the reader can adaptively adjust the receiving sensitivity at different transmission times. For example, for uplink signals sent by terminal devices with higher RSSI within transmission time T1, the reader can use low sensitivity to receive them, while for uplink signals sent by terminal devices with lower RSSI within transmission time T3, the reader can use high sensitivity to receive them, thereby keeping the positioning accuracy of all terminal devices at a consistent level.

[0144] It should be noted that the quality threshold settings and the number of signal quality intervals in Table 1 above are only examples. In actual scenarios, they depend on the number and size of RSSI of the terminal device determined by the reader, and are not limited in this respect.

[0145] In order for the reader to determine multiple phase values ​​corresponding to the terminal device, and to more accurately determine the location of the terminal device based on multiple phase values, the reader configures multiple frequency domain resources for the terminal device.

[0146] Optionally, after configuring time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for the terminal device, the reader sends a random access response message to the terminal device. This random access response message includes configuration information indicating the time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources. Upon receiving the random access response message, the terminal device can determine the corresponding time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources. The random access response message is the second message (message 2, MSG2) sent by the reader to the terminal device, and will be referred to as MSG2 hereafter. Thus, the reader carries the configuration information within the random access response message to instruct the terminal device, avoiding additional configuration overhead.

[0147] The configuration information is used to configure the frequency shift values ​​corresponding to multiple frequency domain resources. Each frequency shift value is a frequency domain offset relative to a reference frequency domain position. The reference frequency domain position can be agreed upon by the protocol or configured by the reader; there is no limitation on this. Therefore, the reader uses the configuration information to configure multiple frequency shift values ​​for the terminal device to determine the frequency domain resources used for transmitting different information.

[0148] Implementation method 1 involves configuring information including bit duration and frequency shift factors corresponding to multiple frequency domain resources. In other words, the configuration information includes multiple frequency shift factors.

[0149] In this implementation, after obtaining the configuration information included in MSG2, the terminal device determines the frequency shift values ​​corresponding to multiple frequency domain resources based on the bit duration and multiple frequency shift factors included in the configuration information. Thus, the reader configures multiple frequency shift factors for each terminal device to determine the frequency domain resources used for transmitting different information, eliminating the need for the reader to transmit multiple trigger signals, reducing the complexity of the reader. The terminal device can determine multiple frequency domain resources using its existing capabilities without adding any extra burden to the reader.

[0150] It should be understood that the configuration information obtained by the terminal device includes the same number of frequency shift factors and frequency domain resources as well as the same number of multiple pieces of information included in the uplink signal to be transmitted, enabling the terminal device to transmit different information on different frequency domain resources. In this embodiment, after the reader determines the time domain resources corresponding to the terminal device, it sends MSG2 to the terminal device within the time domain resources to configure the frequency domain resources corresponding to the terminal device.

[0151] Taking the terminal device as a label on stored goods as an example, such as Figure 6 As shown, assuming the reader receives MSG1 messages from seven tags (Tag1 to Tag7), the reader configures time-domain resources #1 for Tag1 and Tag2, #2 for Tag3 to Tag5, and #3 for Tag6 and Tag7 based on the signal quality of the MSG1 messages. Further, the reader sends corresponding MSG2 messages to Tag1 and Tag2 on time-domain resource #1; sends corresponding MSG2 messages to Tag3 to Tag5 on time-domain resource #2; and sends corresponding MSG2 messages to Tag6 and Tag7 on time-domain resource #3.

[0152] It should be noted that when there are multiple terminal devices with the same time-domain resources, the frequency-domain resources configured by the reader for the information transmitted simultaneously by the multiple terminal devices are different. For example, Figure 7 An example diagram of configuring a frequency shift factor is provided in an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 7As shown, assume there are five terminal devices with identical time-domain resources, designated Tag1 to Tag5. The reader configures five frequency shift factors for each terminal device, but the order of these five frequency shift factors differs for each of the five terminal devices. Each of the five terminal devices receives its corresponding five frequency shift factors, and the order of the five frequency-domain resources determined based on these factors also differs. Taking the frequency shift factors received by terminal device Tag1 as (R1, R2, R3, R4, R5) as an example, Tag1 determines the frequency-domain resources as (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5), and the information in the five bits sent by Tag1 to the reader is carried on the frequency-domain resources F1 to F5 respectively. Taking the frequency shift factor (R2, R3, R4, R5, R1) received by terminal device Tag2 as an example, Tag2 determines the frequency domain resources as (F2, F3, F4, F5, F1). The information in the 5 bits sent by Tag2 to the reader is carried on the frequency domain resources of F2 to F5 and F1, respectively. Similarly, the information in the same bits sent by the 5 terminal devices to the reader is carried on different frequency domain resources, thus avoiding signal superposition when the reader receives uplink signals sent by the 5 terminal devices, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the terminal devices.

