Communication method, communication device, storage medium, and program product

Abstract

The invention relates to a communication method, communication equipment, a storage medium and a program product, and belongs to the technical field of communication. The method comprises: sending a first signal, the first signal being used for scheduling at least one second signal, and the first signal being used for indicating a load size of the at least one second signal; and receiving at least one second signal, wherein each second signal comprises an identifier of the terminal equipment sending the second signal. According to the embodiment of the invention, resources can be allocated to the plurality of terminal devices under the condition that the loads of the second signals of the plurality of terminal devices are different, so that the network device and the terminal have consistent understanding on the time domain resources of the second signals, and the resource utilization efficiency of the system is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to communication methods, communication devices, storage media, and program products. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of communications, the basic inventory process for Ambient IoT (A-IoT) devices is similar to that of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). The A-IoT inventory process mainly includes inventory trigger messages, random number messages, random number response messages, and tag reporting messages. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This disclosure provides a communication method, communication device, storage medium, and program product that can be used in the field of communication technology to allocate time-domain resources of Msg3 (Message 3) for devices with different device identifier lengths, so that the base station and the device have a consistent understanding of the time-domain resources of Msg3, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, performed by a network device, the method comprising: sending a first signal for scheduling at least one second signal, the first signal indicating the load size of the at least one second signal; and receiving at least one second signal, each second signal including an identifier of a terminal device that sent the second signal.

[0005] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, executed by a terminal device, comprising: receiving a first signal sent by a network device, the first signal being used to schedule a second signal of the terminal device, the first signal being used to indicate the load size of the second signal; and sending a second signal to the network device, the second signal including an identifier of the terminal device.

[0006] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided that can implement the communication methods described in the first and second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0007] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, including a network device and a terminal device, wherein the network device is configured to implement the method of any one of the first aspects of the present disclosure, and the terminal device is configured to implement the method of any one of the second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0008] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer storage medium is provided, wherein the computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; after being executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions are able to implement the communication method described in any one of the first and second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0009] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a program product is provided, including at least one of a program and instructions, wherein when the program and instructions are executed by a communication device, they implement the communication method described in any one of the first and second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0010] According to the communication method proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure, a network device can send a first signal to multiple terminal devices, and the multiple terminal devices can generate and send a second signal based on the first signal. The first signal can indicate the load size of the second signal of the multiple terminal devices, and resources can be allocated to multiple terminal devices when the load sizes of the second signals of the multiple terminal devices are different. This makes the network device and the terminal understand the temporal domain resources of the second signal in a consistent manner, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system. Attached Figure Description

[0011] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments are introduced below. The following drawings are only some embodiments of this disclosure and do not impose specific limitations on the protection scope of this disclosure.

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0013] Figure 2 This is one of the interactive schematic diagrams of the communication method provided according to the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0014] Figure 3 This is a second interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 4 This is the third interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0016] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the basic inventory process of an Ambient IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an R2D frame structure provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a Msg3 for a different device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a Msg2 provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of Msg3 transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 10 This is another schematic diagram of Msg3 transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 11 This is another schematic diagram of Msg3 transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 14 A schematic diagram of the communication device provided according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0026] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the chip structure proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0027] Figure 16 This is the fourth interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0028] Figure 17 This is the fifth interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to the embodiments of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0029] This disclosure provides a communication method, communication device, storage medium, and program product.

[0030] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method performed by a network device, comprising: sending a first signal for scheduling at least one second signal, the first signal indicating the load size of the at least one second signal; and receiving at least one second signal, each second signal including an identifier of a terminal device that sent the second signal.

[0031] In the above embodiments, a network device can send a first signal to multiple terminal devices, and the multiple terminal devices can generate and send a second signal based on the first signal. By considering the load size of the second signal of the multiple terminal devices based on the first signal, resources can be allocated to multiple terminal devices even when the load sizes of the second signals of the multiple terminal devices are different. This ensures that the network device and the terminals have a consistent understanding of the temporal resources of the second signal, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0032] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the load size includes any of the following: the minimum of multiple load sizes in a load set, the load set being predefined by the protocol; the maximum of multiple load sizes in a load set, the load set being predefined by the protocol; or a reference load size predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device.

[0033] In the above embodiments, the load size of the second signal can be determined so that the terminal can send the second signal according to the load size of the second signal, thereby making the network device and the terminal have a consistent understanding of the time domain resources of the second signal and improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0034] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, receiving at least one second signal includes: receiving at least one second signal sent by at least one first type of terminal device according to the load size, and / or receiving at least one second type of terminal device according to the load size, wherein the identifier length of the first type of terminal device is within a first range, the identifier length of the second type of terminal device is within a second range, the identifier length of the first type of terminal device is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device, and the first range and / or the second range are predefined by the protocol.

[0035] In the above embodiments, second signals sent by different types of terminal devices can be received, wherein the identifier lengths of different types of terminal devices are different. This allows for resource allocation to multiple terminal devices even when the load sizes of their second signals differ, ensuring consistent understanding of the temporal resources of the second signals between network devices and terminals, thereby improving system resource utilization efficiency. In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the load size indicated by the first signal is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; the second signal sent by the first type of terminal device includes the complete identifier of the first type of terminal device; the second signal sent by the second type of terminal device includes: a first portion of the identifier of the second type of terminal device.

[0036] In the above embodiments, when the identifier length of the second type of terminal device is relatively long, causing the load of the second type of terminal device to be greater than the load of the first signal and the second signal, the identifier of the second type of terminal device can be sent in segments. This can ensure that the identifier is uploaded completely even when the identifier length of the terminal is long, thereby improving the reliability of the terminal identifier upload.

[0037] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving first indication information sent by a second type of terminal device, the first indication information being used to indicate that a second part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device is to be sent.

[0038] In the above embodiments, when the identifier length of the second type of terminal device is too long, causing the load of the second type of terminal device to be greater than the load of the first signal and the second signal, the identifier of the second type of terminal device can be sent in segments. At this time, the identifier of the terminal device can be indicated by the indication information in the first segment, so that the network device can continue to receive the remaining identifier of the second type of terminal device according to the indication information. This can achieve the consistency of understanding between the network device and the terminal device, so that the network device can receive and reassemble the identifier information of the second type of terminal device. This can ensure that the identifier of the terminal is uploaded completely even when the identifier length of the terminal is long, and can improve the reliability of the terminal identifier upload.

[0039] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a third signal to at least one second-type terminal device, wherein the third signal is used to schedule at least one fourth signal, and the third signal is used to indicate the load size of the fourth signal; and receiving the fourth signal sent by at least one second-type terminal device, the fourth signal including a second portion of the identifier of the second-type terminal device. In the above embodiments, in scenarios where the identifier of the second-type terminal device is sent in segments, sending a third signal to the second-type terminal device can schedule the terminal device to send a fourth signal including the remaining identifier, so that the network device can receive and reassemble the identifier information of the second-type terminal device. This allows for complete uploading even when the identifier length of the terminal is long, improving the reliability of terminal identifier uploading.

[0040] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a third signal to at least one second-type terminal device, wherein the third signal is used to schedule at least one fourth signal, the third signal being used to indicate a temporary identifier of the second-type terminal device, the temporary identifier corresponding to the load size; and receiving a fourth signal sent by at least one second-type terminal device, the fourth signal including a second portion of the identifier of the second-type terminal device.

[0041] In the above embodiments, in scenarios where the identifier of the second type of terminal device is sent in segments, a third signal can be sent to the second type of terminal device to schedule the terminal device to send a fourth signal including the remaining identifier, so that the network device can receive and reassemble the identifier information of the second type of terminal device. This can ensure that even when the identifier of the terminal is long, it can be uploaded completely, thereby improving the reliability of the terminal identifier upload.

[0042] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, sending a first signal includes: sending N first signals, each first signal being used to schedule the transmission of a second signal by a first type of terminal device and / or a second type of terminal device.

[0043] In the above embodiments, when the identifier length of the terminal device is long, N first signals can be sent to schedule the terminal device to send at least one second signal, so that the network device can complete the reception of the identifier of the terminal device, so that the network device can receive and reassemble the identifier information of the second type of terminal device. This can achieve complete uploading even when the identifier length of the terminal is long, and can improve the reliability of terminal identifier uploading.

[0044] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, receiving at least one second signal includes: receiving M second signals sent by each first type of terminal device, wherein the M second signals collectively include the complete identifier of the first type of terminal device; and receiving N second signals sent by each second type of terminal device, wherein the N second signals collectively include the complete identifier of the second type of terminal device; wherein M and N are positive integers, and M < N.

[0045] In the above embodiments, when the identifier length of the terminal device is long, N first signals can be sent to schedule the terminal device to send at least one second signal, so that the network device can complete the reception of the terminal device's identifier. This facilitates the network device's reception and reassembly of the identifier information of the second type of terminal device, enabling complete uploading even when the terminal's identifier length is long, and improving the reliability of terminal identifier uploading. In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the N first signals include the same payload size; and / or the M second signals have the same data rate; and / or the N second signals have the same data rate.

[0046] In the above embodiments, when repeatedly scheduling a terminal device, the relevant information of the first signal during multiple scheduling can be determined so as to schedule different terminal devices in a targeted manner. This can enable the allocation of corresponding resources to multiple terminal devices using a targeted first signal when the load of the second signal of multiple terminal devices is different, so that the network device and the terminal have a consistent understanding of the temporal domain resources of the second signal, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0047] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the load size indicated by the first signal is greater than or equal to the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; the length of the identifier of the first type of terminal device included in the second signal sent by the first type of terminal device, and / or the length of the identifier of the second type of terminal device included in the second signal sent by the second type of terminal device, is less than or equal to the load size indicated by the first signal.

[0048] In the above embodiments, the identifier length included in the second signal corresponding to the first type of terminal device can be determined according to the load size indicated by the first signal. This enables the second signal to be sent according to the requirements of the network device. When the load size indicated by the first signal is greater than or equal to the identifier length of the second type of terminal device, each terminal device can send the second signal only once to report the complete identifier, which can reduce the consumption of transmission resources and improve the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0049] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a fifth signal, the fifth signal including a temporary identifier corresponding to the terminal device that sent the fifth signal, the temporary identifier having a corresponding relationship with the load size.

[0050] In the above embodiments, when a terminal device reports a fifth signal, it can report a temporary identifier corresponding to the terminal device. This allows the network device to generate a corresponding first signal based on the temporary identifier of the terminal device to schedule the terminal to report the identifier. This enables the allocation of corresponding resources to multiple terminal devices when the load size of the second signals of multiple terminal devices is different. This ensures that the network device and the terminal have a consistent understanding of the temporal resources of the second signal, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0051] In conjunction with embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first signal is used to schedule at least one second signal, including: the first signal includes at least one temporary identifier associated with at least one second signal; and / or, the at least one temporary identifier is associated with at least one first type terminal device and / or at least one second type terminal device.

[0052] In the above embodiments, terminal devices with different identifier lengths can be scheduled separately according to the temporary identifier of the terminal device. This can achieve the allocation of corresponding resources to multiple terminal devices when the load of the second signal of multiple terminal devices is different, so that the network device and the terminal have a consistent understanding of the temporal domain resources of the second signal, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0053] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, different terminal devices use different frequency domain resources to transmit the second signal.

[0054] In the above embodiments, different terminal devices can use different frequency domain resources but the same time domain resources to send a second signal, thereby achieving frequency division multiplexing and improving resource transmission efficiency. Alternatively, they can use different time domain resources but the same frequency domain resources to send a second signal, thereby achieving time division multiplexing and improving resource utilization. Or, they can use different time domain resources and different frequency domain resources to send a second signal, thereby reducing resource conflicts.

[0055] In conjunction with the embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal device satisfies at least one of the following: having the ability to collect environmental energy from environmental energy sources, the environmental energy sources including at least one of radio waves, light, motion, and heat; having energy storage capacity, the energy storage capacity being less than a preset value; not having the ability to independently generate or amplify signals; being able to transmit signals by backscattering; having peak power consumption of 1 microwatt; and having an initial sampling frequency offset of 10 x ppm, where x is a value that includes 3, 4, or 5.

[0056] In the above embodiments, the type of terminal device can be determined so that the corresponding type of terminal device can be scheduled to report the complete identifier according to the method of this disclosure, so that the network device and the terminal have a consistent understanding of the temporal domain resources of the second signal, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0057] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method executed by a terminal device, comprising: receiving a first signal sent by a network device, the first signal being used to schedule a second signal from the terminal device, the first signal being used to indicate the load size of the second signal to be sent to the network device, and the second signal including an identifier of the terminal device. In conjunction with embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the load size includes any of the following: the minimum value of multiple load sizes in a load set, the load set being predefined by the protocol; the maximum value of multiple load sizes in a load set, the load set being predefined by the protocol; or a reference load size predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device.

[0058] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal device is a first type of terminal device or a second type of terminal device, the identifier length of the first type of terminal device is within a first range, the identifier length of the second type of terminal device is within a second range, the identifier length of the first type of terminal device is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device, and the first range and / or the second range are predefined by the protocol.

[0059] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the load size indicated by the first signal is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device, then the second signal includes the complete identifier of the terminal device.

[0060] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the load size indicated by the first signal is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; if the terminal device is a second type of terminal device, then the second signal includes the first part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device.

[0061] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending first indication information to a network device, the first indication information being used to indicate that a second part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device is to be sent.

[0062] In conjunction with embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a third signal sent by a network device, wherein the third signal is used to schedule a fourth signal and to indicate the load size of the fourth signal; and sending a fourth signal to the network device, the fourth signal including a second portion of an identifier of a second type of terminal device.

[0063] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a third signal sent by a network device, wherein the third signal is used to schedule a fourth signal, the third signal being used to indicate a temporary identifier of a second type of terminal device, the temporary identifier having a corresponding relationship with the load size; and sending a fourth signal to the network device, the fourth signal including a second part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device.

[0064] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, receiving a first signal sent by a network device includes: receiving N first signals, each first signal being used to schedule the transmission of a second signal by a terminal device.

[0065] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, sending a second signal to a network device includes: if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device, then sending M second signals to the network device, wherein the M second signals collectively include the complete identifier of the first type of terminal device, where M and N are positive integers, and M < N.

[0066] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, sending a second signal to a network device includes: if the terminal device is a second type of terminal device, then sending N second signals to the network device, wherein the N second signals collectively include the complete identifier of the second type of terminal device.

[0067] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the load size values ​​included in the N first signals are the same; and / or the data rates of the M second signals are the same; and / or the data rates of the N second signals are the same.

[0068] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the load size indicated by the first signal is greater than or equal to the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; the length of the identifier of the terminal device included in the second signal sent by the terminal device is less than or equal to the load size indicated by the first signal.

[0069] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a fifth signal to a network device, the fifth signal including a temporary identifier of the terminal device, the temporary identifier corresponding to the load size.

[0070] In conjunction with embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, sending a second signal to a network device includes: a first signal including at least one temporary identifier associated with at least one second signal; and / or, at least one temporary identifier associated with at least one first type terminal device and / or at least one second type terminal device.

[0071] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, different terminal devices use different resources to send the second signal.

