PUSCH resource configuration and power control aspects for AIoT devices

Abstract

An activator device in a wireless network receives an indication of resource allocation from a network element in the wireless network, the resource allocation includes a first resource to be used by an activator device to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel, and a second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element over the uplink channel. The activator device transmits to the device at least an activation signal in the first resource, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of a second resource to the device. The device receives the activation signal in a first resource and transmits a communication to the network element over the uplink channel using a second resource. The network device sends an indication of resource allocation to an active device and receives the communication from the device.

Description

Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0001] This application is related to UK Patent Application No. 2313337.4, filed September 1, 2023, and claims priority to that UK Patent Application, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Examples of embodiments herein generally relate to resource configuration and power control aspects for wireless communications, and more specifically to resource configuration and power control aspects for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) used by an ambient Internet of Things device. BACKGROUND

[0003] The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network of physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other physical objects that are embedded with sensors, software, and network connectivity, which allows them to collect and share data. The range of these devices can be from simple “smart home” devices (e.g., a smart thermostat), to wearable devices (e.g., smart watches and RFID-enabled clothing), to complex industrial machinery and transportation systems.

[0004] AIoT devices are network devices that extract energy (at least) from a wireless environment, and these devices can also be referred to as energy harvesting devices. These devices can be applied to many different industries. Consider a transportation industry example. Embedding sensors and controls in locomotives and freight cars that span many miles of track supporting US railroads creates a foundation for improved. Companies are creating predictive models and tools for trains and yards that optimize operating speeds by considering weight, speed, fuel consumption, terrain, and train traffic. These gains include faster running trains, preemptive maintenance cycles, and the ability to speed up the preloading and loading of freight.

[0005] All of this requires communication between AIoT devices, and this communication requires communication over a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), which is a channel used by AIoT devices to communicate with other devices or a base station, which is an access control device that provides access to a wireless network in which the base station resides by the AIoT devices. Aspects of this communication include one or both of resource configuration (e.g., describing which resources are to be used on the PUSCH) and / or power control (e.g., describing the power to be used for PUSCH communication). SUMMARY

[0006] This section is intended to include examples and is not intended to be limiting.

[0007] In one example embodiment, a method is disclosed that includes determining, by a network element in a wireless network, a resource allocation for a first resource to be used by an activator device in the wireless network to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel and a second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element over the uplink channel; sending, by the network element to the activator device, an indication of the determined resource allocation for use by the activator device and the device; and receiving, by the network element from the device, a communication over the uplink channel using the second resource.

[0008] One additional example embodiment includes a computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the method of the preceding paragraph when the computer program is run on an apparatus. According to this paragraph, the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing instructions for use with the apparatus. Another example is a computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the program is directly loadable into the internal memory of the apparatus.

[0009] An example apparatus includes one or more processors and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to at least perform: determining, by a network element in a wireless network, a resource allocation for a first resource to be used by an activator device in the wireless network to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel and a second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element over the uplink channel; sending, by the network element to the activator device, an indication of the determined resource allocation for use by the activator device and the device; and receiving, by the network element from the device, a communication over the uplink channel using the second resource.

[0010] An example computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium bearing instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least perform: determining, by a network element in a wireless network, a resource allocation for a first resource to be used by an activator device in the wireless network to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel and a second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element over the uplink channel; sending, by the network element to the activator device, an indication of the determined resource allocation for use by the activator device and the device; and receiving, by the network element from the device, a communication over the uplink channel using the second resource.

[0011] In another example embodiment, an apparatus comprising means for performing the following: determining, by a network element in a wireless network, a resource allocation for a first resource and a second resource, the first resource to be used by an activator device in the wireless network to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel, the second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element over the uplink channel; sending, by the network element to the activator device, an indication of the determined resource allocation for use by the activator device and the device; and receiving, by the network element from the device, a communication over the uplink channel using the second resource.

[0012] In one example embodiment, a method is disclosed, the method comprising: receiving, by an activator device in a wireless network, an indication of a resource allocation from a network element in the wireless network, the resource allocation comprising: a first resource to be used by the activator device to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel, and a second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element over the uplink channel; and sending, by the activator device to the device, at least the activation signal in the first resource, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of the second resource to the device.

[0013] One additional example embodiment includes a computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the method of the preceding paragraph when the computer program is run on an apparatus. According to this paragraph, the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing instructions for use with the apparatus. Another example is a computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the program is directly loadable into the internal memory of the apparatus.

[0014] An example apparatus comprises one or more processors and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to perform at least: receiving, by an activator device in a wireless network, an indication of a resource allocation from a network element in the wireless network, the resource allocation comprising: a first resource to be used by the activator device to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel, and a second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element over the uplink channel; and sending, by the activator device to the device, at least the activation signal in the first resource, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of the second resource to the device.

[0015] An example computer program product comprises a computer readable storage medium bearing instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, by an activator device in a wireless network, from a network element in the wireless network, an indication of a resource allocation comprising: first resources to be used by the activator device to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel, and second resources to be used by the device for communicating with the network element over the uplink channel; and transmitting, by the activator device to the device, at least an activation signal in the first resources, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of the second resources to the device.

[0016] In another example embodiment, an apparatus comprises means for performing the following: receiving, by an activator device in a wireless network, from a network element in the wireless network, an indication of a resource allocation comprising: first resources to be used by the activator device to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel, and second resources to be used by the device for communicating with the network element over the uplink channel; and transmitting, by the activator device to the device, at least an activation signal in the first resources, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of the second resources to the device.

[0017] In one example embodiment, a method is disclosed comprising: receiving, by a device in a wireless network, from an activator device in the wireless network, an activation signal transmitted over first resources on an uplink channel, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of second resources to be used by the device for communicating with a network element in the wireless network over the uplink channel; and transmitting, by the device using the second resources, a communication to the network element over the uplink channel.

[0018] One additional example embodiment includes a computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the method of the preceding paragraph when the computer program is run on an apparatus. According to this paragraph, the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing instructions for use with the apparatus. Another example is the computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the program is directly loadable into the internal memory of the apparatus.

[0019] An example apparatus includes one or more processors and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, by a device in a wireless network from an activator device in the wireless network, an activation signal transmitted over a first resource on an uplink channel, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of a second resource to be used by the device to communicate with a network element in the wireless network over the uplink channel; and transmitting, by the device using the second resource, a communication to the network element over the uplink channel.

[0020] An example computer program product includes a computer readable storage medium bearing instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, by a device in a wireless network from an activator device in the wireless network, an activation signal transmitted over a first resource on an uplink channel, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of a second resource to be used by the device to communicate with a network element in the wireless network over the uplink channel; and transmitting, by the device using the second resource, a communication to the network element over the uplink channel.

[0021] In another example embodiment, an apparatus includes means for performing at least the following: receiving, by a device in a wireless network from an activator device in the wireless network, an activation signal transmitted over a first resource on an uplink channel, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of a second resource to be used by the device to communicate with a network element in the wireless network over the uplink channel; and transmitting, by the device using the second resource, a communication to the network element over the uplink channel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] In the drawings:

[0023] Figure 1 (including Figure 1 A and Figure 1 B) illustrates Figure 1 NR (UL and SL) transmission and power control principles in A and Figure 1 AIoT topology and transmission in B;

[0024] Figure 2 is a signaling diagram indicating an overview of one example procedure;

[0025] Figure 3 is a signaling diagram of an example procedure that is an extension to the case where multiple activators are needed;

[0026] Figure 4is a signaling diagram illustrating steps of an example RACH procedure enhancement for joint resource and power control;

[0027] Figure 4A illustrates an example of step 2 corresponding to Figure 4

[0028] Figure 4B illustrates an example of step 3 corresponding to Figure 4

[0029] Figure 4C illustrates an example of step 4 corresponding to Figure 4

[0030] Figure 5 is a signaling diagram illustrating steps of an example CG procedure enhancement for joint resource and power control;

[0031] Figure 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating steps of an example DG procedure enhancement for joint resource and power control;

[0032] Figure 7 illustrates an example of step 1 corresponding to Figure 3

[0033] Figure 8 and Figure 8A is a block diagram of a possible and non-limiting example system in which example embodiments can be practiced. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Abbreviations that can occur in the specification and / or drawings are defined as follows, at the end of the detailed description section.

