Pusch resource configuration and power control aspects for aiot device

Abstract

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

Description

PUS CH Resource Configuration and Power Control Aspects for AIoT DeviceCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is related to and claims the priority of United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2313337.4, filed September 1, 2023, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Examples of embodiments herein relate generally to resource configuration and power control aspects for wireless communications and, more specifically, relate to resource configuration and power control aspects for physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) used for the ambient Internet of things device.BACKGROUND

[0003] The Internet of Things (loT) refers to a network of physical devices, vehicles, appliances and other physical objects that are embedded with sensors, software and network connectivity that allows them to collect and share data. These devices can range from simple “smart home” devices like smart thermostats, to wearables like smartwatches and radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled clothing, to complex industrial machinery and transportation systems.

[0004] AIoT devices are network devices that extract energy (at least) from the radio environment, and these may also be referred to as energy harvesting devices. These devices may be applied to many different industries. Consider a transportation industry example. Embedding sensors and controls in locomotives, and freight cars across many miles of track supporting U.S. railroads creates the backdrop for improvement. Companies are creating predictive models and tools for trains and stockyards that optimize trip velocity by accounting for weight, speed, fuel burn, terrain, and train traffic. The gains include faster- rolling trains, preemptive maintenance cycles, and the ability to expedite the staging and loading of cargo.

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

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

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

[0008] An additional exemplary embodiment includes a computer program, comprising instructions for performing the method of the previous paragraph, when the computer program is run on an apparatus. The computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing the instructions embodied therein for use with the apparatus. Another example is the computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the program is directly loadable into an internal memory of the apparatus.

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

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

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

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

[0013] An additional exemplary embodiment includes a computer program, comprising instructions for performing the method of the previous paragraph, when the computer program is run on an apparatus. The computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing the instructions embodied therein for use with the apparatus. Another example is the computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the program is directly loadable into an internal memory of the apparatus.

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

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

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

[0017] In an exemplary embodiment, a method is disclosed that includes receiving, by a device in a wireless network from an activator device in the wireless network, an activation signal sent over first resources on an uplink channel, where the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit or explicit indication of second resources to be used by the device for communication over the uplink channel with a network element in thewireless network; and sending, by the device to the network element, a communication over the uplink channel using the second resources.

[0018] An additional exemplary embodiment includes a computer program, comprising instructions for performing the method of the previous paragraph, when the computer program is run on an apparatus. The computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing the instructions embodied therein for use with the apparatus. Another example is the computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the program is directly loadable into an internal memory of the apparatus.

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

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

[0021] In another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus comprises means for performing: receiving, by a device in a wireless network from an activator device in the wireless network, an activation signal sent over first resources on an uplink channel, where the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit or explicit indication of second resources to be used by the device for communication over the uplink channel with a network element in the wireless network; and sending, by the device to the network element, a communication over the uplink channel using the second resources.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In the attached drawings:

[0023] FIG. 1, which includes FIGS. 1A and IB, illustrates in FIG. 1A NR (UL and SL) transmission and power control principle and in FIG. IB AIoT topology and transmissions;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram indicating an overview of an example procedure;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram of an example procedure extended to a case where multiple activators are required;

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

[0027] FIG. 4A illustrates examples corresponding to step 2 of FIG. 4;

[0028] FIG. 4B illustrates examples corresponding to step 3 of FIG. 4;

[0029] FIG. 4C illustrates examples corresponding to step 4 of FIG. 4;

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

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

[0032] FIG. 7 illustrates examples corresponding to step 1 of FIG. 3; and

[0033] FIGS. 8 and 8 A are block diagrams of possible and non-limiting exemplary systems in which the exemplary embodiments may be practiced.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Abbreviations that may be found in the specification and / or the drawing figures are defined below, at the end of the detailed description section.

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

[0036] When more than one drawing reference numeral, word, or acronym is used within this description withand in general as used within this description, themaybe interpreted as “or”, “and”, or “both”. As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or,” mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

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

[0038] Any flow diagram or signaling diagram (such as FIGS. 2-6) herein is considered to be a logic flow diagram, and illustrates the operation of an exemplary method, results of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and / or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Block diagrams (such as FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 7, 8, and 8A) also illustrate the operation of an exemplary method, results of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and / or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

[0039] Regarding loT applications, 3GPP has specified NB-IoT / eMTC and NR RedCap before Rel. 18 to satisfy the requirements on low cost and low power devices for wide area loT communication. These loT devices usually consume tens or hundreds of milliwatts power during transceiving, while the cost is a few dollars. However, to achieve the internet of everything, loT devices with ten or even a hundred times lower cost and power consumption are needed, especially for a large number of applications requiring batteryless devices.

[0040] Typical use cases are as follows. The number of loT connections has been growing rapidly in recent years and is predicted to be hundreds of billions by 2030. With more and more ‘things’ expected to be interconnected for improving production efficiency and increasing comforts of life, demands are made to further reduce size, cost, and power consumption for loT devices. In particular, regular replacement of the battery for all the loT devices is impractical due to the tremendous consumption of materials and manpower. It has become a trend to use energy harvested from environments to power loT devices for self-sustainable communications, especially in applications with a huge number of devices (e.g., ID tags and sensors).

