Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a related apparatus, which are applied to the technical field of communications. According to the technical solution provided in the present application, at a terminal side, a terminal indicates the desired charging power thereof by means of the sending power of a reference signal. According to the technical solution of the present application, signaling overhead for indicating desired charging power of a terminal can be saved.

Description

Communication method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on January 9, 2024, with application number 202410035843.9 and application name “Communication Methods and Related Devices”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to communication methods and related devices. Background Art

[0003] With the development of wireless networks and the evolution of business needs, a vast number of Internet of Things (IoT) nodes are now present in these networks. IoT nodes are typically small and cannot carry large-capacity batteries, resulting in short standby life. Wireless energy transfer (WPT) through base stations is one important approach to addressing the short battery life of IoT nodes.

[0004] In the technical solution of implementing WPT through base stations to solve the short battery life of IoT nodes, the terminal informs the base station of its desired charging power through indication information. The base station sends a wireless signal based on the charging power. After the IoT node receives the wireless signal sent by the base station, it can obtain the energy in the wireless signal to charge the battery.

[0005] However, the above technical solution has the following problem: the signaling overhead between the base station and the terminal is relatively large. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and related devices that can provide the energy required for energy storage to electronic devices through wireless radio frequency signals while saving signaling overhead.

[0007] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which indicates the terminal's expected charging power to a network device that provides a charging signal through the transmission power of a reference signal sent by the terminal, so that the network device can obtain the terminal's expected charging power based on the transmission power of the reference signal, thereby enabling the network device to send a charging signal to the terminal with reference to the terminal's expected charging power, so that the required charging power can be provided to the terminal.

[0008] Compared with the method in which the terminal indicates the terminal's expected charging power to the network device providing the charging signal through indication information, this method can help the network device provide the required charging power to the terminal while saving signaling overhead.

[0009] The reference signal sent by the terminal may be a signal for triggering the network device to send a charging signal, and the charging signal sent by the network device may be a signal dedicated to providing charging power.

[0010] The execution subject of the communication method may be referred to as a communication device. The communication device may be a terminal or a chip or chip system that can be applied to a terminal, or a functional module that can be applied to a terminal or to the aforementioned chip or chip system.

[0011] In some possible implementations, the transmission power of the reference signal sent by the communication device and the charging power expected by the terminal satisfy a preconfigured relationship. In other words, the mapping relationship between the transmission power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal may be preconfigured.

[0012] For example, the mapping relationship between the transmission power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal may be specified in a communication standard or a communication protocol, and may be pre-configured in the communication device based on the communication standard or the communication protocol.

[0013] As an example, the variables in the mapping relationship pre-configured in the communication device based on the communication standard or communication protocol do not include other unknown parameters except the transmission power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal.

[0014] As another example, the variables in the mapping relationship pre-configured in the communication device based on the communication standard or communication protocol may include other unknown parameters in addition to the transmission power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal. These parameters can be configured for the communication device through the network device, or agreed upon by the network device and the communication device, or determined by the communication device itself based on demand.

[0015] For another example, the mapping relationship between the transmit power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal may be configured by the network device for the communication apparatus through a message or signaling.

[0016] As an example, the variables in the mapping relationship configured by the network device for the communication apparatus do not include other parameters except the transmission power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal.

[0017] As another example, the variables configured by the network device for the communication device may include other parameters in addition to the transmission power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal. These parameters can be configured for the communication device by the network device, or agreed upon by the network device and the communication device, or determined by the communication device itself based on demand.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the preconfigured relationship between the transmit power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal includes the following relationship: T1 =P D1 +2*β1*α1*PL1+Δ, where, P T1 represents the transmit power of the reference signal, P D1 represents the charging power expected by the terminal, PL1 represents the path loss between the terminal and the network device, β1 is a real number, α1 represents the path loss factor, and Δ is a preset power adjustment value.

[0019] As an example, the parameter in the above relational expression may be power in the logarithmic domain, such as power in dBm or dB.

[0020] It is understood that the above relationship is only intended to represent the relationship that can be satisfied between the reference signal transmit power and the terminal's desired charging power, and does not limit the calculation of the reference signal transmit power based on this relationship when the terminal's desired charging power is known. Any calculation formula that can satisfy this relationship between the reference signal transmit power and the terminal's desired charging power should be included in the scope of protection of this application.

[0021] In some possible implementations, Δ is a negative number, which can reduce the power of the reference signal sent by the terminal and reduce the power consumption of the terminal.

[0022] In some possible implementations, the communication device may receive second information from a network device, where the second information indicates at least one of the following parameters: α1, Δ, or β1. In other words, one or more of α1, Δ, or β1 may be unknown and may be configured via an instruction from the network device.

[0023] In some possible implementations, the reference signal transmit power determined based on a preconfigured relationship and the terminal's desired charging power may exceed the terminal's maximum transmit power. To address this issue, the reference signal transmit power determined based on the preconfigured relationship and the terminal's desired charging power is used as the terminal's final reference signal transmit power only when the transmit power is less than or equal to the terminal's maximum transmit power. This means that the reference signal is transmitted using the transmit power determined based on the relationship.

[0024] Optionally, when the transmission power of the reference signal determined based on a preconfigured relationship and the charging power expected by the terminal is greater than the maximum transmission power of the terminal, the transmission power of the reference signal is equal to the maximum transmission power of the terminal, that is, the terminal uses the maximum transmission power to send the reference signal.

[0025] In some possible implementations, the terminal may also receive first information from the network device, where the first information indicates a first power range, where the power range is the range of charging power that the network device can provide. In this case, the charging power expected by the terminal is within the first power range.

[0026] Alternatively, the terminal can determine its desired charging power based on the range of charging powers that the network device can provide, to avoid situations where the terminal's desired charging power is too high and the reference signal transmit power is also too high. This prevents the terminal from indicating a charging power that the network device cannot provide through the reference signal transmit power, thereby avoiding invalid indications.

[0027] In some possible implementations, the first information indicating the first power range includes: the first information indicating an index of the first power range among multiple power ranges. In other words, the first information indicates to the terminal the first power range of the network device by indicating the index of the first power range among the multiple power ranges, thereby reducing indication overhead.

[0028] In some possible implementations, after receiving a charging signal and performing charging and energy storage based on the charging signal, the terminal may also send third information to the network device, where the third information indicates the difference between the received power of the charging signal and the charging power expected by the terminal. Alternatively, the third information may indicate the difference between the power after the terminal is charged based on the charging signal and the charging power expected by the terminal.

[0029] For example, the terminal may send the third information when the power after charging based on the charging signal is less than the terminal's expected charging power. Furthermore, the terminal may only send the third information when the absolute value of the difference between the power after charging based on the charging signal and the terminal's expected charging power is greater than or equal to a preset threshold. This can save transmission resources.

[0030] In some possible implementations, after sending the reference signal, the terminal may receive fourth information from the network device, where the fourth information indicates resources used to transmit the reference signal. That is, the resources used by the terminal to send the reference signal may be configured by the network device.

[0031] Optionally, the fourth information may be carried in a multicast message, a broadcast message or an RRC configuration message of the terminal.

[0032] In this method, the preconfigured relationship between the transmit power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal may be referred to as a first preconfigured relationship.

[0033] In some possible implementations, the transmission power of the charging signal and the reception power of the reference signal satisfy a second preconfigured relationship, which helps the charging signal sent by the network device to meet the charging power expected by the terminal.

[0034] As an example, the second pre-configured relationship includes the following relationship: T =P R +2*β*α*PL-Δ, where P T represents the sending power of the charging signal, β is a real number, P R represents the received power of the reference signal, α represents the path loss factor, PL represents the path loss, and Δ is the preset power adjustment value.