[0035] The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the embodiments described in this detailed description are exemplary embodiments provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the application, and not to limit the scope of the application defined by the claims.

[0036] When more than one appendix label, word, or abbreviation is used in this specification with the “ / ”, and as is generally the case, the “ / ” can be interpreted as “or”, “and”, or “both” as used within this specification. As used herein, “at least one of ” and “one or more of ” along with similar phrases, where the list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”, means at least the one element, or at least the two or more elements, or at least all elements in the list.

[0037] ​​​​As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “have,” “have,” “having,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0038] Any flow diagram or signaling diagram herein, such as Figures 2 to 6 , is considered a logical flow diagram, and is indicative of the operations of an exemplary method, the result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and / or interconnected machine components for performing functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments. Blocks in the flow diagrams, such as Figure 4A , 4B , 4C, 7, 8, and 8A, also represent operations of exemplary methods, the result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and / or interconnected machine components for performing functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments.

[0039] With respect to IoT applications, 3GPP has specified NB-IoT / eMTC and NR RedCap prior to Rel. 18 to meet the needs for low-cost and low-power devices for wide-area IoT communication. These IoT devices typically consume tens or hundreds of milliwatts of power during transceiving, while the cost is only a few dollars. However, to realize the Internet of Everything, IoT devices with ten times or even a hundred times lower cost and power consumption are needed, especially for a large number of applications requiring battery-less devices.

[0040] Typically, for example, in recent years, the number of IoT connections has rapidly grown and is predicted to reach hundreds of billions by 2030. As more and more “things” are expected to be interconnected to improve production efficiency and increase life comfort, further reduction in size, cost, and power consumption of IoT devices is needed. In particular, it is impractical to periodically replace batteries for all IoT devices due to the huge consumption of materials and manpower. It has become a trend to power IoT devices with energy harvested from the environment to enable self-sustainable communication, especially in applications with a large number of devices (e.g., ID tags and sensors).

[0041] 3GPP technologies are now described. The most critical issue of existing 3GPP technologies in the target use cases is their ability to be compatible with energy harvesting technology, given the limited device size. Cellular devices typically consume tens or even hundreds of milliwatts of power for transceiver processing. Taking an NB-IoT module as an example, the typical current consumption for receive processing is about 60 mA (with a supply voltage of 3.1 V higher), while 70 mA is used for transmission processing with 0 dBm transmit power. Furthermore, given the small size of typically only a few square centimeters for a real device, the output power from a typical energy harvester is mostly lower than 1 milliwatt. Since the available power is much smaller than the consumed power, it is impractical to directly power a cellular device by energy harvesting in most cases.

[0042] One possible solution is to integrate energy harvesting with a rechargeable battery or a supercapacitor. However, there are still some issues to be solved. First, in a real situation, both rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors can suffer from shortened usage time. Energy harvesting is difficult to provide a constant charging current or voltage, and due to very small output power from the energy harvester, long time continuous charging is needed. Both unstable charging current and long time continuous charging hurt the battery life. For supercapacitors, their life will be significantly shortened in a high temperature environment (e.g., less than 3 years at 50 degrees Celsius). Second, the device size will be significantly increased. Since a small coin cell battery can only provide a current of tens of milliamperes, a battery with a much larger size (e.g., an AA battery) is typically used to power a cellular device, and the size of these batteries can even be larger than the module itself. To store energy for a proper working duration (e.g., one second), the required capacitance of a supercapacitor reaches the level of hundreds of millifarads. The size of such a supercapacitor can be larger than the NB-IoT module itself. Third, both rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors can be more expensive than the module itself. Even with bulk purchase, the cost of a suitable battery or supercapacitor can reach several dollars, which is almost twice the cost of the device.

[0043] Now, non-3GPP technologies are described. RFID is the most well-known technology that supports battery-less tags (devices). The power consumption of commercial passive RFID tags can be as low as 1 microwatt. The key technology that enables such low power consumption is envelope detection for downlink data reception and backscatter communication for uplink data transmission. RFID is designed for short-range communication, with a typical effective range of less than 10 meters. The air interface of RFID has not changed much since 2005, and this overly simple transmission scheme becomes an obstacle to improving its link budget and the ability to support scalable networks.

[0044] Attracted by the extremely low power consumption of backscatter communication, many non-3GPP technologies have started to work on related research, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, and LoRa (Long Range, a physical proprietary wireless communication technology). Various researches show that passive tags based on the above air interfaces or with minor modifications can support power consumption of several microwatts or tens of microwatts. A considerable part of the research targets long-range communication. Among them, LoRa tags implemented with commercial off-the-shelf components can send their sensing data to a receiver 381 meters away. Currently, most researches focus on independent detailed technologies for various optimization targets. It is difficult to find a comprehensive system design that fully meets the requirements of the target use cases. However, due to the fact that the industry usually follows some de facto standards, the standardization of these technologies is flexible and fast. This means that once a proprietary standard shows competitiveness in certain applications, many products on the market will follow that private (e.g., proprietary) standard.

[0045] 3GPP activities on ambient IoT are now described. A passive radio is a device that is able to harvest energy from a wireless signal transmitted on a specific carrier and / or bandwidth and charge a simple circuitry that, once activated, will emit / reflect a signal that encodes at least the ID of the passive radio. A typical system architecture around a passive radio includes the following:

[0046] 1. Activator: a device that transmits an activation signal targeting to wake up a passive radio.

[0047] 2. Passive radio: harvests energy in a certain frequency range and listens for an activation signal. Once such a signal is detected, the passive radio will emit / reflect a signal specific to the radio ID.

[0048] 3. Reader: a device that listens and detects passive radio signals. The reader can or can not be co-located with the activator.

[0049] A summary of the agreements so far by 3GPP on ambient IoT is as follows:

[0050] The parties agree to focus on three device types:

[0051] 1) Device A: passive device with no energy storage;

[0052] 2) Device B: passive device with energy storage;

[0053] 3) Device C: active device with energy storage.

[0054] Design targets for power consumption:

[0055] 1) Device A < 10 μW;

[0056] 2) Device A < Device B < Device C;

[0057] 3) Device C < 1 mW.

[0058] Device complexity design goals:

[0059] 1) Device A: comparable to UHF RFID;

[0060] 2) Device A < Device B < Device C;

[0061] 3) Device C: several orders of magnitude lower than NB-IoT.

[0062] In NR (and earlier cellular standards), power control is either open loop (based on measurements applied to DL signals) or directly controlled by the network via a transmission power control (TPC) framework. The same principle has been extended to sidelink (SL), but power can be limited both by DL signals and by peer-to-peer control. Essentially, the traditional power control principle is based on one entity (gNB in Uu and peer receiving UE in PC5 in SL unicast) controlling the transmission power of the other entity (e.g. Figure 1 UE in Uu and PC5 in A, where the two entities directly communicate with each other), in Figure 1 A, a control node 510 (e.g., gNB or peer receiving UE) configures a power control 555 with a transmitting node 520, and the transmitting node 520 performs a transmission 560 to the control node 510 based on the power control 555.

[0063] For Figure 1 AIoT topology and transmissions in B, an activator 550 sends an activation signal transmission 565 to an AIoT device 540. The AIoT device 540 performs an AIoT transmission 570 to a reader 530.

[0064] That is, in contrast to the traditional power control principle of Figure 1 A, in an ambient IoT topology as shown in Figure 2 B, there are three entities (activator 550, AIoT device 540, and reader(s) 530) that need to exchange different types of information. Additionally, in the ambient IoT discussion, the impact on power control for the three types of AIoT devices is as follows:

[0065] 1) Device Type A:

[0066] a) Description: no energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e., backscatter transmission;

[0067] b) Power control effect: Only the activation signal can be power controlled because the backscattered signal is a modulated reflection of the incident activation signal at the AIoT device;

[0068] 2) Equipment Type B:

[0069] a) Description: It has energy storage but no independent signal generation, i.e., backscatter transmission. The use of stored energy can potentially include amplification of the reflected signal.

[0070] b) Power control effect: When the backscattered signal is amplified, power control can be applied to both the activation signal and the transmission of AIoT devices.