[0072] In conjunction with the embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal device satisfies at least one of the following: having the ability to collect environmental energy from environmental energy sources, the environmental energy sources including at least one of radio waves, light, motion, and heat; having energy storage capacity, the energy storage capacity being less than a preset value; not having the ability to independently generate or amplify signals; being able to transmit signals by backscattering; having peak power consumption of 1 microwatt; and having an initial sampling frequency offset of 10 x ppm, where x is a value that includes 3, 4, or 5.

[0073] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device for performing the methods described in any one of the first and second aspects of embodiments of this disclosure.

[0074] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication system including a network device and a terminal device, wherein the network device is used to perform the method of any one of the first aspects of this disclosure, and the terminal device is used to perform the method of any one of the second aspects of this disclosure.

[0075] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method described in any one of the first or second aspects of embodiments of this disclosure.

[0076] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a program product, including at least one of a program and instructions, wherein when the program or instructions are executed by a communication device, they implement the steps of the method described in any one of the first or second aspects of embodiments of this disclosure.

[0077] It is understood that the aforementioned communication equipment, storage medium, and program product are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here.

[0078] This disclosure provides a communication method, a communication device, a communication system, a storage medium, and a program product. In some embodiments, terms such as communication method and information processing method can be used interchangeably, as can terms such as network device, information processing apparatus, and communication apparatus, and terms such as information processing system and communication system.

[0079] This disclosure is not exhaustive, but merely illustrative of some embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. Unless otherwise specified, each step in a particular embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a particular embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily interchanged. Furthermore, the optional implementation methods in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; moreover, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments. In all embodiments of this disclosure, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0080] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0081] In this embodiment of the disclosure, unless otherwise stated, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a," "an," "the," "the aforementioned," "the," "this," etc., can mean "one and only one," or "one or more," "at least one," etc. For example, when using articles such as "a," "an," "the," etc. in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as either a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0082] In the embodiments of this disclosure, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0083] In some embodiments, the terms “at least one of A or B, at least one of A and B”, “one or more”, “a plurality of”, “multiple”, etc., may be used interchangeably.

[0084] In some embodiments, the notation "at least one of A and B", "A and / or B", "A in one case, B in another", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether there is a branch B); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether there is a branch A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, both A and B are executed. The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0085] In some embodiments, the notation "A or B" may include the following technical solutions, depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether a branch B exists); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether a branch A exists); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0086] The prefixes "first," "second," etc., used in the embodiments of this disclosure are merely for distinguishing different descriptive objects and do not impose restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity, or content of the descriptive objects. The description of the descriptive objects is found in the claims or the context of the embodiments, and the use of prefixes should not constitute unnecessary restrictions. For example, if the descriptive object is a "field," the ordinal numbers preceding "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not restrict the position or order of the "fields." "First" and "second" do not restrict whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they restrict the order of "first field" and "second field." Similarly, if the descriptive object is a "level," the ordinal numbers preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not restrict the priority between "levels." Furthermore, the number of descriptive objects is not limited by ordinal numbers and can be one or more. For example, in "first device," the number of "devices" can be one or more. Furthermore, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the object being described is "device", then "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. Similarly, if the object being described is "information", then "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their content can be the same or different.

[0087] In some embodiments, “including A,” “containing A,” “for indicating A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0088] In some embodiments, terms such as "time / frequency" and "time-frequency domain" refer to the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0089] In some embodiments, terms such as “in response to…”, “in response to determining…”, “in the case of…”, “when…”, “when…”, “if…”, etc. can be used interchangeably. These descriptions all refer to the device making a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances. They do not necessarily limit the time, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when implementing it, nor do they mean that there must be other limitations.

[0090] In some embodiments, the terms “greater than,” “greater than or equal to,” “not less than,” “more than,” “more than or equal to,” “not less than,” “higher than,” “higher than or equal to,” “not lower than,” and “above” can be used interchangeably, as can the terms “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not greater than,” “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not more than,” “lower than,” “lower than or equal to,” “not higher than,” and “below”.

[0091] In some embodiments, devices, etc., may be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to those described in the embodiments. Terms such as “device,” “equipment,” “circuit,” “network element,” “network function,” “network device,” “function,” “node,” “unit,” “section,” “system,” “network,” “chip,” “chip system,” “entity,” and “subject” are interchangeable.

[0092] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in a network (e.g., access network devices, core network devices, etc.).

[0093] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)," "radio access network device (RAN device)," "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "node," "access point," "transmission point (TP)," "reception point (RP)," "transmission / reception point (TRP)," "panel," "antenna panel," "antenna array," "cell," "macro cell," "small cell," "femto cell," "pico cell," "sector," "cell group," "serving cell," "carrier," "component carrier," and "bandwidth part (BWP)" can be used interchangeably.

[0094] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriberstation, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, and client can be used interchangeably.

[0095] In some embodiments, access network devices, core network devices, or network devices can be replaced by terminals. For example, embodiments of this disclosure can also be applied to structures where communication between access network devices, core network devices, or network devices and terminals is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (e.g., device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the structure can also be configured such that the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can be replaced with terms corresponding to communication between terminals (e.g., "sidelink"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc., can be replaced with sidelink channel, and uplink link, downlink, etc., can be replaced with sidelink link.

[0096] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, core network device, or network device may also be configured to have all or some of the functions of the terminal.

[0097] In some embodiments, the acquisition of data, information, etc., may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0098] In some embodiments, data, information, etc., may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0099] In some embodiments, "acquire," "get," "obtain," "receive," "transmit," "bidirectional transmission," and "send and / or receive" can be used interchangeably and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, acquiring from protocols, acquiring from higher layers, obtaining through self-processing, or autonomous implementation. Protocols include, for example, at least one of the 3GPP protocol, Wi-Fi protocol, and audio and / or video protocols.

[0100] Furthermore, each element, each row, or each column in the table of this disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0101] This disclosure provides a communication method, communication device, communication system, storage medium, and program product that enables a network device to send a first signal to multiple terminal devices. The multiple terminal devices can generate and send a second signal based on the first signal. The first signal can indicate the load size of the second signal of the multiple terminal devices. It can allocate resources to multiple terminal devices even when the load sizes of the second signals of the multiple terminal devices are different, so that the network device and the terminals have a consistent understanding of the temporal resources of the second signal, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0102] The methods proposed in this disclosure are applicable to various communication systems, including but not limited to 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 5G or New Radio (NR) systems, 5G-advance and its subsequent communication technologies (such as 6G) or future communication systems; LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, etc.

[0103] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to embodiments of this disclosure. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system 100 may include network device 101 and terminal device 102. It should be noted that... Figure 1 The communication system shown is merely an example of the communication system used in the various embodiments of this disclosure and is not intended to limit it. The various embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to various communication systems, and will not be described in detail here.

[0104] In some embodiments, the method of this disclosure can be applied to a communication system. Optionally, in the communication system of this disclosure, the number of terminal devices can be one or more. The network device can send a first signal to multiple terminal devices. Multiple terminal devices can generate and send a second signal according to the first signal. The first signal can indicate the load size of the second signal of multiple terminal devices. It is possible to allocate resources to multiple terminal devices when the load size of the second signal of multiple terminal devices is different, so that the network device and the terminal have a consistent understanding of the temporal domain resources of the second signal, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0105] In some embodiments, the network device can be an A-IoT network device, such as an access network device, base station, UE, intermediate node, auxiliary node, etc., and can be referred to as a reader. The terminal device can be an A-IoT terminal device, and can also be referred to as an A-IoT device or a tag.

[0106] In some embodiments, the network device may be a base station (NodeB, NB) in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or a relay station, access point, vehicle-mounted device, wearable device, or network device in a 5G network or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network. It may also be one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU), etc. The embodiments of this application are not limited.

[0107] In some embodiments, the terminal includes at least one of the following: mobile phone, wearable device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, car with communication capabilities, smart car, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal device in industrial control, wireless terminal device in self-driving, wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal device in smart grid, wireless terminal device in transportation safety, wireless terminal device in smart city, and wireless terminal device in smart home, but is not limited thereto. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not merely hardware devices; they achieve powerful functionality through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly defined, wearable smart devices include those with comprehensive functions, large sizes, and the ability to perform complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses. They also include devices focused on specific applications that require interaction with other devices like smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0108] In some embodiments, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an IoT system. IoT is an important component of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network for human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection.

[0109] In some embodiments, the means for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or it can be a means that enables the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system or a chip, which can be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0110] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that connects a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include at least one of the following in a 5G communication system: evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), node B (NB), home node B (HNB), home evolved node B (HeNB), radio backhaul device, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), base band unit (BBU), mobile switching center, base station in a 6G communication system, open RAN, cloud RAN, base station in other communication systems, and access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0111] In some embodiments, a core network device may be a single device comprising one or more network elements, or it may be multiple devices or a group of devices, each comprising all or part of the aforementioned one or more network elements. Network elements may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of the following: Evolved Packet Core (EPC), 5G Core Network (5GCN), and Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0112] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of this disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within access network devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of Open RAN. The processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented by software or programs.

[0113] In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU may also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can separate the protocol layer of the access network device. Some of the protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU and centrally controlled by the CU. However, this is not the only possibility.

[0114] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc., are not limited to the names described in the embodiments. Terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0115] In some embodiments, the terms "codebook," "codeword," and "precoding matrix" can be used interchangeably. For example, a codebook can be a collection of one or more codewords / precoding matrices.

[0116] It is understood that the communication system described in this disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of this disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0117] The following embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to Figure 1 The communication system 100 shown, or a part thereof, but not limited to, is described. Figure 1 The communication system shown is merely an example of the communication system used in the various embodiments of this disclosure and is not intended to limit it. The various embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to the aforementioned communication systems, and will not be described in detail here. Figure 1 The entities shown are illustrative; a communication system may include... Figure 1 All or part of the main body, or may include Figure 1 Other entities besides the main body, the number and form of each entity are arbitrary, each entity can be physical or virtual, the connection relationship between the entities is illustrative, the entities can be unconnected or connected, and the connection can be in any way, it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection, it can be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

[0118] The embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), 6G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New Radio Access (NX), Future Generation Radio Access (FX), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), and IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX, a registered trademark), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth (a registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) systems, systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems built upon them. Furthermore, multiple systems can be combined (e.g., a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0119] Mobile communication technology has flourished. Digital mobile communication, from 2G, 3G, and 4G to the current 5G, has effectively met people's needs in voice communication, digital mobile communication, and mobile broadband internet communication. However, with social and economic development, the demand for Internet of Things (IoT) communication has gradually emerged. Since 2010, technologies and standards related to IoT have been gradually developed. Among them, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standardized a series of IoT technologies, including Machine-Type Communications (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), and Reduced Capability UE (RedCap). MTC and NB-IoT significantly reduce the cost of IoT terminals by employing technologies such as low bandwidth, single antenna, reduced peak data rate, half-duplex, and reduced transmit power. Furthermore, the introduction of enhanced discontinuous reception (eDRX) and power saving mode (PSM) greatly reduces the power consumption of IoT terminals. At the same time, MTC and NB-IoT can support a large number of IoT terminals accessing the network, thereby meeting the demand for massive connectivity. In recent years, the Internet of Things (IoT) based on NB-IoT and eMTC technologies has been widely tested and commercialized, such as in smart grids, smart parking, smart transportation / logistics, and smart energy management systems. It covers many vertical fields such as smart cities, smart homes, and smart factories, and has rapidly promoted the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries.

[0120] The RFID inventory process mainly involves the sending and receiving of signaling messages such as SELECT, QUERY, RN16, ACK, and EPC. The main functions of each signaling message are as follows:

[0121] SELECT: Filters tags according to specific rules, and can change the matching flag or inventory flag of the tags.

[0122] QUERY: Initiates a round of inventory management. The QUERY signaling includes a time-domain parameter Q, used to allocate the number of time slots for a round of inventory management. It also specifies the flags for this round of inventory management, as well as the rate factor and coding scheme selection for the backscatter link.

[0123] RN16 (random number): The tag randomly generates a 16-digit number to temporarily identify the tag ID.

[0124] ACK (Acknowledgment): Performs conflict resolution, sending an RN16 message to the tag indicating successful reception, similar to the RAR message in NR.

[0125] EPC (Identifier): The tag reports its own tag identifier in its storage area.

[0126] The deployment scenarios, use cases, and design goals (including device power consumption, device complexity, coverage performance, user data rate, latency, and mobility speed) based on Ambient IoT are discussed. The currently discussed Ambient IoT topologies include the following:

[0127] Topology 1: Ambient IoT devices connect directly to a base station (BS) and communicate bidirectionally. Communication between the A-IoT device and the base station includes data and signaling. Topology 1 also includes another possible scenario: base station 1 sends downlink data to the A-IoT device, and the A-IoT device sends uplink data to base station 2. In this case, the downlink and uplink data for the same service communication originate from different base stations.

[0128] Topology 2: Ambient IoT devices communicate bidirectionally with intermediate nodes. The intermediate node (UE) communicates bidirectionally with the base station via cellular communication. The intermediate node can be considered a relay between the Ambient IoT device and the base station (e.g., Integrated Access and Backhaul, i.e., IAB node, UE, repeater, etc.). The intermediate node must support the ability to communicate with the Ambient IoT device. The intermediate node bidirectionally transmits data and signaling between the base station and the Ambient IoT device to complete the communication.

[0129] The deployment scenarios studied by 3GPP mainly include the following:

[0130] 1) Deployment Scenario 1: Ambient IoT devices are indoors, and base stations are indoors;

[0131] 2) Deployment Scenario 2: Ambient IoT devices are indoors, and base stations are outdoors;

[0132] 3) Deployment Scenario 3: Ambient IoT devices are located indoors, and the reader is the UE (User Equipment).

[0133] 4) Deployment Scenario 4: Ambient IoT devices are outdoors, and base stations are outdoors;

[0134] 5) Deployment Scenario 5: Ambient IoT devices are outdoors, and the reader is the UE.

[0135] Ambient IoT devices (A-IoT devices for short) are devices that operate powered by ambient energy harvested from radio waves, light, motion, heat, or other available environmental energy sources. A-IoT devices have little or no electrical power supply. Depending on whether an A-IoT device has energy storage capabilities and the ability to independently generate signals, A-IoT devices may include Device 1, Device 2a, and Device 2b, but the possibility of adding new A-IoT device types in the future cannot be ruled out.

[0136] Device 1: It has limited energy storage capacity and lacks the ability to independently generate or amplify signals. Signal transmission is achieved through backscattering. Its peak power consumption is approximately 1 microwatt (μW), and its initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) is as high as 10 x ppm (where x can be 4 or 5). It lacks both downlink and uplink signal amplification capabilities; uplink transmission is achieved through backscattering on an externally provided carrier.

[0137] Device 2a: It has a large energy storage capacity but no ability to generate signals independently. It transmits signals via backscattering and can amplify reflected signals using stored energy. Its peak power consumption does not exceed a few hundred μW, and its SFO is as high as 10x ppm (x can be 3, 4, or 5). It has the capability to amplify downlink and / or uplink signals. The uplink transmission of this device is achieved through backscattering on an externally provided carrier.

[0138] Device 2b: It has a large energy storage capacity and the ability to generate signals independently, using radio frequency devices for signal transmission. Its peak power consumption does not exceed several hundred μW, and its SFO is as high as 10x ppm (x can be 3, 4, or 5). It has the ability to amplify downlink signals and / or uplink signals. The uplink transmission of this device is implemented by the radio frequency devices inside the device.

