Reader device and method of reading

Abstract

There is provided a controller comprising means for configuring an activator device for activating each tag pair of a tag group in a phase scan sequence; configuring the reader device for receiving a signal from each tag pair in the tag group in a phase scan sequence; receiving information from the reader device, the information indicating a power level of a combined signal received by the reader device for each of the tag pairs in the phase scan sequence; and determining an order of the tags in the tag group based on the information indicating the power level.

Description

Cross-references to this application

[0001] This application claims priority to GB application No. 2313149.3, filed on August 30, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to a method, apparatus, system, and computer program, and more specifically, but not limited to, determining the order of tags in a tag array. Background Technology

[0003] Passive or ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) devices are devices that can operate without a dedicated power supply. Passive devices can harvest energy from wireless signals transmitted on a specific carrier and / or bandwidth and charge a simple circuit system that, once activated, can transmit / reflect signals that at least encode the ID of the passive radio. Example system architectures surrounding passive devices include: an activator (a device that sends an activation signal aimed at waking up the passive radio), a passive device (which harvests energy within a frequency range and listens for the activation signal; when the activation signal is detected, the passive radio transmits / reflects a signal specific to that device), and a reader device (which listens for and detects the passive radio signal). The reader may or may not be co-located with the activator.

[0004] The number of IoT connections has grown rapidly in recent years, and is projected to reach hundreds of billions by 2030. As more and more things are expected to be connected, the field still needs further development. Summary of the Invention

[0005] According to one aspect, a controller is provided, the controller including components for: configuring an activator device to activate each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; configuring a reader device to receive a signal from each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence; receiving information from the reader device indicating a power level of a combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence; and determining the order of tags in the tag group based on the information indicating the power level.

[0006] Configuring the activator device may include: configuring the activator device to activate a first tag in a tag pair for the phase scan sequence with a static phase, and to activate a second tag in a tag pair for the tag scan sequence with a different phase, wherein the different phases are selected based on information indicating the phase shift capability of the second tag.

[0007] The controller may also include components for receiving information from the reader device that indicates the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group.

[0008] Information indicating the power level of the combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair may include: for each tag pair, the power level of the combined signal received by the reader device for each phase of different phases in the phase scan sequence.

[0009] Configuring the activator device and the reader device may include sending information to the activator device and the reader device, the information indicating the identifier of the tag in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0010] Configuring the activator device may include: sending resource allocations to the activator device for activating each tag pair. Configuring the reader device may include: sending resource allocations to the reader device for receiving signals from each tag pair.

[0011] Determining the order of tags in a tag group may include: for each tag pair, determining a phase difference setting between tags corresponding to the highest power level of the combined signal; and determining the order of tags based on the determined phase difference setting.

[0012] Determining the tag order based on the determined phase difference settings may include: identifying a first tag pair with the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of smallest similar phase difference settings between tags, as the tag pair with the largest interval.

[0013] The order of determining tags based on the determined phase difference settings may also include: determining one or more additional tag pairs having the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of the second smallest phase difference settings between tags, as tag pairs with the second largest interval; and repeating the determination for the remaining tag pairs for each next largest phase difference pair until all tag pairs have been determined.

[0014] Determining the tag order based on the determined phase difference settings may include: for each tag pair, determining a second-order approximation based on information indicating the power level of a combined signal received by a receiver for each phase setting in the phase scan sequence; determining the phase difference for each tag pair based on the second-order approximation; and determining the placement order based on the determined second-order approximation.

[0015] Determining the placement order based on the determined second-order approximation may include: identifying a tag pair with the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of smallest similar phase differences as the tag pair with the largest interval; and identifying a second tag pair and a third tag pair with the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of second smallest similar phase differences as the tag pair with the second largest interval.

[0016] The controller may also include components for storing the determined order of tags using information associated with the tag group.

[0017] The controller may also include components for: determining a tag group phase setting selection based on a determined order of the tags; and sending information indicating the determined tag group phase setting selection to the activator device and the reader device.

[0018] According to one aspect, an activator device is provided, comprising components for: receiving from a controller a configuration for activating each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; and activating tag pairs in the tag group in the phase scan sequence based on the received configuration.

[0019] Activating the tag pair may include: activating the first tag in the tag pair for the phase scan sequence with a static phase, and activating the second tag in the tag pair for the tag scan sequence with a different phase.

[0020] Receiving this configuration may also include receiving information indicating the identifiers of tags in a tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0021] Receiving this configuration may also include receiving resource allocations for the activator device to activate each tag pair.

[0022] The activator device may also include a component for receiving information from the controller indicating the selection of the tag group phase setting.

[0023] According to one aspect, a reader device is provided, the reader device comprising components for: receiving from a controller a configuration for receiving signals from tag pairs in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; receiving a combined signal from each tag pair according to the received configuration; and sending to the controller information indicating a power level for the combined signal of each tag pair in the tag pair in the phase scan sequence.

[0024] The reader device may also include components for: receiving information indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group from each tag in the tag group; and sending the information indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group to the controller.

[0025] Information indicating the power level of the combined signal used for each tag pair in the tag pair may include: for each tag pair, information indicating the power level of the combined signal used for multiple different phases in the phase scan sequence.

[0026] The configuration may also include information indicating the identifiers of the tags in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0027] Receiving this configuration may also include receiving resource allocations for receiving signals from each tag pair.

[0028] According to one aspect, a controller is provided, the controller including at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the controller to at least: configure an activator device for activating each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; configure a reader device for receiving signals from each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence; receive information from the reader device indicating a power level of a combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence; and determine the order of tags in the tag group based on the information indicating the power level.

[0029] At least one processor may also be configured such that the controller: configures the activator device to activate a first tag in a tag pair for a phase scan sequence with a static phase, and to activate a second tag in a tag pair for a tag scan sequence with a different phase, wherein the different phases are selected based on information indicating the phase shift capability of the second tag.

[0030] At least one processor may also be configured to cause the controller to receive information from the reader device indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group.

[0031] Information indicating the power level of the combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair may include: for each tag pair, the power level of the combined signal received by the reader device for each phase of different phases in the phase scan sequence.

[0032] At least one processor may also be configured to cause the controller to send information to the activator device and the reader device, the information indicating the identifier of the tag in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0033] At least one processor may also be configured to cause the controller to: send resource allocations to the activator device for activating each tag pair. At least one processor may also be configured to cause the controller to: send resource allocations to the reader device for receiving signals from each tag pair.

[0034] At least one processor may also be configured such that the controller: for each tag pair, determines a phase difference setting between tags corresponding to the highest power level of the combined signal; and determines the order of the tags based on the determined phase difference setting.

[0035] At least one processor may also be configured such that the controller: determines a first tag pair having the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of minimum similarity phase differences between tags, as the tag pair with the maximum spacing.

[0036] At least one processor may also be configured to cause the controller to: determine one or more additional tag pairs having the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of the second smallest phase difference between tags, as the tag pair having the second largest interval; and repeat the determination for the remaining tag pairs for each next largest phase difference pair until all tag pairs have been determined.