[0071] 3) Equipment type C:

[0072] a) Description: An active RF component with energy storage and independent signal generation, i.e., for transmission.

[0073] b) Impact of power control: Since AIoT device transmission is active, power control can be applied to both the activation signal and the AIoT device transmission.

[0074] However, the application of power control is closely related to the resources used to activate signals and AIoT transmissions, so resource allocation and power control should be handled together, which is the focus of the examples presented in this paper.

[0075] To address this and other issues, a joint power control and resource allocation approach is proposed in the context of the following examples: a) a RACH process, b) a configuration authorization process, and c) a dynamic authorization process. Examples of these three processes are described, and dedicated resource allocation and power control embodiments are provided for each AIoT device type.

[0076] In summary, these three processes share the following steps. These steps refer to... Figure 2 Described, Figure 3 This is a signaling diagram that provides an overview of the steps in an example process. The gNB 70, activator device 610, and AIoT device 620 are shown.

[0077] 1. Resource allocation, wherein first and second PUSCH resources are acquired. This occurs in step 1, and resource allocation is performed via the RACH, CG, or DG process.

[0078] 2. An activation signal using the first indicated PUSCH resource is transmitted, where the AIoT Tx power is indicated (e.g. at least for AIoT device type B and C). It should be noted that the activation signal used in step 2 (and any other step in this document where an activation signal is sent) has a defined property that is known to the activating AIoT device. Thus, the AIoT device does not need to know the first PUSCH resource in advance, as the signal using this resource will have the property configured to activate this AIoT device. Instead, it is assumed that the AIoT device is always ready to receive the activation signal; thus, the indication of the first PUSCH resource can be implicit for the AIoT device receiving the activation signal. It should be noted that the AIoT device can rely on the activation signal to learn the second resource, either via explicit indication or preconfigured / pre-set rules via the activation signal, such that the second resource is implicit. That is, for device type A / B, the indication of the second resource can be explicit if the device type A / B is able to decode the indication (where the indication can be in the form of bits or a sequence). This indication in turn can be implicit from receiving the first resource; i.e. receiving the activation signal in the first resource implies the second resource (e.g. where the signal for backscattering should happen), e.g. based on preconfigured / pre-set rules.

[0079] 3. AIoT signal transmission using the second PUSCH resource, while applying the indicated AIoT Tx power.

[0080] As a further part of the overview, when a single AIoT device 620 is activated by multiple activators, it is suggested to have one dominant activator to initiate the process (e.g. via RACH, CG or DG process), and then the network activates the necessary activators using the DG process. That is, one of the roles of the activation signal is to provide energy, thus, if there are multiple activators, there should be more energy on the AIoT device side for activation. For this case, then the high level procedure will have the steps shown in Figure 3 and described in more detail in the following. As a brief introduction, the following are the steps of Figure 3 , Figure 3 is a signaling diagram of the proposed procedure, which is extended to the case where multiple activators are needed. Figure 7 A further description of Figure 3 will be given after the introduction, and Figure 4 is also related to

[0081] In step 1, the primary activator device 610-L sends a request to the gNB 70 for additional activators to support the primary activator (e.g., using RACH, CG or DG procedure). In step 2, the gNB 70 replies with resource allocation via RACH, CG or DG procedure, e.g., indication of first and second PUSCH resources. In step 3, the gNB 70 also sends resource allocation information to the supporting activator device 610-S via DG procedure, with indication of the first PUSCH resource. In step 4.a, the primary activator device 610-L uses the first PUSCH resource (e.g., with AIoT Tx power indication) to send an activation signal to the AIoT device 620. In step 4.b, the supporting activator device 610-S uses the first PUSCH resource to send an activation signal to the AIoT device 620. The idea is that step 4.a provides the activation signal and information about resource allocation / power control. However, in step 4.b, only energy is provided. In step 5, the AIoT device 620 performs AIoT transmission using the second PUSCH resource (e.g., and applying the indicated AIoT Tx power).

[0082] Now that the overview has been described, more details are provided. The RACH procedure is now described. In the following, the discussion will focus on the 4-step RACH procedure, but it should be noted that the same principles apply also to the 2-step RACH procedure. The impact of the proposed RACH procedure in terms of resource allocation and power control is depicted in Figure 4A and as follows:

[0083] 0. The network provides RACH procedure configuration (e.g., PRACH preambles, time and frequency occasions) to be used in relation to AIoT device activation and AIoT device transmission.

[0084] 1. The activating UE as activator device 610 selects PRACH occasions and PRACH preambles and performs PRACH preamble transmission.

[0085] a. In case the UE (as activator device 610) does not get an acknowledgement from the network upon successful reception of the preamble, the UE will try PRACH preamble retransmission in subsequent PRACH occasions, applying a power offset to the PRACH preamble retransmission according to a power ramping procedure.

[0086] b. The power ramping step to be applied can be configured to correspond to AIoT activation. Note that the power ramping step corresponds to a power offset applied in the transmission of the PRACH preamble on top of the open loop power control. In other words, in this example, the power step applied for the PRACH preamble can be specific to AIoT, i.e. the step can have a different configuration than the PRACH used for other services.

[0087] c. The selected PRACH occasion and / or PRACH preamble can indicate to the network the type of AIoT device to be activated is device type A, B or C. This indication in turn can enable the network (e.g. gNB) to determine the type of PUSCH resources to be allocated in step 2.

[0088] 2. After the PRACH preamble is detected by the network, the network (e.g. gNB 70 in this example) sends a random access response (RAR) which includes resource allocation information indicating two PUSCH resources, denoted as Msg3-activation and Msg3-response. Figure 4B Examples a.-c. corresponding to the following step 2 are shown.

[0089] a. For device type A / B, the PUSCH resources Msg3-activation and Msg3-response can coincide in time and frequency (i.e. effectively a single PUSCH resource), or coincide only in time but with different frequency resources, or be consecutive in time but with the same or different frequency resources for Msg3-activation and Msg3-response, where only the activation signal is transmitted during Msg3-activation, while both the transmission of the activation signal and backscatter occur simultaneously during Msg3-response.

[0090] b. For device type C, the PUSCH resources Msg3-activation and Msg3-response can have a gap in time to allow the AIoT device to react to the activation signal (i.e. the gap can correspond to the processing time of the AIoT device, which can be defined based on AIoT device requirements), or for reader activation / response interference mitigation.

[0091] c. The type of PUSCH resources provided can be determined based on the selected PRACH occasion / preamble, as described in step 1.c.

[0092] 3. The activating UE (activator device 610) transmits an activation signal using the first PUSCH resource (e.g. Msg3-activation), which is received by the AIoT device 610 (e.g. in a passive manner). For type B / C, this can be with AIoT Tx power indication. Figure 4C Examples a.-c. corresponding to the following step 3 are shown.

[0093] As mentioned before, for device type A / B, the indication of the second resource can be explicit if the device type A / B is able to decode the indication (where the indication can be in the form of a bit or a sequence). The indication can in turn be implicit with the reception in the first resource; i.e. the reception of the activation signal in the first resource implies the second resource (e.g. where the backscattered signal should appear), e.g. based on a preconfigured / pre-set rule.

[0094] a. For device type A:

[0095] i. Regarding explicit or implicit indication of the second PUSCH resource, for AIoT device type A, the first and second PUSCH resource can coincide or be consecutive in time, although possibly not in frequency, as AIoT type A can only perform backscattered transmission while the activation signal is active.

[0096] ii. Regarding power control, the activation signal power level determines the strength of the backscattered signal and thus no additional power control can be needed for AIoT device transmission.

[0097] b. For device type B:

[0098] i. Regarding explicit or implicit indication of the second PUSCH resource, for AIoT device type B, the first and second PUSCH resource can coincide or be consecutive in time, although possibly not in frequency, as AIoT device type B can only perform backscattered transmission (albeit possibly with power boosting) while the activation signal is active, where power boosting refers to the fact that the backscattered signal is not merely a reflection of the activation signal, but a power boosting is applied.

[0099] ii. Regarding power control, the activation signal power level is the basis for AIoT device transmission, but the AIoT device type can perform an additional power boosting based on the internal available energy. The activation signal can then also indicate a minimum / maximum transmission power boost (as a power control parameter, when the AIoT device can select the power boost within the indicated range) or a power offset correction (as a power control parameter, where the AIoT device applies the indicated power offset correction to its transmission signal) to be applied.