[0153] Implementation method 2, the configuration information includes bit duration and a frequency shift factor.

[0154] In this implementation, multiple frequency domain resources correspond to the same frequency shift value, and there are multiple reference frequency domain locations. After obtaining the configuration information included in MSG2, the terminal device determines the frequency shift value based on the bit duration and a frequency shift factor included in the configuration information. Further, the terminal device determines multiple frequency domain resources based on the multiple reference frequency domain locations and the frequency shift value.

[0155] In this implementation, the specific implementation of how the reader configures multiple frequency domain resources and how the terminal device sends multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signal to the reader based on the multiple frequency domain resources will be described in subsequent embodiments and will not be detailed here.

[0156] The terminal device can actively send uplink signals to the reader, i.e., execute S430; alternatively, the terminal device can trigger the sending of uplink signals to the reader only after receiving downlink signals from the reader. The downlink signals are carried in the time domain resources and reference frequency domain location. The downlink signals can be single-frequency carrier signals or multi-frequency carrier signals; there is no limitation on this. This application does not limit the triggering mechanism for the terminal device to send uplink signals.

[0157] S430, the terminal device sends an uplink signal, and the reader receives the uplink signal from the terminal device accordingly.

[0158] The uplink signal is a D2R message sent by the terminal device to the reader for positioning. The data frame format of this D2R message can be preset. For an example, please refer to [link to example]. Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a D2R message data frame format provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 8 As shown, the data frame is 8 bytes long, including a frame header and a payload. The frame header includes the message type, message data indicator (MDI), and data frame length. The message type indicates the purpose, type, and function of the data frame. For example, the message type indicates that the data frame is a positioning frame, a phase reporting frame, or a data upload frame. The MDI indicates the format, length type, and encoding method of the payload. R is a padding field, and padding bytes are used to fill the field to make the data frame length 8 bytes. The payload transmits a bit stream of all 1s or all 0s to ensure that the D2R data frames received by the reader from the terminal device are orthogonal to each other.

[0159] The uplink signal may contain multiple pieces of information, which can be information corresponding to multiple bits or groups of bits included in the payload. In other words, the number of frequency domain resources used to carry multiple pieces of information is the same as the number of bits or groups contained in the payload. The terminal device may transmit the frame header on the frequency domain resources of the first piece of information among the multiple pieces of information.

[0160] For example, as Figure 7 As shown, assuming the uplink signal payload consists of 5 bits, the reader configures different frequency shift factors for each bit, from R1 to R5. After receiving the 5 frequency shift factors and bit duration configured by the reader, the terminal device determines the corresponding frequency shift value based on each frequency shift factor and bit duration. Further, after determining the frequency domain resources used to transmit the information in each bit based on the frequency shift values, the terminal device transmits the information in different bits on different frequency domain resources. Moreover, the frame header of the uplink signal sent by terminal device Tag1 is carried on the frequency domain resources used to transmit the first bit; the frame header of the uplink signal sent by terminal device Tag2 is carried on the frequency domain resources used to transmit the second bit, and so on. Figure 7 The example described above uses 5 bits as the payload of the uplink signal. This application does not limit the number of bits included in the payload of the uplink signal sent by the terminal device.

[0161] In this embodiment, the terminal device carries uplink signals on time-domain resources. Multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signal are respectively carried on different frequency-domain resources of a carrier and sent to the reader. Upon receiving the uplink signal, the reader determines the location of the terminal device based on the multiple pieces of information carried on multiple frequency-domain resources. Since the multiple pieces of information in the uplink signal received by the reader are respectively carried on multiple frequency-domain resources, the reader can determine the phase values ​​corresponding to each piece of information, i.e., multiple phase values. Furthermore, the reader can determine the location of the terminal device based on multiple phase values, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the terminal device. The specific implementation of the reader determining the location information of each terminal device based on multiple phase values ​​corresponding to each terminal device is described in subsequent embodiments and will not be detailed here.

[0162] Optionally, the uplink signal sent by the terminal device contains multiple pieces of information, each consisting of a bitstream of all 1s or all 0s. Based on different frequency shift factors, the terminal device employs a binary on-offkeying (OOK) modulation scheme corresponding to its own information (e.g., an AIoT device), using different chip durations when sending different information. This allows the reader to obtain the phase values ​​corresponding to each piece of information after receiving the uplink signal from the terminal device. For example, such as... Figure 9 As shown, assuming that multiple pieces of information in the uplink signal are all-1 bitstreams, when the frequency shift factor is 1, 1 is modulated and encoded as 01; when the frequency shift factor is 2, 1 is modulated and encoded as 0101; and when the frequency shift factor is 4, 1 is modulated and encoded as 01010101. It is evident that when the terminal device transmits the modulated bitstream to the reader, the bandwidth occupied by the bitstreams corresponding to different frequency shift factors is different. As the frequency shift factor increases, the terminal device needs more frequency domain resources to transmit the modulated bitstream, thus achieving the terminal device's goal of transmitting multiple pieces of information to the reader on different frequency domain resources.