[0041] 3GPP technologies are now described. The most critical issue with existing 3GPP technologies for the target use cases is the capability of cooperating with energy harvesting, considering limited device size. Cellular devices usually consume tens or even hundreds of milliwatts power for transceiver processing. Taking NB-IoT module for example, the typical current consumption for receive processing is about 60mA with supply voltage higher than 3.1V, while 70mA for transmitting processing at OdBm transmit power. Furthermore, the output power provided by typical energy harvester is mostly below 1 milliwatt, considering the small size of a few square centimeters for practical devices. Since the available power is far less than the consumed power, it is impractical to power cellular devices directly by energy harvesting in most cases.

[0042] One possible solution is to integrate energy harvesting with rechargeable battery or supercapacitor. However, there are still a few problems to be solved. Firstly, both rechargeable battery and supercapacitor may suffer from shortened lifetime in practical cases. It is hard to provide constant charging current or voltage by energy harvesting, while longtime continuous charging is needed due to the very small output power from energy harvester. Inconstant charging current and longtime continuous charging are both harmful to battery life. For a supercapacitor, its lifetime will be significantly reduced in high temperature environments (e.g., less than 3 years at 50 degrees centigrade). Secondly, device size will be significantly increased. As small size button battery can only provide current of a few tens of milliamps, battery with much larger size (e.g., AA battery) is usually used to power cellular devices, whose size can be even larger than the module itself. To store energy for a proper duration of working (e.g., one second), the required capacitance of a supercapacitor is at the level of a hundred mill-farads. The size of such supercapacitors may be larger than an NB-IoT module. Thirdly, both rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors can be more expensive than the module itself. Even purchased in large quantities, the cost of a suitable battery or supercapacitor may reach one or a few dollars, which nearly doubles the cost of the device.

[0043] Now, non-3GPP technologies are described. RFID is the most well- known technology supporting battery less tags (devices). The power consumption of commercial passive RFID tags can be as low as 1 microwatt. The key techniques enabling such low power consumption are envelope detection for downlink data reception, and backscatter communication for uplink data transmission. RFID is designed for short-rangecommunications, whose typical effective range is less than 10 meters. As the air interface of RFID almost remains unchanged since 2005, the too-simple transmission scheme becomes the obstacle of improving its link budget and capability of supporting scalable network.

[0044] Attracted by the extremely low power consumption of backscatter communication, many non-3GPP technologies begin to put efforts into related research, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, and LoRa (long range, a physical proprietary radio communication technique). Various research show that a few or tens of microwatts power consumption can be supported for passive tags based on or with small modifications to the above air interfaces. A significant proportion of the studies are targeting at long range communication. Among them, a LoRa tag implemented with commercial off-the-shelf components can send its sensing data to the receiver of 381 meters away. Currently, most of the studies are focusing on independent detailed techniques for various optimization targets. It is hard to see a comprehensive system design fully meeting the requirements of the target use cases. However, the standardization of those technologies is agile and quick, as the industries usually follow some de facto standards. It means that many products in the market will follow even a private (e.g., proprietary) standard once a proprietary standard shows competitiveness in some applications.

[0045] 3GPP activities on ambient loT are now described. A passive radio is a device that harnesses energy from wireless signals sent on specific carriers and / or bandwidths and charges a simple circuitry that, once activated, will emit / reflect a signal which encodes at least the ID of the passive radio. The typical system architecture around a passive radio consists of the following.

[0046] 1. An activator: a device that sends an activation signal targeted at waking up the passive radio.

[0047] 2. The passive radio: harnesses energy over a range of frequencies and listens for activation signals. Once such a signal is detected, the passive radio emits / reflects a signal which is specific to that radio ID.

[0048] 3. A reader: a device that listens and detects the passive radio signals. The reader may or may not be collocated with the activator.

[0049] A summary of 3GPP agreement so far related to Ambient loT is as follows:

[0050] It was agreed to focus on three Device Types:

[0051] 1) Device A: Passive device with NO energy storage;

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

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

[0054] Design targets for power consumptions.

[0055] 1) Device

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

[0057] 3) Device

[0058] Device complexity design target:

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

[0060] 2) DeviceDeviceDevice C;

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

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

[0063] For the AIoT topology and transmission in FIG. IB, an activator 550 sends an activation signal transmission 565 to the AIoT device 540. The AIoT device 540 performs an AIoT transmission 570 to a reader 530.

[0064] That is, in contrast to the traditional power control principle of FIG. 1A, in Ambient loT topologies as in FIG. IB, there are three entities (the activator 550, the AIoT device 540 and reader(s) 530) that need to exchange different type of information. Additionally, in the Ambient loT discussions, the impact on the power control of the three types of AIoT devices are as follows:

[0065] 1) Device Type A:

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

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

[0068] 2) Device Type B:

[0069] a) Description: Has energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e., backscattering transmission. Use of stored energy can potentially include amplification for reflected signals.