[0100] As noted with respect to device types A and B, the first and second resources can have: 1) the same time and frequency resources; 2) the same time but different frequency resources; 3) contiguous time and the same frequency resources; or 4) contiguous time and different frequency resources. Moreover, it should be noted that if the first and second resources coincide in time, it can mean that the activation signal and the backscattered signal coincide in time, thus the first and second resources coincide in time. If the first resource is contiguous in time with the second resource, it can mean that in the first resource, only the activation signal (i.e., for activating device type A / B) is present, while in the second resource contiguous to the first resource, both the activation signal (to ensure backscattering is possible) and the backscattered signal will be present.

[0101] c. For device type C:

[0102] i. With respect to the second PUSCH resource indication:

[0103] A. In one embodiment, the activation signal explicitly indicates the second PUSCH resource to be used in the AIoT device transmission;

[0104] B. In another embodiment, the (e.g., implicit) relationship between the first and second PUSCH resources is pre-configured, or follows a pre-set rule. For example, if the first PUSCH resource occurs in slot x in PRB z, then the second PUSCH resource occurs in slot y in PRB w, where the number of PRBs and slots can vary between the first and second PUSCH resources;

[0105] C. In case the indication of the second PUSCH resource is not available (e.g., due to not being indicated in the activation signal or missing pre-configuration or pre-set rule), the AIoT device can initiate its own RACH procedure, and then the second PUSCH resource is determined in relation to the PRACH preamble sent by the AIoT device.

[0106] ii. With respect to power control, AIoT device type C performs an active transmission, and thus is not subject to the activation signal transmission power limitations. However, these devices can have limited information on what power to apply so that their transmission can be decoded by the gNB, thus the activation signal can indicate what transmission power level to apply.

[0107] 4. The AIoT device transmits its signal using the second PUSCH resource. Figure 5 Examples a.-c. corresponding to the following step 4 are shown.

[0108] a. For device type A:

[0109] i. The AIoT device modulates the activation signal and in this way generates a backscattered signal;

[0110] b. For device type B:

[0111] i. The AIoT device is able to apply a power boost to the activation signal and in this way generates a power boosted backscattered signal. The applied power boost can be determined based on a minimum / maximum transmission power boost or / and a power offset correction indicated in the activation signal. In one example embodiment, the minimum / maximum transmission power boost or / and the power offset correction can be derived by the activator device based on open loop power control from a DL signal (e.g. SSB).

[0112] c. For device type C:

[0113] i. The AIoT device transmission power determination can be based on one or more of the following power control parameters:

[0114] A. A power offset correction indicated in the activation signal.

[0115] B. An absolute transmission power indicated in the activation signal.

[0116] In one example embodiment, the power offset correction and / or the absolute transmission power can be derived by the activator device based on open loop power control from a DL signal (e.g. SSB).

[0117] C. A (potential) additional power offset associated with the AIoT traffic. That is, when the AIoT device has more data to send, the AIoT device will need additional power. For example, to allow transmission of additional information in the same resources, the AIoT device can use a higher order modulation scheme. To decode these transmissions, a higher transmission power will be beneficial.

[0118] In one example embodiment, based on open loop power determination at the activator UE of the received DL signal (e.g. channel inversion, where the activator knows the transmission power (P_Tx,DL) and the received power (P_Rx,DL)), the DL path loss is determined and based on this determination the transmission power (P_Tx,AIoT_UL) for the AIoT device is applied to ensure that the received power (P_Rx,AIoT_UL) at the gNB meets a given received power target.

[0119] D. Various parameters determined from open loop power control of the received activation signal. For example, device type C can derive the path loss between the activator device and itself based on the received activation signal and consider this path loss when applying power control.

[0120] An example of a Configured Grant (CG) procedure is now described. The impact of a proposal for the CG procedure in terms of resource allocation and power control for AIoT device activation and reception is depicted in Figure 4 and as follows:

[0121] 0. The network (e.g., gNB 70) provides a Configured Grant configuration to the activator device 610, where the first and second PUSCH resources are provided in time and frequency, and occur periodically;

[0122] a. Note: The activator device 610 can receive this configuration while in RRC connected state, or the activator device 610 can receive this configuration as part of its configuration when transitioning to RRC inactive state.

[0123] 1. Same as step 3 in Figure 4 with additional embodiments:

[0124] a. The first and second PUSCH resources occur periodically as specified by the CG.

[0125] 2. Same as step 4 in Figure 6 .

[0126] An example of a Dynamic Grant (DG) procedure is now described. The impact of an example of a proposal for the DG procedure in terms of resource allocation and power control for AIoT device activation and reception is depicted in Figure 4 and includes the following.

[0127] 0. The network (via gNB 70) provides a Dynamic Grant (DG) configuration to the activator device 610, which includes two resource grants: a first PUSCH resource grant for the activation signal transmission; and a second PUSCH resource grant for the AIoT device response.

[0128] a. Note: The activator device 610 can receive this configuration while in RRC connected state, and for example, via a DCI container.

[0129] 1. Same as step 3 in Figure 4 .

[0130] 2. Same as step 4 in Figure 3 .

[0131] Joint resource allocation for multiple activators is now described. An example of a proposed procedure for the case of joint activation of AIoT devices (e.g., ensuring that the AIoT device has enough power for backscattering) for multiple activators is depicted in Figure 3 and as follows.

[0132] 1. The primary activator 610-L sends a request for additional activator(s) to support the primary activator's indication (e.g., using RACH, CG or DG procedure). The primary activator 610-L can be provided with information that requires the activation of multiple activators to be triggered. There are two aspects that can be captured here.

[0133] I) Request for multiple activators: This can be triggered by the primary activator (as depicted in Figure 3 Step 1 from

[0134] II) Resource allocation for multiple activators: In one example, the NW provides this information.

[0135] The following example, including a and b in Step 1 from Figure 7 , is shown by Figure 3 .

[0136] It should be noted that it is assumed that the gNB 70 has selected a primary activator responsible for managing the session. This selection is gNB specific and is outside the scope of this document. For example purposes only, the gNB 70 can select a UE that has previously been used as an activator device as the primary activator 610-L, or a UE that is considered to be closest to the expected location of the AIoT device 620 as the primary activator 610-L.

[0137] a. For RACH procedure, this can include information of specific RACH occasions and preambles that, when activated, indicate to the network that multiple activators should be activated.

[0138] b. For CG and DG procedures, the indication of the request for multiple activators can be triggered by the transmission of PUSCH associated with the same purpose, or via a RACH procedure or MAC CE message or RRC request message dedicated for this purpose.

[0139] The following steps are from Figure 4 .

[0140] 2. The network provides resource allocation to the primary activator according to RACH, CG or DG procedure as described in Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 8 respectively.

[0141] 3. The network provides resource allocation to all supporting activator devices 610-L via DG procedure (first PUSCH resource).

[0142] 4. The primary activator and supporting activators perform joint activation signal transmission in the first PUSCH resource.

[0143] 5. The AIoT device performs the transmission of its reply signal using the second PUSCH resource.

[0144] Turning to Figure 8 , the figure shows a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting example of a cellular network 1 connected to a plurality of user equipment (UE) 10. A plurality of network elements are shown in Figure 8 : a gNB (e.g. base station) 70 and a core network 90.

[0145] In Figure 8 , a plurality of user equipment (UE) 10, 10-1 are in or are able to be in wireless communication with a gNB (e.g. base station) 70 of a cellular network 1 via a corresponding wireless link 11. The UE 10 is a wireless communication device, such as a mobile device, configured to access the cellular network. The UE 10 can be an AIoT 620, and the other UE 10-1 can be an activator(s) 610, 610-L and / or 610-S. The UE 10 and the other UE 10-1 can communicate using a link 14. All UEs are considered similar, and only the circuitry of the UE 10 is described herein.

[0146] As the UEs (at least) extract energy from the wireless environment, they can also be referred to as energy harvesting devices, they can have one or more energy storage (ES) elements 19, allowing at least the reception of an activation signal to occur, and can provide additional features such as amplification of a reflected signal. Although this will be described in more detail below, in its simplest form, the UE 10 can be an RFID tag, for example a device of type A. However, the UE 10 can also be a simple sensor pasted to an RFID tag, but where the sensor only works when power is received by the tag. There are many possibilities of devices conforming to types A, B and C, all of which cannot be mentioned here.