[0139] During the research and discussion, the physical layer links and channels were specified (where the reader can be a base station or an intermediate UE):

[0140] R2D: reader-to-device, corresponding to the physical channel PRDCH;

[0141] D2R: device-to-reader, corresponding to the physical channel PDRCH;

[0142] CW2D: carrier-wave-to-device.

[0143] The basic inventory process for Ambient IoT devices is similar to that of RFID. The inventory process mainly includes the inventory trigger message R2D#1 (corresponding to the SELECT and QUERY functions in RFID), the random number message D2R#1 (corresponding to RN16 in RFID), the random number response message R2D#2 (corresponding to ACK in RFID), and the tag reporting message D2R#2 (corresponding to EPC in RFID). Based on the current discussion, the signaling name for R2D#1 can be Paging, the signaling name for D2R#1 can be Msg1, the signaling name for R2D#2 can be Msg2, and the signaling name for D2R#2 can be Msg3. This invention does not limit the specific signaling names.

[0144] An R2D transmission may consist of two parts: a synchronization header that indicates the start position of the R2D transmission and provides clock reference information, and a physical channel (PRDCH) that carries physical layer control information and R2D data.

[0145] Physical layer control information may also be absent. Physical layer control information can also be called layer-1 control information or control information.

[0146] The synchronization header can also be called a timing acquisition signal (TAS) or an R2D timing acquisition signal (R-TAS). This invention does not limit the name.

[0147] Providing clock reference information can be understood as follows: in the same transmission, the smallest time unit of the clock acquisition portion in the timing acquisition signal is the same as the smallest time unit contained in the PRDCH; or, in the same transmission, the smallest time unit of the clock acquisition portion in the timing acquisition signal is N times the smallest time unit contained in the PRDCH. N is an integer greater than 1. For example, N = 3, 6, or 12.

[0148] The payload size of a D2R transmission can be explicitly indicated by the corresponding R2D control information. The D2R message Msg3 is used for device identification reporting, and device identifiers can have various lengths; for example, a long device identifier or a short device identifier. Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) can also be used for transmission of the Msg3 PDRCH. For variable-sized Physical Direct Random Access Channel (PDRCH) transmissions, the payload size (i.e., a concept similar to Transport Block Size (TBS)) is explicitly indicated in the corresponding R2D control information. During access, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) is supported for D2R transmissions of Msg3 from multiple devices, corresponding to multiple Physical Random Access Channels (PRDCHs) for Msg2 transmissions of Msg1.

[0149] Msg2 indicates the time and frequency domain resources of Msg3 for multiple devices. If complete device identification information is reported in a single transmission, the Msg3 of multiple devices may correspond to different actual load sizes. In other words, the device identifier lengths reported by multiple devices via Msg3 may differ. Therefore, when other scheduling parameters (e.g., Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) length, Forward Error Correction (FEC) rate, and code block repetition count) are consistent, the transmission length of Msg3 for multiple devices will be different. Therefore, the technical problem to be solved is how to allocate the time domain resources of Msg3 for devices with different device identifier lengths, so that the base station and devices have a consistent understanding of the time domain resources of Msg3, thereby improving the system's resource utilization efficiency.

[0150] Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this disclosure proposes a communication method that can schedule terminals according to the actual load size of the terminal devices, allocate Msg3 time-domain resources for terminal devices with different load sizes, so that the terminals can report the complete identifier length, and make the base network devices and terminals understand the Msg3 time-domain resources in a consistent manner, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0151] Figure 16 This is the fourth interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this embodiment. This method can be executed by a communication system, for example by... Figure 1 The communication system 100 shown is executed. The communication system includes network device 101 and terminal device 102; Figure 1The communication system shown is merely an example of the communication system used in the embodiments of this disclosure and is not intended to limit it. The embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to the aforementioned types of communication systems, and will not be elaborated further here. Figure 16 As shown, the communication method may include the following steps:

[0152] Step 1601: The network device sends a first signal, which is used to schedule at least one second signal and indicates the load size of at least one second signal.

[0153] Specifically, the network device can send a first signal to schedule at least one second signal from at least one terminal device; the name of the first signal can be R2D#2 (Reader to Device#2) or Msg2 (Message 2), the first signal can indicate the load size of the scheduled second signal, the first signal can be a random number response message, the name of the first signal can be R2D#2 (Reader to Device#2) or Msg2 (Message 2), the terminal device can carry some or all of the identification information in the second signal, and the name of the second signal can be Msg3 (Message 3).

[0154] Step 1602, the network device receives at least one second signal, each second signal including the identifier of the terminal device that sent the second signal.

[0155] Specifically, after receiving the aforementioned first signal, any one of the terminal devices can send the second signal based on the load size of the scheduled second signal indicated in the first signal.

[0156] Optionally, the first signal sent by the network device may indicate the load size through at least one of the following: the minimum of multiple load sizes in a load set, where the load set is predefined by the protocol; the maximum of multiple load sizes in a load set, where the load set is predefined by the protocol; a reference load size predefined by the protocol or pre-configured by the network device; the minimum load size of the second signal of at least one scheduled terminal device; the maximum load size of the second signal of at least one scheduled terminal device; a load size determined based on the length of the longest identifier in the identifiers of at least one terminal device; a load size determined based on the length of the shortest identifier in the identifiers of at least one terminal device; a random number corresponding to one or more load sizes; based on... The following are not limited to the following: a load size determined by the identifier length of at least one terminal device; multiple load sizes determined by multiple identifier lengths corresponding to the identifiers of at least one terminal device; all or part of the load sizes among the multiple load sizes determined by multiple identifier lengths corresponding to the identifiers of at least one terminal device; statistical values ​​of multiple load sizes determined by multiple identifier lengths corresponding to the identifiers of at least one terminal device, including average, median, etc.; the load size determined by the identifier length that appears most frequently among the multiple identifier lengths corresponding to the identifiers of at least one terminal device; and the load size determined by all or part of the multiple identifier lengths corresponding to the identifiers of at least one terminal device, etc.

[0157] Optionally, for a terminal device, if the load size indicated by the first signal is less than the actual identifier length of the terminal device, the terminal device needs to report the identifier multiple times to report the complete identifier. In this case, the network device sends the first signal and schedules at least one second signal. The network device can send a first signal, and after receiving the first signal, the terminal device generates a second signal according to the load size indicated by the first signal and sends the second signal to the network device. Since the load size indicated by the first signal is less than the actual identifier length of the terminal device, the second signal only includes a portion of the terminal device's identifier. At this time, the terminal device can send a first indication information to the network device, indicating that the terminal device still has a remaining identifier that has not been reported. After receiving the first indication information, the network device can generate a third signal according to the length of the remaining identifier of the terminal device and send the third signal. The load size indicated in the third signal can be the length of the remaining identifier of the terminal device. After receiving the third signal, the terminal device can generate a fourth signal according to the indication of the third signal and send the fourth signal to the network device to achieve the reporting of the complete identifier of the terminal device, wherein the fourth signal includes the remaining part of the identifier of the terminal device. Optionally, the third signal has the same signal type as the first signal, both being R2D signals or both being Msg2, and the fourth signal has the same signal type as the second signal, both being D2R signals or both being Msg3.

[0158] Optionally, for a terminal device, if the load size indicated by the first signal is less than the actual identifier length of the terminal device, the terminal device needs to report the identifier multiple times to report the complete identifier. In this case, the network device sends the first signal and schedules at least one second signal. The network device can send a first signal, and after receiving the first signal, the terminal device generates a second signal according to the load size indicated by the first signal and sends the second signal to the network device. Since the load size indicated by the first signal is less than the actual identifier length of the terminal device, the second signal only includes a portion of the terminal device's identifier. At this time, the terminal device can send a first indication information to the network device, indicating that the terminal device has remaining identifiers that have not been reported. Upon receiving the first indication information... After receiving the first signal, the terminal device can send the first signal a second time. This second signal can indicate the load size, and it may indicate the same load size as the first signal. Alternatively, the second signal may not indicate the load size. When the terminal device receives the second signal, it generates the second signal based on the load size indicated by the first signal. The terminal device then sends the second signal to the network device a second time. If the terminal device still has unreported identifiers, it sends the first indication information to the network device a second time. The network device then sends the first signal a third time based on the received first indication information, and so on, until the terminal device determines that all its identifiers have been reported. Optionally, when the terminal device determines that all its identifiers have been reported, it can send an indication information to the network device indicating that there are no unreported identifiers. At this point, scheduling for the terminal device ends.

[0159] Based on the above embodiments, for multiple terminal devices, the multiple terminal devices may include a second type terminal device with a longer identifier length and a first type terminal device with a shorter identifier length. If the load indicated by the first signal is greater than that of the first type terminal device but less than that of the second type terminal device, the network device sends the first signal and schedules at least one second signal. This can be achieved by the first type terminal device only needing to send one second signal to report the complete identifier when the network device sends the first first signal, while the second type terminal device generates a first-time second signal in response to the first-time first signal. At this time, the second signal sent by the second type terminal device includes a portion of its identifier. After both the first and second type terminal devices send their first second signals, the first scheduling ends. (Optionally, the first type terminal device may send...) The network device sends an indication message indicating that all identifiers of the first type of terminal device have been reported. The second type of terminal device may send an indication message for the first time, indicating that there are still identifiers that have not been reported. After receiving the indication message sent by the first type of terminal device, the network device determines that the identifier transmission of the first type of terminal device is complete; after receiving the first indication message sent by the second type of terminal device, the network device determines that the identifier transmission of the second type of terminal device is not yet complete. The network device then sends a first signal for the second type of terminal device to send a second signal, and so on, until all identifiers of the second type of terminal device have been reported. (Optionally, the network device determines that the identifier transmission of the second type of terminal device is complete when it receives an indication message sent by the second type of terminal device indicating that there are no identifiers that have not been reported.)

[0160] Based on the above embodiments, for multiple terminal devices, the multiple terminal devices may include second-type terminal devices with longer identifier lengths and first-type terminal devices with shorter identifier lengths. If the load size indicated by the first signal is smaller than that of the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device, the network device sends the first signal and schedules at least one second signal. This can be done through one or more scheduling operations, scheduling terminal devices with different identifier lengths to send multiple second signals. Similarly, after the network device sends the first signal for the first time, the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device generate the second signal to be sent for the first time based on the load size indicated by the first signal received for the first time, and send the first signal to the network device for the first time. (Optionally, the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device send the first indication information to the network device for the first time, and the network device determines that the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device still have identifiers that have not been reported based on the first indication information received for the first time, or the network device can directly determine based on the second signal that there are terminal identifiers that have only been partially reported). After that, the network device can send the first signal for the second time to schedule the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device to send the second signal for the second time, until the network device sends the first signal for the Mth time, at which point the identification reporting of the first-type terminal device is completed, and the scheduling of the first-type terminal device is determined to be over. However, if the identification of the second type of terminal device has not been reported, the network device sends a first signal to schedule the second signal of the second type of terminal device at the M+1th time. Then, the second type of terminal device sends the second signal at the M+1th time according to the first signal at the M+1th time, until the second type of terminal device sends the second signal at the Nth time, at which point the reporting of all identifications of the second type of terminal device is completed.

[0161] Optionally, for multiple terminal devices, if the load size indicated by the first signal is greater than the actual identifier length of any of the multiple terminal devices, the network device sends the first signal and schedules at least one second signal. This can be done by scheduling multiple terminal devices to send the first signal once, i.e., the network device can send one first signal to schedule the second signals of multiple terminals. Since the identifier length of each of the multiple terminal devices is less than the load size indicated by the first signal, the second signal generated by each of the multiple terminal devices includes the complete identifier of that terminal device. Therefore, the multiple terminal devices only need to send one second signal to report the complete identifier. In this case, the network device sends one first signal, and each of the multiple terminal devices sends one second signal.

[0162] Optionally, for multiple terminal devices, they can be grouped and scheduled separately for different groups. In this case, multiple terminal devices can send a fifth signal to the network device. The fifth signal includes a temporary identifier for each terminal device. The network device can determine the range of identifier lengths for each terminal device based on these temporary identifiers and group them according to their identifier lengths. For example, the first group may include at least one terminal device with a shorter identifier length, and the second group may include at least one terminal device with a longer identifier length. The network device then sends a first signal and schedules at least one second signal. This can be achieved by the network device sending the first signal for the first time, in which the first signal includes a temporary identifier associated with a terminal device in the first group. At least one terminal device in the first group determines that the temporary identifier in the first received signal is associated with itself, and in response, generates a second signal and sends it to the network device. Subsequently, the network device sends the first signal to schedule the second signal for at least one terminal device in the second group. At least one terminal device in the second group determines that the temporary identifier in the second received signal is associated with itself, and in response, generates a second signal and sends it to the network device, thus completing the group scheduling. by Figure 2 For example, the fifth signal can be a random number message, which can be used by the terminal device to report a randomly generated random number. The random number can be used to temporarily identify the device's identifier (ID). The name of the fifth signal can also be D2R#1 (Device to Reader#1) message or Msg1 (Message 1).

[0163] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0164] The following is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in this disclosure. Embodiments of this disclosure relate to a communication method that can be executed by a communication system, for example by... Figure 1 The communication system 100 shown is executed. The communication system includes network device 101 and terminal device 102; Figure 1 The communication system shown is merely an example of the communication system used in the embodiments of this disclosure and is not intended to limit it. The embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to the aforementioned communication systems, and will not be described in detail here. The communication method may include the following specific methods:

[0165] Figure 2 This is one of the interactive schematic diagrams of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this disclosure, such as... Figure 2As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0166] Step 2101: The terminal device sends a fifth signal to the network device.

[0167] In some embodiments, the terminal device sends a fifth signal to the network device. When the terminal device is an A-IoT terminal device and the network device is an A-IoT network device, for example, when the terminal device is a device and the network device is a reader, the fifth signal of the device can be a D2R signal sent to the reader. The fifth signal can be a random number message, which can be used for the terminal device to report a randomly generated random number. The random number can be used to temporarily identify the device's identifier (ID). The name of the fifth signal can also be D2R#1 (Device to Reader#1) message or Msg1 (Message 1).

[0168] In some embodiments, for a network device, the method further includes: receiving a fifth signal, the fifth signal including a temporary identifier corresponding to the terminal device sending the fifth signal, the temporary identifier having a correspondence with the load size. Optionally, the network device can schedule a terminal device to send its identifier to the network device, the terminal device can send at least one second signal to the network device, each second signal including part or all of the identifier of the terminal device, the network device can use a first signal to schedule the terminal device to send the second signal, wherein one of the first signals can be used to schedule at least one terminal device to perform a transmission of the second signal once, wherein the value of the load size can be the load size indicated in the first signal, the indicated load size can be the maximum length of the identifier that can be included in the second signal when the terminal device sends the second signal once in response to the first signal. For example, if the network device sends a first signal to schedule terminal device A1 to send the first signal, and the load size indicated in the first signal is 32, then the maximum length of the identifier included in the second signal sent by the terminal device in response to the first signal is 32, that is, the identifier actually included in the second signal is less than or equal to 32.