[0035] In some possible implementations, the modulation symbol carried by the subcarrier where the charging signal is located is conjugated with the modulation symbol carried by the subcarrier where the reference signal is located.

[0036] The energy of the charging signal in this implementation is directional in the direction of the terminal, thereby improving the charging efficiency of the charging signal.

[0037] On the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, in which a network device receives a reference signal from a terminal, and the transmission power of the reference signal satisfies a first pre-configured relationship with the charging power expected by the terminal, so that the network device can know the charging power expected by the terminal.

[0038] Compared with the method in which the terminal indicates the terminal's expected charging power to the network device providing the charging signal through indication information, this method can help the network device provide the required charging power to the terminal while saving signaling overhead.

[0039] The reference signal sent by the terminal may be a signal for triggering the network device to send a charging signal, and the charging signal sent by the network device may be a signal dedicated to providing charging power.

[0040] The execution subject of the communication method may be referred to as a communication device. The communication device may be a network device or a chip or chip system that can be applied to the network device, or a functional module that can be applied to the network device or the aforementioned chip or chip system.

[0041] For the relevant content of the first pre-configuration relationship, please refer to the first pre-configuration relationship in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0042] In some possible implementations, the communication device may send second information, where the second information indicates at least one of the following parameters included in the first pre-configured relationship: α1, Δ, or β1.

[0043] In some possible implementations, the transmission power of the charging signal and the reception power of the reference signal satisfy a second preconfigured relationship. That is, the mapping relationship between the reception power of the reference signal and the transmission power of the charging signal may be preconfigured.

[0044] For example, the mapping relationship between the received power of the reference signal and the transmitted power of the charging signal may be specified in a communication standard or a communication protocol, and may be pre-configured in the communication device based on the communication standard or the communication protocol.

[0045] As an example, the variables in the mapping relationship pre-configured in the communication device based on the communication standard or communication protocol do not include other unknown parameters except the transmission power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal.

[0046] As another example, the variables in the mapping relationship pre-configured in the communication device based on the communication standard or communication protocol may include other unknown parameters in addition to the transmission power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal. These parameters can be negotiated between the network device and the terminal, or determined by the network device itself based on demand.

[0047] In some possible implementations, the received power of the reference signal and the transmitted power of the charging signal satisfy the following relationship: T =P R +2*β*α*PL-Δ, where P T Represents the sending power of the charging signal, β is a real number, P R represents the received power of the reference signal, α represents the path loss factor, PL represents the path loss, and Δ is the preset power adjustment value.

[0048] As an example, the parameter in the above relational expression may be power in the logarithmic domain, such as power in dBm or dB.

[0049] It is understood that the above relationship is only intended to represent a relationship that can be satisfied between the received power of the reference signal and the transmitted power of the charging signal, and does not limit the calculation of the transmitted power of the charging signal based on this relationship when the received power of the reference signal is known. Any calculation formula that can satisfy this relationship between the transmitted power of the charging signal and the received power of the reference signal should be included in the scope of protection of this application.

[0050] In some possible implementations, Δ is a negative number. This allows the network device to accurately know the charging power expected by the terminal while saving the transmission power of the reference signal, and thus accurately determine the transmission power of the charging signal.

[0051] In some possible implementations, after the communication device sends a charging signal to the terminal, it may also receive third information indicating the difference between the received power of the charging signal and the terminal's desired charging power. For example, the communication device may receive third information if the charging power that the charging signal previously sent by the communication device can provide to the terminal is less than the terminal's desired charging power.

[0052] In this case, the network device can resend the charging signal based on the difference, and the transmit power of the resent charging signal should generally be able to meet the requirement of the difference. For example, the transmit power of the resent charging signal is greater than or equal to the sum of the difference and the path loss value.

[0053] Optionally, the network device may send the charging signal only when the absolute value of the difference is greater than or equal to a preset threshold, so as to save power consumption of the network device.

[0054] In some possible implementations, the transmit power of the charging signal, determined based on a preconfigured relationship and the received power of a reference signal, may exceed the maximum transmit power of the network device. To address this issue, the network device can indicate a first power range to the terminal. This first power range represents the range of charging power that the network device can provide, thereby avoiding invalid indications.

[0055] In some possible implementations, the first information indicating the first power range includes: the first information indicating an index of the first power range among multiple power ranges. In other words, the first information indicates to the terminal the first power range of the network device by indicating the index of the first power range among the multiple power ranges, thereby reducing indication overhead.

[0056] In some possible implementations, before the communication device receives the reference signal, it may send fourth information indicating resources for transmitting the reference signal. That is, the network device may configure resources for transmitting the reference signal for the terminal.

[0057] Optionally, the fourth information may be carried in a multicast message, a broadcast message or an RRC configuration message.

[0058] In some possible implementations, the modulation symbol carried by the subcarrier where the charging signal is located is conjugated with the modulation symbol carried by the subcarrier where the reference signal is located.

[0059] For example, after receiving a reference signal and demodulating it to obtain a modulation symbol, the communication device can conjugate the modulation symbol and transmit the symbol modulated by the conjugated symbol. The subcarrier carrying the symbol is the charging signal. This not only reduces the implementation complexity of the communication device sending the charging signal, but also improves the directivity of the charging signal's energy in the direction of the terminal, thereby improving the charging efficiency of the charging signal.

[0060] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may include a module corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect, and the module may be implemented as a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0061] In one design, the apparatus may include a processing module and a communication module. The communication module is configured to perform the sending and receiving actions performed by the terminal or communication device in the method described in the first aspect above, and the processing module is configured to perform the processing-related actions performed by the terminal or communication device in the method described in the first aspect above.

[0062] In one design, the device may be a terminal, or a device, module, circuit or chip configured in the terminal, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal.

[0063] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may include a module corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect, and the module may be implemented as a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0064] In one design, the apparatus may include a processing module and a communication module. The communication module is configured to perform the sending and receiving actions performed by the network device or communication device in the method described in the second aspect above, and the processing module is configured to perform the processing-related actions performed by the network device or communication device in the method described in the second aspect above.

[0065] In one design, the device may be a network device, or a device, module, circuit or chip configured and arranged in the network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the network device.

[0066] In a fifth aspect, a device is provided, comprising a processor and a storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores instructions, which, when executed by the processor, enable the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented, or enable the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0067] In a sixth aspect, a device is provided, comprising a processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is used to process data and / or information so that a method as in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is implemented, or a method as in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect is implemented.

[0068] The processing circuit may include one or more processors, or all or part of the circuitry in one or more processors for processing functions.

[0069] In one design, the device may be a terminal, or a device, module, circuit or chip configured in the terminal, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal.

[0070] In one design, the device may be a network device, or a device, module, circuit or chip configured and arranged in the network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the network device.

[0071] Optionally, the device may also include a memory for storing programs or instructions, and the processor is used to run the programs or instructions so that the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is implemented, or the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect is implemented.

[0072] Optionally, the device may further include the transceiver circuit, or an input / output interface.

[0073] In the seventh aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is used to run a program or instruction so that the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is implemented, or the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect is implemented.

[0074] Optionally, the chip may further include a memory for storing programs or instructions.

[0075] Optionally, the chip may further include a transceiver circuit, or an input / output interface.

[0076] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium includes instructions, which, when executed by a processor, enable the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented, or enable the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0077] In the ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes computer program code or instructions. When the computer program code or instructions are executed, the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect is implemented, or the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect is implemented.