[0147] The UE 10 is shown with one or more antennas 28. The ellipsis 2 indicates that there can be a plurality of UEs 10 in wireless communication with the base station 70 via a wireless link. The UE 10 comprises one or more processors 13, one or more memories 15, and other circuitry 16. The other circuitry 16 comprises one or more receivers (Rx) 17 and one or more transmitters (Tx) 18. Programs 12 are used to cause the UE 10 to perform the operations described herein. For the UE 10, the other circuitry 16 can comprise circuitry such as for user interface elements (not shown), e.g. a display.

[0148] The gNB 70 as a base station and network element of the cellular network 1 provides the UE 10 with access to the cellular network 1 and to the data network 91 via the core network 90, e.g., via a user plane function (UPF) of the core network 90. The base station 70 is shown with one or more antennas 58. In general, the gNB 70 can be referred to as a RAN node 70, although many will refer to this as a gNB (gNodeB, but referred to as base station for NR (New Radio)) as used herein. However, there are many other examples of RAN nodes, including eNBs (evolved NodeBs) or TRPs (Transmission-Reception Points). The base station 70 includes one or more processors 73, one or more memories 75, and other circuitry 76. The other circuitry 76 includes one or more receivers (Rx) 77 and one or more transmitters (Tx) 78. Programs 72 are used to cause the base station 70 to perform the operations described herein.

[0149] It should be noted that the base station 70 can be implemented via other wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi (Wireless Networking Protocol, devices can communicate without direct cable connection). In the case of Wi-Fi, the link 11 can be characterized as a wireless link.

[0150] Two or more base stations 70 communicate using, e.g., link(s) 79. The link(s) 79 can be wireless or wired, or both, and can implement, e.g., the Xn interface for 5G (Fifth Generation), the X2 interface for LTE (Long Term Evolution), or other suitable interfaces for other standards.

[0151] The cellular network 1 can include a core network 90 (one or more third elements as shown) that can include core network functionality and that provides connectivity via one or more links 81 with a data network 91, such as a telephone network and / or a data communications network (e.g., the Internet). The core network 90 includes one or more processors 93, one or more memories 95, and other circuitry 96. The other circuitry 96 includes one or more receivers (Rx) 97 and one or more transmitters (Tx) 98. Programs 92 are used to cause the core network 90 to perform the operations described herein.

[0152] The core network 90 can be a 5G core network (5GC). The core network 90 can implement or include a plurality of network functions ((multiple) NFs) 99, and the programs 92 can include one or more of the NFs 99. The 5G core network can use hardware such as memory and processors, and a virtualization layer. It can be a separate computing system, a distributed computing system, or a cloud computing system. The NFs 99 of the core network, as network elements, can be containers or virtual machines running on the hardware of the computing system(s) that make up the core network 90.

[0153] Core network functionality for 5G can include access and mobility management functionality provided by network function 99, such as access and mobility management function(s) (AMF), session management functionality provided by network functions such as session management function (SMF). Access and mobility management core network functionality for LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks can be provided by MME (mobility management entity) and / or SGW (serving gateway) functionality, which routes data to data networks. As shown by the examples in Figure 8 Many others are possible: AMF; SMF; MME; SGW; GMLC (Gateway Mobile Location Center); LMF (Location Management Function); UDM (Unified Data Management) / UDR (Unified Data Repository); NRF (Network Repository Function); and / or E-SMLC (Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center). These are merely exemplary core network functions that can be provided by core network 90, it being noted that both 5G and LTE core network functionality can be provided by core network 90. RAN nodes 70 are coupled with core network 90 via backhaul links 31. RAN nodes 70 and core network 90 can include NG (Next Generation) interfaces for 5G, or SI interfaces for LTE, or other suitable interfaces for other wireless access technologies, for communication via backhaul links 31.

[0154] In data network 91, there is computer-readable media 94. Computer-readable media 94 contains instructions which, when downloaded and installed in memory 15, 75, or 95 of corresponding UE 10, base station 70, and / or core network element(s) 90, and executed by processor(s) 13, 73, or 93, cause the respective device to perform corresponding actions described herein. Computer-readable media 94 can be implemented in other forms, such as via an optical disc or memory stick.

[0155] The programs 12, 72, and 92 include instructions stored (in one or more memories 15, 75, or 95) that, when executed by a corresponding one or more processors 13, 73, or 93, cause the corresponding apparatus 10, 70, or 90 to perform the operations described herein. The computer-readable memory 15, 75, or 95 can be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, firmware, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The computer-readable memory 15, 75, and 95 can be means for performing the storage function. The processor 13, 73, and 93 can be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and can include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and processors based on multi-core processor architectures, as non-limiting examples. The processor 13, 73, and 93 can be means for causing a function to be performed.

[0156] The receivers 17, 77, and 97 and transmitters 18, 78, and 98 can implement wired or wireless interfaces. The receivers and transmitters can be grouped together as transceivers.

[0157] The cellular network 1 can implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functions into a single, software-based management entity, i.e., a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is classified as external virtualization, which combines many networks or parts of networks into a virtual unit, and internal virtualization, which provides software containers on a single system with network-like functionality. It should be noted that the virtualized entities resulting from network virtualization, such as the network function 99, are still implemented to some extent using hardware, such as the processors 73 and / or 93 and the memories 75 and / or 95, and these virtualized entities produce technical effects.

[0158] Generally, various embodiments of user equipment 10 can include, but are not limited to, devices used for indoor repositories, indoor sensors, indoor positioning, indoor instructions, outdoor repositories, outdoor sensors, outdoor positioning, and / or outdoor instructions. See, for example, the examples in 3GPP TR 38.848 V0.2.0 (2023-06) Section 4. UE 10 is not limited to these examples, but these examples provide an overview of applicability. However, UE 10 can be any terminal device that can be capable of wireless communication that extracts energy from a wireless environment (at least). By way of example and not limitation, a UE can also be referred to as a communication device, a terminal device (MT), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT).

[0159] Turning to 8A, in this example, UE 10 (e.g., as an AIoT device) can be within network 1. For example, UE 10 can be a device that is assisted with location, such as being fixed at a location and sending its location in response to activation. gNB 70 (e.g., LMF as N F99) can then use this information as part of a location determination for other UEs. As another example, UE 10 as an AIoT device can be a repository device, indicating hardware elements for network 1, for example, to ensure that no devices are stolen or damaged (such as in a natural disaster). As indicated by reference number 1210, other UE 10-1 can be separate from NW 1, or part of NW 1.

[0160] Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the following claims, a technical effect and / or advantage of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is that these example embodiments integrate power control and resource allocation into the same procedure. Another technical effect and / or advantage of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is that these example embodiments allow for control of activation and AIoT device reply power.

[0161] The following are additional examples.

[0162] Example 1. A method comprising: determining, by a network element in a wireless network, resource allocation for a first resource and a second resource, the first resource to be used by an activator device in the wireless network to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel, the second resource to be used by the device for communicating with the network element over the uplink channel; sending, by the network element to the activator device, an indication of the determined resource allocation for use by the activator device and the device; and receiving, by the network element using the second resource, a communication from the device over the uplink channel.

[0163] Example 2. The method of example 1, wherein the activator device is a master activator as one of a plurality of activator devices, and wherein transmitting comprises transmitting an indication of the determined resource allocation to the master activator using one of a random access channel procedure, a configured grant procedure, or a dynamic grant procedure, and wherein the method further comprises: transmitting an indication of a first resource from the determined resource allocation to other activator devices of the plurality of activator devices using a dynamic grant procedure.

[0164] Example 3. A method comprising: receiving, by an activator device in a wireless network, an indication of a resource allocation from a network element in the wireless network, the resource allocation comprising: a first resource to be used by the activator device to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel, and a second resource to be used by the device for communication with the network element over the uplink channel; and transmitting, by the activator device to the device, at least the activation signal in the first resource, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of the second resource to the device.

[0165] Example 4. The method of example 3, wherein the activation signal comprises an indication of a power control parameter to be applied by the device to communication with the network element over the uplink channel using the second resource.