[0163] Optionally, the uplink signals transmitted by the terminal device use the same bit duration and frequency shift factor. The terminal device modulates the stream of all-1 bits from the multiple information segments included in the uplink signal using OOK modulation, so that the multiple information segments are carried on two frequency domain resources and transmitted to the reader. For example... Figure 10 The diagram shows the waveforms of a 10-bit alternating bitstream and a full-1 bitstream after OOK modulation when the frequency shift factor is 1. Here, 1 is modulated and encoded as 01, and 0 is modulated and encoded as 10. After receiving the uplink signal, the reader can determine the two phase values.

[0164] In summary, after the reader configures the terminal device with time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for transmitting uplink signals, the terminal device carries the uplink signal on the time-domain resources and transmits the multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signal on multiple frequency-domain resources respectively. Since the multiple pieces of information received by the reader are transmitted on multiple frequency-domain resources respectively, the reader can determine the phase values ​​corresponding to each piece of information, and then determine the position of the terminal device based on the phase values ​​corresponding to each piece of information. This avoids the impact of multipath effects on the positioning accuracy of the terminal device and helps improve positioning accuracy. Furthermore, in scenarios where the reader simultaneously positions multiple terminal devices, the reader sends different frequency-domain resources to terminal devices with the same time-domain resources, avoiding the problem of uplink signals transmitted by multiple terminal devices on the same time-domain resources overlapping and affecting positioning accuracy.

[0165] For example, Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a positioning system provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 11 As shown, when the reader generates a local oscillator signal, after amplification, it is transmitted as a downlink signal to each terminal device via the reader's antenna. Simultaneously, the reader's antenna receives the uplink signal transmitted by each terminal device. For each uplink signal, the reader amplifies it using a gain-controllable low-noise amplifier, dynamically adjusting the amplifier's gain based on the received uplink signal strength to avoid large-signal saturation and small-signal noise overwhelming. Further, the reader down-converts the amplified uplink signal to a baseband signal. Then, the reader performs a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on the converted baseband signal to obtain the amplitude and multiple phase values ​​corresponding to the uplink signal. After obtaining the multiple phase values ​​corresponding to each terminal device, the reader inputs these values ​​into the positioning module for location determination, thus obtaining the position of each terminal device.

[0166] The specific implementation of the reader's low-noise processing, down-conversion processing, and fast Fourier transform of the uplink signal is based on existing technologies and will not be elaborated here.

[0167] It should be noted that, since the multiple pieces of information in the uplink signal sent by the terminal device are carried on different frequency domain resources, the reader can obtain multiple phase values ​​after performing a fast Fourier transform on the uplink signal.

[0168] The following section will detail how the reader determines the location of the terminal device based on multiple phase values.

[0169] In this embodiment, after determining the phase values ​​corresponding to the multiple pieces of information sent by the terminal device in S430, the reader determines the position of the terminal device based on the weighting factors, phase differences, and frequency differences corresponding to the multiple pieces of information. The phase difference is the phase difference between any two adjacent phase values ​​among the phase values ​​corresponding to the multiple pieces of information, and the frequency difference is the frequency difference between any two adjacent frequency domain resources among the multiple frequency domain resources. Therefore, when determining the position of the terminal device, the reader considers the weighting factors and combines multiple measurements such as phase differences and frequency differences. This not only reduces the impact of measurement errors on positioning accuracy but also avoids the impact of multipath effects on positioning accuracy, thus improving positioning accuracy.

[0170] Optionally, the reader can perform least-squares fitting on a frequency difference as the independent variable and a phase difference as the dependent variable, based on weighting factors corresponding to multiple pieces of information, to obtain the position of the terminal device. Thus, since the reader can dynamically adjust the weighting factors based on multiple phase values, it achieves the purpose of suppressing abnormal phase values. Obtaining the position of the terminal device based on least-squares fitting using multiple weighting factors is beneficial for improving positioning accuracy and efficiency.

[0171] The weighting factor is related to at least one of the linear fit weight and the neighborhood smoothness weight. The linear fit weight characterizes the degree of deviation of the phase value corresponding to the current information relative to the distance estimate, and is determined based on the phase difference and frequency difference. The neighborhood smoothness weight characterizes the continuity of the phase value corresponding to the current information relative to the phase value corresponding to at least one adjacent information; it is determined based on the phase value corresponding to the current information, the phase value corresponding to at least one adjacent information, and a pre-configured smoothness scaling factor. The distance estimate is obtained by least-squares fitting with the frequency difference as the independent variable and the phase difference as the dependent variable.

[0172] The following example will be used to describe in detail the process of determining the location of the terminal device.