[0037] At least one processor may also be configured such that the controller: for each tag pair, determines a second-order approximation based on information indicating the power level of a combined signal received by the receiver for each phase setting in the phase scan sequence; determines the phase difference for each tag pair based on the second-order approximation; and determines the placement order based on the determined second-order approximation.

[0038] At least one processor may also be configured such that the controller: determines a pair of tags having the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of smallest similar phase differences, as a pair of tags with the largest interval; and determines a second pair of tags and a third pair of tags having the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of second smallest similar phase differences, as a pair of tags with the second largest interval.

[0039] At least one processor may also be configured to cause the controller to store the determined order of the tags using information associated with the tag group.

[0040] At least one processor may also be configured to cause the controller to: determine a tag group phase setting selection based on the determined order of the tags; and send information indicating the determined tag group phase setting selection to the activator device and the reader device.

[0041] According to one aspect, an activator device is provided, the activator device comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the activator device to at least: receive from a controller a configuration for activating each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; and activate tag pairs in the tag group in the phase scan sequence based on the received configuration.

[0042] At least one processor may also be configured to enable the activator device to: activate a first tag in a tag pair for a phase scan sequence with a static phase, and activate a second tag in a tag pair for a tag scan sequence with a different phase.

[0043] At least one processor may also be configured such that the activator device receives information indicating the identifiers of tags in a tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0044] At least one processor may also be configured such that the activator device receives resource allocations for activating each tag pair.

[0045] At least one processor may also be configured to cause the activator device to receive information from the controller indicating the selection of the tag group phase setting.

[0046] According to one aspect, a reader device is provided, the reader device comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the activator device to at least: receive from a controller a configuration for receiving signals from tag pairs in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; receive a combined signal from each tag pair in the tag pair according to the received configuration; and send to the controller information indicating a power level for the combined signal for each tag pair in the tag pair in the phase scan sequence.

[0047] At least one processor may also be configured to cause the activator device to: receive information indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group from each tag in the tag group; and send information indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group to the controller.

[0048] Information indicating the power level of the combined signal used for each tag pair in the tag pair may include: for each tag pair, information indicating the power level of the combined signal used for multiple different phases in the phase scan sequence.

[0049] The configuration may also include information indicating the identifiers of the tags in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0050] At least one processor may also be configured such that the activator device receives a resource allocation for receiving signals from each tag pair.

[0051] According to one aspect, a method executed by a controller is provided, the method comprising: configuring an activator device to activate each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; configuring a reader device to receive a signal from each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence; receiving information from the reader device indicating a power level of a combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence; and determining an order of tags in the tag group based on the information indicating the power level.

[0052] Configuring the activator device may include: configuring the activator device to activate a first tag in a tag pair for a phase scan sequence with a static phase, and to activate a second tag in a tag pair for a tag scan sequence with a different phase, wherein the different phases are selected based on information indicating the phase shift capability of the second tag.

[0053] The method may further include receiving information from the reader device that indicates the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group.

[0054] Information indicating the power level of the combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair in the tag pair may include: for each tag pair, the power level of the combined signal received by the reader device for each phase in different phases of the phase scan sequence.

[0055] Configuring the activator device and the reader device may include sending information to the activator device and the reader device, the information indicating the identifier of the tag in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0056] Configuring the activator device may include: sending resource allocations to the activator device for activating each tag pair. Configuring the reader device may include: sending resource allocations to the reader device for receiving signals from each tag pair.

[0057] Determining the order of tags in a tag group may include: for each tag pair, determining a phase difference setting between tags corresponding to the highest power level of the combined signal; and determining the order of tags based on the determined phase difference setting.

[0058] Determining the tag order based on the determined phase difference settings may include: identifying a first tag pair with the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of smallest similar phase difference settings between tags, as the tag pair with the largest interval.

[0059] The order of determining tags based on the determined phase difference settings may also include: determining one or more additional tag pairs having the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of the second smallest phase difference settings between tags, as the tag pair having the second largest interval; and repeating the determination for the remaining tag pairs for each next largest phase difference pair until all tag pairs have been determined.

[0060] Determining the tag order based on the determined phase difference settings may include: for each tag pair, determining a second-order approximation based on information indicating the power level of a combined signal received by the receiver for each phase setting in the phase scan sequence; determining the phase difference for each tag pair based on the second-order approximation; and determining the placement order based on the determined second-order approximation.

[0061] Determining the placement order based on the determined second-order approximation may include: identifying a tag pair with the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of smallest similar phase differences as the tag pair with the largest interval; and identifying a second tag pair and a third tag pair with the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of second smallest similar phase differences as the tag pair with the second largest interval.

[0062] The method may also include storing the determined order of the tags using information associated with the tag group.

[0063] The method may further include: determining a tag group phase setting selection based on the determined order of the tags; and sending information indicating the determined tag group phase setting selection to the activator device and the reader device.

[0064] According to one aspect, a method is provided performed by an activator device, the method comprising: receiving from a controller a configuration for activating each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; and activating the tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence based on the received configuration.

[0065] Activating the tag pair may include: activating the first tag in the tag pair for the phase scan sequence with a static phase, and activating the second tag in the tag pair for the tag scan sequence with a different phase.

[0066] Receiving this configuration may also include receiving information indicating the identifiers of tags in a tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0067] Receiving this configuration may also include receiving resource allocations for the activator device to activate each tag pair.

[0068] The method may also include receiving information from the controller indicating the selection of the tag group phase setting.

[0069] According to one aspect, a method performed by a reader device is provided, the method comprising: receiving from a controller a configuration for receiving signals from tag pairs in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; receiving a combined signal from each tag pair in the tag pair according to the received configuration; and sending to the controller information indicating a power level for the combined signal of each tag pair in the tag pair in the phase scan sequence.

[0070] The method may further include: receiving information indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group from each tag in the tag group; and sending information indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group to the controller.

[0071] Information indicating the power level of the combined signal used for each tag pair in the tag pair may include: for each tag pair, information indicating the power level of the combined signal used for multiple different phases in the phase scan sequence.

[0072] The configuration may also include information indicating the identifiers of the tags in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0073] Receiving this configuration may also include receiving resource allocations for accepting signals from each tag pair.

[0074] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, including instructions that, when executed by a controller, cause the controller to perform at least the following: configuring an activator device to activate each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; configuring a reader device to receive signals from each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence; receiving information from the reader device indicating information on the power level of a combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence; and determining the order of tags in the tag group based on the information indicating the power level.

[0075] Configuring the activator device may include: configuring the activator device to activate a first tag in a tag pair for a phase scan sequence with a static phase, and to activate a second tag in a tag pair for a tag scan sequence with a different phase, wherein the different phases are selected based on information indicating the phase shift capability of the second tag.

[0076] When executed, this instruction can cause the controller to also perform the following: receive information from the reader device indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group.

[0077] Information indicating the power level of the combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair may include: for each tag pair, the power level of the combined signal received by the reader device for each phase of different phases in the phase scan sequence.