[0078] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a combination of one or more of the following devices: a communication device that executes the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or a communication device that executes the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0079] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG3 is an exemplary flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG4 is an exemplary structural diagram of a communication device of the present application;

[0083] FIG5 is another exemplary structural diagram of the communication device of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0084] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0085] To facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0086] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0087] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0088] The embodiments of this application mainly use the cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as an example to describe the method provided by the embodiments of this application, but this should not constitute any limitation on this application. Based on the same concept, the method provided by this application can also be applied to other communication networks such as Zigbee, long-range radio (Lora), Bluetooth (BT), and wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi).

[0089] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, wireless local area networks (WLAN) systems, satellite communication systems, future communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) mobile communication systems, or a fusion system of multiple systems. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to device to device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine to machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems or other communication systems.

[0090] The radio access network (RAN) device in this application is a device with wireless transceiver functions. The radio access network device can provide wireless communication function services and can access the terminal device to the wireless network. The radio access network can also be referred to as an access network device or a network device. The network device in the embodiment of the present application can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) used in a cellular network (or mobile network) to access the terminal device to the wireless network, and can also be a zigbee base station, a master Bluetooth (BT master), a master low-energy Bluetooth (BLE master), a Lora base station, or a Wi-Fi access point.

[0091] The terminal device can be a device that provides voice / data, such as a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. Currently, some examples of terminals include: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, customer premises equipment (CPE), fixed wireless access (FWA), personal digital assistants (PDAs), and so on. assistant, PDA), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or terminal devices in future evolved public land mobile communication networks (public land mobile networks, PLMN), devices in Zigbee networks, devices in Lora networks, Bluetooth slaves (BT slaves), Bluetooth low energy BLE slaves, Wi-Fi stations (STAs), etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0092] A terminal device can also be a terminal device in an IoT system, also known as an IoT node. IoT is a crucial component of future information technology development. Its primary technical feature is connecting objects to the network through communication technologies, thereby enabling intelligent networks that interconnect humans and machines, and objects and things. Connections can be achieved through both broadband and narrowband technologies. IoT technology, for example, uses narrowband (NB) technology to achieve massive connections, deep coverage, and power-saving terminals. IoT technologies include reflective communication, spread spectrum, and ultra-wideband (UWB), which are not detailed here.

[0093] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the methods of embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 1 , communication system 100 may include at least one network device, such as network device 110 shown in Figure 1 ; communication system 100 may also include at least one terminal device, such as terminal device 120 and terminal device 130 shown in Figure 1 .

[0094] The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 may communicate via a wireless link. The communication devices in the communication system, for example, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 may communicate via a multi-antenna technology.

[0095] As an example, a single network device may transmit data or control signaling to a single or multiple terminal devices, and / or multiple network devices may simultaneously transmit data or control signaling for a single terminal device.

[0096] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another communication system applicable to the method of an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the terminal device includes a processor 211, a memory 212, and a transceiver 213. The transceiver 213 includes a transmitter 2131, a receiver 2132, and an antenna 2133. The network device includes a processor 221, a memory 222, and a transceiver 223. The transceiver 223 includes a transmitter 2231, a receiver 2232, and an antenna 2233.

[0097] The processor 211 , the memory 212 , and the transceiver 213 communicate with each other through an internal connection path, and the processor 221 , the memory 222 , and the transceiver 223 communicate with each other through an internal connection path.

[0098] Receiver 2132 may be configured to receive control information via antenna 2133, and transmitter 2131 may be configured to send feedback information to the network device via antenna 2133. Transmitter 2231 may be configured to send control information to the terminal device via antenna 2233, and receiver 2232 may be configured to receive feedback information sent by the terminal device via antenna 2233.

[0099] In some possible scenarios, the network device in FIG. 2 may only have an uplink receiving function but not a downlink sending function.

[0100] It should be noted that Figures 1 and 2 are simplified schematic diagrams for ease of understanding. In actual applications, the communication system may include multiple network devices and multiple terminal devices. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of network devices and terminal devices included in the communication system.

[0101] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3 , the method may include S330 and S340.

[0102] S330: The terminal sends a reference signal, wherein the transmission power of the reference signal satisfies a first pre-configured relationship with the charging power expected by the terminal. Accordingly, the network device receives the reference signal.

[0103] The reference signal can be used to trigger the network device to send a charging signal.

[0104] As an example, when the remaining power of the terminal is less than or equal to a preset power, the terminal may send a reference signal.

[0105] In some implementations, transmitting a reference signal by a terminal may include: generating a modulation symbol based on a preset bit sequence corresponding to the reference signal, mapping the modulation symbol onto a subcarrier, performing an inverse Fourier transform on the subcarrier to obtain an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and transmitting the OFDM symbol. In this implementation, the reference signal is transmitted on the OFDM symbol.

[0106] S340: The network device sends a charging signal, and the terminal receives the charging signal accordingly.

[0107] The network device may send the charging signal in response to the reference signal.

[0108] In this embodiment, because the transmit power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal satisfy a pre-configured mapping relationship, the transmit power of the reference signal can be used to indicate the terminal's expected charging power to the network device, thereby helping the network device to send a charging signal based on the transmit power of the reference signal, and further helping the power provided by the charging signal sent by the network device to meet the charging needs of the terminal. In addition, in this method, the transmit power of the reference signal is used to indicate the terminal's expected charging power to the network device, and no additional signaling is required to indicate the terminal's expected charging power, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0109] With respect to the charging signal, in some possible implementations, the charging signal may be a wireless radio frequency signal dedicated to providing charging power.

[0110] Regarding the charging power expected by the terminal, in some possible implementations, the charging power expected by the terminal may be the maximum charging power that the terminal's circuit can accept; or the power currently consumed by the terminal; or a power value determined by the maximum energy storage capacity, the remaining power, and the time required for charging. For example, it may be the power value obtained by dividing the difference between the maximum energy storage capacity and the remaining power of the terminal by the time required for charging.

[0111] Regarding determining the terminal's desired charging power based on the charging power that the network device can provide, in some possible implementations, as shown in S320 in the figure, the terminal may receive first information from the network device, the first information indicating a first power range, which is the range of charging power that the network device can provide to the terminal; the terminal determines the terminal's desired charging power based on the first power range. In this way, the desired charging power determined by the terminal does not exceed the range of charging power that the network device can provide. That is, the desired charging power indicated by the terminal is the charging power that the network device can provide, thereby effectively indicating the terminal's desired charging power.

[0112] As an example, the network device may determine a range of charging power that can be provided to the terminal based on its own maximum transmission power.

[0113] For example, the network device only needs to provide charging power for the terminal on the time-frequency resources allocated to the terminal, and the network device may determine its maximum transmit power as the maximum value of the range of charging power that can be provided to the terminal.

[0114] For another example, when a network device provides charging power to one or more terminals on the adaptation resources allocated to the one or more terminals, the network device can determine the quotient of its own maximum transmission power and the number of terminals to which charging power is provided as the maximum value of the range of charging power that can be provided to a single terminal.

[0115] As an example, when the differential power of the terminal is within the first power range, for example, when the differential power of the terminal is less than or equal to the maximum charging power that the network device can provide, the charging power expected by the terminal may be the differential power; when the differential power of the terminal exceeds the first power range, for example, when the differential power of the terminal is greater than the maximum charging power that the network device can provide, the charging power expected by the terminal may be the maximum charging power.

[0116] With respect to the first information received by the terminal from the network device, in some possible implementations, the first information may indicate the first power range by indicating an index of the first power range in multiple power ranges.

[0117] With respect to the multiple power ranges, in some possible implementations, each power range may be represented by an upper limit power value of the power range, and the upper limit power value may be understood as a maximum power value within the power range.