[0070] b) Power control impact: In case the backscattered signal is amplified, then power control can be applied to both the activation signal and AIoT device transmission.

[0071] 3) Device Type C:

[0072] a) Description: Has energy storage, has independent signal generation, i.e., active RF components for transmission.

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

[0074] However, the application of power control is closely related to the resources being used for the activation signal and AIoT transmission, and therefore resource allocation and power control should be treated jointly and thus provide the focus of the examples provided herein.

[0075] To address this and other issues, a joint power control and resource allocation is proposed in an example in the context of a) the RACH procedure, b) the Configured Grant procedure and c) Dynamic Grant procedure. Examples are described for these three procedures and dedicated resource allocation and power control embodiments are provided for each AIoT Device Type.

[0076] As an overview, the three procedures have in common the following steps. These are described in reference to FIG. 2, which a signaling diagram indicating an overview of the steps of an example procedure. A gNB 70, activator device 610, and AIoT device 620 are shown.

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

[0078] 2. Activation signal transmission using the first indicated PUSCH resource, where the AIoT Tx power is indicated (e.g., at least towards AIoT devices of type Band C). It is noted that the activation signal being used in step 2 (and any other steps herein that send an activation signal) has defined properties known to activate an AIoT device. Therefore, an AIoT need not “know” in advance the first PUSCH resource, since the signal using that resource will have the properties configured to activate the AIoT device. Instead, the assumption is that the AIoT device is always ready to receive the activation signal; and therefore, the indication of the first PUSCH resources may be implicit to the AIoT device with the reception of the activation signal. It is noted that the AIoT device may depend on the activation signal to know the second resources, either via explicit indication via the activation signal or pre-configured / pre-set rule so that the second resources are implicit. That is, for Device Type A / B, the indication of the second resource can be explicit, if the device Type A / B is able to decode the indication (where this indication can be in a bit form or a sequence). The indication may instead be implicit with the reception of the first resources; i.e., receiving the activation signal in the first resources implies the second resources (e.g., the location where the backscattered signal should take place), e.g., based on pre-configured / pre-set rule.

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

[0080] As another part of the overview, when a single AIoT device 620 is activated by multiple activators, it is proposed to have a lead activator that initiates the procedure (e.g., via a RACH, CG or DG procedure) and then the network activates the necessary activators using the DG procedure. That is, one of the roles of the activation signal is to provide energy, therefore if there are multiple activators, then there should be more energy available at the AIoT device side for activation. The high-level procedure for this case would then have the steps depicted in FIG. 3 and described in detail below. As a brief introduction, here are the steps of FIG. 3, which is a signaling diagram of a proposed procedure extended to a case where multiple activators are required. Further description of FIG. 3 is presented after this introduction, and also FIG. 7 is related to FIG. 3.

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

[0082] Now that an overview has been described, further details are provided. A RACH procedure is now described. In the following, the discussion focuses on a 4-step RACH procedure, but it should be noted that the same principles are applicable to a 2-step RACH procedure. The proposed impacts on the RACH procedure in terms of resource allocation and power control are depicted in FIG. 4 and are as follows:

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

[0084] 1. The activating UE, as activator device 610, selects the PRACH occasion and PRACH preamble, and performs the PRACH preamble transmission.

[0085] a. In case the UE (as activator device 610) does not get acknowledgment from the network on the successful reception of the preamble, then the UE will attempt a PRACH preamble retransmission in a subsequent PRACH occasion while applying a power offset on the PRACH preamble retransmission according to a power ramping procedure.

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

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

[0088] 2. Upon the PRACH preamble being detected by the network, the network (e.g., gNB 70 in this example) transmits a Random- Access Response (RAR) thatincludes a resource allocation that indicates two PUSCH resources, denoted as Msg3- activation and Msg3-response. FIG. 4A illustrates the examples a.-c. corresponding to step 2 below.

[0089] a. For Device Type A / B, the PUSCH resources Msg3-activation and Msg3-response can coincide in time and frequency (i.e., effectively being a single PUSCH resource), or coincide only in time but having different frequency resources, or being contiguous in time and having the same or different frequency resources for the Msg3- activation and Msg3-response, where during the Msg3- activation only the activation signal is transmitted, while during Msg3-response both activation signal and backscattered transmission take place.

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

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

[0092] 3. The activating UE (activator device 610) transmits the activation signal using the first PUSCH resource (e.g., Msg3-activation), which is received by the AIoT device 610 (e.g., in a passive manner). This may come with an AIoT Tx power indication for Type B / C. FIG. 4B illustrates the examples a.-c. corresponding to step 3 below.

[0093] As previously described, for Device Type A / B, the indication of the second resources can be explicit, if the device Type A / B is able to decode the indication (where this indication can be in a bit form or a sequence). The indication may instead be implicit with the reception of the first resources; i.e., receiving the activation signal in the first resources implies the second resources (e.g., the location where the backscattered signal should take place), e.g., based on pre-configured / pre-set rule.

[0094] a. For Device Type A:

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

[0096] ii. Regarding power control, the activation signal power level determines the strength of the backscattered signal and therefore there may be no need of additional power control for the AIoT device transmission.