[0078] Configuring the activator device and the reader device may include sending information to the activator device and the reader device, the information indicating the identifier of the tag in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0079] Configuring the activator device may include: sending resource allocations to the activator device for activating each tag pair. Configuring the reader device may include: sending resource allocations to the reader device for receiving signals from each tag pair.

[0080] Determining the order of tags in a tag group may include: for each tag pair, determining a phase difference setting between tags corresponding to the highest power level of the combined signal; and determining the order of tags based on the determined phase difference setting.

[0081] Determining the tag order based on the determined phase difference settings may include: identifying a first tag pair with the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of smallest similar phase difference settings between tags, as the tag pair with the largest interval.

[0082] The order of determining tags based on the determined phase difference settings may also include: determining one or more additional tag pairs having the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of the second smallest phase difference settings between tags, as the tag pair having the second largest interval; and repeating the determination for the remaining tag pairs for each next largest phase difference pair until all tag pairs have been determined.

[0083] Determining the tag order based on the determined phase difference settings may include: for each tag pair, determining a second-order approximation based on information indicating the power level of a combined signal received by the receiver for each phase setting in the phase scan sequence; determining the phase difference for each tag pair based on the second-order approximation; and determining the placement order based on the determined second-order approximation.

[0084] Determining the placement order based on the determined second-order approximation may include: identifying a tag pair with the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of smallest similar phase differences as the tag pair with the largest interval; and identifying a second tag pair and a third tag pair with the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of second smallest similar phase differences as the tag pair with the second largest interval.

[0085] When executed, this instruction can cause the controller to also perform the following: store the determined order of the tags using the information associated with the tag group.

[0086] When executed, this instruction can cause the controller to also perform: determine the tag group phase setting selection based on the determined order of the tags; and send information indicating the determined tag group phase setting selection to the activator device and the reader device.

[0087] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, including instructions that, when executed by an activator device, cause the activator device to perform at least the following: receiving from a controller a configuration for activating each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; and activating tag pairs in the tag group in the phase scan sequence based on the received configuration.

[0088] Activating the tag pair may include: activating the first tag in the tag pair for the phase scan sequence with a static phase, and activating the second tag in the tag pair for the tag scan sequence with a different phase.

[0089] Receiving this configuration may also include receiving information indicating the identifiers of tags in a tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0090] Receiving this configuration may also include receiving resource allocations for the activator device to activate each tag pair.

[0091] When this instruction is executed, the activator device may also perform the following: receive information from the controller indicating the selection of the label group phase setting.

[0092] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, including instructions that, when executed by an activator device, cause the activator device to perform at least the following: receiving from a controller a configuration for activating each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; and activating tag pairs in the tag group in the phase scan sequence based on the received configuration.

[0093] The method may further include: receiving information indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group from each tag in the tag group; and sending information indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group to the controller.

[0094] Information indicating the power level of the combined signal used for each tag pair in the tag pair may include: for each tag pair, information indicating the power level of the combined signal used for multiple different phases in the phase scan sequence.

[0095] The configuration may also include information indicating the identifiers of the tags in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

[0096] Receiving this configuration may also include receiving resource allocations for receiving signals from each tag pair.

[0097] According to one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the method according to any one of the preceding aspects.

[0098] In the foregoing, many different embodiments have been described. It should be understood that further embodiments may be provided by combination of any two or more of the embodiments described above. Attached Figure Description

[0099] The embodiments will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0100] Figure 1 An example system architecture is shown;

[0101] Figure 2 The methods are shown based on some examples;

[0102] Figure 3 and Figure 4 The signaling exchange is shown based on some examples;

[0103] Figure 5 Some example simulation results are shown;

[0104] Figure 6 It shows the use of Figure 5 Examples of second-order approximations for some values ​​in; and

[0105] Figure 7 The example estimated delta phase value is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0106] The scope of protection sought by the various embodiments of this disclosure is defined by the independent claims. Embodiments and features (if any) described in the specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims should be interpreted as examples that aid in understanding the various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0107] Figure 1 An example system architecture surrounding a passive device is illustrated, including an activator 100, a passive device 102, and a reader 104. In operation, the activator 100 emits an activation signal 106, which is received by the passive device 102. The passive device 102 utilizes the energy from the activation signal and emits / reflects an additional signal 108 specific to the passive device 102 (e.g., based on an identifier of the passive device 102 being modulated). The additional signal 108 is received by the reader 104. As used herein, the additional signal 108 may be referred to as a backscattered signal.

[0108] Based on their capabilities, passive devices can be classified into the following three categories: Type A: No energy storage, no independent signal generation / amplification, e.g., backscatter transmission. Type B: Has energy storage but no independent signal generation, such as backscatter transmission, which utilizes the stored energy used for amplification of the reflected signal. Type C: Features energy storage and independent signal generation, such as active RF components for transmission.

[0109] For A-IoT device types A and B (which may be referred to herein as tags or A-IoT labels), the activation range may be limited to a few meters (e.g., up to 10 meters), depending on the efficiency and gain of the activator and the A-IoT tag. Therefore, the activator may need to be close to the A-IoT tag, while one or more readers may be located further away. Thus, the activator can be handheld or mobile UE (e.g., a UE mounted on a robot), while the reader can be positioned in a fixed location. For example, in a warehouse scenario where inventory items are tagged, the activator could be a mobile robot that moves within the warehouse and sends activation signals to activate the tags on the inventory items, while the reader could be located on the ceiling. Multiple readers can be used to estimate the location of individual inventory items based on triangulation techniques.

[0110] However, deploying a large number of readers around a warehouse may be prohibitive (e.g., for cost reasons). Therefore, while the distance from the activator to the A-IoT tag may be relatively short, the distance from the A-IoT tag to the reader may be significantly longer. However, since A-IoT devices do not have a power source and rely on backscattering, the effective range of the signals emitted / reflected by the A-IoT device may be limited. Therefore, the number of readers required in a warehouse can depend on the achievable A-IoT tag-to-reader backscattering link budget. Thus, improving the A-IoT tag-to-reader link budget can have a direct impact on the cost of implementing the asset tracking system.

[0111] One solution to this problem is to mount multiple small, low-cost A-IoT tags (in a tag group) on the asset to be tracked. This allows for beamforming to increase the backscatter reflection power gain in the reader's direction, improving the link budget compared to a single tag. The process for optimizing the backscatter reflection gain of the tag group in the reader's direction involves adjusting the reflection phase setting for each tag within the group so that the signals emitted / reflected by each tag in the group undergo constructive interference in the reader's direction.

[0112] In some implementations, the placement order of tags within a group may be unknown. Therefore, it may be necessary to scan all possible combinations of tag reflection phase settings to identify the optimal gain constellation facing each active A-IoT reader. The placement order of A-IoT tags in the tag array is crucial for configuring the optimal codebook, given a finite number of beam configurations.

[0113] For small tag arrays with a finite number of phase settings, scanning all possible combinations may be effective; however, for large tag arrays with high phase shifter resolution, it may be advantageous to obtain information about the order of the tags in the array constellation from the perspective of resource overhead and latency.