[0173] like Figure 12 As shown, assuming the reader configures M frequency domain resources for the terminal device, the corresponding frequency values ​​are respectively... The reader is set to use the downlink signal frequency of [frequency value]. Sending a frequency of to the terminal device The downlink signal triggers the terminal device to send an uplink signal to the reader. After the terminal device transmits the M pieces of information contained in the uplink signal, each carried on M frequency domain resources, to the reader, the reader extracts the frame header of the uplink signal and determines that the payload includes M pieces of information. The reader determines the phase value corresponding to each of the M pieces of information. Then, the reader calculates the position of the terminal device based on the phase values ​​corresponding to the M pieces of information. Optionally, after receiving the frame header of the uplink signal, the reader determines the number of pieces of information contained in the payload to be M based on the length of the data frame included in the frame header, such as... Figure 13 As shown, assuming the reader determines that the data frame length in the frame header is M, then the reader determines that the payload includes M bits, namely bit1, bit2, bit3, bit4...bitM. After receiving the M pieces of information, the reader determines the phase value corresponding to each of the M pieces of information. For example, the reader uses the following three steps to calculate the position of the terminal device.

[0174] The first step is for the reader to use the frequency difference between every two adjacent frequency domain resources out of M frequency domain resources. As the independent variable, the phase difference between any two adjacent phase values ​​out of the M phase values. Perform least squares fitting on the dependent variable to obtain the optimal slope. The estimated distance value corresponding to the terminal device is determined as follows: ,in, This indicates the speed at which a signal travels through the air.

[0175] The second step, taking the weight factor as the product of the linear fit weight and the neighborhood smoothness weight as an example, assumes the weight factor is... The linear compliance weight is The neighborhood smoothness weight is ,but .

[0176] in, The distance is determined by the degree of deviation of the phase value corresponding to each piece of information from the distance estimate. Information with a smaller deviation is less affected by multipath propagation and is therefore given a higher weight, thereby achieving the purpose of suppressing abnormal phase values. The calculation formula is as follows: Formula (1):

[0177] Formula (1);

[0178] in, ; This is a distance estimate; It is the standard deviation of the residuals, used to control the sensitivity of the linear compliance weights to the residuals.

[0179] in, The calculation formula is as follows: Formula (2):

[0180] Formula (2);

[0181] in, This represents the variance of the phase difference within the neighborhood. The neighborhood is defined by taking the frequency corresponding to the current frequency domain resource as the midpoint and taking the left and right sides of it. 1 neighboring point (window size is 1) ), Typically, the value is 1 or 2. The phase difference between adjacent points within the neighborhood is... ; A pre-configured smoothness scaling factor is used to control the sensitivity to phase fluctuations.

[0182] The third step is that after the reader determines the weight factor corresponding to each piece of information, it performs least squares fitting based on the weight factors corresponding to multiple pieces of information, with frequency difference as the independent variable and phase difference as the dependent variable. The objective function is the following formula (3):

[0183] Formula (3);

[0184] Solving the above formula (3) yields the distance between the terminal device and the reader. .

[0185] In this embodiment, after the reader determines the distance between the terminal device and the reader, the two-dimensional position of the terminal device can also be determined based on cooperation with other readers or the cooperation of multiple antennas within the reader itself. See the following two cases:

[0186] In the first scenario, any two readers collaborate to determine the two-dimensional position of the terminal device.

[0187] For example, such as Figure 14 As shown, assume that reader A determines the distance between itself and terminal device Tag1 to be... Reader B determines the distance between itself and terminal device Tag1 as follows: The distance between reader A and reader B is Reader A can calculate the angle of arrival based on the following formula (4). .

[0188] Formula (4);

[0189] Reader A determines the distance between itself and terminal device Tag1 as follows: And reader B determines its distance from terminal device Tag1 as The specific implementation can be found in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0190] In the second scenario, the two antennas of a reader work together to determine the two-dimensional position of the terminal device.

[0191] For example, such as Figure 15As shown, assume the distance between the two antennas of the reader is... Because the uplink signal sent by terminal device A to the reader reaches the distance of antenna 1 The distance to antenna 2 The extra path difference is The resulting phase difference is: The reader measures this phase difference using the receiver. The angle of arrival of the signal can be deduced from this. ;in, Furthermore, the reader can determine the two-dimensional position of terminal device A based on the signal's angle of arrival and the distance between it and terminal device A.

[0192] The following section details the process by which the reader configures multiple frequency domain resources of the terminal device when the configuration information includes a frequency shift factor, and how the terminal device sends multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signal to the reader based on these multiple frequency domain resources.