[0169] In some embodiments, there may be one or more terminal devices, and all one or more terminal devices may send a fifth signal to the network device. The fifth signal sent by each terminal device may include a temporary identifier corresponding to the terminal device, such as the random number mentioned above (that is, different random numbers can be used as temporary identifiers for different terminal devices). The temporary identifier may indicate the identifier type of the terminal device, and the identifier type may be, for example, a long identifier type or a short identifier type.

[0170] In other words, when generating a temporary identifier, a terminal device can determine its own identifier type, and then generate a temporary identifier based on its identifier type. Specifically, when determining its identifier type, the terminal can first determine its identifier length, and then determine the identifier type based on that length. Optionally, multiple terminal devices can be categorized into different types based on their identifier types. For example, multiple terminal devices may include a first type of terminal device and a second type of terminal device, where the identifier length of the first type of terminal device falls within a first range, and the identifier length of the second type of terminal device falls within a second range. The identifier length of the first type of terminal device is shorter than that of the second type of terminal device. The first range and / or the second range are predefined by the protocol. Optionally, the first and second ranges can be predefined by the protocol. When generating a temporary identifier, the terminal device can first determine whether the identifier length falls within the first or second range. If the identifier length falls within the first range, the terminal's identifier type can be determined to be a short identifier type; if the identifier length falls within the second range, the terminal's identifier type can be determined to be a long identifier type. For example, the protocol can predefine a first range as (32, 96) and a second range as (97, 128). When the identifier length of terminal device A1 is 96, the identifier length of terminal device A1 belongs to the first range. At this time, the identifier type of terminal device A1 is the short identifier type, and terminal device A1 is a first type terminal device. When the identifier length of terminal device A2 is 128, the identifier length of terminal device A2 belongs to the second range. At this time, the identifier type of terminal device A2 is the long identifier type, and terminal device A2 is a second type terminal device.

[0171] In some embodiments, after determining the range to which its own identifier length belongs, the network device can generate a temporary identifier for the terminal device in the resource pool corresponding to that range. After receiving the temporary identifier of the terminal device, the network device can determine the identifier type of the terminal device based on the temporary identifier, that is, determine whether the terminal device is a first type terminal device or a second type terminal device. The network device can determine whether the terminal device is a first type terminal device or a second type terminal device based on the value of at least one bit included in the temporary identifier.

[0172] Example 1: The following is an example of using the highest bit of a temporary identifier to indicate the range of the identifier length of a terminal device (when the highest bit of the temporary identifier is 1, the identifier length of the terminal device belongs to the first range; when the highest bit of the temporary identifier is 0, the identifier length of the terminal device belongs to the second range): The protocol predefines the first range as (32, 96) and the second range as (97, 128). On the terminal device side, terminal device A1 can determine that its own identifier length is 96. Terminal device A1 determines that its own identifier length belongs to the first range. Therefore, when generating a temporary identifier, terminal device A1 can generate a temporary identifier in the resource pool corresponding to the first range. At this time, the highest bit of the generated temporary identifier is 1. Then, terminal device A1 carries the temporary identifier in the fifth signal. After receiving the temporary identifier of terminal device A1, the network device, in response to the highest bit of the temporary identifier being 1, determines that the identifier length of terminal device A1 belongs to the first range and determines that the terminal device is a first type of terminal device.

[0173] On the terminal device side, terminal device A2 can determine that its own identifier length is 128. Terminal device A2 determines that its own identifier length belongs to the second range. Therefore, when generating a temporary identifier, terminal device A2 can generate a temporary identifier in the resource pool corresponding to the second range. At this time, the highest bit of the generated temporary identifier has a value of 0. Then, terminal device A2 carries the temporary identifier in the fifth signal. After receiving the temporary identifier of terminal device A2, the network device, in response to the value of the highest bit of the temporary identifier being 0, determines that the identifier length of terminal device A2 belongs to the second range and determines that the terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0174] Example 2: The following is an example of using the least significant bit of a temporary identifier to indicate the range of the identifier length of a terminal device (when the least significant bit of the temporary identifier is 1, the identifier length of the terminal device belongs to the first range; when the least significant bit of the temporary identifier is 0, the identifier length of the terminal device belongs to the second range): The protocol predefines the first range as (32, 96) and the second range as (97, 128). On the terminal device side, terminal device A1 can determine that its own identifier length is 96. Terminal device A1 determines that its own identifier length belongs to the first range. Therefore, when generating a temporary identifier, terminal device A1 can generate a temporary identifier in the resource pool corresponding to the first range. At this time, the least significant bit of the generated temporary identifier is 1. Then, terminal device A1 carries the temporary identifier in the fifth signal. After receiving the temporary identifier of terminal device A1, the network device, in response to the least significant bit of the temporary identifier being 1, determines that the identifier length of terminal device A1 belongs to the first range and determines that the terminal device is a first type of terminal device.

[0175] On the terminal device side, terminal device A2 can determine that its own identifier length is 128. Terminal device A2 determines that its own identifier length belongs to the second range. Therefore, when generating a temporary identifier, terminal device A2 can generate a temporary identifier in the resource pool corresponding to the second range. At this time, the least significant bit of the generated temporary identifier has a value of 0. Then, terminal device A2 carries the temporary identifier in the fifth signal. After receiving the temporary identifier of terminal device A2, the network device, in response to the value of the least significant bit of the temporary identifier being 0, determines that the identifier length of terminal device A2 belongs to the second range and determines that the terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0176] Optionally, the length of the temporary identifier can be 16, that is, the temporary identifier can include 16 bits, or it can be other values. This disclosure does not limit this. Examples 1 and 2 above are examples of using one bit of the temporary identifier to indicate the range of the identifier length of the terminal device, but it is not limited thereto. Any bit of the multiple bits included in the temporary identifier can be used to indicate the range of the identifier length of the terminal device. For example, other bits between the most significant bit and the least significant bit can be used to indicate the range of the identifier length of the terminal device. The implementation method is the same as that in Examples 1 and 2 above. See Examples 1 and 2 above. It will not be repeated here. Alternatively, multiple bits included in the temporary identifier can be used to indicate the range of the identifier length of the terminal device. See Example 3 below.

[0177] Example 3: The following is an example of using the highest two bits of a temporary identifier to indicate the range of the identifier length of a terminal device (when the highest two bits of the temporary identifier are 00, the identifier length of the terminal device belongs to the first range; when the highest two bits of the temporary identifier are 01, the identifier length of the terminal device belongs to the second range): The protocol predefines the first range as (32, 96) and the second range as (97, 128). On the terminal device side, terminal device A1 can determine that its own identifier length is 96. Terminal device A1 determines that its own identifier length belongs to the first range. Therefore, when generating a temporary identifier, terminal device A1 can generate a temporary identifier in the resource pool corresponding to the first range. At this time, the highest two bits of the generated temporary identifier are 00. Then, terminal device A1 carries the temporary identifier in the fifth signal. After receiving the temporary identifier of terminal device A1, the network device, in response to the highest two bits of the temporary identifier being 00, determines that the identifier length of terminal device A1 belongs to the first range and determines that the terminal device is a first type of terminal device.

[0178] On the terminal device side, terminal device A2 can determine that its own identifier length is 128. Terminal device A2 determines that its own identifier length belongs to the second range. Therefore, when generating a temporary identifier, terminal device A2 can generate a temporary identifier in the resource pool corresponding to the second range. At this time, the highest two bits of the generated temporary identifier have a value of 01. Then, terminal device A2 carries the temporary identifier in the fifth signal. After receiving the temporary identifier of terminal device A2, the network device responds to the value of the highest bit of the temporary identifier being 01, determines that the identifier length of terminal device A2 belongs to the second range, and determines that the terminal device is a second type of terminal device.

[0179] Alternatively, when the highest two bits of the temporary identifier are 00, the identifier length of the terminal device belongs to the first range; when the highest two bits of the temporary identifier are 11, the identifier length of the terminal device belongs to the second range. Or, when the highest two bits of the temporary identifier are 10, the identifier length of the terminal device belongs to the first range; when the highest two bits of the temporary identifier are 11, the identifier length of the terminal device belongs to the second range, and so on. This disclosure does not limit this, and the implementation method is described in Example 3 above, which will not be repeated here. Furthermore, 3 bits can be used to indicate the range to which the identifier length of the terminal device belongs, 5 bits can be used to indicate the range to which the identifier length of the terminal device belongs, 16 bits can be used to indicate the range to which the identifier length of the terminal device belongs, and so on. This disclosure does not limit this, and the implementation method is described in Example 3 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0180] In some embodiments, the fifth signal may not include a temporary identifier. When the network device can determine the identifier type or identifier length of the terminal device according to other methods, the terminal may not report its own temporary identifier.

[0181] In some embodiments, the terminal device satisfies at least one of the following: it has the ability to collect ambient energy from environmental energy sources, including at least one of radio waves, light, motion, and heat; it has energy storage capacity, which is less than a preset value; it does not have the ability to independently generate or amplify signals; it is capable of signal transmission via backscattering; it has peak power consumption of 1 microwatt; and it has an initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) of 10. xppm, where x can be 3, 4, or 5. Optionally, the terminal device of this disclosure can be device 1 in the Ambient IoT device, that is, the terminal device of this disclosure can have a small energy storage capacity, no ability to independently generate or amplify signals, and transmit signals through backscattering. Its peak power consumption is about 1 microwatt (μW), the initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) is as high as 10xppm (x can be 4 or 5), and it has no downlink signal amplification or uplink signal amplification capabilities. The uplink transmission of the terminal device is achieved through backscattering on an externally provided carrier.

[0182] Step 2102: The network device sends the first signal.

[0183] In some embodiments, the network device may send a first signal. Optionally, the number of terminal devices may be one or more, that is, the network device may send a first signal to schedule one or more terminal devices to send a second signal.

[0184] When the terminal device is an A-IoT terminal device and the network device is an A-IoT network device, for example, the terminal device is a device and the network device is a reader, the reader can send a first signal and the device can receive the first signal. The first signal includes scheduling information for at least one second signal, that is, the first signal includes scheduling information for the second signals of multiple terminal devices. The first signal can be a random number response message. The first signal can be used to respond to the random number of the fifth signal. The name of the first signal can be R2D#2 (Reader to Device#2) or Msg2 (Message 2). The first signal is used to indicate the load size of the second signal.

[0185] In some embodiments, a network device can indicate the load size of a second signal through a first signal, and then a terminal can generate a second signal according to the load size of the second signal indicated by the network device. The length of the identifier of the terminal device included in the second signal sent by the terminal device is less than or equal to the load size indicated by the first information field. That is, the load size of the second signal actually generated by the terminal is less than or equal to the load size of the second signal indicated by the first signal. Therefore, the first signal can be used to indicate the maximum load of the second signal sent by the terminal device in a single transmission.

[0186] In some embodiments, the load size includes any of the following: the minimum of a plurality of load sizes in a load set, the load set being predefined by the protocol; the maximum of a plurality of load sizes in a load set, the load set being predefined by the protocol; or a reference load size predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device.

[0187] In some embodiments, the protocol may predefine a load set, and the load set may be determined according to the protocol predefinement. The load set may include multiple load values. Then, the network device may determine the load value of the second signal indicated by the first signal based on the multiple load values ​​in the load set. For example, the maximum value in the load set may be determined as the load value of the second signal indicated by the first signal, or the minimum value in the load set may be determined as the load value of the second signal indicated by the first signal.

[0188] In some embodiments, the protocol may predefine a reference load size, and the network device may directly determine that the load value of the second signal indicated by the first signal is the reference load size predefines by the protocol, or the network device may directly configure a reference load size for the terminal device.

[0189] Optionally, the first signal includes multiple temporary identifiers. These temporary identifiers may all be associated with a first type of terminal device, or all with a second type of terminal device, or some may be associated with a first type of terminal device and the remainder with a second type of terminal device. For example, if the first signal includes multiple temporary identifiers 1 to 5, then temporary identifiers 1 to 5 may all be associated with a first type of terminal device; or temporary identifiers 1 to 5 may all be associated with a second type of terminal device; or temporary identifiers 1 to 3 may be associated with a first type of terminal device, and temporary identifiers 4 to 5 with a second type of terminal device.

[0190] In some embodiments, the terminal devices that need to be scheduled to send the second signal can be determined based on the association between the temporary identifiers included in the first signal and the terminal devices. For example, if the first signal includes temporary identifiers 1 to 5, and all of temporary identifiers 1 to 5 are associated with a first type of terminal device, then the network device will only schedule the first type of terminal device to send the second signal when sending the first signal. If all of temporary identifiers 1 to 5 are associated with a second type of terminal device, then the network device will only schedule the second type of terminal device to send the second signal when sending the first signal. If some of the five temporary identifiers are associated with a first type of terminal device and the rest are associated with a second type of terminal device, for example, temporary identifiers 1 to 3 are associated with a first type of terminal device and temporary identifiers 4 to 5 are associated with a second type of terminal device, then the network device can simultaneously schedule both the first and second type of terminal devices to send the second signal when sending the first signal. Optionally, each temporary identifier can be a random number of length 16.

[0191] In some embodiments, the network device can schedule different terminal devices multiple times based on the temporary identifier of the terminal obtained in step 2101. In other words, the network device can group multiple terminal devices according to the temporary identifier and schedule the terminal devices in groups. For example, multiple terminal devices can be divided into a first group and a second group. For instance, the first group consists of terminal devices with an identifier length of a first range, such as short identifier terminal devices, and the second group consists of terminal devices with an identifier length of a second range, such as long identifier terminal devices. When the network device sends a first signal for the first time, it can be used to schedule at least one terminal device in the first group to send a second signal, or when the network device sends a first signal for the first time, it can be used to schedule at least one terminal device in the second group to send a second signal. For example, if the first group includes at least one first-type terminal device and the second group includes at least one second-type terminal device, then when the network device sends a first signal for the first time to schedule at least one first-type terminal device in the first group to send a second signal, the first signal may include at least one temporary identifier, and the at least one temporary identifier included in the first signal is associated with at least one first-type terminal device; when the network device sends a first signal for the first time to schedule at least one second-type terminal device in the second group to send a second signal, the first signal may include at least one temporary identifier, and the at least one temporary identifier included in the first signal is associated with at least two first-type terminal devices.

[0192] Step 2103: The terminal device sends a second signal to the network device.

[0193] In some embodiments, the first signal is used to schedule at least one second signal, including: the first signal includes at least one temporary identifier, the at least one temporary identifier being associated with at least one second signal; and / or, the at least one temporary identifier being associated with at least one first type terminal device and / or at least one second type terminal device.

[0194] In some embodiments, optionally, when a terminal device receives a first signal, it can determine whether the terminal device is associated with a temporary identifier based on the temporary identifier in the first signal. For example, if the first type of terminal device determines that the temporary identifier is associated with the first type of terminal device, the first type of terminal device can generate a second signal based on the first signal and send the second signal. If the first type of terminal device determines that the temporary identifier is not associated with the first type of terminal device, the first type of terminal device ignores the current first signal and does not generate a second signal until the temporary identifier included in the received first signal is associated with the first type of terminal device.