[0114] Some examples in this disclosure provide solutions for determining the relative placement order of A-IoT tags configured for tag array operation in order to reduce the number of scan combinations used.

[0115] refer to Figure 2 It shows a method based on some examples.

[0116] At 200, the method includes: configuring the activator device to activate each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence.

[0117] At 202, the method includes: configuring the reader device to receive signals from each tag pair in the tag group in a phase scan sequence.

[0118] At 204, the method includes: receiving information from the reader device indicating the power level of a combined signal for each tag pair in a phase scan sequence received by the reader device.

[0119] At 206, the method includes: determining the order of tags in the tag group based on information indicating the power level.

[0120] In some examples, steps 200-206 may be performed at the controller or by the controller.

[0121] At 208, the method includes: receiving from the controller a configuration for activating each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence.

[0122] At 210, the method includes: activating tag pairs in a tag group in a phase scan sequence based on the received configuration.

[0123] In some examples, steps 208-210 may be performed at the controller or by the controller.

[0124] At 212, the method includes: receiving from the controller a configuration for receiving signals from each tag pair in the tag group in a phase scan sequence.

[0125] At 214, the method includes: receiving a combined signal from each tag pair in the tag pair, according to the received configuration.

[0126] At 216, the method includes sending information to the controller indicating the power level of a combined signal for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence.

[0127] In some examples, steps 212-216 may be performed at the controller or by the controller.

[0128] refer to Figure 3 It shows signaling exchanges based on some examples. Figure 3 The signaling exchange shown can be used to optimize the reflection gain of a tag group (also referred to herein as a tag array) including tag ADs, where the initial placement order of the A-IoT tags in the tag array is unknown. Therefore, the tag phase mode must be configured to... Figure 3 During beam scanning steps 308-312, all relevant phase setting combinations are traversed.

[0129] At 300, the controller (such as a session control unit (SCU)) acquires information about the A-IoT tag group. This information may include, for example, a group identifier and capability information for each tag in the group. For example, capability information may include information indicating the number of phase shifts that the tag can apply and / or the values ​​of these phase shifts (e.g., a tag may be able to perform eight possible phase shifts: 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270°, and 315°).

[0130] At point 302, the controller can configure the activator with information related to the A-IoT tag group. For example, the controller can configure the activator with an identifier for each tag in the group and / or a group identifier. The controller can also configure the activator with information indicating the activation signal required for each tag.

[0131] At 304, the activator configures each tag in the group with phase mode information for performing a group phase scan. For example, the activator can configure the tags such that the tags iterate through all possible phase shifts for all possible phase combinations for the tag group. For example, in a 1:4 tag array where each tag has two phase shift settings, there are 8 different phase combinations (e.g., {A1 B1 C1 D1}, {A1 B1 C1 D2}, {A1 B1 C2 D1}, etc., where A1 represents the first phase shift setting for tag A, and A2 represents the second phase shift setting for tag A, and so on).

[0132] like Figure 3 As shown, optionally each tag in the group can acknowledge receipt of the configuration by transmitting / reflecting a tag-specific signal to the reader. The reader can then send an acknowledgment indication to the controller.

[0133] At 306, the controller configures the activator and one or more readers with information for performing tag group beam scanning. For example, the activator can configure the readers(s) with resource allocation information related to the activation signals(s) and backscatter signals associated with the tag group(s).

[0134] At 308, the activator sends an activation signal to the tag. At 310, the reader receives a backscattered signal from each tag, with a phase shift applied according to the configuration at 304.

[0135] At 312, based on the received backscattered signal, the reader measures the combined group signal activated for each tag group. Then, steps 308-312 repeat each phase combination in the tag group.

[0136] At 314, the reader sends a report message to the controller indicating the measurement group signal information activated for each tag group. At 316, the controller selects the optimal tag group phase setting for reaching different readers (which may be different or the same for each reader).

[0137] exist Figure 3 In the example signaling exchange, steps 308-312 repeat each phase combination in the tag group. For example, in a 1:4 tag array where each tag has two phase shift settings, there are 8 different phase combinations in the tag group; while in a 1:4 tag array where each tag has three phase shift settings, there are 27 different phase combinations in the tag group. For a larger number of tags in the tag group and / or higher resolution A-IoT tag phase shifters (i.e., tags can have more phase shift settings), the required number of tag group phase scans may increase further and may even become unmanageable. As an example, for a 1:4 tag array with a 3-bit phase shifter, the number of constellation scans would increase to 512. The signaling overhead required for the activator to send activation signals and for the receiver to receive and process tag-specific signals, as well as the latency caused by repeating this process so many times, can be very large.

[0138] In some examples of this disclosure, a tag-array tag order identification process is provided that can be executed once (e.g., at the initiation of...). Figure 3 (Before the process described in the text), it can significantly reduce the number of tag group phase scans required.

[0139] In some examples, the order of tags in the tag array can be derived by sequentially evaluating randomly selected A-IoT tag pairs in the tag array. In some examples, the activator can configure the first tag to perform a phase scan, and configure the second tag to have a static phase while the first tag performs the phase scan. During the phase scan, the reader can measure the received combined power from the first tag and the second tag (“tag pair”). These combined power values ​​for each tag pair in the array can then be used to derive the placement order of the A-IoT tags in the tag array, which will be discussed further below.

[0140] For example, in an array of four tags {A, B, C, D}, the tag pairs can be: AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD. The activator can configure tag A to have a static phase while tag B performs a phase scan, and the reader can measure the received combined power from the AB pair. This process can be repeated for the remaining tag pairs, and the reader can send the measured received combined power for all tag pairs to the controller.

[0141] In some examples (e.g., when the reader is in the line-of-sight direction of the tag-array), this process may not result in the final placement order. In such examples, the controller can: Different readers are assigned within the coverage area of ​​the tag array to determine the order of A-IoT tags in the tag array; or The activator configures the tag array for line-of-sight operation until the position of the tag array and / or reader changes sufficiently for the reader to determine the order of the A-IoT tags in the tag array.

[0142] In some examples, the assigned reader may experience poor signal conditions (e.g., due to a poor signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR)) and may be unable to receive the combined signal from the A-IoT tag-array. In this case, the reader can signal to the controller that it can no longer receive the signal. For example, this signaling could include a negative acknowledgment (NACK) message. When the controller receives only a small number of valid receive power values ​​from the reader, it can conclude that the session may have been interrupted due to interference during the A-IoT tag pair scanning process. For example, when 5 to 7 valid receive power values ​​from the reader are expected for an eight-state scan, but only 2 receive power values ​​are actually received, the controller can conclude that interference has occurred.

[0143] refer to Figure 4This illustrates signaling exchanges based on some examples. In some examples, it can be assumed that the controller knows the IDs of the individual A-IoT tags intended to be used in the tag array and their common group IDs, and that the A-IoT tag (element) spacing of the tags in the tag array is approximately the same (e.g., 0.5 to 0.7 times the wavelength of the activation signal).

[0144] refer to Figure 4 It shows signaling exchanges based on some examples.