[0193] For example, the reader sends MSG2 to the terminal device, wherein MSG2 includes a frequency shift factor and a bit duration configured for the terminal device. Upon receiving MSG2, the terminal device determines a frequency shift value based on the frequency shift factor and bit duration. Further, the terminal device determines multiple frequency domain resources for transmitting the uplink signal based on the frequency shift value and multiple reference frequency domain locations. Assuming the reference frequency domain location is the transmission frequency of the carrier signal received by the terminal device, then the frequency domain resources are the sum of the transmission frequency of the carrier signal received by the terminal device and the frequency shift value.

[0194] It should be understood that since there may be multiple terminal devices with the same time domain resources, in order to avoid the problem of multiple terminal devices sending uplink signals to the reader on the same frequency domain resources in the same time domain resources, resulting in signal superposition and inability to accurately locate multiple terminal devices at the same time, the reader configures different frequency shift factors for multiple terminal devices with the same time domain resources to determine different frequency domain resources.

[0195] Optionally, the reader sequentially transmits carrier signals at multiple transmission frequencies to all terminal devices within a time-domain resource. After receiving the carrier signals corresponding to the multiple transmission frequencies, each terminal device transmits one piece of information contained in the uplink signal to the reader on the frequency-domain resource corresponding to each transmission frequency. That is, the number of pieces of information transmitted by each terminal device to the reader within the corresponding time-domain resource is the same as the number of transmission frequencies of the carrier signals transmitted by the reader.

[0196] For example, such as Figure 16As shown, assume the time-domain resource configured for Tags 11, 12, and 13 is time-domain resource #1; the time-domain resource configured for Tags 21, 22, and 23 is time-domain resource #2; and the time-domain resource configured for Tags 31, 32, and 33 is time-domain resource #3. Assume the multi-frequency carrier signal has two transmission frequencies, F1 and F2. Within time-domain resource #1, the reader transmits a carrier signal with transmission frequency F1 to Tags 11, 12, and 13. After determining the corresponding frequency resource #11 based on the transmission frequency F1 and the frequency shift factor R1, Tags 11, within time-domain resource #1, carries the uplink signal frame header and the information of the first bit on the frequency-domain resource #11 and sends it to the reader. After determining the corresponding frequency resource #12 based on the transmission frequency F1 and the frequency shift factor R2, Tag12 transmits the uplink signal frame header and the first bit of information to the reader within the time domain resource #1, carrying it on the frequency domain resource #12. Similarly, after determining the corresponding frequency resource #13 based on the transmission frequency F1 and the frequency shift factor R3, Tag13 transmits the uplink signal frame header and the first bit of information to the reader within the time domain resource #1, carrying it on the frequency domain resource #13. Further, within the time domain resource #1, the reader transmits a carrier signal with a transmission frequency of F2 to Tag11, Tag12, and Tag13. Within the time domain resource #1, Tag11, Tag12, and Tag13 respectively transmit the second bit of information to the reader on their corresponding frequency domain resources. Likewise, within the time domain resource #2, the reader transmits carrier signals with transmission frequencies of F1 and F2 sequentially to Tag21, Tag22, and Tag23. Within time-domain resource #2, Tags 21, 22, and 23 transmit uplink signals to the reader on their respective frequency-domain resources. Within time-domain resource #3, the reader transmits carrier signals with transmission frequencies F1 and F2 sequentially to Tags 31, 32, and 33. Within time-domain resource #3, Tags 31, 32, and 33 transmit uplink signals to the reader on their respective frequency-domain resources.

[0197] It should be noted that when the terminal device corresponds to time domain resource #2 or time domain resource #3, the corresponding frequency shift factor is the same as the frequency shift factor corresponding to the terminal device in time domain resource #1. That is, the frequency shift factors corresponding to Tag21, Tag31 and Tag11 are the same, the frequency shift factors corresponding to Tag22, Tag32 and Tag12 are the same, and the frequency shift factors corresponding to Tag23, Tag33 and Tag13 are also the same. Since the time domain resources corresponding to Tag21, Tag31 and Tag11 are different, signal superposition will not occur even if information is transmitted on the same frequency domain resource.

[0198] After the reader sends a multi-frequency carrier signal to the terminal device, the terminal device sends multiple uplink signal messages to the reader on different frequency domain resources. After receiving the multiple messages sent by the terminal device, the reader extracts the phase of each message to obtain multiple phase values, and then determines the location of the terminal device based on the multiple phase values.