[0118] Optionally, the index of the power range may represent the level of the power range. For example, a smaller index value indicates a higher level of the power range and a larger upper power limit of the power range. Alternatively, a smaller index value indicates a lower level of the power range and a larger upper power limit of the power range.

[0119] Optionally, the relationship between the first power range and the index may be expressed by a table, or may be expressed by a formula. For example, after the index is known, the index may be substituted into the formula to calculate the threshold value of the first power range.

[0120] With respect to the first information received by the terminal from the network device, in some other possible implementations, the first information may indicate the first power range by indicating an upper power limit value and / or a lower power limit value of the first power range.

[0121] With respect to the first information received by the terminal from the network device, in some other possible implementations, the first information may indicate the first power range by indicating the difference between the upper limit power value of the first power range and the first preset power value and / or the difference between the lower limit power value and the second preset power value.

[0122] The first preset power value and the second preset power value may be the same power value or different preset power values. The first preset power value and / or the second preset power value may be power values ​​known to the terminal and the network device.

[0123] With respect to the first preconfigured relationship, in some possible implementations, the first preconfigured relationship may essentially be a preconfigured mapping relationship or a predefined mapping relationship.

[0124] Regarding the pre-configured relationship between the transmission power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal, in some possible implementations, the relationship may be specified in a standard protocol, and the terminal may pre-configure the relationship in accordance with the provisions of the standard protocol.

[0125] Regarding the preconfigured relationship between the reference signal transmit power and the terminal's desired charging power, in some other possible implementations, the relationship may be configured for the terminal by the network device through signaling. For example, the relationship may be configured for the terminal by the network device through a multicast message, a broadcast message, or a radio resource control (RRC) configuration message.

[0126] In some possible implementations of this embodiment, the terminal's desired charging power may be divided into multiple charging power ranges, with each charging power range mapped to a corresponding reference signal transmit power. The relationship between the charging power range and the reference signal transmit power is represented as a first preconfigured relationship. For example, the first preconfigured relationship may be represented by a table.

[0127] In some other possible implementations of this embodiment, the first preconfigured relationship may be a relationship between the terminal's desired charging power and the reference signal's transmit power. For example, the relationship may be a relationship with the terminal's desired charging power as input and the reference signal's transmit power as output.

[0128] In some possible implementations of the network device sending the charging signal, the network device can send the charging signal based on the received power of the reference signal, or determine the sending power of the charging signal based on the received power of the reference signal and use the sending power to send the charging signal.

[0129] In some possible implementations of the present application, the transmit power of the charging signal and the receive power of the reference signal satisfy a second preconfigured relationship. In this implementation, the network device sending the charging signal based on the receive power of the reference signal may include: the network device determining the transmit power of the charging signal based on the receive power of the reference signal and the second preconfigured relationship, and sending the charging signal using the transmit power.

[0130] It can be understood that the first pre-configuration relationship and the second pre-configuration relationship can ensure that the transmission power of the charging signal and the charging power expected by the terminal meet a specified relationship. For example, the transmission power of the charging signal plus the path loss can be greater than or equal to the charging power expected by the terminal. In other words, after the charging signal is sent according to the transmission power, transmitted, reaches the terminal, and is received by the terminal, the terminal's received power is greater than or equal to the terminal's expected charging power, or the difference between the terminal's received power and the terminal's expected charging power is within a preset range. In other words, the first pre-configuration relationship and the second pre-configuration relationship can facilitate the network device to provide the terminal with a charging power that meets the terminal's charging needs.

[0131] When the first pre-configured relationship is a relationship between the charging power expected by the terminal and the transmission power of the reference signal, in a first possible implementation manner, the first pre-configured relationship may include the following relationship: T1 =P D1 , where P T1 Indicates the transmit power of the reference signal, P D1 This relationship can be understood as follows: after the terminal determines the expected charging power, it can send the reference signal with the same power.

[0132] Because the relationship between the reference signal's received power at the network device and its transmitted power at the terminal is known, the network device can determine the terminal's desired charging power based on the reference signal's received power. For example, the network device can compensate for the reference signal's path loss between the network device and the terminal based on the reference signal's received power, thereby determining the terminal's desired charging power.

[0133] In this implementation, after the network device obtains the charging power expected by the terminal device, it can compensate the path loss value of the charging signal transmitted between the network device and the terminal based on the charging power expected by the terminal, thereby obtaining the transmission power of the charging signal. As an example, the second pre-configured relationship can be expressed as: P T =P R +α1*PL1+α1*PL1=P R +2*α1*PL1, where P T Indicates the sending power of the charging signal, P R represents the received power of the reference signal, α1 represents the path loss factor, PL1 represents the measured path loss, α1*PL1 represents the path loss value consumed by the unilateral transmission of the signal between the network device and the terminal, P R +α1*PL1 represents the charging power expected by the terminal.

[0134] Understandable, P. R =P T1 -α1*PL1=P D1 -α1*PL1,P T =P T1 +α1*PL1=P D1 +α1*PL1.

[0135] This implementation can indicate the charging power expected by the terminal to the network device without additionally increasing the power consumption of the terminal in sending the reference signal.

[0136] In the case where the first pre-configured relationship is a relationship between the charging power expected by the terminal and the transmission power of the reference signal, in a second possible implementation manner, the first pre-configured relationship may include the following relationship: T1 =P D1 +Δ' or P T1 =P D1 -Δ", where P T1 Indicates the transmit power of the reference signal, P D1 represents the charging power expected by the terminal, Δ" and Δ' represent power adjustment values, Δ" is a positive number, and Δ' is a negative number. Δ" or Δ' can be a power adjustment value known to both the network device and the terminal.

[0137] The principle of this implementation method is as follows: after the terminal determines the expected charging power, it can reduce Δ" or increase Δ' based on the expected charging power to obtain the transmission power of the reference signal; after the network device receives the reference signal, it can compensate for the path loss value of the reference signal transmitted between the network device and the terminal based on the received power of the reference signal, and increase Δ" or decrease Δ' based on the compensated power value, so that the expected charging power of the terminal can be determined.

[0138] In this implementation, after the network device obtains the charging power expected by the terminal device, it can compensate the path loss value of the charging signal transmitted between the network device and the terminal based on the charging power expected by the terminal, thereby obtaining the transmission power of the charging signal. As an example, the second pre-configured relationship can be expressed as: P T =P R -Δ'+α1*PL1+α1*PL1=P R -Δ'+2*α1*PL1orP T =P R +Δ"+α1*PL1+α1*PL1=P R +Δ”+2*α1*PL1, where P T Indicates the sending power of the charging signal, P R represents the received power of the reference signal, α1 represents the path loss factor, PL1 represents the measured path loss, α1*PL1 represents the path loss value consumed by the unilateral transmission of the signal between the network device and the terminal, P R -Δ'+α1*PL1 or P R +Δ”+α1*PL1 represents the charging power expected by the terminal.

[0139] Understandable, P. R =P T1 -α1*PL1=P D1 +Δ'-α1*PL1 or P R =P T1 -α1*PL1=PD1 -Δ"-α1*PL1;P T =P D1 +α1*PL1.

[0140] In this implementation, the charging power expected by the terminal can be indicated to the network device while reducing the transmission power of the reference signal sent by the terminal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal.

[0141] In this implementation, as an example, the value of Δ" or Δ' can make the transmission power of the reference signal greater than the path loss value between the terminal and the network device, so as to ensure that the network device can receive the reference signal, thereby ensuring that the terminal can indicate the terminal's desired charging power to the network device.