[0097] b. For Device Type B:

[0098] i. Regarding the second PUSCH resource explicit or implicit indication, for AIoT device Type B the first and second PUSCH resource may coincide or be contiguous in time, although possibly not in frequency, since the AIoT Type B can only perform backscattered transmission (albeit possibly power boosted) while the active signal is active, where the power boosted terminology means that the backscattered signal instead of just reflecting the activation signal, applies a power boost.

[0099] ii. Regarding power control, the activation signal power level serves as basis of the AIoT device transmission, however this AIoT Device Type can perform additional power boost based on the internal available energy. Then the activation signal can also indicate the minimum / maximum transmission power boost (as a power control parameter, when the AIoT device can select the power boost within the indicated range) or the power offset correction (as a power control parameter, where the AIoT device applies the indicated power offset correction to its transmission signal) to be applied.

[0100] As a note about Device Types A and B, the first and second resources can have: 1) Same time and frequency resources; 2) Same time but different frequency resources; 3) Contiguous time and same frequency resources; or 4) Contiguous time and different frequency resources. It is further noted that if the first and second resources coincide in time, this may mean that the activation signal and backscattered signal coincide in time and therefore the first and second resource coincide in time. If the first resource is contiguous in time with the second resource, it may mean that in the first resource, only the activation signal is present (i.e., to energize the Device Type A / B), and in the second resource contiguous with the first resource, both the activation (to ensure that backscattering is possible) and the backscattered signal will be present.

[0101] c. For Device Type C:

[0102] i. Regarding the second PUSCH resource indication:

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

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

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

[0106] ii. Regarding power control, the AIoT devices Type C perform active transmission and therefore are not limited by the activation signal transmission power. However, these devices might have limited information on which power to apply so that their transmission can be decodable by the gNB, therefore the activation signal can indicate which transmission power level to apply.

[0107] 4. The AIoT device transmits its signal using the second PUSCH resource. FIG. 4C illustrates the examples a.-c. corresponding to step 4 below.

[0108] a. For Device Type A:

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

[0110] b. For Device Type B:

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

[0112] c. For Device Type C:

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

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

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

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

[0117] C. An (potential) additional power offset associated with the AIoT traffic that may be applied. That is, when the AIoT device has more data to transmit, the AIoT device will need additional power. For example, to allow for the transmission of additional information in the same resources, the AIoT device can use higher order modulations. In order for these transmissions to be decoded, higher transmission power will be beneficial.

[0118] In an example embodiment, open loop power determination based on received DL signals at the activator UE (e.g., channel inversion where the activator knows the transmission power (P_Tx,DL) and the received power (P_Rx,DL), determines the DL pathloss and based on that, determines the transmission power for the AIoT device (P_Tx,AIoT_UL) to apply to ensure that the reception power at the gNB (P_Rx,AIoT_UL) meets a given reception power target.

[0119] D. Various parameters determined based on open loop power control from the received activation signal. For example, the Device Type C may derive the path loss between the activator device and itself based on the received activation signal, and take it into account when applying power control.

[0120] An example of a Configured Grant (CG) procedure is now described. The proposed impacts on the CG procedure in terms of resource allocation and power control for AIoT device activation and reception are depicted in FIG. 5 and are as follows.

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

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

[0123] 1. Same as step 3 in FIG. 4, with the additional embodiment:

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

[0125] 2. Same as step 4 in FIG. 4.

[0126] An example of a Dynamic Grant (DG) procedure is now described. Impacts for one proposed example on the DG procedure in terms of resource allocation andpower control for AIoT device activation and reception are depicted in FIG. 6 and include the following.

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

[0128] a. Note: The activator device 610 may receive this configuration while in RRC Connected state and via, e.g., a DCI container.

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

[0130] 2. Same as step 4 in FIG. 4.

[0131] Joint resource allocation for multiple activators is now described. One example of a proposed procedure for the case where multiple activators have to jointly activate an AIoT device (e.g., to ensure that the AIoT device has enough power to backscatter) is depicted in FIG. 3 and is as follows.

[0132] 1. The lead activator 610-L sends indication of a request for additional activator(s) to support the main activator (e.g., using RACH, CG, or DG procedures). The Lead activator 610-L may be provided with the information needed to trigger the activation of multiple activators. There are two aspects here that can be captured.

[0133] I) The request for multiple activators: This can be triggered by the lead activator (as depicted in FIG. 3) or it can be triggered by the network.

[0134] II) The resource allocation of the multiple activators: In an example, it is the NW that provides this information.

[0135] The examples below, including a. and b. from step 1 of FIG. 3, are illustrated by FIG. 7.

[0136] It is noted that it is assumed that the gNB 70 has selected a lead activator in charge of managing the session. The selection is gNB -specific and it is out of the scope of this document. For exemplary purposes only, the gNB 70 may select as lead activator 610-L a UE that has previously served as an activator device, or a UE deemed to be closest to the believed location of the AIoT device 620.

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

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

[0139] The following steps are from FIG. 3.