[0199] For example, such as Figure 17 As shown, assume the reader sets the initial frequency of the carrier signal to be... The multi-frequency carrier signal transmitted to the terminal device has N transmission frequencies, and the frequency interval between any two adjacent transmission frequencies is [missing information]. The reader sets a loop counter. The initial value is 1. The reader first sends a frequency of to the terminal device. ( The carrier signal with frequency = 1) is used by the terminal device based on the initial frequency. After determining the frequency domain resources for transmitting the frame header information and the information contained in the first bit, along with the frequency shift value, the terminal device transmits the frame header information and the information contained in the first bit to the reader on that frequency domain resource. Upon receiving the frame header information and the information contained in the first bit from the terminal device, the reader extracts the frame header information of the uplink signal and determines that it includes N bits based on the frame header information. The reader determines the phase value based on the information contained in the first bit. Then, the reader stores this phase value. Further, the reader determines... Is it less than or equal to N? When the reader determines... When N is less than or equal to N, the reader settings are as follows: = +1, = + Then, the reader sends a frequency of [frequency value] to the terminal device. ( =2) carrier signal, terminal device based on frequency After determining the frequency domain resources for transmitting the information contained in the second bit, along with the frequency shift value, the terminal device transmits the information contained in the second bit to the reader on that frequency domain resource. Upon receiving the information contained in the second bit from the terminal device, the reader determines the phase value based on that information, until... If the value equals N, the reader acquires N phase values. When the value is greater than N, the reader calculates the position of the terminal device based on N phase values.

[0200] The specific implementation of the reader calculating the position of the terminal device based on multiple phase values ​​can be found in the detailed description of the reader determining the position of the terminal device in the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0201] It should be noted that since the noise of the carrier signal transmitted by the reader also has a certain impact on the positioning accuracy of the terminal device, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) weight can be taken into account when the reader calculates the weighting factor corresponding to the uplink signal. The SNR weight is used to characterize the proportion of the SNR of each transmission frequency of the carrier signal among multiple transmission frequencies. The transmission frequency with a higher SNR occupies a larger weight in the fitting process, thereby suppressing the impact of noise on positioning accuracy. For example, the formula for calculating the SNR weight is as follows: Formula (5):

[0202] Formula (5);

[0203] in, For the first The signal-to-noise ratio corresponding to each transmission frequency. This represents the maximum signal-to-noise ratio among multiple transmission frequencies. It is the minimum signal-to-noise ratio among multiple transmission frequencies. This is an optional value and is a small offset to prevent the signal-to-noise ratio weight from being 0.

[0204] Optionally, the reader determines the weighting factor corresponding to the i-th uplink signal as follows: Therefore, it can be seen that the reader calculates the position of the terminal device through a weighted fitting method, determines abnormal phase values ​​through weighting factors, suppresses phase errors caused by multipath effects, and thus improves positioning accuracy based on more accurate phase values.

[0205] It should be understood that Figures 1 to 17 The flowcharts or scene diagrams shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this application to the examples illustrated. In fact, those skilled in the art can interpret the embodiments based on... Figures 1 to 17 The examples in the document can be transformed into equivalent ways to obtain more implementations.

[0206] The above text combined Figures 1 to 17 This document describes in detail the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application. The following will combine... Figures 18 to 19 The device embodiments of this application are described in detail below. It should be understood that the communication device of this application embodiment can execute the various communication methods of the foregoing embodiments of this application, that is, the specific working processes of the various products below can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0207] In the embodiments described above, the terminal device may execute some or all of the steps in each embodiment; the network device may execute some or all of the steps in each embodiment. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of this application may also perform other operations or variations thereof. Furthermore, the steps may be executed in different orders as presented in the embodiments, and it is not necessary to execute all the operations in the embodiments of this application. Moreover, the sequence number of each step does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0208] Figure 18 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 18 As shown, the communication device may include a communication module 1820. The communication module 1820 can implement corresponding communication functions, which can be internal communication functions of the communication device or communication functions between the communication device and other devices. Optionally, the communication module 1820 may also be referred to as a communication interface or transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device further includes a processing module 1810. The processing module 1810 can implement corresponding processing functions.

[0209] Optionally, the communication device further includes a storage module, which can be used to store instructions and / or data; the processing module 1810 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module to enable the communication device to implement the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0210] In one possible design, the communication device may correspond to the reader in the above method embodiments, or a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the reader. The communication device can be used to perform the steps or processes executed by the reader in any of the above method embodiments.

[0211] For example, the communication module 1820 is configured to, when the terminal device is paged by the reader, after the reader receives a random access request message from the terminal device;

[0212] The processing module 1810 is used to respond to the random access request message and configure time domain resources and multiple frequency domain resources for the terminal device, wherein the multiple frequency domain resources belong to the same carrier.

[0213] The communication module 1820 is also used to receive uplink signals from the terminal device. The uplink signals are carried on time domain resources, and the location of the terminal device is determined based on the multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signals being carried on multiple frequency domain resources.

[0214] The above are merely examples; for detailed steps or procedures, please refer to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0215] In one possible design, the communication device may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the terminal device. The communication device can be used to perform the steps or processes executed by the terminal device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0216] For example, the communication module 1820 is used to send a random access request message to the reader when the terminal device is paged by the reader.