[0142] In the case where the first pre-configured relationship is a relationship between the charging power expected by the terminal and the transmission power of the reference signal, in a third possible implementation manner, the first pre-configured relationship may include the following relationship: T1 =P D1 +Δ'+α1*PL1orP T1 =P D1 -Δ"+α1*PL1, where P T1 Indicates the transmit power of the reference signal, P D1 represents the terminal's desired charging power, α1 represents the path loss factor, PL1 represents the measured path loss, α1*PL1 represents the path loss consumed by unilateral signal transmission between the network device and the terminal, and Δ" and Δ' represent power adjustment values, with Δ" being a positive number and Δ' being a negative number. Δ" or Δ' can be power adjustment values ​​known to both the network device and the terminal.

[0143] The principle of this implementation method is as follows: after the terminal determines the expected charging power, it can compensate for the path loss value consumed by the unilateral transmission of the signal between the network device and the terminal based on the expected charging power, and reduce Δ" or increase Δ' to obtain the transmission power of the reference signal; after the network device receives the reference signal, it can increase Δ" or decrease Δ' based on the received power of the reference signal, so as to know the expected charging power of the terminal.

[0144] In this implementation, after the network device obtains the charging power expected by the terminal device, it can compensate the path loss value of the charging signal transmitted between the network device and the terminal based on the charging power expected by the terminal, thereby obtaining the transmission power of the charging signal. As an example, the second pre-configured relationship can be expressed as: P T =P R -Δ'+α1*PL1 or P T =P R +Δ”+α1*PL1, where P T Indicates the sending power of the charging signal, PR Indicates the received power of the reference signal.

[0145] Understandable, P. R =P T1 -α1*PL1=P D1 +Δ' or P R =P T1 -α1*PL1=P D1 -Δ";P T =P D1 +α1*PL1.

[0146] In this implementation, as an example, the absolute value of Δ" or Δ' can be smaller than the charging power expected by the terminal to ensure that the network device can receive the reference signal, thereby ensuring that the terminal can indicate the charging power expected by the terminal to the network device.

[0147] In this implementation, while reducing the transmission power of the reference signal sent by the terminal to reduce the power consumption of the terminal, it is ensured that the terminal can indicate the charging power expected by the terminal to the network device through the reference signal.

[0148] When the first pre-configured relationship is a relationship between the charging power expected by the terminal and the transmission power of the reference signal, in a fourth possible implementation manner, the first pre-configured relationship may include the following relationship: T1 =P D1 +Δ'+2*α1*PL1orP T1 =P D1 -Δ"+2*α1*PL1, where P T1 Indicates the transmit power of the reference signal, P D1 represents the terminal's desired charging power, α1 represents the path loss factor, PL1 represents the measured path loss, α1*PL1 represents the path loss consumed by unilateral signal transmission between the network device and the terminal, and Δ" and Δ' represent power adjustment values, with Δ" being a positive number and Δ' being a negative number. Δ" or Δ' can be power adjustment values ​​known to both the network device and the terminal.

[0149] The principle of this implementation method is as follows: After the terminal determines the expected charging power, it can compensate for the path loss value consumed by the unilateral transmission of the reference signal between the network device and the terminal, the path loss value of the charging signal transmitted from the network device to the terminal, and reduce Δ" or increase Δ' to obtain the transmission power of the reference signal based on the expected charging power; after the network device receives the reference signal, it can increase Δ" or decrease Δ' based on the received power of the reference signal, so as to know the transmission power of the charging signal.

[0150] As an example, the second pre-configured relationship can be expressed as: P T =P R-Δ' or P T =P R +Δ", where P T Indicates the sending power of the charging signal, P R P represents the received power of the reference signal. R -Δ'+α1*PL1 or P R +Δ”+α1*PL1 represents the charging power expected by the terminal.

[0151] In this implementation, as an example, the absolute value of Δ" or Δ' can be smaller than the charging power expected by the terminal to ensure that the network device can receive the reference signal, thereby ensuring that the terminal can indicate the charging power expected by the terminal to the network device.

[0152] In this implementation, while reducing the transmission power of the reference signal sent by the terminal to reduce the power consumption of the terminal, it is possible to ensure that the terminal can indicate the terminal's desired charging power to the network device through the reference signal, and the complexity of the network device in determining the transmission power of the charging signal can be reduced, that is, the complexity of the network device in sending the charging signal that meets the charging requirements is reduced.

[0153] In the case where the first pre-configured relationship is a relationship between the charging power expected by the terminal and the transmission power of the reference signal, in a fifth possible implementation manner, the first pre-configured relationship may include the following relationship: T1 =P D1 +Δ'+2*β1*α1*PL1orP T1 =P D1 -Δ”+2*β1*α1*PL1, where, P T1 Indicates the transmit power of the reference signal, P D1 represents the terminal's desired charging power, α1 represents the path loss factor, PL1 represents the measured path loss, α1*PL1 represents the path loss consumed by a single-sided signal transmission between the network device and the terminal, and Δ" and Δ' represent power adjustment values, with Δ" being a positive number and Δ' being a negative number. Δ" or Δ' can be power adjustment values ​​known to both the network device and the terminal. β1 is an adjustment parameter, typically a real number.

[0154] As an example, the second pre-configured relationship can be expressed as: P T =P R -Δ'-2*β*α1*PL1 or P T =P R +Δ”-2*β*α1*PL1, where, P T Indicates the sending power of the charging signal, P R represents the received power of the reference signal. β is an adjustment parameter, usually a real number.

[0155] As an example, β + β1 = 1. The values ​​of β and β1 depend on whether the path loss value of the reference signal and the path loss value of the charging signal are compensated for in the transmit power of the reference signal or in the transmit power of the charging signal, as well as the magnitude of the compensation value. In other words, the values ​​of β and β1 determine whether the path loss value of the reference signal and the path loss value of the charging signal are compensated for in the transmit power of the reference signal or in the transmit power of the charging signal, as well as the magnitude of the compensation value.

[0156] As an example, β can take the value of 0, 0.5, or 1, etc.; correspondingly, β1 can take the value of 1, 0.5, or 0, etc.

[0157] As an example, β1 takes a value of 1 and β takes a value of 0. In this case, the first pre-configuration relationship and the second pre-configuration relationship can be simplified to the first pre-configuration relationship and the second pre-configuration relationship in the aforementioned fourth possible implementation manner.

[0158] As an example, β1 takes a value of 0.5 and β takes a value of 0.5. In this case, the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship can be simplified to the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship in the aforementioned third possible implementation manner.

[0159] As an example, β1 takes a value of 0 and β takes a value of 1. In this case, the first pre-configuration relationship and the second pre-configuration relationship can be simplified to the first pre-configuration relationship and the second pre-configuration relationship in the aforementioned second possible implementation manner.

[0160] In this implementation, as an example, the design principle of Δ" or Δ' can refer to the design principle of the aforementioned implementation including Δ" or Δ', which will not be repeated here.

[0161] In the case where the first pre-configured relationship is a relationship between the charging power expected by the terminal and the transmission power of the reference signal, in a fifth possible implementation manner, the first pre-configured relationship may include the following relationship: T1 =P D1 +Δ'+β1'*α1*PL1 or P T1 =P D1 -Δ”+β1’*α1*PL1, where, P T1 Indicates the transmit power of the reference signal, P D1 represents the terminal's desired charging power, α1 represents the path loss factor, PL1 represents the measured path loss, α1*PL1 represents the path loss consumed by a single-sided signal transmission between the network device and the terminal, and Δ" and Δ' represent power adjustment values, with Δ" being a positive number and Δ' being a negative number. Δ" or Δ' can be power adjustment values ​​known to both the network device and the terminal. β1' is an adjustment parameter, typically a real number.