[0140] 2. The network provides the resource allocation to the lead activator as follow up from the RACH, CG or DG procedures as described in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, respectively.

[0141] 3. The network provides resource allocation via DG procedures (first PUSCH resource) to all the supporting Activator devices 610-E.

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

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

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

[0145] In FIG. 8, multiple user equipment (UEs) 10, 10-1 are, or can be, in wireless communication via corresponding radio links 11 with the gNB (e.g., base station) 70 of the cellular network 1. The UEs 10 are wireless communication devices, such as mobile devices, that are configured to access a cellular network. The UE 10 might be the AIoT 620, and the other UEs 10-1 could be activator(s) 610, 610-L, and / or 610-S. The UE 10 and other UEs 10-1 may communicate using link 14. Each of these UEs is considered to be similar and only the circuitry of UE 10 is described herein.

[0146] Since the UEs extract energy (at least) from the radio environment, and may also be referred to as energy harvesting devices, they can have an energy storage (ES) element (or elements) 19, which allows at least reception of the activation signal to occur and may provide additional features such as amplification of reflected signals. Although described in more detail below, a UE 10 could be, in its most simple form, an RFID tag, e.g., as a Device with Type A . However, the UE could also be a simple sensor glued to an RFID tag, but where the sensor would only work when power is being received by the tag. There are manypossibilities of devices that fit into Types A, B, and C, and all of them are not possible to relate here.

[0147] The UE 10 is illustrated with one or more antennas 28. The ellipses 2 indicate there could be multiple UEs 10 in wireless communication via radio links with the base station 70. The UE 10 includes one or more processors 13, one or more memories 15, and other circuitry 16. The other circuitry 16 includes one or more receivers (Rx(s)) 17 and one or more transmitters (Tx(s)) 18. A program 12 is used to cause the UE 10 to perform the operations described herein. For a UE 10, the other circuitry 16 could include circuitry such as for user interface elements (not shown) like a display.

[0148] The gNB 70, as a base station and a network element of the cellular network 1, provides the UE 10 access to cellular network 1 and to the data network 91 via the core network 90 (e.g., via a user plane function (UPF) of the core network 90). The base station 70 is illustrated as having one or more antennas 58. In general, the gNB 70 may be referred to as RAN node 70, although many will make reference to this as what is used herein, gNB (gNode B, a base station for NR, new radio) instead. There are, however, many other examples of RAN nodes including an eNB (evolved Node B) or TRP (Transmission-Reception Point). The base station 70 includes one or more processors 73, one or more memories 75, and other circuitry 76. The other circuitry 76 includes one or more receivers (Rx(s)) 77 and one or more transmitters (Tx(s)) 78. A program 72 is used to cause the base station 70 to perform the operations described herein.

[0149] It is noted that the base station 70 may instead be implemented via other wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi (a wireless networking protocol that devices use to communicate without direct cable connections). In the case of Wi-Fi, the link 11 could be characterized as a wireless link.

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

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

[0152] The core network 90 could be a 5GC (5G core network). The core network 90 can implement or comprise multiple network functions (NF(s)) 99, and the program 92 may comprise one or more of the NFs 99. A 5G core network may use hardware such as memory and processors and a virtualization layer. It could be a single standalone computing system, a distributed computing system, or a cloud computing system. The NFs 99, as network elements, of the core network could be containers or virtual machines running on the hardware of the computing system(s) making up the core network 90.

[0153] Core network functionality for 5G may include access and mobility management functionality that is provided by a network function 99 such as an access and mobility management function (AMF(s)), session management functionality that is provided by a network function such as a session management function (SMF). Core network functionality for access and mobility management in an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network may be provided by an MME (Mobility Management Entity) and / or SGW (Serving Gateway) functionality, which routes data to the data network. Many others are possible, as illustrated by the examples in FIG. 8: AMF; SMF; MME; SGW; GMLC (Gateway Mobile Location Center); LMF (Location Management Function); UDM (Unified Data Management) / UDR (Unified Data Repository); NRF (Network Repository Function); and / or E-SMLC (Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center). These are merely exemplary core network functionality that may be provided by the core network 90, and note that both 5G and LTE core network functionality might be provided by the core network 90. The RAN node 70 is coupled via a backhaul link 31 to the core network 90. The RAN node 70 and the core network 90 may include an NG (Next Generation) interface for 5G, or an S 1 interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other radio access technologies for communicating via the backhaul link 31.

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

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

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

[0157] The cellular network 1 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. Note that the virtualized entities (such as network functions 99) that result from the network virtualization are still implemented, at some level, using hardware such as processors 73 and / or 93 and memories 75 and / or 95, and also such virtualized entities create technical effects.

[0158] In general, the various embodiments of the user equipment 10 can include, but are not limited to, devices used for indoor inventory, indoor sensors, indoor positioning, indoor command, outdoor inventory, outdoor sensors, outdoor positioning, and / or outdoor command. See, e.g., the examples in section 4 of 3GPP TR 38.848 V0.2.0 (2023-06). The UE 10 is not limited to these, but these provide an overview of applicability. The UE 10, however, could be any end device that may be capable of wireless communication that extracts energy (at least) from the radio environment. By way of example rather than limitation, the UEmay also be referred to as a communication device, terminal device (MT), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT).