[0217] The communication module 1820 is also used to receive time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources configured for the terminal device from the reader, the multiple frequency-domain resources belonging to the same carrier; the time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources are configured by the reader in response to a random access request message. The transceiver module is also used to send uplink signals to the reader, the uplink signals being carried on time-domain resources, and the location of the terminal device being determined based on the multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signals, which are respectively carried on multiple frequency-domain resources.

[0218] The above are merely examples; for detailed steps or procedures, please refer to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0219] Figure 19 This is a schematic block diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device may be a chip, chip system, or processor, etc., in a terminal device or network device that implements the above-described method. This communication device can be used to implement the methods described in the above-described method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above-described method embodiments.

[0220] like Figure 19 As shown, the communication device may include one or more processors 1910, which may also be referred to as processing units or processing modules, and can implement certain control functions. The processor 1910 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (e.g., base station, baseband chip, user, user chip), execute software programs, and process data from the software programs.

[0221] In an alternative design, the processor 1910 may also store instructions and / or data, which can be executed by the processor 1910 to cause the communication device to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0222] In another alternative design, the communication device may include a communication interface 1920 for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the communication interface 1920 may be a transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver. The transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The aforementioned transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver may be used for reading and writing code / data, or it may be used for transmitting or relaying signals.

[0223] Optionally, the communication device may include one or more memories 1930, which may store instructions that can be executed on the processor 1910, causing the communication device to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memories 1930 may also store data. Optionally, the processor 1910 may also store instructions and / or data. The processor 1910 and the memories 1930 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0224] It should be understood that, in one possible design, the steps in the method embodiments provided in this application can be implemented by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are not provided here.

[0225] In one implementation, the communication device can correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments and can be used to execute the various steps and / or processes executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The processor 1910 can be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 1930, and when the processor 1910 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 1910 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above method embodiments corresponding to the terminal device.

[0226] In another implementation, the communication device may correspond to the network device in the above method embodiments and may be used to execute the various steps and / or processes executed by the network device in the above method embodiments. The processor 1910 may be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 1930, and when the processor 1910 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 1910 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above method embodiments corresponding to the network device.

[0227] It should be understood that the aforementioned processing device can be one or more chips. For example, the processing device can be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system-on-chip (SoC), a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

[0228] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0229] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a chip system, which includes one or more processors for calling and executing instructions stored in memory, thereby causing the method described in the embodiments of this application to be executed. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0230] The chip system may include input circuits or interfaces for transmitting information or data, and output circuits or interfaces for receiving information or data.

[0231] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a communication system, which includes the aforementioned reader and terminal device.

[0232] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes executed by the reader or terminal device in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0233] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes executed by the reader or terminal device in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0234] The computer-readable storage medium may be the aforementioned volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or it may include both volatile memory and non-volatile memory.

[0235] In the embodiments of this application, the terms and English abbreviations are exemplary examples given for ease of description and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. This application does not preclude the possibility of defining other terms that can achieve the same or similar functions in existing or future agreements.

[0236] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When these computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated.

[0237] 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.

[0238] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0239] In summary, the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the technical solution of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a reader, the method includes: When the terminal device is paged by the reader, a random access request message is received from the terminal device; In response to the random access request message, time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources are configured for the terminal device, wherein the multiple frequency-domain resources belong to the same carrier. Receive uplink signals from the terminal device; the uplink signals are carried on the time domain resources, and the multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signals are respectively carried on the multiple frequency domain resources; The location of the terminal device is determined based on the weighting factors, phase differences, and frequency differences corresponding to the multiple pieces of information; wherein, the phase difference is the phase difference between any two adjacent phase values ​​among the phase values ​​corresponding to the multiple pieces of information; and the frequency difference is the frequency difference between any two adjacent frequency domain resources among the multiple frequency domain resources.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The time-domain resources are determined based on the signal quality of the random access request message.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The time-domain resource corresponds to the signal quality range in which the signal quality of the random access request message is located.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The configuration of time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources for the terminal device includes: Send a random access response message to the terminal device; wherein the random access response message includes configuration information indicating the time domain resources and the plurality of frequency domain resources.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The configuration information is used to configure the frequency shift values ​​corresponding to the plurality of frequency domain resources, wherein the frequency shift value is the frequency domain offset relative to the reference frequency domain position.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The configuration information includes bit duration and frequency shift factors corresponding to the multiple frequency domain resources. The frequency shift value corresponding to each frequency domain resource is determined based on the bit duration and the frequency shift factor corresponding to each frequency domain resource.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The configuration information includes a bit duration and a frequency shift factor. The frequency shift values ​​corresponding to the multiple frequency domain resources are the same. There are multiple reference frequency domain positions. The frequency shift value is determined based on the bit duration and the frequency shift factor.