[0166] Example 5. The method of example 4, wherein the power control parameter comprises at least one of a minimum / maximum transmission power boost, a power offset correction, or an absolute transmission power to be applied by the device to the communication with the network element.

[0167] Example 6. The method of any of examples 3 to 5, wherein the first resource and the second resource are configured via one of: in response to the device being a first type or a second type of a plurality of types, the first resource and the second resource coincide in time, or are contiguous in time, with only the activation signal to be transmitted during the first resource and both the activation signal and a backscatter transmission to occur during the second resource; in response to the device being a third type of the plurality of types, the first resource and the second resource have a separation in time to allow the device to react to the activation signal or for reader activation or response interference mitigation; or a type of resource provided is determined based on one or both of a selected occasion or a selected preamble for a random access channel procedure, the selected occasion or the selected preamble being selected by the activator device for a preamble transmission by the activator device for the random access channel procedure.

[0168] Example 7. The method of any of examples 3 to 6, wherein the activation signal explicitly indicates the second resource to be used by the device for communication with the network element, or implicitly indicates the second resource based on a preconfigured relationship between the first resource and the second resource or following a preset rule.

[0169] Example 8. The method of any of examples 3-7, wherein the receiving is part of a random access channel procedure, and wherein the method further comprises, prior to the receiving: transmitting, by the activator device, a preamble transmission using the selected occasion and the selected preamble for the random access channel procedure to the network element as part of the random access channel procedure.

[0170] Example 9. The method of example 8, further comprising: in response to no acknowledgement being received by the activator device from the network element, attempting, by the activator device, a preamble retransmission to the network element at a subsequent occasion in the random access channel procedure while applying a power offset according to a power ramping procedure.

[0171] Example 10. The method of any of examples 8 or 9, wherein the preamble for the random access channel procedure is configured to correspond exclusively to use for activation of the device.

[0172] Example 11. The method of any of examples 8-10, wherein one or both of the selected occasion or the selected preamble for the random access channel procedure indicates one of a plurality of device types for the device.

[0173] Example 12. The method of any of examples 3-7, wherein the receiving is part of a configured grant procedure.

[0174] Example 13. The method of example 12, wherein the receiving the indication of the resource allocation is performed while the activator device is in a connected state for radio resource control, or the activator device receives the indication of the resource allocation as part of a configuration received in response to transitioning to an inactive state for radio resource control.

[0175] Example 14. The method of any of examples 3-7, wherein the receiving is part of a dynamic grant procedure, and wherein the receiving the indication of the resource allocation is performed while the activator device is in a connected state for radio resource control and via a container of downlink control information.

[0176] Example 15. The method of any of examples 3-14, further comprising: transmitting an indication of a request for additional activator devices to support the activator device; wherein for the random access channel procedure, the indication of the request includes information for a particular occasion and preamble for the random access channel procedure that, when activated, indicates to the wireless network that multiple activators should be activated; or for the configured grant and dynamic grant procedures, the indication of the request for multiple activators is triggered by a transmission of an uplink channel associated with the same purpose, or triggered via a control element for medium access control or a radio resource control request message.

[0177] Example 16. A method comprising: receiving, by a device in a wireless network, from an activator device in the wireless network, an activation signal transmitted over a first resource on an uplink channel, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of a second resource to be used by the device for communication with a network element in the wireless network over the uplink channel; and transmitting, by the device, a communication to the network element over the uplink channel using the second resource.

[0178] Example 17. The method of example 16, wherein the activation signal includes an indication of a power control parameter to be applied by the device to the communication to the network element over the uplink channel using the second resource.

[0179] Example 18. The method of example 17, wherein the power control parameter includes at least one of a minimum / maximum transmission power boost, a power offset correction, or an absolute transmission power to be applied by the device to the communication to the network element.

[0180] Example 19. The method of any of examples 16 to 18, wherein the first resource and the second resource are configured via one of: in response to the device being a first type or a second type of a plurality of types, the first resource and the second resource coincide in time, or are contiguous in time, with only the activation signal to be transmitted during the first resource and both the activation signal and a backscatter transmission to occur during the second resource; in response to the device being a third type of the plurality of types, the first resource and the second resource have a separation in time to allow the device to react to the activation signal or for reader activation or response interference mitigation; or a type of resource provided is determined based on one or both of a selected occasion or a selected preamble for a random access channel procedure, the selected occasion or the selected preamble being selected by the activator device for a preamble transmission transmitted by the activator device for the random access channel procedure.

[0181] Example 20. The method of any of examples 16 to 19, wherein the activation signal explicitly indicates the second resource to be used by the device for communication with the network element, or implicitly indicates the second resource based on a preconfigured relationship between the first resource and the second resource or following a preset rule.

[0182] Example 21. The method of any of examples 16 to 20, further comprising: in the event that an indication of the second resource is not available, initiating, by the device, its own random access channel procedure with the network element, and then the second resource is determined in association with a preamble transmitted by the device to the network element for the random access channel procedure.

[0183] Example 22. The method of any of examples 16 to 21, wherein the sending further comprises: responsive to the device being a first type of a plurality of types, the device modulating the activation signal and producing a signal from backscatter of the activation signal as the communication to the network element; responsive to the device being a second type of the plurality of types, the device applying a power boost to the activation signal and producing a power boosted backscattered signal as the communication to the network element, wherein the power boost applied is determined based on a minimum / maximum transmission power boost or power offset correction indicated in the activation signal; and responsive to the device being a third type of the plurality of types, applying a transmission power determined based on at least one of: a power offset correction indicated in the activation signal; an absolute transmission power indicated in the activation signal; a parameter derived at the device based on open loop power control from the received activation signal; or an additional power offset associated with traffic to be transmitted by the device.

[0184] Example 23. A computer program comprising instructions for performing the method of any of examples 1 to 22 when the computer program is run on an apparatus.

[0185] Example 24. The computer program of example 23, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium bearing instructions for an apparatus embodied therein.

[0186] Example 25. The computer program of example 23, wherein the computer program is directly loadable into the internal memory of the apparatus.

[0187] Example 26. An apparatus comprising means for: determining, by a network element in a wireless network, resource allocations for a first resource and a second resource, the first resource to be used by an activator device in the wireless network to activate devices with activation signals over an uplink channel, the second device to be used by the devices for communicating with the network element over the uplink channel; sending, by the network element to the activator device, an indication of the determined resource allocations for use by the activator device and the devices; and receiving, by the network element from the devices, communications over the uplink channel using the second resource.

[0188] Example 27. The apparatus of example 1, wherein the activator device is a primary activator as one of a plurality of activator devices, and wherein the sending comprises sending an indication of the determined resource allocations to the primary activator using one of a random access channel procedure, a configured grant procedure, or a dynamic grant procedure, and wherein the sending comprises sending an indication of the first resource from the determined resource allocations to other activator devices of the plurality of activator devices using the dynamic grant procedure.

[0189] Example 28. An apparatus comprising means for performing: receiving, by an activator device in a wireless netw ork, an indication of a resource allocation from a network element in the wireless network, the resource allocation comprising: a first resource to be used by the activator device to activate a device with an activation signal over an uplink channel, and a second resource to be used by the device for communication with the network element over the uplink channel; and transmitting, by the activator device to the device, at least the activation signal in the first resource, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of the second resource to the device.

[0190] Example 29. The apparatus according to example 28, wherein the activation signal comprises an indication of a power control parameter to be applied by the device to communication with the network element over the uplink channel using the second resource.

[0191] Example 30. The apparatus according to example 29, wherein the power control parameter comprises at least one of a minimum / maximum transmission power boost, a power offset correction, or an absolute transmission power to be applied by the device to the communication with the network element.

[0192] Example 31. The apparatus according to any of examples 28 to 30, wherein the first resource and the second resource are configured via one of: in response to the device being a first type or a second type of a plurality of types, the first resource and the second resource coincide in time, or are consecutive in time, with only the activation signal to be transmitted during the first resource and both the activation signal and a backscatter transmission to occur during the second resource; in response to the device being a third type of the plurality of types, the first resource and the second resource have a separation in time to allow the device to react to the activation signal or for reader activation or response interference mitigation; or the type of resources provided is determined based on one or both of a selected occasion or a selected preamble for a random access channel procedure, the selected occasion or the selected preamble being selected by the activator device for a preamble transmission by the activator device for the random access channel procedure.