[0162] As an example, the second pre-configured relationship can be expressed as: PT =P R -Δ'-2*β'*α1*PL1 or P T =P R +Δ”-β’*α1*PL1, where, P T Indicates the sending power of the charging signal, P R represents the received power of the reference signal. Where β' is an adjustment parameter, usually a real number.

[0163] As an example, β'+β1'=2. The values ​​of β' and β1' depend on whether the path loss value of the reference signal and the path loss value of the charging signal are compensated for in the transmit power of the reference signal or the transmit power of the charging signal, as well as the magnitude of the compensation value. In other words, the values ​​of β' and β1' determine whether the path loss value of the reference signal and the path loss value of the charging signal are compensated for in the transmit power of the reference signal or the transmit power of the charging signal, as well as the magnitude of the compensation value.

[0164] As an example, β' can take the value of 0, 1, or 2, etc.; correspondingly, β1' can take the value of 2, 1, or 0, etc.

[0165] As an example, β1′ takes a value of 2 and β′ takes a value of 0. In this case, the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship can be simplified to the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship in the aforementioned fourth possible implementation manner.

[0166] As an example, β1′ takes the value of 1 and β′ takes the value of 1. In this case, the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship can be simplified to the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship in the aforementioned third possible implementation manner.

[0167] As an example, β1′ takes a value of 0 and β′ takes a value of 2. In this case, the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship can be simplified to the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship in the aforementioned second possible implementation manner.

[0168] In this implementation, as an example, the design principle of Δ" or Δ' can refer to the design principle of the aforementioned implementation including Δ" or Δ', which will not be repeated here.

[0169] It can be understood that in any possible implementation from the second possible implementation to the sixth possible implementation, the value of Δ” or Δ' can be zero; or, in any possible implementation from the second possible implementation to the sixth possible implementation, the first pre-configuration relationship and the second pre-configuration relationship may not include the parameter Δ” or Δ'.

[0170] In any of the first to sixth possible implementations described above, the first pre-configured relationship may be specified in a communication protocol or communication standard, and the terminal may pre-configure the first pre-configured relationship based on the provisions of the communication protocol or communication standard; or the first pre-configured relationship may be configured by the network device to the terminal through signaling. For example, the network device may configure the first pre-configured relationship to the terminal through a multicast message, a broadcast message, or an RRC configuration message.

[0171] In any of the first to sixth possible implementation methods mentioned above, the second pre-configuration relationship may be specified in the communication protocol or communication standard, and the network device may pre-configure the second pre-configuration relationship based on the provisions of the communication protocol or communication standard; or, the second pre-configuration relationship may be pre-configured in the network device based on demand.

[0172] When the first pre-configured relationship includes Δ” or Δ′, the Δ” or Δ′ in the first pre-configured relationship may be a parameter with a variable value or a fixed value.

[0173] In the case where Δ" or Δ' is a fixed value, as an example, Δ" or Δ' can be a power adjustment value specified in a communication protocol or communication standard, and the terminal and network device pre-configure Δ" or Δ' based on the specification. Optionally, the value of Δ" or Δ' can be one or more. If there are multiple power adjustment values, the terminal and the network device can agree on at least one power adjustment value from these multiple power adjustment values ​​through signaling interaction.

[0174] In this implementation, when Δ" or Δ' is a parameter with a variable value, the value of Δ" or Δ' may not be the power adjustment value specified in the communication protocol or communication standard, but rather a power adjustment value agreed upon between the terminal and the network device through signaling interaction based on demand, for example, it may be a value configured to the terminal after being determined by the network device.

[0175] As an example, the network device may configure the value of Δ" or Δ' to the terminal through a multicast message, a broadcast message, or an RRC configuration message.

[0176] In the aforementioned implementation, β1 or β1' may be referred to as a terminal-side path loss compensation factor, β or β' may be referred to as a network-side path loss compensation factor, and β1, β1', β or β' may be collectively referred to as path loss compensation factors.

[0177] When the first pre-configured relationship includes a terminal-side path loss compensation factor, the terminal-side path loss compensation factor in the first pre-configured relationship may be a parameter with a variable value, or may be a fixed value.

[0178] When the terminal-side path loss compensation factor is a fixed value, for example, the terminal-side path loss compensation factor may be a path loss compensation factor specified in a communication protocol or communication standard, and the terminal pre-configures the terminal-side path loss compensation factor based on this specification. Optionally, the terminal-side path loss compensation factor may have one or more values. If there are multiple values, the terminal and the network device may negotiate and determine at least one terminal-side path loss compensation factor from among these multiple path loss compensation factors through signaling interaction.

[0179] When the terminal-side path loss compensation factor is a parameter with a variable value, the value of the terminal-side path loss compensation factor can be a path loss compensation factor agreed upon between the terminal and the network device through signaling interaction based on demand, for example, it can be a value configured to the terminal after the network device determines it.

[0180] As an example, the network device may configure the value of the terminal-side path loss compensation factor to the terminal through a multicast message, a broadcast message, or an RRC configuration message.

[0181] When the second pre-configured relationship includes a network-side path loss compensation factor, the network-side path loss compensation factor in the second pre-configured relationship may be a parameter with a variable value, or may be a fixed value.

[0182] When the network-side path loss compensation factor is a fixed value, for example, it can be a factor specified in a communication protocol or standard. The network device preconfigures the terminal-side path loss compensation factor based on this specification. Optionally, the network-side path loss compensation factor can have one or more values. If there are multiple values, the terminal and the network device can negotiate at least one network-side path loss compensation factor from these multiple factors through signaling interaction, or the network device can select an appropriate network-side path loss compensation factor from these multiple factors based on its own needs.

[0183] When the network side path loss compensation factor is a parameter with a variable value, the value of the network side path loss compensation factor can be a path loss compensation factor agreed upon between the terminal and the network device through signaling interaction based on demand, for example, it can be a network side path loss compensation factor determined by the network device based on its own needs.

[0184] In this embodiment, for ease of description, information used to indicate or configure the path loss factor, power adjustment value, or path loss compensation factor may be referred to as second information. It is understood that the configuration of the path loss factor, power adjustment value, and path loss compensation factor may be indicated by the same second information, may be indicated by different second information, or may be indicated by the same second information.

[0185] In this embodiment, the power adjustment value Δ, Δ″ or Δ′ may also be referred to as an attenuation factor.

[0186] In some possible implementations of this embodiment, the transmit power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal satisfy a preconfigured relationship, including: when the charging power expected by the terminal is less than or equal to the maximum transmit power of the terminal, the transmit power of the reference signal and the charging power expected by the terminal satisfy a first preconfigured relationship.

[0187] As an example, after the terminal determines the expected charging power, it can determine the transmission power of the reference signal based on the first pre-configuration relationship. For the convenience of subsequent description, the transmission power of the reference signal determined based on the first pre-configuration relationship is referred to as the expected transmission power of the reference signal; compare the size relationship between the expected transmission power of the reference signal and the maximum transmission power of the terminal; if the expected transmission power of the reference signal is greater than or equal to the maximum transmission power of the terminal, or in other words, the expected transmission power of the reference signal does not exceed the maximum transmission power of the terminal, the expected transmission power can be used to send the reference signal, that is, the target transmission power of the reference signal is equal to the expected transmission power of the reference signal.

[0188] Optionally, if the expected transmit power of the reference signal is greater than the maximum transmit power of the terminal, that is, the expected transmit power of the reference signal exceeds the maximum transmit power of the terminal, the transmit power of the reference signal can be equal to the maximum transmit power of the terminal, that is, the reference signal can be sent using the maximum transmit power of the terminal.