8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Before receiving the uplink signal from the terminal device, the method further includes: A downlink signal is sent to the terminal device; the downlink signal is used to trigger the terminal device to send the uplink signal, and the downlink signal is carried on the time domain resource and the reference frequency domain location.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The position of the terminal device is obtained by least-squares fitting based on the weighting factors corresponding to the multiple pieces of information, with the frequency difference as the independent variable and the phase difference as the dependent variable.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The weighting factor is related to at least one of the linear compliance weight and the neighborhood smoothness weight; Wherein, the linear conformity weight is used to characterize the degree of deviation of the phase value corresponding to the current information relative to the distance estimate; the neighborhood smoothness weight is used to characterize the continuity of the phase value corresponding to the current information relative to the phase value corresponding to at least one adjacent information; the distance estimate is obtained by least squares fitting with the frequency difference as the independent variable and the phase difference as the dependent variable.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The linear compliance weight is determined based on the phase difference and the frequency difference; The neighborhood smoothness weight is determined based on the phase value corresponding to the current information, the phase value corresponding to at least one adjacent piece of information, and a pre-configured smoothness scale factor.

12. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a terminal device, the method includes: When the terminal device is paged by the reader, it sends a random access request message to the reader; The terminal device receives time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources configured by the reader, the multiple frequency-domain resources belonging to the same carrier; the time-domain resources and the multiple frequency-domain resources are configured by the reader in response to the random access request message; An uplink signal is sent to the reader; the uplink signal is carried on the time-domain resources, and the multiple pieces of information contained in the uplink signal are respectively carried on the multiple frequency-domain resources; the position of the terminal device is determined based on the weighting factor, phase difference, and frequency difference corresponding to the multiple pieces of information respectively; wherein, the phase difference is the phase difference between every two adjacent phase values ​​among the phase values ​​corresponding to the multiple pieces of information; and the frequency difference is the frequency difference between every two adjacent frequency-domain resources among the multiple frequency-domain resources.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The time-domain resources are determined based on the signal quality of the random access request message.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The time-domain resource corresponds to the signal quality range in which the signal quality of the random access request message is located.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12-14, characterized in that, The receiving of time-domain resources and multiple frequency-domain resources configured for the terminal device from the reader includes: Receive a random access response message from the reader; wherein the random access response message includes configuration information indicating the time domain resources and the plurality of frequency domain resources.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The configuration information is used to configure the frequency shift values ​​corresponding to the plurality of frequency domain resources, wherein the frequency shift value is the frequency domain offset relative to the reference frequency domain position.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The configuration information includes bit duration and frequency shift factors corresponding to the multiple frequency domain resources. The frequency shift value corresponding to each frequency domain resource is determined based on the bit duration and the frequency shift factor corresponding to each frequency domain resource.

18. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The configuration information includes a bit duration and a frequency shift factor. The frequency shift values ​​corresponding to the multiple frequency domain resources are the same. There are multiple reference frequency domain positions. The frequency shift value is determined based on the bit duration and the frequency shift factor.

19. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, Before sending the uplink signal to the reader, the method further includes: The downlink signal is received from the reader; wherein the downlink signal is used to trigger the terminal device to send the uplink signal, and the downlink signal is carried on the time domain resource and the reference frequency domain location.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12-14, characterized in that, The position of the terminal device is obtained by least-squares fitting based on the weighting factors corresponding to the multiple pieces of information, with the frequency difference as the independent variable and the phase difference as the dependent variable.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The weighting factor is related to at least one of the linear compliance weight and the neighborhood smoothness weight; Wherein, the linear conformity weight is used to characterize the degree of deviation of the phase value corresponding to the current information relative to the distance estimate; the neighborhood smoothness weight is used to characterize the continuity of the current corresponding phase value relative to the phase value corresponding to at least one adjacent information; the distance estimate is obtained by least squares fitting with the frequency difference as the independent variable and the phase difference as the dependent variable.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The linear compliance weight is determined based on the phase difference and the frequency difference; The neighborhood smoothness weight is determined based on the phase value corresponding to the current information, the phase value corresponding to at least one adjacent piece of information, and a pre-configured smoothness scale factor.

23. A communication device comprising one or more processors, a memory, and a computer program stored in the memory, characterized in that, The processor executes the computer program to implement the method of any one of claims 1-11; and / or, to implement the method of any one of claims 12-22.

24. A chip system comprising a memory and a processor, characterized in that, When the program / instructions stored in the memory are executed by the processor, they implement the method of any one of claims 1-11; and / or, implement the method of any one of claims 12-22.

25. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes a reader and a terminal device; wherein the reader is used to perform the method of any one of claims 1-11; and / or the terminal device is used to perform the method of any one of claims 12-22.

26. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program / instructions stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program / instructions are executed by the processor, they implement the method of any one of claims 1-11; and / or, implement the method of any one of claims 12-22.

27. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes: a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-11; and / or to implement the method of any one of claims 12-22.

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