[0195] For example, temporary identifiers 1-5 are associated with a first type of terminal device, and temporary identifiers 6-10 are associated with a second type of terminal device. When the first signal includes temporary identifiers 1, 2, and 3, the first type of terminal device generates and sends a second signal in response to the first signal, while the second type of terminal device receives the first signal but ignores it without processing. When the first signal includes temporary identifiers 6 and 7, the second type of terminal device generates and sends a second signal in response to the first signal, while the first type of terminal device receives and ignores it without processing. When the first signal includes temporary identifiers 1, 2, and 8, the first type of terminal device generates and sends a second signal in response to the first signal, while the second type of terminal device generates and sends a second signal in response to the first signal.

[0196] In some embodiments, the network device can allocate resources for transmitting a second signal to the terminal device. For example, it can indicate the available time-domain resources and frequency-domain resources when the terminal device transmits the second signal through a first signal. Different terminal devices may use different frequency-domain resources to transmit the second signal, or different terminal devices may use different time-frequency-domain resources to transmit the second signal; or, the scheduling information of the time-domain resources included in the first signal is the same, but the scheduling information of the frequency-domain resources included in the first signal is different, or the scheduling information of the time-frequency-domain resources included in the first signal is different. That is, different terminal devices can use different frequency-domain resources but the same time-domain resources to transmit the second signal, achieving frequency division multiplexing and improving resource transmission efficiency; or they can use different time-domain resources but the same frequency-domain resources to transmit the second signal, achieving time division multiplexing and improving resource utilization; or they can use different time-domain resources and different frequency-domain resources to transmit the second signal, reducing resource conflicts.

[0197] Step 2104: The network device sends the first signal.

[0198] Optionally, when all temporary identifiers included in a first signal sent by a terminal device are associated with a first type of terminal device or with a second type of terminal device, multiple terminal devices can be scheduled in batches according to their type. That is, multiple terminal devices can be divided into long-identifier type terminals and short-identifier type terminals according to the identifier length of the terminal devices. Then, long-identifier type terminals and short-identifier type terminals can be scheduled uniformly. For example, when the first signal in step 2102 is used to schedule at least one first type of terminal device in the first group to send a second signal, the first signal sent in step 2104 can be used to schedule at least one second type of terminal device in the second group; when the first signal in step 2102 is used to schedule at least one second type of terminal device in the second group to send a second signal, the first signal sent in step 2104 can be used to schedule at least one first type of terminal device in the first group.

[0199] Step 2105: The terminal device sends a second signal to the network device.

[0200] In some embodiments, optionally, when a terminal device receives a first signal, it can determine whether the terminal device is associated with a temporary identifier based on the temporary identifier in the first signal. For example, if the first type of terminal device determines that the temporary identifier is associated with the first type of terminal device, the first type of terminal device can generate a second signal based on the first signal and send the second signal. If the first type of terminal device determines that the temporary identifier is not associated with the first type of terminal device, the first type of terminal device ignores the current first signal and does not generate a second signal until the temporary identifier included in the received first signal is associated with the first type of terminal device.

[0201] Optionally, when all temporary identifiers included in a first signal sent by a terminal device are associated with either a first type of terminal device or a second type of terminal device, multiple terminal devices can be scheduled in batches according to their type. That is, multiple terminal devices can be divided into long-identifier type terminals and short-identifier type terminals according to their identifier length. Then, long-identifier type terminals and short-identifier type terminals can be scheduled uniformly. For example, when the first signal in step 2102 is used to schedule at least one first-type terminal device in the first group to send a second signal, step 2103 is for at least one first-type terminal device in the first group... In step 2104, the first signal sent to the network device can be used to schedule at least one second-type terminal device in the second group. In step 2105, at least one second-type terminal device in the second group sends a second signal to the network device. When the first signal in step 2102 is used to schedule at least one second-type terminal device in the second group to send a second signal, in step 2103, at least two first-type terminal devices in the second group send a second signal to the network device. In step 2104, the first signal sent can be used to schedule at least one first-type terminal device in the first group. In step 2105, at least one first-type terminal device in the first group sends a second signal to the network device.

[0202] In the case of batch scheduling, the load indicated in the first signal used to schedule terminals of different identifier types is different. That is, the load indicated by the first signal in steps 2102 and 2104 is different. The load indicated by the first signal used to schedule the second signal of the long identifier type terminal is different from the load indicated by the first signal used to schedule the second signal of the short identifier type terminal. For example, the identifier length of the short identifier type terminal is less than or equal to 96, and the identifier length of the long identifier type terminal is greater than 96. In this case, the maximum identifier length of the short identifier type terminal is 96. The load indicated by the first signal of the short identifier type terminal can be determined according to the maximum identifier length of the short identifier type terminal so that the short identifier terminal device can report the complete identifier by sending the second signal only once. Similarly, the load indicated by the first signal of the long identifier type terminal can be determined according to the maximum identifier length of the long identifier type terminal so that the long identifier terminal device can report the complete identifier by sending the second signal only once.

[0203] Optionally, the network device can schedule at least one terminal device by sending a first signal once. For example, it can schedule by type. When the network device sends a first signal once, it can schedule at least one terminal device of the first type to send a second signal. The next time the first signal is sent, it can schedule at least one terminal device of the first type to send a second signal. For example, after the network device determines the identification type of multiple terminal devices according to the temporary identifier in step 2101, it can schedule different types of terminal devices separately.

[0204] For example, such as Figure 11 As shown, device1 is a second-type terminal device with an identifier length less than or equal to 96, and device2 is a first-type terminal device with an identifier length greater than 96 and less than or equal to 128. Therefore, the fifth signal reported by device1 in step 2101 is Msg1#1, and the fifth signal reported by device1 in step 2101 is Msg1#2. The network device determines that device1 is a second-type terminal device based on Msg1#1 and that device2 is a first-type terminal device based on Msg1#2. Then, the terminal devices can first send a first signal indicating a load size of 96 to schedule the first-type terminal device device2, and then send another first signal indicating a load size of 128 to schedule the second-type terminal device device1. In batch scheduling, each first signal sent can be used to schedule at least one first-type terminal device or at least one second-type terminal device.

[0205] The above describes the case where multiple terminal devices are divided into two groups. If multiple terminal devices are divided into three groups, then the first signal sent in step 2102 is used to schedule at least one terminal device in the first group. In step 2103, at least one terminal device in the first group sends a second signal in response to the first signal sent for the first time. In step 2104, the network device sends the first signal for the second time. In step 2105, at least one terminal device in the second group sends a second signal in response to the first signal sent for the second time. After step 2105, step 2104 can be executed again, and the network device sends the first signal for the third time to schedule at least one terminal device in the third group to send a second signal. After that, step 2105 can be executed again, and in response to the network device sending the first signal for the third time, at least one terminal device in the third group sends a third signal.

[0206] If multiple terminal devices are divided into N groups, then the first signal sent in step 2102 is used to schedule at least one terminal device in the first group. In step 2103, at least one terminal device in the first group sends a second signal in response to the first signal sent for the first time. In step 2104, the network device sends the first signal for the second time. In step 2105, at least one terminal device in the second group sends a second signal in response to the first signal sent for the second time. After step 2105, step 2104 can be executed again, and the network device sends the first signal for the third time to schedule at least one terminal device in the third group to send a second signal. After that, step 2105 can be executed again, and in response to the network device sending the first signal for the third time, at least one terminal device in the third group sends a third signal. And so on, repeating steps 2104 and 2105 until the network device sends the first signal for the Nth time, and at least one terminal device in the Nth group sends a second signal in response to the first signal sent for the Nth time. The identification reporting of the Nth group of terminal devices is completed.

[0207] The communication method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps 2101 to 2105. For example, steps 2101+2102+2103+2104+2105 may be implemented as independent embodiments, and steps 2101+2102+2103 and 2102+2103 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0208] In some embodiments, steps 2101, 2104, and 2105 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0209] Figure 3 A second schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown below. Figure 3 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0210] Step 3101: The network device sends the first signal.

[0211] Optionally, the network device can schedule a terminal device to send its identifier to the network device. The terminal device can send at least one second signal to the network device. Each second signal may include part or all of the identifier of the terminal device. The network device can use a first signal to schedule the terminal device to send the second signal. One of the first signals can be used to schedule at least one terminal device to perform a transmission of the second signal once. The value of the load size can be the load size indicated in the first signal. The indicated load size can be the maximum length of the identifier that can be included in the second signal when the terminal device sends the second signal once in response to the first signal. For example, if the network device sends a first signal to schedule terminal device A1 to send the first signal, and the load size indicated in the first signal is 32, then the maximum length of the identifier included in the second signal sent by the terminal device in response to the first signal is 32, that is, the identifier actually included in the second signal is less than or equal to 32.

[0212] In some embodiments, the network device may send a first signal. Optionally, the number of terminal devices may be one or more, that is, the network device may send a first signal to schedule one or more terminal devices to send a second signal.

[0213] When the terminal device is an A-IoT terminal device and the network device is an A-IoT network device, for example, the terminal device is a device and the network device is a reader, the reader can send a first signal and the device can receive the first signal. The first signal includes scheduling information for at least one second signal, that is, the first signal includes scheduling information for the second signals of multiple terminal devices. That is, the first signal can be a random number response message. The first signal can be used to respond to the random number of the fifth signal. The name of the first signal can be R2D#2 or Msg2. The first signal is used to indicate the load size of the second signal.

[0214] In some embodiments, the load size includes any of the following: the minimum of a plurality of load sizes in a load set, the load set being predefined by the protocol; the maximum of a plurality of load sizes in a load set, the load set being predefined by the protocol; or a reference load size predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device.

[0215] In some embodiments, the protocol may predefine a load set, and the load set may be determined according to the protocol predefinement. The load set may include multiple load values. Then, the network device may determine the load value (value of the first information field) of the second signal indicated by the first information field according to the multiple load values ​​in the load set. For example, the maximum value in the load set may be determined to be the load value of the second signal indicated by the first information field, or the minimum value in the load set may be determined to be the load value of the second signal indicated by the first information field.

[0216] In some embodiments, the protocol may predefine a reference load size, and the network device may directly determine that the load value of the second signal indicated by the first information field is the reference load size predefines by the protocol, or the network device may directly configure a reference load size for the terminal device.

[0217] Step 3102: The terminal device sends a second signal to the network device.

[0218] In some embodiments, a network device can indicate the load size of a second signal through a first signal, and then a terminal can generate a second signal according to the load size of the second signal indicated by the network device. The length of the identifier of the terminal device included in the second signal sent by the terminal device is less than or equal to the load size indicated by the first information field. That is, the load size of the second signal actually generated by the terminal is less than or equal to the load size of the second signal indicated by the first signal. Therefore, the first signal can be used to indicate the maximum load of the second signal sent by the terminal device in a single transmission.

[0219] In some embodiments, the network device may receive at least one second signal, and receiving at least one second signal includes: receiving at least one second signal sent by a first type of terminal device according to the load size, and / or receiving at least one second signal sent by a second type of terminal device according to the load size, wherein the identifier length of the first type of terminal device is within a first range, the identifier length of the second type of terminal device is within a second range, the identifier length of the first type of terminal device is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device, and the first range and / or the second range are predefined by the protocol.

[0220] In other words, after receiving the first signal, the terminal device can generate a second signal based on the load size indicated by the first signal and send the second signal, wherein the load size indicated by the first signal is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; the second signal sent by the first type of terminal device includes the complete identifier of the first type of terminal device; the second signal sent by the second type of terminal device includes: the first part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device.

[0221] In some embodiments, when the payload size indicated by the first signal is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device, and the payload size indicated by the first signal is greater than the identifier length of the first type of terminal device, the second signal generated by the first type of terminal device is allowed to include the complete identifier of the terminal device. In this case, the first type of terminal device only needs to send the second signal once to complete the reporting of the complete identifier. The second signal sent by the terminal device may include the first indication information (complete identifier) ​​of the terminal device. The network device can determine whether there are any remaining identifiers that have not been reported by the terminal device that sent the second signal based on the first indication information included in the second signal. For example, the second signal may contain a field (segment) to indicate whether there are any remaining identifiers that have not been reported by the terminal device. When there are no remaining identifiers that have not been reported, the complete identifier reporting of the terminal device is completed.

[0222] In some embodiments, when the load size indicated by the first signal is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device, and the load size indicated by the first signal is greater than the identifier length of the first type of terminal device, a single second signal cannot include all the identifiers of the second type of terminal device, and the identifiers need to be split and sent separately. The second signal may include the first part of the identifier of the terminal device. Optionally, the second signal sent by the second type of terminal device may include indication information indicating that there are remaining identifiers that have not been reported.

[0223] In some embodiments, the second signal may not include the first indication information.

[0224] Step 3103: The terminal device sends the first instruction information to the network device.

[0225] In some embodiments, a first indication information sent by a second type of terminal device is received. The first indication information is used to indicate that a second part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device is to be sent. The first indication information may be carried in a second signal for transmission. For example, the second signal may contain a field (segment) to indicate whether there are any remaining identifiers of the terminal device that have not yet been reported. Alternatively, the first indication information may be sent independently of the second signal, that is, the first indication information may not be included in the second signal. That is, steps 3102 and 3103 may be steps that occur simultaneously or steps that occur sequentially.

[0226] For example, if the entire identifier of the terminal device is split into three segments, the terminal device needs to send the second signal three times to send the complete identifier. After sending the second signal once in step 3102, the first segment of the identifier is reported, and the first indication information can be sent to the network-side device to indicate that there is a remaining identifier that needs to be transmitted.

[0227] In some embodiments, this step is optional. When the network device determines whether the terminal device has reported a complete identifier using other methods (e.g., if there is only one load size in the load set, the actual identifier length of at least one terminal device may be the load size in the load set; for example, if the load set only includes one load size of 96, after the network device receives the second signal from the terminal device, it can determine whether the identifier length included in the second signal is 96. If it is equal to 96, then the terminal has completed reporting the identifier), this step can be omitted.

[0228] Step 3104: The network device sends a third signal.

[0229] In some embodiments, when a network device receives a first indication message indicating that a second part of the identifier of a second type of terminal device is to be sent, it indicates that the second type of terminal device still has some identifiers that have not been reported. At this time, the network device can send a third signal to schedule the second type of terminal device to continue reporting the remaining identifiers.

[0230] Optionally, the third signal and the first signal have the same signal type, both being R2D signals, or both being Msg2.

[0231] In some embodiments, the signal first sent by the network device for scheduling a certain terminal device as a second signal is the first signal. The signal sent by the network device again to schedule the unified terminal device can be a third signal. The third signal is used to indicate the load size of the fourth signal, where the fourth signal is a signal containing a partial identifier that the terminal device reports again in response to the third signal. For example, for the same terminal device A1, the first signal sent by the network device as Msg2 (the second signal for scheduling A1) is the first signal. The terminal device sends Msg3 containing the identifier in response to the first signal as the second signal. If the second signal sent by A1 does not include the complete identifier of A1, the network device can send Msg2 again. In this case, the resent Msg2 is the third signal, and the terminal device sends Msg3 containing the remaining identifier based on the third signal as the fourth signal. That is, the third signal can be a first signal that has not been sent for the first time, the fourth signal can be a second signal that has not been sent for the first time, the third signal can be the first signal sent for the Nth time, the third signal can be the Msg2 sent for the Nth time, the fourth signal can be the second signal sent for the Nth time, and the fourth signal can be the Msg3 sent for the Nth time, where N is greater than 1.