[0159] Turning to FIG. 8A, in this example, the UE 10, e.g., as an AIoT, can be within the network 1. For example, the UE 10 could be a device that helps with location, such as being fixed in a location and sending its location in response to activation. The gNB 70 (e.g., and LMF as an NF 99) could then use this as part of location determination for other UEs. As another example, the UE 10 as an AIoT could be inventory devices that indicate hardware elements for the network 1, e.g., to ensure that none are stolen or destroyed such as in a natural disaster. The other UEs 10-1, as indicated by reference 1210, could be separate from the NW 1 or part of the NW 1.

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

[0161] The following are additional examples.

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

[0163] Example 2. The method according to example 1, wherein the activator device is a lead activator that is one of multiple activator devices and wherein the sending comprises sending the indication of the determined resource allocation to the lead activator using one of a random-access channel procedure, configured grant procedure, or dynamic grant procedure, and wherein the method further comprises sending the indication of the first resources from the determined resource allocation to others of the multiple activator devices using a dynamic grant procedure.

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

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

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

[0167] Example 6. The method according to any of examples 3 to 5, wherein the first and second resources are configured via one of the following: in response to the device being a first type or a second type of the multiple types, the first and second resources coincide in time, or are contiguous in time, where during the first resources only the activation signal is to be transmitted, while during the second resources both activation signal and backscattered transmission are to take place; in response to the device being a third type of the multiple types, the first and second resources have a gap in time to allow the device to react to the activation signal or for reader activation or response interference mitigation; or a type of provided resources are determined based on one or both of a selected occasion or selected preamble for a random-access channel process that was selected by the activator device for the sending by the activator device the preamble transmission for the random-access channel process.

[0168] Example 7. The method according to any of examples 3 to 6, wherein the activation signal indicates explicitly the second resources to be used in a communication by the device with the network element, or implicitly the second resource based on a relation between the first and second resources that is pre-configured or follows a pre-set rule.

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

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

[0171] Example 10. The method according to any of examples 8 or 9, wherein the preamble for the random-access channel process is configured specifically corresponding to use for activation of the device.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0180] Example 19. The method according to any of examples 16 to 18, wherein the first and second resources are configured via one of the following: in response to the device being a first type or a second type of the multiple types, the first and second resources coincide in time, or are contiguous in time, where during the first resources only the activation signal is to be transmitted, while during the second resources both activation signal and backscattered transmission are to take place; in response to the device being a third type of the multiple types, the first and second resources have a gap in time to allow the device to react to the activation signal or for reader activation or response interference mitigation; or a type of provided resources are determined based on one or both of a selected occasion or selected preamble for a random-access channel process that was selected by the activator device for the sending by the activator device the preamble transmission for the random-access channel process.

[0181] Example 20. The method according to any of examples 16 to 19, wherein the activation signal indicates explicitly the second resources to be used in a communication by the device with the network element, or implicitly the second resourcebased on a relation between the first and second resources that is pre-configured or follows a pre-set rule.

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

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

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

[0185] Example 24. The computer program according to example 23, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing instructions embodied therein for use with the apparatus.

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

[0187] Example 26. An apparatus comprising means for performing: determining resource allocation, by a network element in a wireless network, for first resources to be used by an activator device in the wireless network to activate a device over an uplink channel with an activation signal, and for second resources to be used by the device forcommunication over the uplink channel with the network element; sending, by the network element toward the activator device, indication of the determined resource allocation for use by the activator device and the device; and receiving, by the network element, communication over the uplink channel from the device using the second resources.

[0188] Example 27. The apparatus according to example 1, wherein the activator device is a lead activator that is one of multiple activator devices and wherein the sending comprises sending the indication of the determined resource allocation to the lead activator using one of a random-access channel procedure, configured grant procedure, or dynamic grant procedure, and wherein the means are further configured for performing: sending the indication of the first resources from the determined resource allocation to others of the multiple activator devices using a dynamic grant procedure.

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

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

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

[0192] Example 31. The apparatus according to any of examples 28 to 30, wherein the first and second resources are configured via one of the following: in response to the device being a first type or a second type of the multiple types, the first and second resources coincide in time, or are contiguous in time, where during the first resources only the activation signal is to be transmitted, while during the second resources both activation signal and backscattered transmission are to take place; in response to the device being a third type ofthe multiple types, the first and second resources have a gap in time to allow the device to react to the activation signal or for reader activation or response interference mitigation; or a type of provided resources are determined based on one or both of a selected occasion or selected preamble for a random-access channel process that was selected by the activator device for the sending by the activator device the preamble transmission for the random-access channel process.

[0193] Example 32. The apparatus according to any of examples 28 to 31, wherein the activation signal indicates explicitly the second resources to be used in a communication by the device with the network element, or implicitly the second resource based on a relation between the first and second resources that is pre-configured or follows a pre-set rule.