[0145] At 400, the controller (e.g., SCU) can initialize and configure the activator and reader to determine the relative placement order of the A-IoT tag group. For example, the controller can configure the activator and reader with allocated resources for triggering activation of tags in the tag group, and / or information indicating the phase scan sequence to be performed. In some examples, the controller can send the identifiers of the tags in the tag group and the group identifier of the tag group to the activator and reader.

[0146] At 402, the activator can send a capability report request to the tags in the tag group. In response, at 404, each tag can emit a backscatter signal including tag capability information, such as information indicating the tag (e.g., tag identifier), and information indicating the number of configurable phase shifts that the tag can perform, which can be received at the receiver. At 406, the receiver can forward the information received from the tags to the controller.

[0147] At 408, based on the received tag capability information, the controller can determine and send the phase scan configuration for the activator and the configuration for the reader for the first pair of tags in the group.

[0148] The phase scan configuration for the activator can indicate the phase scan sequence to be performed by the tags (e.g., information indicating that one tag will emit a backscattered signal with a static phase, and another tag will emit a backscattered signal with a different phase shift according to a configurable phase shift that can be applied to that tag). In some examples, the configuration may also include resource allocation for the phase scan sequence.

[0149] The configuration for the reader can indicate the resource allocation used by the reader to listen for combined backscattered signals from tag groups.

[0150] At 410, based on the configuration received from the controller at 408, the activator sends configuration information to the first pair of tags. The activator can configure the first tag to emit a backscattered signal with a static phase and configure the second tag to emit backscattered signals in different phase offset sequences—e.g., 0°, 45°, 90°, etc.

[0151] At 412, the activator sends an activation signal to the first pair of tags based on the configuration executed at 410. For example, the activator may send a first activation signal to activate the first tag (with static phase) and the second tag (with phase offset = 0°), and send a second activation signal to activate the first tag (with static phase) and the second tag (with phase offset = 45°). It should be understood that the number of activation signals sent may vary depending on the phase shift capability of the tags in the pair.

[0152] At 414, the first pair of tags emits a combined backscatter signal based on the activation signal sent by the activator at 412. This combined backscatter signal is then received at the reader. The reader will receive the combined backscatter signal for each activation signal sent by the activator—for example, when the activator sends two activation signals (activating the first tag with a static phase and activating the second tag with two different phase shifts), the reader will receive two different combined backscatter signals.

[0153] At 416, the reader sends a message to the controller indicating the combined power level of the backscattered signals received at 414 for each phase scan of the tag pair. Continuing with the previous example, where two activation signals are used to activate the first tag (in static phase) and the second tag (in phase shift = 0° and phase shift = 45°), the reader can indicate two combined power levels for the tag pair (one at tag B = 0° and one at tag B = 45°).

[0154] At 418, based on the information received at 414, the controller determines the phase difference setting between the tags in the pair, which provides the highest power level of the combined backscattered signal received by the receiver at 414.

[0155] Then, steps 408-418 can be repeated for each tag pair in the tag group. For example, when the tag group includes tags {A,B,C,D}, steps 408-418 can be implemented once for each tag pair—for example, once for tag pair AB, once for tag pair AC, and so on.

[0156] Therefore, after repeating steps 408-418, the controller has determined the phase difference setting between each tag pair, which provides the highest power level of the combined backscattered signal. At 420, the controller determines the placement order of the tags in the group based on the determined phase difference setting between each tag pair (which provides the highest power level of the combined backscattered signal). This will be discussed in detail below.

[0157] Once the controller has determined the placement order of the tags in a group, it can store this determined order. The controller can then determine the optimal tag group phase setting based on this placement order. For example, the controller can determine the tag group phase setting to maximize the constructive interference of the backscattered signal in the direction of the reader.

[0158] In some examples, the controller may determine that it cannot determine the placement order at 420. For example, the controller may not have sufficient information (e.g., due to interference regarding the activation signal and / or backscattered signal), or there may be two or more highest-combination backscattered signals with the same phase difference. In such examples, the controller may assign a different reader within the coverage of the tag group, or the tag group may be configured for temporary beam pointing operations—for example, the controller may configure the tag group for beam pointing operations until the tag array order can be determined and the optimal beam scanning pattern can be derived.

[0159] By applying the above... Figure 4 The method described, when related to... Figure 3 Compared to the described method, the number of combinations required to determine the optimal tag group phase setting can be significantly reduced. For example, for an A-IoT tag array consisting of four individual A-IoT tags (each implemented using an octa-state phase shifter), there are 512 possible combinations, each of which will... Figure 3 The method is evaluated separately. By applying... Figure 4 The method described herein allows the optimal tag group phase selection to be determined with only 5 to 7 beam scan configurations for a 1x4 tag array. This equates to a reduction of 70 to 100 times in the required scan combinations / configurations.

[0160] In some examples, the angular orientation of the reader at the tag array can be used to determine the placement order of A-IoT tags in the tag array, thereby allowing the optimal codebook to be derived for the tag array.

[0161] Table 1 below shows an example for a group of four A-IoT tags, each with eight possible phase shifts (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270°, and 315°), which can be configured with an optimal codebook of seven entries (-45°, -30°, -15°, 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45°). In this example, it is assumed that the A-IoT tags have a spacing of approximately half a wavelength (λ / 2). Other numbers of A-IoT tags in the tag array, the number of possible phase shifts (even different for each A-IoT tag), or the number of beams configured in the codebook are also possible.

[0162] In the example shown in Table 1, it is also assumed that the reader is located at an angular direction suitable for the order of the A-IoT tags in the derived tag array, for example, at 15°. The phase values ​​shown in Table 1 are phase difference settings (“delta phase”) for pairs of A-IoT tags in the A-IoT tag array that maximize the combined power of the backscattered signals received at the reader in step 414. Table 1: Example phase difference settings for the maximum combined power received at the reader.

[0163] In some examples, the controller may determine the placement order of tags in a tag group based on the following process: • The controller can determine the pair of A-IoT tags(s) that has the maximum combined power associated with the set of minimum similar delta phase values ​​(e.g., (multiple) minimum common delta phase values). For example, in the example in Table 1, the minimum set of similar delta phase values ​​is a set that includes only one value, i.e., 135°. The controller can determine that the pair of tags(s) in the set of minimum similar phase delta values ​​will be the pair of A-IoT tags(s) spaced apart by the maximum possible physical distance in the tag array. Therefore, in the example in Table 1, the controller can determine that A-IoT tags A and D are the first and last A-IoT tags in the tag array, or the last and first A-IoT tags in the tag array. Possible tag array order; [A,-,-,D] or [D,-,-,A].