[0232] Optionally, the fourth signal and the second signal have the same signal type, both being D2R signals, or both being Msg3.

[0233] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a third signal, wherein the third signal is used to schedule at least one fourth signal of at least one second-type terminal device, the third signal being used to indicate the load size of the fourth signal; and receiving a fourth signal sent by at least one second-type terminal device, the fourth signal including a second portion of the identifier of the second-type terminal device.

[0234] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a third signal, wherein the third signal is used to schedule at least one fourth signal of at least one second-type terminal device, the third signal being used to indicate a temporary identifier of the second-type terminal device, the temporary identifier corresponding to a load size; and receiving a fourth signal sent by at least one second-type terminal device, the fourth signal including a second portion of the identifier of the second-type terminal device. Optionally, before sending the temporary identifier with the third signal, the terminal device may send / report the temporary identifier to the network device, for example, via Msg1 (Message 1).

[0235] In some embodiments, the third signal can indicate the payload size of the fourth signal. That is, the retransmitted Msg2 can be the same as the first signal, both indicating the payload size of the signal reporting the identifier by the terminal. The payload size indicated by the third signal can be the same as or different from the payload size indicated by the first signal. The payload size indicated by the third signal can be related to the remaining unreported identifier length after the terminal device sends the first signal. For example, the identifier length of terminal device A1 is 96, the protocol predefined payload set is {32, 96}, and the payload size indicated by the first signal is the minimum value 32 in the payload set. At this time, terminal device A1 in the second signal... The reported identifier length is 32, and the remaining identifier length is 64. When the network device receives the second signal, it determines that the terminal device A1 still has a remaining identifier that has not been reported according to the first indication information corresponding to the second signal. It can be determined that the remaining identifier length is 64. Therefore, the network device can indicate the load size as 64 in the third signal. The fourth signal sent by the terminal device in response to the third signal includes an identifier length of 64. It can be realized that the load size indicated by the third signal can be determined according to the actual identifier length of the terminal device. It can be realized that the reporting of the remaining identifier length can be completed with only one fourth signal, so as to save transmission resources.

[0236] In some embodiments, the third signal may not indicate the load size of the fourth signal. The third signal can be used to indicate a temporary identifier of the second type of terminal device. The temporary identifier corresponds to the load size. Optionally, after receiving the fifth signal from the terminal device, the network device can generate and send the first signal. In this case, the load size indicated by the first signal may be unrelated to the temporary identifier of the terminal device. For example, the load size indicated by the first signal may include any of the following: the minimum value of multiple load sizes in a load set, where the load set is predefined by the protocol; the maximum value of multiple load sizes in a load set, where the load set is predefined by the protocol; or a reference load size predefined by the protocol or pre-configured by the network device. Subsequently, the terminal device can generate a second signal according to the load size indicated by the first signal. If the second signal does not include the complete identifier of the terminal device, the network device can generate a third signal based on the temporary identifier of the terminal device to schedule the terminal device to send the fourth signal.

[0237] Optionally, the aforementioned load set can be predefined by the protocol or indicated by the network device. In other words, the load set used to determine the load size can be predefined by the protocol. Alternatively, the load set used to determine the load size can be configured or indicated by the network device. The network device can configure or indicate the load set according to the protocol predefined set. For example, if the protocol predefines a large load set, the network device can configure or indicate one or more subsets of it. In other words, the protocol can predefine the load set, and when configuring the load set, the network device can select a subset from the predefined load set as the load set used by the current scheduling terminal device for reporting the identifier.

[0238] Optionally, the payload set can be determined based on all or part of the lengths of multiple identifiers corresponding to the identifiers of at least one terminal device. Optionally, the identifiers of the at least one terminal device can be predefined by the protocol.

[0239] Among them, when the third signal does not indicate the load size of the fourth signal, the third signal can trigger the terminal device to report the fourth signal.

[0240] In some embodiments, this step is optional. When the second signal includes the complete identifier of the terminal device, or when the network device uses multiple first signals to schedule the terminal device to send multiple second signals, this step can be omitted.

[0241] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0242] Step 3105: The terminal device sends a fourth signal to the network device.

[0243] In some embodiments, after receiving a third signal, the terminal device may generate a fourth signal based on the third signal, the fourth signal including a partial identifier of the second type.

[0244] In some embodiments, the third signal may indicate the load size of the fourth signal, and the terminal device may generate the fourth signal based on the load size of the fourth signal indicated by the third signal, wherein the identifier length included in the fourth signal is less than or equal to the load size indicated by the third signal.

[0245] In some embodiments, the third signal may not indicate the load size of the fourth signal. The third signal may be used to indicate a temporary identifier of the second type of terminal device, and the temporary identifier has a corresponding relationship with the load size. Optionally, the terminal device can determine the load size based on the temporary identifier included in the third signal. Optionally, the correspondence between the temporary identifier and the load size may be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0246] In this scenario, when the third signal does not indicate the load size of the fourth signal, the third signal can still trigger the terminal device to report the fourth signal. In this case, the load size of the fourth signal can be understood in accordance with the first signal; that is, the load size indicated by the first signal can be considered the load size of the fourth signal indicated by the network device. After receiving the temporary identifier from the terminal device, the network device can determine that the load size corresponding to the temporary identifier is a fixed value. Subsequently, the network device can indicate the load size only when sending Msg2 for the first time; it does not need to indicate the load size on subsequent Msg2 transmissions. Since a terminal device has only one temporary identifier, the resources allocated by the network device for uploading the identifier to the terminal through the first signal correspond to the terminal device's temporary identifier. Therefore, the terminal can determine the resources used to upload the second part of the identifier based on the temporary identifier indicated by the third signal. In other words, the terminal device can determine the resources configured by the network device for transmitting Msg3 based on the temporary identifier, and then transmit the fourth signal on the corresponding resources.

[0247] In some embodiments, this step is optional. When the second signal includes the complete identifier of the terminal device, or when the network device uses multiple first signals to schedule the terminal device to send multiple second signals, this step can be omitted.

[0248] Optionally, taking the reporting of the terminal device's identifier in three segments as an example, in this example, the terminal device needs to send the second signal three times to send the complete identifier. After the network device executes step 3101, and the terminal sends the second signal once in step 3102, it reports the first segment of the identifier. It can then send the first indication information to the network device in step 3103, indicating that there are remaining identifiers that need to be transmitted. Then, steps 3104 and 3105 can be executed once. In step 3105, the terminal device reports the second segment of the identifier through the fourth signal. It can then send the first indication information to the network device again in step 3103, indicating that there are remaining identifiers that need to be transmitted. Then, steps 3104 and 3105 can be executed again. Thus, the complete identifier of the terminal device is reported to the network device in three segments.

[0249] Optionally, taking the reporting of the terminal device's identifier in N segments as an example, in this example, the terminal device needs to send the second signal N times to send the complete identifier. After the network device executes step 3101, and the terminal sends the second signal once in step 3102, it reports the first segment of the identifier. It can then send the first indication information to the network device in step 3103, indicating that there are remaining identifiers that need to be transmitted. Then, steps 3104 and 3105 can be executed once. In step 3105, the terminal device reports the second segment of the identifier through the fourth signal. It can then send the first indication information to the network device again in step 3103, indicating that there are remaining identifiers that need to be transmitted. Then, steps 3104 and 3105 can be executed again. And so on, repeating steps 3103, 3104, and 3105 N-1 times until the terminal device reports the complete identifier to the network device.

[0250] For example, such as Figure 9 The diagram illustrates an example of a two-stage scheduling approach. The first signal indicates a load size of 96, the identifier length of device1 is 128, and the identifier length of device2 is 96. After the network device sends the first signal (the first Msg2), both devices can report the second signal. The identifier length in the second signals of both devices is 96. At this point, device2 has completed reporting its identifier (Msg3), and device1 has reported the first part of its identifier (Msg3#1). Device1 still has a second part of its identifier with a length of 32 to report, so the network device can send the third signal (the second Msg2). The third signal indicates a load size of 32. Afterward, device1 can send the fourth signal (Msg3#2) to report the second part of its identifier. At this point, the identifier length included in the fourth signal is 32.

[0251] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0252] The communication method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps 3101 to 3105. For example, steps 3101+3102+3103+3104+3105 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 3101+3102+3103 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 3101+3102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto.

[0253] In some embodiments, steps 3103, 3104, and 3105 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0254] Figure 4 This is the third schematic diagram of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this disclosure, as shown below. Figure 4 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0255] Step 4101: The network device sends the first signal.

[0256] In some embodiments, the load size indicated by the first signal is greater than or equal to the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; the length of the identifier of the first type of terminal device included in the second signal sent by the first type of terminal device, and / or the length of the identifier of the second type of terminal device included in the second signal sent by the second type of terminal device, is less than or equal to the load size indicated by the first signal.

[0257] In some embodiments, the network device may send a first signal only once. For example, when at least one terminal device that needs to be scheduled can complete the reporting of the complete identifier, the network device may send a first signal only once. For example, the load size indicated by the first signal may be the maximum value of multiple load sizes in the load set. In this case, the actual identifier length of the at least one terminal device that needs to be scheduled is less than or equal to the load size indicated by the first signal. That is, when the load size indicated by the first signal is greater than or equal to the identifier length of the second type of terminal device, the complete identifier can be scheduled to be sent to the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device by sending a first signal only once. That is, the second signal sent by the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device includes the complete identifier of the terminal device. When the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device send a second signal only once, for example, when the load size indicated by the first signal is the maximum value of multiple load sizes in the load set, since the identifier length of the second type of terminal device with the longest identifier length among at least one second type of terminal device is less than or equal to the maximum value of multiple load sizes in the load set, the terminal device can complete the reporting of the identifier by sending a second signal only once. This can realize the scheduling of multiple Msg3 through one Msg2, thereby reducing the transmission overhead of Msg2.

[0258] Step 4102: The terminal device sends a second signal to the network device.

[0259] In some embodiments, a network device can indicate the load size of a second signal through a first signal, and then a terminal can generate a second signal according to the load size of the second signal indicated by the network device. The length of the identifier of the terminal device included in the second signal sent by the terminal device is less than or equal to the load size indicated by the first information field. That is, the load size of the second signal actually generated by the terminal is less than or equal to the load size of the second signal indicated by the first signal. Therefore, the first signal can be used to indicate the maximum load of the second signal sent by the terminal device in a single transmission.

[0260] In some embodiments, since the load size indicated by the first signal is greater than or equal to the identifier length of the second type of terminal device, both the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device can complete the reporting of the complete identifier by sending the second signal once. That is, the complete identifier of each device is included in the second signal sent by the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device.

[0261] For example, the identifier length of the first type of terminal device A1 is 96, the identifier length of the second type of terminal device A2 is 128, and the load size indicated by the first signal is 128. Then, the second signal generated by A1 in response to the first signal can include an identifier length of up to 128. However, since the identifier length of A1 is less than 128, the second signal can include the complete identifier length of A1. That is, the actual identifier length included in the second signal generated by A1 is 96. The second signal generated by A2 in response to the first signal can include an identifier length of up to 128. The identifier length of A2 is actually 128. Therefore, the second signal can include the complete identifier length of A2. That is, the actual identifier length included in the second signal generated by A2 is 128. Thus, terminal devices A1 and A2 can report the complete identifier by sending the second signal once.

[0262] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0263] Figure 17 The fifth schematic diagram of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this disclosure is as follows: Figure 17 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0264] Step 1701: The network device sends the first signal.

[0265] In some embodiments, a network device may schedule multiple second signals of different terminal devices by sending multiple first signals. Each terminal device reports a partial identifier through each second signal, and the partial identifiers of each second signal sent by each terminal device constitute the complete identifier of the terminal device.

[0266] For example, step 1701 may be sending a first signal to at least one terminal for the first time.

[0267] Optionally, the network device can schedule a terminal device to send its identifier to the network device. The terminal device can send at least one second signal to the network device. Each second signal may include part or all of the identifier of the terminal device. The network device can use a first signal to schedule the terminal device to send the second signal. One of the first signals can be used to schedule at least one terminal device to perform a transmission of the second signal once. The value of the load size can be the load size indicated in the first signal. The indicated load size can be the maximum length of the identifier that can be included in the second signal when the terminal device sends the second signal once in response to the first signal. For example, if the network device sends a first signal to schedule terminal device A1 to send the first signal, and the load size indicated in the first signal is 32, then the maximum length of the identifier included in the second signal sent by the terminal device in response to the first signal is 32, that is, the identifier actually included in the second signal is less than or equal to 32.

[0268] In some embodiments, the network device may send a first signal. Optionally, the number of terminal devices may be one or more, that is, the network device may send a first signal once and schedule one or more terminal devices to send a second signal.

[0269] In some embodiments, the load size includes any of the following: the minimum of a plurality of load sizes in a load set, the load set being predefined by the protocol; the maximum of a plurality of load sizes in a load set, the load set being predefined by the protocol; or a reference load size predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device.

[0270] Step 1702: The terminal device sends a second signal to the network device.

[0271] In some embodiments, the terminal device may generate a second signal in response to the first signal first sent by the network device in step 1701. For example, the second signal sent by the terminal device in step 1702 may be a second signal first sent by the terminal device in response to the first signal first sent by the network device.

[0272] In some embodiments, the network device can indicate the load size of the second signal through the first signal, and the terminal can generate the second signal according to the load size of the second signal indicated by the network device. The first signal can be used to indicate the maximum load of the second signal sent by the terminal device in a single transmission.

[0273] In some embodiments, the network device may receive at least one second signal, and receiving at least one second signal includes: receiving at least one second signal sent by a first type of terminal device according to the load size, and / or receiving at least one second signal sent by a second type of terminal device according to the load size, wherein the identifier length of the first type of terminal device is within a first range, the identifier length of the second type of terminal device is within a second range, the identifier length of the first type of terminal device is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device, and the first range and / or the second range are predefined by the protocol.

[0274] Step 1703: The network device sends the first signal.

[0275] In some embodiments, sending a first signal includes sending N first signals, each first signal being used to schedule the transmission of a second signal by a first type of terminal device and / or a second type of terminal device. That is, for a terminal device, the network device can send N first signals to schedule the terminal device to send N second signals, wherein each of the N second signal transmissions includes a partial identifier of the terminal device, and the partial identifiers included in the N second signals constitute the complete identifier of the terminal device.

[0276] For example, steps 1701-1702 involve the network device scheduling the terminal device to send a second signal for the first time. After step 1702 is completed, step 1703 can be executed, whereby the network device sends the first signal for the second time, and the network device schedules the terminal device to send the second signal for the second time. When the scheduling count is N, the network device can send the first signal N times, meaning step 1703 can be executed repeatedly. Therefore, step 1703 can be the Nth time the network device sends the first signal, and it can be a non-first time the network device sends the first signal. When the scheduling count is N, after each first signal is sent, the network device needs to receive a second signal from at least one terminal device. After receiving the second signal from at least one terminal device, step 1703 can be executed again, meaning the network device can continue sending the next first signal.

[0277] In some embodiments, the first signal sent a second time is used to schedule the terminal device to send a second signal a second time. The first signal sent a second time may indicate the load size. The first signal sent a second time may indicate the same load size as the first signal sent a first time. Alternatively, the first signal sent a second time may not indicate the load size. In this case, when the terminal device receives the second signal sent a second time, it generates the second signal sent a second time according to the load size indicated by the first signal sent a first time. After that, the terminal device may send the second signal to the network device a second time.