[0189] In this implementation, the target transmit power of the reference signal can be expressed as the following relation: T1 =max{P max , P T1}, where P max Indicates the maximum transmit power of the terminal, P' T1 The target transmit power of the reference signal, P T1 Indicates the expected transmit power of the reference signal.

[0190] In some possible implementations of this embodiment, the power value in any of the above-mentioned relational expressions is a power value in the logarithmic domain. For example, P T1 、P D1 、P T 、P max , P' T1 and P R The unit is dBm, Δ' and PL1 are in dB.

[0191] When any of the aforementioned relations is in the logarithmic domain, the logarithmic domain relation can be converted to a relation in the real domain, or in other words, the logarithmic domain relation can be expressed using a relation in the real domain. The physical meanings expressed by the logarithmic domain relation and the real domain relation are the same, or in other words, the logarithmic domain relation can be equivalent to the real domain relation.

[0192] As an example, P T1 =P D1 The relationship between the real number domain corresponding to +Δ'+2*β1*α1*PL1 is:

[0193] It is understood that the pre-configured relationships in the six possible implementations are merely examples, and any pre-configured relationships obtained by varying the pre-configured relationships in the six possible implementations should be included in the protection scope of the first and second pre-configured relationships in this embodiment. In other words, any pre-configured relationship that can indicate the terminal's desired charging power to the network device through the transmit power of a reference signal falls within the first pre-configured relationship of this embodiment.

[0194] In some implementations of this embodiment, for example, when the expected transmission power of the reference signal exceeds the maximum transmission power of the terminal, resulting in the terminal using the maximum transmission power of the terminal to send the reference signal, the charging power that can be provided by the charging signal sent by the network device may be less than the charging power expected by the terminal, that is, it cannot meet the charging needs of the terminal.

[0195] To address the issue where the charging power provided by the charging signal sent by the network device is lower than the charging power expected by the terminal, as an example, the terminal can send third information to the network device, indicating the difference between the received power of the charging signal and the terminal's expected charging power. In this way, the network device can then send a charging signal to the terminal based on this difference to meet the terminal's charging needs.

[0196] Optionally, in some examples, the terminal may only send the third information, i.e., instruct the network device to send the charging signal again, when the absolute value of the difference between the received power of the charging signal and the terminal's desired charging power is greater than or equal to a preset threshold. This can save signaling overhead and power consumption of the terminal and network device.

[0197] Optionally, in some examples, after receiving the third information from the terminal, the network device sends the charging signal only when the absolute value of the difference indicated by the third information is greater than or equal to a preset threshold. This can save power consumption of the network device.

[0198] Regarding the problem that the charging power that can be provided by the charging signal sent by the network device is less than the charging power expected by the terminal, as another example, when the terminal is charged based on the power provided by the charging signal, it can re-determine the expected charging power and send a reference signal based on the charging power to repeat the aforementioned operations in this embodiment, so that the network device sends the charging signal to the terminal again.

[0199] Optionally, in some examples, the terminal may only redetermine the desired charging power and send a reference signal based on the desired charging power when the absolute value of the difference between the received power of the charging signal and the terminal's desired charging power is greater than or equal to a preset threshold. This can save power consumption of the terminal and network equipment.

[0200] In some implementations of this embodiment, the resources used by the terminal to send the reference signal are orthogonal time-frequency resources, or in other words, the terminal uses orthogonal time-frequency resources to send the reference signal, or in other words, the time-frequency resources used by the terminal to send the reference signal are orthogonal to the time-frequency resources used by other terminals to send reference signals.

[0201] As an example, the network device receives a reference signal from each of multiple terminals and estimates the channel state information (CSI) of each terminal. Based on the estimated CSI, it generates a precoding matrix for the multiple terminals and transmits a charging signal processed using the corresponding precoding coefficients in the precoding matrix. Because the processing of the precoding matrix can make the energy of the charging signal directional, it can improve the charging efficiency of the terminal at the corresponding location.

[0202] As another example, the network device receives a reference signal from each of multiple terminals and estimates the channel state information (CSI) of each terminal. Based on the CSI of each terminal, it generates a precoding matrix for that terminal and sends a charging signal processed using the corresponding precoding coefficients in the precoding matrix. Because the processing of the precoding matrix can make the energy of the charging signal directional, the charging efficiency of the terminal at the corresponding location can be improved.

[0203] In some implementations of this embodiment, multiple terminals may use all or part of the same time-frequency resources to transmit reference signals. For example, all time-domain resources may be identical, but only part of the frequency-domain resources may be identical; or part of the time-frequency resources may be identical, and all frequency-domain resources may be identical; or both the time-domain resources and the frequency-domain resources may be identical. This implementation can reduce uplink pilot resource usage.

[0204] When multiple terminals use the same time-frequency resources to transmit reference signals, as an example, the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship may respectively adopt the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship in the fourth possible implementation manner. The Δ" or Δ' used by different terminals is the same; alternatively, the Δ" or Δ' is zero, i.e., no Δ" or Δ' is used.

[0205] When multiple terminals use the same time-frequency resources to transmit reference signals, as another example, the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship may respectively adopt the first preconfiguration relationship and the second preconfiguration relationship in the fifth possible implementation manner. The Δ" or Δ' used by different terminals is the same, or Δ" or Δ' is zero; β1 is 1, and β is 0.

[0206] When the time-frequency resources for sending reference signals by multiple terminals are the same, as another example, the first pre-configuration relationship and the second pre-configuration relationship can respectively adopt the first pre-configuration relationship and the second pre-configuration relationship in the aforementioned sixth possible implementation method, wherein the Δ” or Δ' used by different terminals is the same, or Δ” or Δ' is zero; β1' takes the value of 2, and β' takes the value of 0.

[0207] In some implementations of this embodiment, as shown in FIG3 , before transmitting a reference signal, the terminal may first receive fourth information from the network device, where the fourth information indicates resources for transmitting the reference signal. In other words, the network device configures the reference signal transmission resources for the terminal, and the terminal transmits the reference signal using the resources configured by the network device.

[0208] As an embodiment, the fourth information may indicate the time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources of the reference signal.

[0209] As an example, the fourth information may be carried in a multicast message, a broadcast message, or an RRC configuration message of the terminal. In other words, the network device may configure the transmission resource of the reference signal for the terminal through a multicast message, a broadcast message, or an RRC configuration message.

[0210] As an example, the first information and the fourth information may be carried in the same message or signaling. For example, when multiple terminals share the same time-frequency resources to send reference signals, the first information and the fourth information may be carried in the same multicast message or the same broadcast message.

[0211] In some possible implementations of this embodiment, the network device sending the charging signal may include: the network device obtains the modulation symbol corresponding to the received reference signal, and performs conjugate processing on the modulation symbol to obtain the conjugate modulation symbol of the modulation symbol, and sends the charging signal whose modulation symbol includes the conjugate modulation symbol. In this implementation, the modulation symbol carried by the subcarrier where the charging signal is located and the modulation symbol carried by the subcarrier where the reference signal is located are conjugated to each other, which helps the channels of the charging signal and the reference signal to satisfy the matched filtering relationship, thereby making the charging signal more directional for the terminal, thereby maximizing the power of the charging signal received by the terminal, and further improving the charging efficiency of the charging signal.

[0212] Some implementation methods for a network device to obtain modulation symbols corresponding to a received reference signal may include: the network device receives an OFDM symbol carrying a reference signal, performs Fourier transform on the OFDM symbol to obtain a subcarrier carrying the reference signal, and maps the subcarrier to obtain a modulation symbol corresponding to the reference signal.