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

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

[0196] Example 35. The apparatus according to any of examples 33 or 34, wherein the preamble for the random-access channel process is configured specifically corresponding to use for activation of the device.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0205] Example 44. The apparatus according to any of examples 41 to 43, wherein the first and second resources are configured via one of the following: in response to the device being a first type or a second type of the multiple types, the first and secondresources coincide in time, or are contiguous in time, where during the first resources only the activation signal is to be transmitted, while during the second resources both activation signal and backscattered transmission are to take place; in response to the device being a third type of the multiple types, the first and second resources have a gap in time to allow the device to react to the activation signal or for reader activation or response interference mitigation; or a type of provided resources are determined based on one or both of a selected occasion or selected preamble for a random-access channel process that was selected by the activator device for the sending by the activator device the preamble transmission for the random-access channel process.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0213] (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0214] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0215] Embodiments herein may be implemented in software (executed by one or more processors), hardware (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit), or a combination of software and hardware. In an example embodiment, the software (e.g., application logic, an instruction set) is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” may be any media or means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice, such as a computer, with one example of a computer described and depicted, e.g., in FIG. 8. A computer-readable medium may comprise a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., memories 15, 75, and 95 or other device) that may be any media or means that can contain, store, and / or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer. A computer-readable storage medium does not comprise propagating signals, and therefore may be considered to be non- transitory. The term “non-transitory”, as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM, random access memory, versus ROM, read-only memory).

[0216] If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and / or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined.

[0217] Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and / or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

[0218] It is also noted herein that while the above describes example embodiments of the invention, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

[0219] The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and / or the drawing figures are defined as follows:5G fifth generationAIoT ambient Internet of thingsAMF access and mobility management functionBS base stationCE control elementCG configured grantDCI downlink control informationDG dynamic grantDL downlink (from network to UE)E-SMLC evolved serving mobile location center GMLC Gateway Mobile Location CentereMTC enhanced machine-type communication eNB (or eNodeB) evolved Node B (e.g., an LTE base station) gNB (or gNodeB) base station for 5G / NRES energy storageID identificationIAB Integrated Access and BackhaulI / F interface loT Internet of thingsLMF Location Management FunctionLTE long term evolutionMAC Medium Access ControlMME mobility management entityNB-IoT narrowband- Internet of ThingsNF network function ng or NG next generationNR new radioNRF Network Repository FunctionN / W or NW networkPRB physical resource blockPRACH physical random access channelPUSCH physical uplink shared channelRACH random access channelRAN radio access networkRAR random-access responseRedCap reduced capabilityRFID radio frequency identificationRx receiverSGW serving gatewaySL sidelinkSMF session management functionSSB Synchronization signal blockTPC Transmission power controlTRP transmission-reception pointTx transmitterUDM unified data managementUDR unified data repositoryUE user equipment (e.g., a wireless, typically mobile device)UPF user plane functionUu the air interface between the UE and the network, e.g., gNBUWB ultra-wideband

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising: receiving, by an activator device in a wireless network from a network element in the wireless network, indication of resource allocation comprising first resources to be used by the activator device to activate a device over an uplink channel with an activation signal, and second resources to be used by the device for communication over the uplink channel with the network element; and sending, by the activator device toward the device, at least the activation signal in the first resources, where the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit or explicit indication of the second resources to the device.

2. A method, comprising: receiving, by a device in a wireless network from an activator device in the wireless network, an activation signal sent over first resources on an uplink channel, where the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit or explicit indication of second resources to be used by the device for communication over the uplink channel with a network element in the wireless network; and sending, by the device to the network element, a communication over the uplink channel using the second resources.

3. An apparatus, comprising means for performing: determining resource allocation, by a network element in a wireless network, for first resources to be used by an activator device in the wireless network to activate a device over an uplink channel with an activation signal, and for second resources to be used by the device for communication over the uplink channel with the network element; sending, by the network element toward the activator device, indication of the determined resource allocation for use by the activator device and the device; and receiving, by the network element, communication over the uplink channel from the device using the second resources.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the activator device is a lead activator that is one of multiple activator devices and wherein the sending comprises sending the indication of the determined resource allocation to the lead activator using one of a randomaccess channel procedure, configured grant procedure, or dynamic grant procedure, and wherein the means are further configured for performing: sending the indication of the first resources from the determined resource allocation to others of the multiple activator devices using a dynamic grant procedure.

5. An apparatus, comprising means for performing: receiving, by an activator device in a wireless network from a network element in the wireless network, indication of resource allocation comprising first resources to be used by the activator device to activate a device over an uplink channel with an activation signal, and second resources to be used by the device for communication over the uplink channel with the network element; and sending, by the activator device toward the device, at least the activation signal in the first resources, where the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit or explicit indication of the second resources to the device.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the activation signal comprises an indication of a power control parameter to be applied by the device for the communication over the uplink channel using the second resources to the network element.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the power control parameter comprises at least one of a minimum / maximum transmission power boost, a power offset correction, or an absolute transmission power, to be applied by the device for the communication to the network element.