[0278] In some embodiments, this step is optional. When the network device only needs to send a first signal once to complete the scheduling of at least one terminal device reporting a complete identifier, this step can be omitted.

[0279] Step 1704: The terminal device sends a second signal to the network device.

[0280] In some embodiments, after receiving the first signal sent for the second time, the terminal device can send the second signal for the second time according to the first signal sent for the second time. That is, step 1704 is the terminal device sending the second signal for the second time, and step 1702 is the terminal device sending the second signal for the first time.

[0281] When the scheduling count is N, the network device can repeatedly execute step 1703, that is, the network device can repeatedly send the first signal N times. At this time, the terminal device can receive the first signal N times. Each time the first signal is received, the terminal device can send the second signal in response to the received first signal. That is, step 1704 can be repeatedly executed until all the identifiers of the terminal device are reported. That is, step 1704 is not the first time the terminal device sends the second signal, or step 1704 can be the Nth time the terminal device sends the first signal.

[0282] Optionally, the network device can repeatedly schedule multiple terminal devices to send the second signal multiple times. For multiple terminal devices, if the identifier lengths of the multiple terminal devices are different, the number of times they are scheduled will also be different. That is, the number of times the second signal is sent by terminal devices with different identifier lengths will be different, as detailed below.

[0283] In some embodiments, the network device receives at least one second signal, including: receiving M second signals sent by each first type of terminal device, wherein the M second signals collectively include the complete identifier of the first type of terminal device; and receiving N second signals sent by each second type of terminal device, wherein the N second signals collectively include the complete identifier of the second type of terminal device; wherein M and N are positive integers, and M < N.

[0284] In some embodiments, the load values ​​included in the N first signals are the same; and / or the data rates of the M second signals are the same; and / or the data rates of the N second signals are the same.

[0285] In some embodiments, the identifier length of the first type of terminal device is less than that of the second type of terminal device. Therefore, when the first signal indicates the same load size, the number of second signals that the first type of terminal device needs to send is less than the number of second signals that the second type of terminal device needs to send. Optionally, the number of times the first type of terminal device needs to send the second signal when reporting the complete identifier is M, and the number of times the second type of terminal device needs to send the second signal when reporting the complete identifier is N. Then, the number of times the network device repeatedly sends the first signal is N, so as to ensure that both the first type of terminal device and the second type of terminal device can report the complete identifier. Since the number of second signals that the first type of terminal device needs to send is less than the number of second signals that the second type of terminal device needs to send, then M < N.

[0286] In some embodiments, when not all identifiers of the first type of terminal devices have been reported, the first signal sent by the network device can be used to simultaneously schedule the first type of terminal devices and the second type of terminal devices to send the second signal. When all identifiers of the first type of terminal devices have been reported, the first signal sent by the network device can only schedule the second type of terminal devices to report the remaining identifiers, for example, as... Figure 10 As shown, the load size indicated by the first signal is 32, the identifier length of device1 (second type terminal device) is 128, and the identifier length of device2 (first type terminal device) is 96. Each time device1 and device2 are scheduled by the first signal, they report part of their identifiers via the second signal. The length of each reported identifier is 32. Therefore, the network device needs to send the first signal four times, and device1 needs to send the second signal four times (N=4). Device2 needs to send the second signal three times (M=3). During the first three times the network device sends the first signal, both device1 and device2 respond by sending the second signal. After sending the second signal three times, device2 has completed reporting all identifiers. After sending the second signal three times, device1 still has identifiers that have not been reported. Therefore, when the network device sends the first signal for the fourth time, device2 does not respond to the first signal, and device1 responds by sending the second signal.

[0287] In some embodiments, the M second signals collectively include the complete identifier of the first type of terminal device, and the N second signals collectively include the complete identifier of the second type of terminal device. That is, each of the M second signals includes a partial identifier of the first type of terminal, and each of the N second signals includes a partial identifier of the second type of terminal. The partial identifiers included in each of the M second signals constitute the complete identifier of the first type of terminal, and the partial identifiers included in each of the N second signals constitute the complete identifier of the second type of terminal, for example, as described above. Figure 10 In the example shown, the identifier length of device1 is 127, and the identifiers range from 0 to 127. Therefore, Msg3#1 of device1 includes some identifiers from 0 to 31, Msg3#2 of device1 includes some identifiers from 32 to 63, Msg3#3 of device1 includes some identifiers from 64 to 95, and Msg3#4 of device1 includes some identifiers from 96 to 127. The identifier length of device2 is 96, and the identifiers range from 0 to 95. Therefore, Msg3#1 of device2 includes some identifiers from 0 to 31, Msg3#2 of device2 includes some identifiers from 32 to 63, and Msg3#3 of device2 includes some identifiers from 64 to 95. In other words, the same first signal can be reused to schedule terminal devices to send second signals. The same first signal refers to N first signals containing the same payload size value. For example, if the payload size value indicated by N first signals is 32, then the identifier length included in the N second signals sent in response to the N first signals will all be less than or equal to 32. Similarly, a network device sending one first signal can schedule at least one terminal device to send one second signal; that is, the first and second signals are sent alternately. The number N of repeatedly sent first signals is related to the identifier length of the terminal device and the payload of the second signal indicated by the first signal. For example, if the payload of the second signal indicated by the first signal is 32, then the maximum identifier length that the second signal can carry is... If the identifier length of the terminal device is 96, then N = 3. This means the network device needs to send the first signal 3 times, and the terminal device needs to send the second signal 3 times to report the complete identifier. In this example, after the network device executes step 1701 and the terminal executes step 1702, it sends the second signal once and reports the first segment of the identifier. At this time, the terminal device still has some identifiers that have not been reported. Therefore, step 1703 and step 1704 can be executed once. In step 1704, the terminal device reports the second segment of the identifier through the second signal sent for the second time. At this time, the terminal device still has some identifiers that have not been reported. Therefore, step 1703 and step 1704 can be executed again. Thus, the complete identifier of the terminal device is reported to the network device in three parts.

[0288] Optionally, if the terminal device's identifier requires N second signals to be reported completely, the terminal device's identifier can be divided into N segments. After the network device executes step 1701, and the terminal sends a second signal once in step 1702, it reports the first segment of the identifier. If the terminal device still has remaining identifiers that have not been reported, then step 1703 and step 1704 can be executed once. In step 1704, the terminal device reports the second segment of the identifier through the second signal. If the terminal device still has remaining identifiers that have not been reported, then step 1703 and step 1704 can be executed again. This process is repeated N-1 times until the terminal device reports its complete identifier to the network device.

[0289] In some embodiments, this step is optional, and can be omitted when the terminal device only needs to send the second signal once to complete the reporting of the complete identifier.

[0290] The communication method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps 1701 to 1704. For example, steps 1701+1702+1703+1704 may be implemented as independent embodiments, and steps 1701+1702 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0291] In some embodiments, steps 1703 and 1704 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0292] The following is an exemplary description of the above method.

[0293] The method illustrated in this disclosure relates to a Msg3 transmission method, the full content of which is as follows.

[0294] like Figure 5 The diagram illustrates a basic device inventory process for Ambient IoT. The signaling name for R2D#2 can be Msg2, and the signaling name for D2R#2 can be Msg3. Msg2 can be used to schedule the device to send Msg3, which contains the device's identifier. Specifically, the first AIoT device (terminal device) receives the first signal (Msg2) and sends a second signal (Msg3) based on the load size indication information contained in the first signal. The load size indication information indicates the load size of the first AIoT device's Msg3 signal, and also indicates the load size of the second AIoT device's Msg3 signal.

[0295] like Figure 6The diagram illustrates an R2D frame structure. A single R2D transmission may include two parts: a synchronization header indicating the start of the R2D transmission and providing clock reference information, and a physical channel (PRDCH) carrying physical layer control information and R2D data. The physical layer control information may or may not be present. That is, Msg2 may include the synchronization header, control information, and PRDCH, or it may only include the synchronization header and PRDCH. Therefore, Msg2 may carry information for scheduling the terminal device to send Msg3 in either the control information portion or the PRDCH portion.

[0296] like Figure 7 The diagram illustrates Msg3 for different devices. Multiple devices may have different actual load sizes for their Msg3 messages. In other words, the device identifier lengths reported by multiple devices via Msg3 may differ. Therefore, when other scheduling parameters (e.g., CRC length, FEC code rate, code block repetition count) are consistent, the transmission lengths of Msg3 messages for multiple devices will be different. The following are several schemes for allocating time-domain resources for Msg3 messages to devices with different device identifier lengths. This can ensure consistent understanding of the time-domain resources of Msg3 messages between the base station and the device, improving the system's resource utilization efficiency. The core idea of ​​this disclosure is that when scheduling multiple frequency-division Msg3 messages using the same Msg2 message, the load size indication information (such as the transport block size TBS) contained in Msg2 is common. Figure 8 The diagram shown is a Msg2 diagram. The TBS field is common to both device 1 and device 2.

[0297] Option 1: Indicate the minimum device identifier length / reference length.

[0298] The protocol predefines a set of Msg3 load sizes, and Msg2 indicates the load size of Msg3 for the devices scheduled by Msg2. Msg2 can schedule Msg3 for at least one device, and the load sizes corresponding to Msg3 for at least one device are the same.

[0299] The following is a further explanation of Option 1.

[0300] When Msg2 schedules Msg3 for multiple devices, the load size indication information can be common across different devices. That is, the same Msg2 can only indicate at least one Msg3 with the same load size. In Scheme 1, considering the existence of multiple different device identifier lengths, simultaneous scheduling of long and short device identifiers is achieved by scheduling Msg3 with longer device identifier lengths multiple times. Assuming that there are both long and short device identifiers in the system that need to be scheduled simultaneously, the specific scheduling can be divided into the following two cases:

[0301] Scenario 1: The TBS of the first scheduled Msg2 indicates the size of the short device identifier, and the other Msg2 indicates the remaining TBS for the corresponding long device identifier.

[0302] like Figure 9 The diagram illustrates the transmission of Msg3. Device2, with its short device identifier, can report its device identifier on the time-frequency resources determined by the first Msg2. Similarly, device1, with its long device identifier, can report the first part of its device identifier on the time-frequency resources determined by the first Msg2, and further report the second part (the remaining part) of its device identifier on the time-frequency resources determined by the second Msg2. When the 1-bit indication information carried in Msg3#1 indicates that there are remaining D2Rs to be transmitted / sent, the base station sends the second Msg2 based on this indication information, triggering the transmission of Msg3#2 through the second Msg2. The second Msg2 can also carry complete scheduling information (including TBS indication), or it can only carry the temporary identifier reported by device1 in Msg1.

[0303] Scenario 2: The TBS of Msg2 for the first scheduling has a predefined or preconfigured reference length.

[0304] The size indication information for the short device identifier in Case 1 can also be replaced with a predefined or preconfigured reference length, such as 32. Figure 10 The diagram shows another transmission schematic of Msg3. For device1 and device2, the base station can schedule 4 and 3 times respectively through Msg2. The TBS corresponding to each scheduling is a predefined or pre-configured reference length of 32, so that both devices can report their respective device identifiers completely.

[0305] In both scenario one and scenario two, the payload size indication information (such as TBS) in Msg3 within Msg2 can be either codepoint indication information or index information. From a system perspective, different Msg2 messages are allowed to send different payload size indication information. For example, the protocol predefines multiple TBS messages. If these multiple TBS messages include at least one of 32, 64, 96, or 128 bits, the specific reference length can be indicated in Msg2 using 1 or 2 bits. When the reference length is equal to 96, it is exactly the size of the short device identifier.

[0306] Furthermore, in order to ensure that the transmission length of multiple Msg3s is the same, the data rate of multiple Msg3s can be further constrained to be the same.

[0307] Based on Scheme 1, the transmission resources corresponding to Msg3 in frequency division are the same, which can reduce, for example, Figure 7 The resource misalignment shown leads to resource waste.

[0308] Option 2: Indicate the maximum device identifier length.

[0309] Msg2 contains load size indication information for Msg3. This load size indication information indicates the maximum load corresponding to Msg3 scheduled by Msg2. The maximum load corresponding to Msg3 scheduled by Msg2, as indicated by the load size indication information, is greater than or equal to the actual load corresponding to Msg3 scheduled by Msg2.

[0310] The following is a further explanation of Option 2.

[0311] The difference between Scheme 2 and Scheme 1 is that Scheme 2 introduces a new concept: nominal payload size. When Msg2 schedules multiple Msg3s, the payload size indication information indicates the nominal payload size. The nominal payload size corresponding to the payload size indication information contained in Msg2 is greater than or equal to the actual Msg3 payload size of the multiple devices scheduled by Msg2.

[0312] When multiple Msg3s scheduled by the same Msg2 have different load sizes, for example, the load size of Msg3 corresponding to device #1 scheduled by Msg2 is X1, and the load size of Msg3 corresponding to device #2 scheduled by Msg2 is X2, and X1>X2, then the nominal load size indication information contained in Msg2 can be X1.

[0313] Based on Scheme 2, multiple Msg3 messages of varying lengths can be scheduled by sending only one Msg2 message, thus reducing the transmission overhead of Msg2. However, this scheme has a drawback: decoding short Msg3 messages may involve some blind detection complexity. When the base station can determine the actual length of the Msg3 message based on power or energy, the increased detection complexity is relatively low.

[0314] Option 3: Group scheduling of Msg3 with different identifier lengths.

[0315] The device reports the device identifier type in Msg1. Each device identifier type corresponds to a device identifier length. The base station allocates time domain resources to Msg3 in Msg2 according to the different device identifier types.

[0316] The above solution will be explained and illustrated through specific embodiments below.

[0317] The following is a further explanation of Option 3.

[0318] First, the random number generated by Msg1 is used to report whether the device identifier corresponding to the device is a long device identifier or a short device identifier. Then, the base station allocates time domain resources to Msg3 in Msg2 according to the different device identifier lengths.

[0319] like Figure 11The diagram shows another transmission pattern for Msg3. Msg1#1 carries a random number RN#1, indicating that the device identifier corresponding to that device is a long device identifier, while Msg1#2 carries a random number RN#2, indicating that the device identifier corresponding to that device is a short device identifier. RN#1 belongs to the first value range, and RN#2 belongs to the second value range. Both RN#1 and RN#2 are 16-bit random numbers. For example, when the highest bit of RN#1 is 1, it indicates that the device identifier corresponding to the current device is a long device identifier, and when the highest bit of RN#2 is 0, it indicates that the device identifier corresponding to the current device is a short device identifier. Alternatively, when the lowest bit of RN#1 is 1, it indicates that the device identifier corresponding to the current device is a long device identifier, and when the lowest bit of RN#2 is 0, it indicates that the device identifier corresponding to the current device is a short device identifier. Or, when the middle bit of RN#1 is 1, it indicates that the device identifier corresponding to the current device is a long device identifier, and when the middle bit of RN#2 is 0, it indicates that the device identifier corresponding to the current device is a short device identifier. In other words, any one bit of the 16 bits of RN#1 and RN#2 can be used to indicate the device identifier corresponding to the current device, or the value of multiple bits can be used to indicate the device identifier corresponding to the current device. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0320] For example, upon receiving Msg1#1, the base station allocates Msg3 time-domain resources for device2 with short device identifier in the first Msg2. Upon receiving Msg1#2, the base station allocates Msg3 time-domain resources for device1 with long device identifier in the second Msg2. In Scheme 3, the base station can only indicate temporary identifiers RN#1 or RN#2 in Msg2, with the specific TBS indication omitted. From the device's receiving behavior, after the device reports a random number via Msg1, the TBS size of the corresponding Msg3 is determined; it only needs to be explicitly specified whether Msg3 is sent after the first or second Msg2. It should be noted that the first Msg2 can schedule multiple Msg3s with short device identifiers, and the second Msg2 can schedule multiple Msg3s with long device identifiers.