[0213] It should be understood that, in this application, indication includes direct indication (also known as explicit indication) and implicit indication. Direct indication of information A refers to including information A; implicit indication of information A refers to indicating information A through the correspondence between information A and information B and the direct indication of information B. The correspondence between information A and information B can be predefined, pre-stored, pre-burned, or pre-configured.

[0214] It should be understood that, in this application, information C is used to determine information D, which includes both information D being determined solely based on information C and information D being determined based on information C and other information. Furthermore, information C can also be used to determine information D indirectly, for example, where information D is determined based on information E, and information E is determined based on information C.

[0215] In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, "device A sends information A to device B" can be understood as the destination of the information A or the intermediate device in the transmission path between the destination and the device B, which may include directly or indirectly sending information to device B. "Device B receives information A from device A" can be understood as the source of the information A or the intermediate device in the transmission path between the source and the device A, which may include directly or indirectly receiving information from device A. The information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination of the information, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be elaborated here.

[0216] This application also provides a communication device that can be installed in a terminal or used in conjunction with a terminal to enable the terminal to implement the functions implemented by the terminal in any of the aforementioned embodiments. For example, the device can be a chip system. A chip system can be composed of a chip or can include a chip and other discrete components. In another example, the device can be a computer program product.

[0217] This application also provides another communication device that can be installed in or used in conjunction with a network device to enable the network device to implement the functions implemented by the network device in any of the aforementioned embodiments. For example, the device can be a chip system. A chip system can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete components. In another example, the device can be a computer program product.

[0218] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , the device 400 may include a processing module 401 and a communication module 402 .

[0219] As a first example, apparatus 400 may be used to implement the communication method implemented by a terminal in the embodiment shown in FIG3. For example, processing module 401 is used to implement processing-related steps such as determination and judgment performed by the terminal in S310 to S340, and communication module 402 is used to implement steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the terminal in S310 to S340.

[0220] As a second example, apparatus 400 may be used to implement the communication method implemented by a network device in the embodiment shown in Figure 3. For example, processing module 401 is used to implement the processing-related steps such as determination and judgment performed by the network device in S310 to S340, and communication module 402 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving steps performed by the network device in S310 to S340.

[0221] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the device 500 includes a processing circuit 501 and a communication circuit 502. The processing circuit 501 and the communication circuit 502 are coupled to each other.

[0222] It can be understood that the processing circuit may be one or more processors, or may be all or part of the circuits of the processing functions in one or more processors.

[0223] It is understandable that the communication circuit 502 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0224] Optionally, the apparatus 500 may further include a memory 503 for storing instructions executed by the processor 501 or storing input data required by the processing circuit 501 to run instructions or storing data generated after the processing circuit 501 runs instructions.

[0225] It is understandable that the memory 503 may be located outside the processing circuit 501 , or inside the processing circuit 501 .

[0226] As an example, the processing circuit 501 is used to implement the functions of the processing module 401 , and the communication circuit 502 is used to implement the functions of the communication module 402 .

[0227] As an example, the apparatus 500 may be a terminal, or a chip used in a terminal.

[0228] When the device 500 is a terminal, the communication circuit can be a transceiver; when the device 500 is a chip, the communication circuit can be an input / output circuit, a bus, a pin or other type of communication interface, wherein the input circuit in the input / output circuit can be used for receiving and the output interface can be used for sending.

[0229] As another example, the apparatus 500 may be a network device, or a chip used in a network device.

[0230] When the device 500 is a network device, the communication circuit can be a transceiver; when the device 500 is a chip, the communication circuit can be an input / output circuit, a bus, a pin or other type of communication interface, wherein the input circuit in the input / output circuit can be used for receiving and the output interface can be used for sending.

[0231] Some embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which includes computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed on a processor, the method implemented by the terminal and / or network device in any of the above embodiments can be implemented.

[0232] In some embodiments of the present application, a communication system is also provided, which can implement the method implemented by the terminal and the network device in any of the above embodiments.

[0233] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be the following devices or all or part of the circuits in the following devices used for processing functions: a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0234] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also be present in a network device or a terminal device as discrete components.

[0235] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive.

[0236] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0237] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Sending a reference signal, where the transmission power of the reference signal satisfies a first pre-configured relationship with the charging power expected by the terminal, and the reference signal is used to trigger the network device to send an energy charging signal; Receiving the energy charging signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes: Receiving first information from the network device, where the first information indicates a first power range, and the first power range is the range of the charging power that the network device can provide, and the charging power expected by the terminal is within the first power range.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The first information indicating the first power range includes: the first information indicates the index of the first power range among multiple power ranges.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending third information to the network device, where the third information indicates the difference between the received power of the energy charging signal and the charging power expected by the terminal, or the third information indicates the difference between the power of the terminal after charging based on the energy charging signal and the charging power expected by the terminal.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving fourth information from the network device, where the fourth information indicates the resources for transmitting the reference signal.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The fourth information is carried in a multicast message, a broadcast message, or the radio resource control (RRC) configuration message of the terminal.

7. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receiving a reference signal, where the transmission power of the reference signal satisfies a first pre-configured relationship with the charging power expected by the terminal, and the reference signal is used to trigger the network device to send an energy charging signal; Sending the energy charging signal.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The method further includes: Sending first information, where the first information indicates a first power range, and the first power range is the range of the charging power that the network device can provide.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The first information indicating the first power range includes: the first information indicates the index of the first power range among multiple power ranges.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that The method further includes: Receiving third information from the terminal, where the third information indicates the difference between the received power of the energy charging signal and the charging power expected by the terminal, or the third information indicates the difference between the power of the terminal after charging based on the energy charging signal and the charging power expected by the terminal.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending fourth information to the terminal, where the fourth information indicates the resources for transmitting the reference signal.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The fourth information is carried in a multicast message, a broadcast message, or the radio resource control (RRC) configuration message of the terminal.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The first pre-configuration relationship includes the following relational expression: P T1 = P D1 + 2 * β1 * α1 * PL1 + Δ, where P T1 represents the transmission power of the reference signal, P D1 represents the charging power expected by the terminal, PL1 represents the path loss between the terminal and the network device, β1 is a real number, α1 represents the path loss factor, and Δ is a preset power adjustment value.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein Δ is negative.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving or sending second information, where the second information indicates at least one of the following parameters: α1, Δ, or β1.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that, The transmission power of the reference signal satisfying a first pre-configured relationship with the charging power expected by the terminal includes: when the transmission power satisfying the first pre-configured relationship with the charging power expected by the terminal is less than or equal to the maximum transmission power of the terminal, the transmission power of the reference signal satisfies the first pre-configured relationship with the charging power expected by the terminal.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, When the transmission power that satisfies the first pre-configured relationship with the charging power expected by the terminal is greater than the maximum transmission power of the terminal, the transmission power of the reference signal is equal to the maximum transmission power of the terminal.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that, The transmission power of the charging signal satisfies a second pre-configured relationship with the received power of the reference signal.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein, The second preconfigured relationship includes the following relational expression: P T = P R + 2*β*α*PL - Δ, where P T represents the transmission power of the charging signal, β is a real number, P R represents the received power of the reference signal, α represents the path loss factor, PL represents the path loss, and Δ is a preset power adjustment value.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that, The modulation symbol carried in the subcarrier where the charging signal is located is conjugate to the modulation symbol carried in the subcarrier where the reference signal is located.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes functional modules for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes: A processor and a storage medium, the storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are run by the processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is implemented.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is used to process data and / or information so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is implemented.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium includes instructions, and when the instructions are run by the processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is implemented.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer program code or instructions, and when the computer program code or instructions are run, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is implemented.

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