[0164] It should be understood that in two-dimensional arrays (e.g., In the case of ), the minimum set of similar delta phase values ​​can include two delta phase values—one delta phase value associated with the interval between labels AD, and one delta phase value associated with the interval between labels BC. • The controller can then determine one or more tag pairs that have the highest combined power associated with the next set of minimum similar delta phase values ​​(e.g., the next (or more) minimum common delta phase values). For example, the next set of minimum similar delta phase values ​​in the examiners of Table 1 is a set including two values, namely, 90°, which corresponds to tag pairs AC and BD. The controller can determine that these tags are spaced at the next possible maximum physical distance in the tag array. In the example of Table 1, the controller can determine that the A-IoT tag pairs (A&C and B&D) have the maximum combined power at the next minimum common delta phase value (90°), and therefore tags A&C and B&D will be spaced at the second maximum possible physical distance in the tag array. Therefore, the controller can determine the possible tag array order as one of the following: [A,B,C,D] or [D,C,B,A]. • The controller can then identify one or more tag pairs that have the highest combined power associated with the next set of minimum similar delta phase values ​​(e.g., the next set of least common delta phase values). The controller can determine that these tags are spaced out in the tag array by the second maximum possible physical distance. This can be repeated until all tag pairs have been identified. In the case of the final set of tag pairs (e.g., tag pairs associated with the highest combined power associated with the maximum similar delta phase values, or in other words, tag pairs with the most common delta phase values), the controller can determine that the spacing between these pairs is the minimum possible spacing, i.e., the tags are adjacent. In the example in Table 1, the controller can determine that the next set of minimum similarity delta phase values ​​includes the three 90° values ​​associated with tag pairs AB, BC, and CD, and that these tag pairs are adjacent. Therefore, the controller can determine the following possible tag-array orders: [A,B,C,D] or [D,C,B,A].

[0165] In some examples, "similar" phase values ​​can be understood as phase values ​​that are less than a certain number that are different from each other. For example, for a value of 5, phase values ​​of 87° and 92° might be considered similar, but phase values ​​of 87° and 110° might not be considered similar. This certain number can be selected or configured depending on the implementation (e.g., by the network operator). For example, a smaller certain number might cause values ​​to be considered dissimilar more frequently, but when similar values ​​are found, it can lead to a higher confidence level in the accuracy of the results obtained from those values.

[0166] In some examples, a final evaluation to derive the order of the A-IoT tags in the tag array may not be necessary, as this order has already been determined in a previous step. However, in some examples, all delta phase settings that maximize combined power may need to be determined for all six A-IoT tag pairs to ensure the correct maximum delta phase value is found. Additionally, in some examples, determining the delta phase for multiple all six A-IoT tag pairs may be used to estimate the confidence level of the obtained results.

[0167] In the example in Table 1, fully characterizing the eight possible phase settings for six A-IoT tag pairs might require 48 iterations. However, for each tag group, this process might only need to be performed a few times (once in many cases, but more in some cases if a unique solution isn't found in the first iteration), after which the optimal codebook for the tag array can be configured. In practice, then up to seven iterations (beam scans) might be required.

[0168] It should be understood that fewer A-IoT tags in the tag array will reduce the number of iterations required; while an increased number of A-IoT tags in the tag array will increase the number of iterations required. It should also be understood that while an example of a 1:4 tag array has been provided, other tag array sizes, including two-dimensional tag arrays, may be considered in other examples.

[0169] refer to Figure 5 It shows simulation results illustrating some of the concepts discussed above. As an example, Figure 5 The simulation results shown are based on a 1×4 linear A-IoT tag-array configuration, where the combined antenna gain values ​​(i.e., the combined power of the backscattered signals for a given tag pair) for a pair of activated A-IoT tags during the phase scan process are shown at different angular directions (0°, 3°, 6°, 9°, 12°, 15°, 30°, and 45°) relative to the orientation of the reader and the A-IoT tag array. Values ​​in bold indicate the delta phase setting for the maximum combined antenna gain for the activated A-IoT tag pair, which may be, for example, the phase difference setting determined by the controller at step 418.

[0170] As from Figure 5 It can be seen that the angle of the reader device can affect the phase shift associated with the maximum combined power level for a given tag pair.

[0171] In some examples, measurements taken at different angular directions toward the reader can be used to derive the placement order of A-IoT tags in an A-IoT tag array. For example, a second-order curve approximation can be performed for each column (A-IoT tag pair), and the maximum combined antenna gain value for each approximation curve is determined.

[0172] In some examples, when performing a second-order approximation, the values ​​in each column can be sorted such that the two lowest combined antenna gain values ​​are located at the beginning and end of the evaluation vector. For example, in Figure 5 In example a, for the label pair BD, the lowest values ​​(-0.3 and -18.0) are located at the beginning (-135 degrees) and end (180 degrees) of the evaluation vector. However, in some examples, this may not be the case—for example, Figure 5 In tag pair AD, the lowest value (-14.6) is located in the middle of the evaluation vector (-90 degrees). Therefore, the vectors used for tag pair AD can be sorted so that the antenna gain sequence (from -135 degrees to 180 degrees) is read as follows: -14.6,0.8,5.9,8.3,9.1,8.6,6.2,0.8.

[0173] In some cases, the receiver dynamic range at the reader can be limited. Therefore, some A-IoT tag pair phase scans may cause a low combined antenna gain value that cannot be detected and may therefore be ignored in the curve approximation process.

[0174] Figure 6 It shows the use of Figure 5 The values ​​shown in h are examples of second-order curve approximations. As can be seen, there is a single distinct delta phase value at 600, with a maximum value of approximately 30° (corresponding to label pair AD), two similar delta phase values ​​at 602, with a maximum value of approximately 260° (corresponding to label pairs AC and BD), and three similar delta phase values ​​at 604, with a maximum value of approximately 130° (corresponding to label pairs AB, BC, and CD).

[0175] Figure 7 The estimated delta phase values ​​(in degrees) are shown for the maximum combined antenna gain at different angular directions for A-IoT tag pairs used for different activations, compared to the orientation of the reader and tag array. Figure 7 In the example shown, the second-order approximation has been performed in three different ways using the measured delta phase value: Approximation 1 (App#1): All simulated delta phase values ​​have been used. Approx. 2 (App#2): Delta phase values ​​that are 10 dB lower than the maximum delta phase value have been removed (this can be seen in readers with limited dynamic range). Approximation 3 (App#3): The Delta phase value of -5 dB has been truncated to -5 dB.

[0176] In some examples, the controller may know how many tags are in the tag array, and therefore can know how many tag pairs with a certain spacing are expected. For example, in a tag array of four tags, the controller can expect: For a linear array (e.g., {A, B, C, D}) – the tag pair with the largest gap (e.g., AD), the two tag pairs with the next largest gap (e.g., BD and AC), and the three tag pairs with the smallest gap (e.g., AB, BC, CD); or For two-dimensional arrays (e.g., — Two label pairs with the largest spacing (e.g., AD and BC), and four label pairs with the smallest spacing (e.g., AB, AC, CD, BD).

[0177] Although the controller may not know whether the tags are arranged linearly or in a two-dimensional array, it can identify one (in the case of a linear tag array) or two (in the case of a two-dimensional array) tag pairs that have a significant delta phase value associated with other tag pairs as tag pairs(s) with the largest spacing. That is, in some examples, the controller can identify tag(s) with the largest combined power associated with the smallest set of similar delta phase values ​​(e.g., the smallest set of common delta phase values) as tag(s) with the largest spacing.