[0193] Example 32. The apparatus according to any of examples 28 to 31, wherein the activation signal explicitly indicates the second resource to be used by the device for communication with the network element, or implicitly indicates the second resource based on a preconfigured relationship between the first resource and the second resource or following a preset rule.

[0194] Example 33. The apparatus according to any of examples 28 to 32, wherein the receiving is part of a random access channel procedure, and wherein the means are further configured for performing, prior to the receiving: transmitting, by the activator device to the network element, a preamble transmission using a selected occasion and a selected preamble for the random access channel procedure as part of the random access channel procedure.

[0195] Example 34. The apparatus of example 33, wherein the means are further configured to perform: in response to no confirmation being received by the activator device from the network element, attempting by the activator device retransmission of the preamble to the network element at a subsequent occasion in the random access channel procedure while applying a power offset according to a power ramping procedure.

[0196] Example 35. The apparatus of any one of examples 33 or 34, wherein the preamble for the random access channel procedure is configured to correspond exclusively to use for activation of the device.

[0197] Example 36. The apparatus of any one of examples 33 to 35, wherein one or both of the selected occasion or the selected preamble for the random access channel procedure indicates one of a plurality of device types for the device.

[0198] Example 37. The apparatus of any one of examples 28 to 32, wherein the receiving is part of a configured grant procedure.

[0199] Example 38. The apparatus of example 37, wherein the receiving the indication of the resource allocation is performed while the activator device is in a connected state for radio resource control, or the activator device receives the indication of the resource allocation as part of a configuration received in response to transitioning to an inactive state for radio resource control.

[0200] Example 39. The apparatus of any one of examples 28 to 32, wherein the receiving is part of a dynamic grant procedure, and wherein the receiving the indication of the resource allocation is performed while the activator device is in a connected state for radio resource control and via a container of downlink control information.

[0201] Example 40. The apparatus of any one of examples 28 to 39, wherein the means are further configured to perform: sending an indication of a request for additional activator devices to support the activator device; wherein for the random access channel procedure, the indication of the request includes information for a specific occasion and preamble for the random access channel procedure that, when activated, indicates to the wireless network that multiple activators should be activated; or for the configured grant and dynamic grant procedures, the indication of the request for multiple activators is triggered by a transmission of an uplink channel associated with the same purpose, or triggered via a control element for medium access control or a radio resource control request message.

[0202] Example 41. An apparatus comprising means for performing: receiving, by a device in a wireless net from an activator device in the wireless net, an activation signal transmitted over a first resource on an uplink channel, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit indication or an explicit indication of a second resource to be used by the device for communication with a network element in the wireless net over the uplink channel; and transmitting, by the device using the second resource, a communication to the network element over the uplink channel

[0203] Example 42. The apparatus according to example 41, wherein the activation signal comprises an indication of a power control parameter to be applied by the device to the communication to the network element over the uplink channel using the second resource.

[0204] Example 43. The apparatus according to example 42, wherein the power control parameter comprises at least one of a minimum / maximum transmission power boost, a power offset correction, or an absolute transmission power to be applied by the device to the communication to the network element.

[0205] Example 44. The apparatus according to any of examples 41 to 43, wherein the first resource and the second resource are configured via one of: in response to the device being a first type or a second type of a plurality of types, the first resource and the second resource coincide in time, or are consecutive in time, with only the activation signal to be transmitted during the first resource and both the activation signal and a backscatter transmission to occur during the second resource; in response to the device being a third type of the plurality of types, the first resource and the second resource have a separation in time to allow the device to react to the activation signal or for reader activation or response interference mitigation; or a type of resource provided is determined based on one or both of a selected occasion or a selected preamble for a random access channel procedure, the selected occasion or the selected preamble being selected by the activator device for a preamble transmission transmitted by the activator device for the random access channel procedure.

[0206] Example 45. The apparatus according to any of examples 41 to 44, wherein the activation signal explicitly indicates the second resource to be used by the device for communication with the network element, or implicitly indicates the second resource based on a preconfigured relationship between the first resource and the second resource or following a pre-set rule.

[0207] Example 46. The apparatus according to any of examples 41 to 45, wherein the means are further configured for performing: in the event that an indication of the second resource is not available, initiating, by the device, its own random access channel procedure with the network element, and then the second resource is determined in association with a preamble transmitted by the device to the network element for the random access channel procedure.

[0208] Example 47. The apparatus of any of examples 41 to 46, wherein the transmitting further comprises: responsive to the device being a first type of a plurality of types, the device modulating the activation signal and producing a signal from backscatter of the activation signal as the communication to the network element; responsive to the device being a second type of the plurality of types, the device applying a power boost to the activation signal and producing a power boosted backscattered signal as the communication to the network element, wherein the power boost applied is determined based on a minimum / maximum transmission power boost or a power offset correction indicated in the activation signal; and responsive to the device being a third type of the plurality of types, applying a transmission power determined based on at least one of: a power offset correction indicated in the activation signal; an absolute transmission power indicated in the activation signal; a parameter derived at the device based on open loop power control from the received activation signal; or an additional power offset associated with traffic to be transmitted by the device.

[0209] Example 48. The apparatus of any of the preceding apparatus examples, wherein the means comprise: at least one processor; and at least one memory that stores instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause performance of the apparatus.

[0210] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" can refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0211] (a) hardware-only circuitry (such as comprises only analog and / or digital circuitry) and

[0212] (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) combinations of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processors), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions and

[0213] (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but it does not work with software alone, but it does work with software and hardware combined, such as a combined microprocessor hardware and software or a portion of microprocessor(s) and software combined to provide an apparatus that performs various functions.

[0214] This definition of "circuit system" applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claim. As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuit system" also covers implementations of only hardware circuitry or processors (or processors), or a portion thereof, and their accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuit system" also covers baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or networking devices.

[0215] The embodiments described herein may be implemented in software (executed by one or more processors), hardware (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits), or a combination of software and hardware. In one example embodiment, the software (e.g., application logic, instruction set) is held on any of a variety of conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, "computer-readable media" can be any medium or component capable of containing, storing, communicating, propagating, or transmitting instructions used by or associated with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer. ​ An example of a computer is described and depicted herein. A computer-readable medium may include a computer-readable storage medium (such as memories 15, 75, and 95 or other devices), which may be any medium or component capable of containing, storing, and / or transmitting instructions used by or associated with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer. A computer-readable storage medium does not include propagating signals and can therefore be considered a non-transitory medium. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" refers to a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not tactile), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM random access memory and ROM read-only memory).

[0216] If necessary, the different functions discussed in this document can be executed in different orders and / or concurrently. Furthermore, one or more of the above functions can be optional or combined, if necessary.

[0217] Although various aspects of the invention are set forth in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention include other combinations of features from the described embodiments and / or dependent claims with features of the independent claims, not just those expressly listed in the claims.