[0321] In summary, the above examples of this disclosure can allocate Msg3 time-domain resources to devices with different device identifier lengths, so that the base station and the device have a consistent understanding of the Msg3 time-domain resources, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0322] In the embodiments disclosed herein, some or all of the steps and their optional implementations may be arbitrarily combined with some or all of the steps in other embodiments, or may be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementations in other embodiments.

[0323] This disclosure also proposes an apparatus (also referred to as a communication device, etc.) for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is proposed, which includes units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the terminal in any of the above methods.

[0324] It should be understood that the division of units or modules in the above device is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, the units or modules in the device can be implemented by a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor connected to a memory containing instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of the units or modules in the above device. The processor can be, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory can be internal or external to the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits. The functionality of some or all of the units or modules can be achieved through the design of these hardware circuits, which can be understood as one or more processors. For example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The functionality of some or all of the units or modules is achieved through the design of the logical relationships between the components within the circuit. In another implementation, the hardware circuit can be implemented using a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gates. The connection relationships between the logic gates are configured through configuration files, thereby achieving the functionality of some or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above device can be implemented entirely through processor-called software, entirely through hardware circuits, or partially through processor-called software with the remaining parts implemented through hardware circuits.

[0325] In this embodiment, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction read and execute capabilities, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationships of hardware circuits. The logical relationships of the aforementioned hardware circuits are fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented using an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and configuring the hardware circuit can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. Furthermore, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU), a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), or a Deep Learning Processing Unit (DPU).

[0326] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The network device 1200 is used to perform any of the above methods. In some embodiments, such as... Figure 12 As shown, network device 1200 may include: transceiver module 1201.

[0327] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is configured to transmit a first signal, which is used to schedule at least one second signal and indicates the load size of at least one second signal; receive at least one second signal, each second signal including an identifier of the terminal device that transmitted the second signal; optionally, the transceiver module is configured to perform at least one of the communication steps such as receiving / transmitting performed by the network device 1200 in any of the above methods (e.g., steps 2101, 2102, 2103, 2104, 2105, 3101, 3102, 3103, 3104, 3105, 4101, 4102, 1601, 1602, 1701, 1702, 1703, 1704, etc., but not limited thereto), which will not be elaborated here.

[0328] In some embodiments, the transceiver module may include a sending module and / or a receiving module. The sending module and the receiving module may be separate or integrated together. The transceiver module may be interchangeable with the transceiver.

[0329] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The terminal device 1300 is used to perform any of the above methods. In some embodiments, such as... Figure 13 As shown, the terminal device 1300 may include a transceiver module 1301.

[0330] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is configured to receive a first signal sent by a network device, the first signal being used to schedule a second signal from a terminal device, the first signal being used to indicate the load size of the second signal; and to send a second signal to the network device, the second signal including the identifier of the terminal device; optionally, the transceiver module is configured to perform at least one of the communication steps such as receiving and / or sending performed by the terminal device 1300 in any of the above methods (e.g., steps 2101, 2102, 2103, 2104, 2105, 3101, 3102, 3103, 3104, 3105, 4101, 4102, 1601, 1602, 1701, 1702, 1703, 1704, etc., but not limited thereto), which will not be elaborated here.

[0331] In some embodiments, the transceiver module may include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the transceiver module may be interchangeable with a transceiver.

[0332] Figure 14This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device 14100 proposed in this embodiment. The communication device 14100 can be a network device (e.g., access network device, core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., user equipment, etc.), a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the network device in implementing any of the above methods, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal in implementing any of the above methods. The communication device 14100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0333] like Figure 14 As shown, the communication device 14100 is used to execute any of the above methods. In some embodiments, the communication device 14100 includes one or more processors 14101. The processor 14101 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control communication devices (e.g., base stations, baseband chips, terminal devices, terminal device chips, DUs or CUs, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. Optionally, the communication device 14100 is used to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, one or more processors 14101 are used to invoke instructions to cause the communication device 14100 to execute any of the above methods.

[0334] In some embodiments, the communication device 14100 further includes one or more transceivers 14102. When the communication device 14100 includes one or more transceivers 14102, the transceiver 14102 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above-described method (e.g., steps 2101, 2102, 2103, 2104, 2105, 3101, 3102, 3103, 3104, 3105, 4101, 4102, 1601, 1602, 1701, 1702, 1703, 1704, etc., but not limited thereto), and the processor 14101 performs at least one of the other steps. In optional embodiments, the transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated together. Optionally, terms such as transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, interface circuit, and interface can be used interchangeably; terms such as transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit can be used interchangeably; and terms such as receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit can be used interchangeably.

[0335] In some embodiments, the communication device 14100 further includes one or more memories 14103 for storing data and / or instructions. Optionally, one or more processors 14101 are used to invoke instructions stored in the memory 14103 to cause the communication device 14100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, all or part of the memory 14103 may also be located outside the communication device 14100. In an optional embodiment, the communication device 14100 may include one or more interface circuits 14104. Optionally, the interface circuit 14104 is connected to the memory 14102, and the interface circuit 14104 can be used to receive data and / or instructions from the memory 14102 or other devices, and can be used to send data and / or instructions to the memory 14102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 14104 can read data and / or instructions stored in the memory 14102 and send the data and / or instructions to the processor 14101.

[0336] The communication device 14100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 14100 described in this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 14100 may vary. Figure 14 The limitations. The communication device may be a standalone device or part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) a standalone integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally including storage components for storing data, programs and / or instructions; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, terminal device, smart terminal device, cellular phone, wireless device, handheld device, mobile unit, vehicle device, network device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0337] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of chip 15200 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. For cases where the communication device 14100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to... Figure 15 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of the structure of chip 15200, but it is not limited to this.

[0338] Chip 15200 includes one or more processors 15201. Chip 15200 is used to perform any of the methods described above.

[0339] In some embodiments, chip 15200 further includes one or more interface circuits 15202. Optionally, terms such as interface circuit, interface, and transceiver pin can be used interchangeably. In some embodiments, chip 15200 further includes one or more memories 15203 for storing data and / or instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 15203 may be located outside of chip 15200. Optionally, interface circuit 15202 is connected to memory 15203, and interface circuit 15202 can be used to receive data and / or instructions from memory 15203 or other devices, and interface circuit 15202 can be used to send data and / or instructions to memory 15203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 15202 can read data and / or instructions stored in memory 15203 and send the data and / or instructions to processor 15201.

[0340] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 15202 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above-described method (e.g., steps 2101, 2102, 2103, 2104, 2105, 3101, 3102, 3103, 3104, 3105, 4101, 4102, 1601, 1602, 1701, 1702, 1703, 1704, etc., but not limited thereto). The interface circuit 15202 performing the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above-described method refers, for example, to the interface circuit 15202 performing data and / or instruction interaction between the processor 15201, the chip 15200, the memory 15203, or the transceiver device. In some embodiments, the processor 15201 performs at least one of the other steps.

[0341] The modules and / or devices described in the various embodiments, such as virtual devices, physical devices, and chips, can be combined or separated arbitrarily as needed. Optionally, some or all steps can also be performed collaboratively by multiple modules and / or devices, which is not limited here.

[0342] This disclosure also proposes a communication system, which includes a network device and a terminal device, wherein the network device is used to perform any of the methods described in the first aspect of this disclosure, and the terminal device is used to perform any of the methods described in the second aspect of this disclosure.

[0343] This disclosure also proposes a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0344] This disclosure also proposes a program product, including a program and / or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product. Optionally, the program product is stored on the storage medium.

[0345] This disclosure also proposes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is performed by a network device, and the method includes: Send a first signal, the first signal being used to schedule at least one second signal, the first signal being used to indicate the load size of the at least one second signal; Receive the at least one second signal, each second signal including an identifier of the terminal device that sent the second signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The load size includes any of the following: The minimum value of multiple load sizes in a load set, where the load set is predefined by the protocol; The maximum value of multiple load sizes in the load set, which is predefined by the protocol; The reference load size is predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Receiving the at least one second signal includes: Receive at least one second signal sent by a first type of terminal device according to the load size, and / or receive at least one second signal sent by a second type of terminal device according to the load size, wherein the identifier length of the first type of terminal device belongs to a first range, the identifier length of the second type of terminal device belongs to a second range, the identifier length of the first type of terminal device is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device, and the first range and / or the second range are predefined by the protocol.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The load size indicated by the first signal is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; The second signal sent by the first type of terminal device includes the complete identifier of the first type of terminal device; The second signal sent by the second type of terminal device includes: The first part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving first indication information sent by a second type of terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that a second part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device is to be sent.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a third signal to the at least one second-type terminal device, wherein the third signal is used to schedule at least one fourth signal, and the third signal is used to indicate the load size of the fourth signal; Receive a fourth signal sent by the at least one second-type terminal device, the fourth signal including a second portion of the identifier of the second-type terminal device.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a third signal to the at least one second-type terminal device, wherein the third signal is used to schedule at least one fourth signal, and the third signal is used to indicate a temporary identifier of the second-type terminal device, the temporary identifier being related to the load size; Receive a fourth signal sent by the at least one second-type terminal device, the fourth signal including a second portion of the identifier of the second-type terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Sending the first signal includes: Send N first signals, each first signal being used to schedule the transmission of a second signal by the first type of terminal device and / or the second type of terminal device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, Receiving the at least one second signal includes: Receive M second signals sent by each first type of terminal device, wherein the M second signals together include the complete identifier of the first type of terminal device; Receive N second signals sent by each second type of terminal device, wherein the N second signals together include the complete identifier of the second type of terminal device; Where M and N are positive integers, and M < N.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The load values ​​included in the N first signals are the same; and / or The M second signals have the same data rate; and / or The N second signals have the same data rate.

11. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The load size indicated by the first signal is greater than or equal to the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; The length of the identifier of the first type of terminal device included in the second signal sent by the first type of terminal device, and / or the length of the identifier of the second type of terminal device included in the second signal sent by the second type of terminal device, is less than or equal to the load size indicated by the first signal.

12. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: A fifth signal is received, wherein the fifth signal includes a temporary identifier corresponding to the terminal device that sent the fifth signal, and the temporary identifier has a corresponding relationship with the load size.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The first signal is used to schedule at least one second signal, including: the first signal includes at least one temporary identifier associated with the at least one second signal; and / or, the at least one temporary identifier is associated with at least one first type terminal device and / or at least one second type terminal device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that, Different terminal devices use different frequency domain resources to send the second signal.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that, The terminal device satisfies at least one of the following: It has the ability to harvest environmental energy from environmental energy sources, wherein the environmental energy sources include at least one of radio waves, light, motion, and heat; It has energy storage capacity, which is less than a preset value; It does not have the ability to independently generate or amplify signals; It can transmit signals via backscattering; It has a peak power consumption of 1 microwatt; It has an initial sampling frequency offset, which is 10. x ppm, where x can be 3, 4, or 5.

16. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a terminal device, and the method includes: The device receives a first signal sent by a network device, the first signal being used to schedule a second signal from the terminal device, and the first signal being used to indicate the load size of the second signal. The second signal is sent to the network device, the second signal including the identifier of the terminal device.

17. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The load size includes any of the following: The minimum value of multiple load sizes in a load set, where the load set is predefined by the protocol; The maximum value of multiple load sizes in the load set, which is predefined by the protocol; The reference load size is predefined by the protocol or preconfigured by the network device.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, The terminal device is either a first type of terminal device or a second type of terminal device. The identifier length of the first type of terminal device is within a first range, and the identifier length of the second type of terminal device is within a second range. The identifier length of the first type of terminal device is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device. The first range and / or the second range are predefined by the protocol.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The load size indicated by the first signal is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; if the terminal device is a first type of terminal device, then the second signal includes the complete identifier of the terminal device.

20. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The load size indicated by the first signal is less than the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; if the terminal device is a second type of terminal device, then the second signal includes the first part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first indication message to the network device, the first indication message being used to indicate that a second part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device is to be sent.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a third signal sent by the network device, wherein the third signal is used to schedule a fourth signal and the third signal is used to indicate the load size of the fourth signal; The fourth signal is sent to the network device, the fourth signal including a second part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device.

23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The method further includes: The network device receives a third signal, wherein the third signal is used to schedule a fourth signal, and the third signal is used to indicate a temporary identifier of the second type of terminal device, the temporary identifier being related to the load size; The fourth signal is sent to the network device, the fourth signal including a second part of the identifier of the second type of terminal device.

24. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The first signal sent by the receiving network device includes: Receive N first signals, each first signal being used to schedule the transmission of a second signal by the terminal device.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, Sending the second signal to the network device includes: If the terminal device is a first type of terminal device, then M second signals are sent to the network device. The M second signals together include the complete identifier of the first type of terminal device, where M and N are positive integers and M < N.

26. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, Sending the second signal to the network device includes: If the terminal device is a second type of terminal device, then N second signals are sent to the network device, and the N second signals together include the complete identifier of the second type of terminal device.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The load values ​​included in the N first signals are the same; and / or The M second signals have the same data rate; and / or The N second signals have the same data rate.

28. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The load size indicated by the first signal is greater than or equal to the identifier length of the second type of terminal device; The length of the identifier of the terminal device included in the second signal sent by the terminal device is less than or equal to the load size indicated by the first signal.

29. The method according to any one of claims 18, characterized in that, The method further includes: A fifth signal is sent to the network device, the fifth signal including a temporary identifier of the terminal device, the temporary identifier being related to the load size.

30. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 29, characterized in that, Sending the second signal to the network device includes: the first signal including at least one temporary identifier associated with the at least one second signal; and / or, the at least one temporary identifier associated with at least one first type terminal device and / or at least one second type terminal device.

31. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 30, characterized in that, Different terminal devices use different resources to send the second signal.

32. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 31, characterized in that, The terminal device satisfies at least one of the following: It has the ability to harvest environmental energy from environmental energy sources, wherein the environmental energy sources include at least one of radio waves, light, motion, and heat; It has energy storage capacity, which is less than a preset value; It does not have the ability to independently generate or amplify signals; It can transmit signals via backscattering; It has a peak power consumption of 1 microwatt; It has an initial sampling frequency offset, which is 10. x ppm, where x can be 3, 4, or 5.

33. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-15 or 16-32.

34. A communication system, characterized in that, include: A network device and a terminal device, wherein the network device is configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1-15, and the terminal device is configured to implement the method of any one of claims 16-32.

35. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that, When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1-15 or 16-32.

36. A program product comprising at least one of a program and instructions, characterized in that, When at least one of the programs or instructions is executed by the communication device, it implements the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-15 or 16-32.

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