[0178] For example, refer to Figure 7 c, In approximation 1, the delta phase value used for the tag pair AD is different from the delta phase values ​​of all other tag pairs (e.g., 65° for the tag pair AD compared to values ​​of 15°, 39°, 15°, 49°, and 28° for other tag pairs), and is therefore the tag pair with the maximum combined power associated with the set of smallest similar delta phase values ​​(in this case, the set includes a single value). In this context, "different" can mean a value that differs from the closest other values ​​by more than a certain number (and as mentioned before, "similar" can mean that these values ​​are within a certain number of each other). Thus, the controller can determine that the tag AD has the maximum spacing.

[0179] In some examples, such as Figure 7As shown in Figure a, there are some cases where a single distinct delta phase value may not exist, or the selection of a distinct phase value may involve significant uncertainty (because the value is not significantly different from other values). Therefore, selecting tag pairs based on this value can lead to an incorrect determination of the tag pair with the largest spacing. In such cases, different readers can be selected, and the process is repeated in different angular directions relative to the tag group.

[0180] After determining the tag pair with the furthest interval, the controller can then determine one or more remaining tag pairs with the highest total power associated with the next set of minimum similarity delta phase values, as the tag pair with the next maximum interval. For example, refer to Figure 7 c. The controller can determine that the delta phase values ​​used for tag pair AC and BD are the next smallest set of similar delta phase values ​​(e.g., at approx. 1, tags AC and BD have delta phases of 39° and 49°, which can be considered similar, and are a smaller set compared to the sets of similar delta phase values ​​of 15°, 15°, and 28° used for the other remaining tag pairs).

[0181] The controller can then determine the remaining tag pairs as those with the smallest gap, i.e., the tag pairs are adjacent. Figure 7 In the delta phase value, adjacent tag pairs are indicated in bold; tag pairs separated by one tag are indicated in italics; and the tag pairs with the largest gap are indicated in upright.

[0182] If possible Figure 7 It can be seen that for use cases where the angle between the reader and the tag array is greater than 3°, the order of the A-IoT tags in the A-IoT tag array can be identified. However, the estimated confidence level increases with increasing angle because the delta phase of the A-IoT tag pair group also increases.

[0183] in addition, Figure 7 Approximations 2 and 3 (where some of the low antenna gain values ​​have been removed or truncated) show that they can improve the confidence level to match the expected dynamic range of actual field measurements.

[0184] Although the maximum and minimum delta phase groups change at angles higher than 30° (because the delta phase shifts around 360°), however... Figure 7 As shown in h, each pair of groups remains identifiable for a 45° angular direction.

[0185] The above principle can be adapted from linear arrays to two-dimensional arrays—however, it should be understood that in the case of a two-dimensional array, the delta phase values ​​determined by the controller can differ from those described above. For example, the controller might not determine a single, explicit delta phase value, but rather two or more delta phase values ​​that are similar to each other but different from the others (corresponding to the tags that are separated by the longest distance on the diagonal of the array). In determining the tag pair with the next most similar delta phase value among the remaining tag pairs as the tag pair with the next largest interval, in the case of a 2x2 array, the controller can determine that all the remaining tags have the same / similar delta phase values, thus concluding that these tags have the same / similar intervals.

[0186] Therefore, in some examples, the controller can determine the placement order of tags in a tag group (or tag array) based on the backscattered signals generated by tag pairs in the tag group (or tag array) during a phase scan sequence. Specifically, the controller can determine the phase difference between tag pairs associated with the highest backscattered signal power for all tag pairs in the group. Based on the determined phase difference, the controller can infer tags that are further apart from each other, and then determine the next farthest-spaced tag (and so on), until the placement order of all tags has been determined. The controller can use the determined placement order to determine the codebook for the activator to activate the tags in the tag group to achieve maximum gain in the direction of the reader.

[0187] In some examples, a controller is provided that includes components for: configuring an activator device to activate each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; configuring a reader device to receive a signal from each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence; receiving information from the reader device indicating the power level of a combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence; and determining the order of the tags in the tag group based on the information indicating the power level.

[0188] In some embodiments, a controller is provided, including at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the controller to at least: configure an activator device to activate each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; configure a reader device to receive signals from each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence; receive information from the reader device indicating information on the power level of a combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence; and determine the order of tags in the tag group based on the information indicating the power level.

[0189] In some embodiments, an activator device is provided, the activator device including components for: receiving from a controller a configuration for activating each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; and activating tag pairs in a tag group in a phase scan sequence based on the received configuration.

[0190] In some embodiments, an activator device is provided, the activator device including at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the activator device to at least: receive from a controller a configuration for activating each tag pair in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; and activate tag pairs in the tag group in the phase scan sequence based on the received configuration.

[0191] In some embodiments, a reader device is provided, the reader device including at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the reader device to at least: receive from a controller a configuration for receiving signals from tag pairs in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; receive a combined signal from each tag pair according to the received configuration; and send to the controller information indicating a power level for the combined signal of each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence.

[0192] In some examples, a reader device is provided, the reader device including components for: receiving from a controller a configuration for receiving signals from tag pairs in a tag group in a phase scan sequence; receiving a combined signal from each tag pair according to the received configuration; and sending to the controller information indicating the power level of the combined signal for each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence.

[0193] It should be understood that the foregoing references to various network functions (e.g., AMF, SMF, etc.) may include means for performing at least some of the functions associated with these network functions. Furthermore, means including a network function may include a virtual network function instance of that network function.

[0194] It should be understood that these devices may include or be coupled to other units or modules, such as radio components or radio heads used in transmission and / or reception, or radio components or radio heads used for transmission and / or reception. Although these devices have been described as a single entity, different modules and memories may be implemented in one or more physical or logical entities.

[0195] Note that while some embodiments have been described above with respect to 5G networks, similar principles can be applied to other networks and communication systems. Therefore, although some embodiments have been described above by reference to examples of certain architectures used in wireless networks, technologies, and standards, these embodiments can also be applied to any other suitable communication system besides the communication systems shown and described herein.

[0196] It should also be noted in this article that although example embodiments have been described above, several variations and modifications can be made to the disclosed solutions without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0197] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”, means at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0198] Generally, the various embodiments can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software, which can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although this disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of this disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be well understood that, by way of non-limiting example, these blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0199] As used in this application, the term "circuit system" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation only in analog and / or digital circuit systems); and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) A combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits having software / firmware, and (ii) Any part of a hardware processor(s) having software (including (multiple) digital signal processors, software, and (multiple) memories, which work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions); and (c) (multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or a portion thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may be absent when operation is not required.

[0200] 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 only hardware circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or portions of hardware circuitry or a processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware implementation. For example, and 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 network devices.

[0201] Embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by computer software executable by a data processor of a mobile device (such as in a processor entity), or by hardware or a combination of software and hardware. Computer software or programs (also referred to as program products), including software routines, applets, and / or macros, can be stored in any device-readable data storage medium, and they include program instructions for performing specific tasks. A computer program product may include one or more computer-executable components that are configured to perform embodiments when the program is run. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one piece of software code or a portion thereof.