8. The apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the first and second resources are configured via one of the following: in response to the device being a first type or a second type of the multiple types, the first and second resources coincide in time, or are contiguous in time, where during the first resources only the activation signal is to be transmitted, while during the second resources both activation signal and backscattered transmission are to take place;in response to the device being a third type of the multiple types, the first and second resources have a gap in time to allow the device to react to the activation signal or for reader activation or response interference mitigation; or a type of provided resources are determined based on one or both of a selected occasion or selected preamble for a random-access channel process that was selected by the activator device for the sending by the activator device the preamble transmission for the random-access channel process.

9. The apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 8, wherein the activation signal indicates explicitly the second resources to be used in a communication by the device with the network element, or implicitly the second resource based on a relation between the first and second resources that is pre-configured or follows a pre-set rule.

10. The apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 9, wherein the receiving is part of a random-access channel process, and wherein the means are further configured for performing, prior to the receiving: sending by the activator device a preamble transmission toward the network element as part of the random-access channel process using a selected occasion and selected preamble for the random-access channel process.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the means are further configured for performing: in response to no acknowledgement being received by the activator device from the network element, attempting by the activator device a preamble retransmission to the network element in a subsequent occasion in the random-access channel process while applying a power offset according to a power ramping procedure.

12. The apparatus according to any of claims 10 or 11, wherein the preamble for the random-access channel process is configured specifically corresponding to use for activation of the device.

13. The apparatus according to any of claims 10 to 12, wherein one or both of the selected occasion or the selected preamble for the random-access channel process indicates one of multiple device types for the device.

14. The apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 9, wherein the receiving is part of a configured grant process.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the receiving the indication of resource allocation is performed while the activator device is in a connected state for radio resource control or the activator device receives the indication of resource allocation as part of configuration received in response to transitioning to an inactive state for radio resource control.

16. The apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 9, wherein the receiving is part of a dynamic grant process, and wherein the receiving the indication of resource allocation is performed while the activator device is in a connected state for radio resource control and via a container of downlink control information.

17. The apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 16, wherein the means are further configured for performing: sending indication of a request for additional activator devices to support the activator device; wherein for a random-access channel procedure, the indication of the request includes information of specific occasions and preambles for the random-access channel procedure that, when activated, indicate to the wireless network that multiple activators should be activated; or for configured grant and dynamic grant procedures, the indication of the request of multiple activators is triggered by transmission of an uplink channel associated with that same purpose or triggered via a control element for medium access control or a radio resource control request message.

18. An apparatus, comprising means for performing: receiving, by a device in a wireless network from an activator device in the wireless network, an activation signal sent over first resources on an uplink channel, where the activation signal is configured to provide one of an implicit or explicit indication of second resources to be usedby the device for communication over the uplink channel with a network element in the wireless network; and sending, by the device to the network element, a communication over the uplink channel using the second resources.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the activation signal comprises an indication of a power control parameter to be applied by the device for the communication over the uplink channel using the second resources to the network element.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the power control parameter comprises at least one of a minimum / maximum transmission power boost, a power offset correction, or an absolute transmission power, to be applied by the device for the communication to the network element.

21. The apparatus according to any of claims 18 to 20, wherein the first and second resources are configured via one of the following: in response to the device being a first type or a second type of the multiple types, the first and second resources coincide in time, or are contiguous in time, where during the first resources only the activation signal is to be transmitted, while during the second resources both activation signal and backscattered transmission are to take place; in response to the device being a third type of the multiple types, the first and second resources have a gap in time to allow the device to react to the activation signal or for reader activation or response interference mitigation; or a type of provided resources are determined based on one or both of a selected occasion or selected preamble for a random-access channel process that was selected by the activator device for the sending by the activator device the preamble transmission for the random-access channel process.

22. The apparatus according to any of claims 18 to 21, wherein the activation signal indicates explicitly the second resources to be used in a communication by the device with the network element, or implicitly the second resource based on a relation between the first and second resources that is pre-configured or follows a pre-set rule.

23. The apparatus according to any of claims 18 to 22, wherein the means are further configured for performing: in case the indication of the second resources is not available, initiating by the device its own random-access channel procedure with the network element and then second resources are determined in association with a preamble for the random-access channel procedure transmitted by the device toward the network element.

24. The apparatus according to any of claims 18 to 23, wherein the sending further comprises: in response to the device being the first type of the multiple types, the device modulating the activation signal and produces a backscattered signal from the activation signal as the communication to the network element; in response to the device being a second type of the multiple types, the device applying a power boost to the activation signal and producing a power boosted backscattered signal as the communication to the network element, wherein power boost applied is determined based on a minimum / maximum transmission power boost or a power offset correction indicated in the activation signal; and in response to the device being a third type of the multiple types, applying transmission power determined based on at least one of the following: a power offset correction indicated in the activation signal; an absolute transmission power indicated in the activation signal; a parameter derived at the device based on open loop power control from the received activation signal; or an additional power offset associated with traffic to be sent by the device.

25. The apparatus of any preceding apparatus claim, wherein the means comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

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

27. A computer-readable storage medium bearing instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any of claims 1, 2 or

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