[0218] It should also be noted in this document that although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been described above, these descriptions should not be considered limiting. Rather, various variations and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0219] The following abbreviations that can be found in the specification and / or drawings are defined as follows:

[0220] 5G Fifth Generation

[0221] AIoT Ambient Internet of Things

[0222] AMF Access and Mobility Management Function

[0223] BS Base Station

[0224] CE Control Element

[0225] CG Configured Grant

[0226] DCI Downlink Control Information

[0227] DG Dynamic Grant

[0228] DL Downlink (from network to UE)

[0229] E-SMLC Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center

[0230] GMLC Gateway Mobile Location Center

[0231] eMTC Enhanced Machine Type Communications

[0232] eNB (or eNodeB) Evolved NodeB (e.g., LTE base station)

[0233] gNB (or gNodeB) Base station for 5G / NR

[0234] ES Energy Storage

[0235] ID Identification

[0236] IAB Integrated Access and Backhaul

[0237] I / F Interface

[0238] IoT Internet of Things

[0239] LMF Location Management Function

[0240] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0241] MAC Medium Access Control

[0242] MME Mobility Management Entity

[0243] NB-IoT Narrow Band Internet of Things

[0244] NF Network Function

[0245] ng or NG Next Generation

[0246] NR New Radio

[0247] NRF Network Repository Function

[0248] N / W or NW Network

[0249] PRB Physical Resource Block

[0250] PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0251] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0252] RACH Random Access Channel

[0253] RAN Radio Access Network

[0254] RAR Random Access Response

[0255] RedCap Reduced Capability

[0256] RFID Radio Frequency Identification

[0257] Rx Receiver

[0258] SGW Serving Gateway

[0259] SL Sidelink

[0260] SMF Session Management Function

[0261] SSB Synchronization Signal Block

[0262] TPC Transmit Power Control

[0263] TRP Transmission Reception Point

[0264] Tx Transmitter

[0265] UDM Unified Data Management

[0266] UDR Unified Data Repository

[0267] UE User Equipment (e.g., wireless, typically mobile device)

[0268] UPF User Plane Function

[0269] Uu Air interface between a UE and a network (e.g., gNB)

[0270] UWB Ultra-Wide Band

Claims

1. A method comprising: An activator device in a wireless network receives a resource allocation instruction from a network element in the wireless network, the resource allocation including: a first resource to be used by the activator device to activate the device via an activation signal through an uplink channel, and a second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element via the uplink channel; and The activator device sends at least the activation signal of the first resource to the device, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide the device with either an implicit indication or an explicit indication of the second resource.

2. A method comprising: A device in a wireless network receives an activation signal transmitted via a first resource on an uplink channel from an activator device in the wireless network, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit or explicit indication of a second resource for which the device will communicate with network elements in the wireless network via the uplink channel. as well as The device uses the second resource to send communications to the network element via the uplink channel.

3. An apparatus comprising components for performing the following: The resource allocation for a first resource and a second resource is determined by the network element in the wireless network. The first resource will be used by the activator device in the wireless network to activate the device via an activation signal through an uplink channel. The second resource will be used by the device to communicate with the network element via an uplink channel. The network element sends an instruction to the activator device for the determined allocation of resources used by the activator device and the device. as well as The network element uses the second resource to receive communication from the device via the uplink channel.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the activator device is a master activator among a plurality of activator devices, and wherein the transmission includes sending the indication of the determined resource allocation to the master activator using one of a random access channel procedure, a configuration authorization procedure, or a dynamic authorization procedure, and wherein the component is further configured to perform: sending the indication of the first resource from the determined resource allocation to the other activator devices among the plurality of activator devices using a dynamic authorization procedure.

5. An apparatus comprising components for performing the following: An activator device in a wireless network receives an instruction for resource allocation from a network element in the wireless network, the resource allocation including: The first resource to be used by the activator device to activate the device via the uplink channel using an activation signal, and the second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element via the uplink channel; as well as The activator device sends at least the activation signal of the first resource to the device, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide the device with either an implicit indication or an explicit indication of the second resource.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the activation signal includes an indication of power control parameters that the apparatus will apply to communication to the network element via the uplink channel using the second resource.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the power control parameters include at least one of a minimum / maximum transmission power boost, power offset correction, or absolute transmission power applied by the apparatus to the communication to the network element.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the first resource and the second resource are configured via one of the following: In response to the device being a first or second type of the plurality of types, the first resource and the second resource coincide in time or are consecutive in time, wherein only the activation signal will be sent during the first resource period, while both the activation signal and backscatter transmission will occur during the second resource period; In response to the device being a third of the multiple types, the first resource and the second resource are time-intervald to allow the device to respond to the activation signal or for reader activation or interference mitigation; or The type of resource provided is determined based on one or both of the selected timing or the selected preamble for the random access channel procedure, which is selected by the activator device for sending the preamble transmission for the random access channel procedure.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the activation signal explicitly indicates the second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element, or implicitly indicates the second resource based on a pre-configured relationship between the first resource and the second resource or in accordance with a preset rule.

10. The apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the receiving is part of a random access channel procedure, and wherein the component is further configured to perform the following prior to the receiving: The activator device sends a preamble transmission to the network element using a selected timing and a selected preamble for the random access channel procedure as part of the random access channel procedure.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the component is further configured to perform: In response to the lack of confirmation received from the network element by the activator device, the activator device attempts a preamble retransmission to the network element at a subsequent time during the random access channel process, while applying a power offset according to the power ramp process.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 10 or 11, wherein the preamble for the random access channel procedure is configured specifically to correspond to the use for activation of the apparatus.

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein one or both of the selected timing or the selected preamble for the random access channel procedure indicate a device type among a plurality of device types for the apparatus.

14. The apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the receiving is part of a configuration authorization process.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instruction to receive resource allocation is performed when the activator device is in a connected state for radio resource control, or the activator device receives the instruction to receive resource allocation as part of a configuration received in response to a transition to an inactive state for radio resource control.

16. The apparatus of any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the receiving is part of a dynamic licensing process, and wherein the instruction to receive resource allocation is performed when the activator device is in a connected state for radio resource control and via a container of downlink control information.

17. The apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 16, The component is also configured to perform: sending an instruction for a request to support the activator device for the additional activator device; For a random access channel procedure, the requested indication includes specific timing and preamble information for the random access channel procedure, which, when activated, instructs the radio network that multiple activators should be activated; or For configuration authorization and dynamic authorization processes, the indication of the requests from multiple activators is triggered by transmissions on uplink channels associated with the same purpose, or by control elements for media access control or radio resource control request messages.

18. An apparatus comprising components for performing the following: A device in a wireless network receives an activation signal transmitted via a first resource on an uplink channel from an activator device in the wireless network, wherein the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit or explicit indication of a second resource for which the device will communicate with network elements in the wireless network via the uplink channel; and The device uses the second resource to send communications to the network element via the uplink channel.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the activation signal includes an indication of power control parameters that the apparatus will apply to communication to the network element via the uplink channel using the second resource.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the power control parameters include at least one of a minimum / maximum transmission power boost, power offset correction, or absolute transmission power applied by the apparatus to the communication to the network element.

21. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein the first resource and the second resource are configured via one of the following: In response to the device being a first or second type of the plurality of types, the first resource and the second resource coincide in time or are consecutive in time, wherein only the activation signal will be sent during the first resource period, while both the activation signal and backscatter transmission will occur during the second resource period; In response to the device being a third of the multiple types, the first resource and the second resource are time-intervald to allow the device to respond to the activation signal or for reader activation or interference mitigation; or The type of resource provided is determined based on one or both of the selected timing or the selected preamble for the random access channel procedure, which is selected by the activator device for sending the preamble transmission for the random access channel procedure.

22. The apparatus of any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the activation signal explicitly indicates the second resource to be used by the device to communicate with the network element, or implicitly indicates the second resource based on a pre-configured relationship between the first and second resources or in accordance with a preset rule.

23. The apparatus of any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein the apparatus is further configured to perform: in the event that the indication of the second resource is unavailable, the device initiates a random access channel procedure with the network element itself, and then the second resource is determined in association with a preamble for the random access channel procedure sent by the device to the network element.

24. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein the transmitting further comprises: In response to the device being a first type of the plurality of types, the device modulates the activation signal and generates a backscattered signal from the activation signal as the communication to the network element; In response that the device is the second of the multiple types, the device applies a power boost to the activation signal and generates a power-boosted backscattered signal as the communication to the network element, wherein the applied power boost is determined based on a minimum / maximum transmit power boost or power offset correction indicated in the activation signal; and In response to the device being a third type of the plurality of types, a transmission power determined based on at least one of the following is applied: The power offset correction indicated in the activation signal; The absolute transmission power indicated in the activation signal; Parameters derived at the device based on open-loop power control from the received activation signal; or Additional power offset associated with the traffic to be sent by the device.

25. The apparatus according to any of the preceding device claims, wherein the component comprises: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the device to execute.

26. A method comprising: The resource allocation for a first resource and a second resource is determined by network elements in the wireless network. The first resource will be used by an activator device in the wireless network to activate the device via an activation signal through an uplink channel. The second resource will be used by the device to communicate with the network elements via an uplink channel. The network element sends an instruction to the activator device for the determined allocation of resources used by the activator device and the device. as well as The network element uses the second resource to receive communication from the device via the uplink channel.

27. A computer-readable storage medium carrying instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 26.

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