[0202] Furthermore, it should be noted in this regard that any box in the logic flow shown can represent a program step, or an interconnected logic circuit, box, and function, or a combination of a program step and a logic circuit, box, and function. Software can be stored on physical media, such as memory chips, or memory blocks implemented within a processor, magnetic media such as hard disks or floppy disks, and optical media such as DVDs and their data variants, CDs. The physical media is non-transitory.

[0203] As used herein, the term “non-transient” refers to a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not signaling), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0204] The memory can be of any type suitable for the local technological environment and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The data processor can be of any type suitable for the local technological environment and, by way of non-limiting example, can include one or more of the following: general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), FPGAs, gate-level circuits, and processors based on multi-core processor architectures.

[0205] Embodiments of this disclosure can be practiced in various components, such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is generally a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools can be used to convert logic-level designs into semiconductor circuit designs that can be etched and shaped onto a semiconductor substrate.

[0206] The scope of protection sought by the various embodiments of this disclosure is defined by the independent claims. Embodiments and features (if any) described in this specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims should be interpreted as examples that aid in understanding the various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0207] The foregoing description, by way of non-limiting examples, has provided a complete and informative description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. However, various modifications and adaptations will become apparent to those skilled in the art when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims, given the foregoing description. Nevertheless, all such and similar modifications will still fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Indeed, there are other embodiments, including combinations of one or more embodiments with any other embodiments discussed above.

Claims

1. A controller comprising components for: Configure the activator device to activate each tag pair in the tag group during the phase scan sequence; The reader device is configured to receive signals from each tag pair in the tag group during the phase scan sequence; Information is received from the reader device indicating the power level of the combined signal for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence, received by the reader device. as well as Based on the information indicating the power level, the order of the tags in the tag group is determined.

2. The controller of claim 1, wherein configuring the activator device comprises: The activator device is configured to activate a first tag in a tag pair for the phase scan sequence with a static phase, and to activate a second tag in the tag pair for the tag scan sequence with a different phase, wherein the different phase is selected based on information indicating the phase shift capability of the second tag.

3. The controller of claim 2, further comprising components for: Information is received from the reader device indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group.

4. The controller of claim 2 or 3, wherein the information indicating the power level of the combined signal received by the reader device for each tag pair in the tag pair includes: For each tag pair, the power level of the combined signal received by the reader device for each of the different phases in the phase scan sequence.

5. The controller according to any of the preceding claims, wherein configuring the activator device and the reader device comprises: The activator device and the reader device send information indicating the identifier of the tag in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

6. The controller according to any of the preceding claims, wherein: Configuring the activator device includes: sending resource allocations to the activator device for activating each tag pair; and Configuring the reader device includes: sending a resource allocation to the reader device for receiving the signal from each tag pair.

7. The controller according to any preceding claim, wherein determining the order of the tags in the tag group comprises: For each tag pair, determine the phase difference setting between the tags corresponding to the highest power level of the combined signal; as well as The order of the tags is determined based on the determined phase difference setting.

8. The controller of claim 7, wherein determining the order of the tags based on the determined phase difference setting comprises: The first tag pair with the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of minimum similarity phase differences between the tags is determined as the tag pair with the largest interval.

9. The controller of claim 8, wherein determining the order of the tags based on the determined phase difference setting further comprises: Determine one or more additional tag pairs having the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of the second smallest phase difference between the tags, as the tag pairs having the second largest interval; and The determination is repeated for each remaining tag pair for each next maximum phase difference pair until all tag pairs have been determined.

10. The controller according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein determining the order of the tags based on the determined phase difference setting comprises: For each tag pair, a second-order approximation is determined based on the information indicating the power level of the combined signal set for each phase in the phase scan sequence received by the receiver; The phase difference for each tag pair is determined based on the second-order approximation. as well as The placement order is determined based on the determined second-order approximation.

11. The controller of claim 10, wherein determining the placement order based on the determined second-order approximation comprises: A first tag pair having the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the set of minimum similar phase differences is determined as the tag pair having the largest interval; as well as A second tag pair and a third tag pair, having the highest power level of the combined signal associated with the second smallest similar phase difference set, are determined as tag pairs with the second largest interval.

12. The controller according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the component is further configured to: The determined order of the tags is stored using information associated with the tag group.

13. The controller according to any of the preceding claims further includes components for: The tag group phase setting selection is determined based on the determined order of the tags; and Information indicating the determined tag group phase setting selection is sent to the activator device and the reader device.

14. An activator device comprising components for: Receive configuration from the controller for activating each tag pair in the tag group during the phase scan sequence; and The tag pair in the tag group of the phase scan sequence is activated based on the received configuration.

15. The activator device of claim 14, wherein a first tag in a tag pair for the phase scan sequence is activated with a static phase, and a second tag in the tag pair for the tag scan sequence is activated with a different phase.

16. The activator device of claim 14 or 15, wherein receiving the configuration further comprises: Receive information indicating the identifier of the tag in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

17. The activator device according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein receiving the configuration further comprises: Receive resource allocation for the activator device to activate each tag pair.

18. The activator device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, further comprising components for: The controller receives information indicating the selection of the tag group phase setting.

19. A reader device comprising components for: Receive configuration from the controller for receiving signals from tag pairs in the tag group during the phase scan sequence; According to the received configuration, receive a combined signal from each tag pair in the tag pair; and The controller is sent information indicating the power level of the combined signal for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence.

20. The reader device of claim 19, further comprising components for: Receive information indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group; and The controller is sent information indicating the phase shift capability of each tag in the tag group.

21. The reader device of claim 19 or 20, wherein the information indicating the power level of the combined signal for each tag pair in the tag pair comprises: For each tag pair, information indicating the power level of the combined signal for multiple different phases in the phase scan sequence.

22. The reader device according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the configuration further comprises: Information indicating the identifier of the tag in the tag group and / or the group identifier of the tag group.

23. The reader device according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein receiving the configuration further comprises: Receive resource allocation for receiving the signals from each tag pair.

24. A method executed by a controller, the method comprising: Configure the activator device to activate each tag pair in the tag group during the phase scan sequence; The reader device is configured to receive signals from each tag pair in the tag group during the phase scan sequence; Information is received from the reader device indicating the power level of the combined signal for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence, received by the reader device. as well as Based on the information indicating the power level, the order of the tags in the tag group is determined.

25. A method performed by an activator device, the method comprising: Receive configuration from the controller for activating each tag pair in the tag group in the phase scan sequence; as well as The tag pair in the tag group of the phase scan sequence is activated based on the received configuration.

26. A method performed by a reader device, the method comprising: Receive configuration from the controller for receiving signals from tag pairs in the tag group during the phase scan sequence; According to the received configuration, receive a combined signal from each tag pair in the tag pair; as well as The controller is sent information indicating the power level of the combined signal for each tag pair in the phase scan sequence.

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