Device communication methods and apparatuses, device, communication system and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communications, in particular to device communication methods and apparatuses, a device, a communication system and a storage medium. A device communication method comprises: according to first configuration information, a first device determining that a second device is associated with the first device, the distance between the first device and the second device being less than a threshold; and sending to the second device second configuration information, the second configuration information being used for instructing the second device to communicate with a third device by means of the first device. By means of the present disclosure, in scenarios where an A-IoT device communicates with a network device by means of an intermediate node, a first device near the A-IoT device can be configured as the intermediate node on the basis of a position relationship between the first device and the A-IoT device, thereby reducing the power consumption of A-IoT devices and further improving the communication performance of the A-IoT devices while enhancing the coverage of the A-IoT devices.

Description

Device communication method, apparatus, device, communication system and storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a device communication method, apparatus, device, communication system, and storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) devices do not rely on internal batteries or external power supplies. They can operate by harvesting energy from the surrounding environment (such as light energy, thermal energy, radio frequency energy, etc.) to achieve self-powering.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device communication method, apparatus, device, communication system, and storage medium to solve technical problems in related technologies.

[0005] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a device communication method is proposed, which is executed by a first device. The method includes: determining, based on first configuration information, that a second device is associated with the first device, and a distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; and sending second configuration information to the second device, where the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with a third device through the first device.

[0006] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a device communication method is proposed, which is executed by a second device. The method includes: receiving second configuration information sent by a first device, determining that the second device is associated with the first device, and a distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with a third device through the first device.

[0007] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a device communication method is proposed, which is executed by a third device. The method includes: sending first configuration information to a first device, where the first configuration information is used to indicate that a second device is associated with the first device, and the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second device communicates with the third device through the first device.

[0008] According to the fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a device communication device is proposed, comprising: a processing module for determining, based on first configuration information, that a second device is associated with the first device, and a distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; and a transceiver module for sending second configuration information to the second device, wherein the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with a third device through the first device.

[0009] According to the fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a device communication device is proposed, which includes: a transceiver module for receiving second configuration information sent by a first device, determining that a second device is associated with the first device, and a distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with a third device through the first device.

[0010] According to the sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a device communication device is proposed, comprising: a transceiver module for sending first configuration information to a first device, wherein the first configuration information is used to indicate that a second device is associated with the first device, and a distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second device communicates with a third device through the first device.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions so that the first device executes the device communication method of the first aspect above.

[0012] According to an eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a second device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the second device to execute the device communication method of the second aspect above.

[0013] According to a ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a third device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions so that the third device executes the device communication method of the third aspect above.

[0014] According to the tenth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is proposed, comprising a first device, a second device and a third device, wherein the first device is configured to implement the device communication method of the first aspect above, the second device is configured to implement the device communication method of the second aspect above, and the third device is configured to implement the device communication method of the third aspect above.

[0015] According to the eleventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is proposed, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the device communication method of the first aspect, the device communication method of the second aspect, and / or the device communication method of the third aspect.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first device can determine to associate with a nearby second device based on first configuration information, and can send second configuration information to the associated second device to instruct the second device to communicate with a third device through the associated first device. Accordingly, in a scenario where an A-IoT device and a network device communicate through an intermediate node, the first device located near the A-IoT device can be configured as an intermediate node for assisting the A-IoT device in communicating with the network device based on the positional relationship between the first device and the A-IoT device. Since the distance between the A-IoT device and the intermediate node is generally less than the distance between the A-IoT device and the base station, while enhancing the coverage of the A-IoT device, it is beneficial to save the power consumption of the A-IoT device and improve the communication performance of the A-IoT device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0018] FIG1 is a schematic diagram showing the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG2 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating a device communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG3 is a schematic diagram showing a network topology of a passive Internet of Things according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG4 is a schematic diagram showing another network topology of a passive Internet of Things according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG5 is a schematic flowchart showing a device communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG6 is a schematic diagram showing a device set determined based on the location of an intermediate node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG7 is a schematic diagram showing a region-based inventory mechanism according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG8 is a schematic diagram showing an inventory mechanism based on a second threshold according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG9 is a schematic flowchart showing a device communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG10 is a schematic flowchart showing a device communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG11 is a schematic block diagram showing a device communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG12 is a schematic block diagram showing a device communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG13 is a schematic block diagram showing a device communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device communication method, apparatus, device, communication system, and storage medium.

[0034] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a device communication method, which is executed by a first device, and the method includes: determining, based on first configuration information, that a second device is associated with the first device, and a distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; and sending second configuration information to the second device, where the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with a third device through the first device.

[0035] In the above embodiment, the first device can determine the association with the nearby second device based on the first configuration information, and can send the second configuration information to the associated second device to instruct the second device to communicate with the third device through the associated first device. Accordingly, in a scenario where the A-IoT device and the network device communicate through an intermediate node, the first device located near the A-IoT device can be configured as an intermediate node based on the positional relationship between the first device and the A-IoT device. Since the distance between the A-IoT device and the intermediate node is usually less than the distance between the A-IoT device and the base station, this is beneficial for saving the power consumption of the A-IoT device while enhancing the coverage of the A-IoT device, and is also beneficial for improving the communication performance of the A-IoT device.

[0036] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information is pre-configured, or the first configuration information is received by the first device from the third device.

[0037] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining first location information based on a positioning reference signal, where the first location information is used to indicate a location of the first device.

[0038] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the positioning reference signal includes at least one of the following: a channel sounding reference signal SRS sent by the first device to the third device; or a positioning reference signal PRS received by the first device from the third device.

[0039] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: obtaining second location information, where the second location information is used to indicate the location of the second device; and sending the second location information to the third device.

[0040] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, obtaining the second location information includes: sending a bit stream to the second device to perform positioning measurement on the second device; receiving a feedback signal of the bit stream sent by the second device, where the feedback signal is used to indicate a positioning measurement result of the second device; and obtaining the second location information based on the positioning measurement result of the second device.

[0041] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the positioning measurement result of the second device includes at least one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP); received signal strength indicator (RSSI); horizontal angle of arrival (AoA); vertical angle of arrival (ZoA); and a first area identifier, where the first area identifier is used to identify the area where the second device is located.

[0042] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, obtaining the second location information according to the positioning measurement result of the second device includes: determining the first location information as the second location information according to the positioning measurement result of the second device being less than or equal to a first threshold.

[0043] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the second location information is used to indicate whether an area where the second device is located is the same area as an area where the first device is located.

[0044] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the second location information is used to indicate an area where the second device is located.

[0045] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, determining, based on the first configuration information, that the second device is associated with the first device includes: determining, based on the first configuration information, that multiple second devices are associated with the first device; and the method further includes: adding the multiple second devices to a device set associated with the first device.

[0046] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving first scheduling signaling sent by the third device, the first scheduling signaling being used to instruct scheduling of a second device in a device set associated with the first device; and sending second scheduling signaling to at least one second device in the device set that needs to be scheduled.

[0047] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling includes first information, where the first information is used to indicate at least one second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0048] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: a set identifier, the set identifier is used to identify the device set associated with the first device; a device identifier, the device identifier is used to identify at least one second device that needs to be scheduled; a subset identifier, the subset identifier is used to identify a subset of devices that need to be scheduled in the device set associated with the first device; and a second area identifier, the second area identifier is used to identify the area where the at least one second device that needs to be scheduled is located.

[0049] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the manner of indicating the first information includes at least one of the following: indicating the first information based on a first information field; and indicating the first information based on a combination of multiple second information fields.

[0050] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling further includes second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second threshold, and the second threshold is used to determine whether each second device in the device set associated with the first device is a second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0051] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first device is a first terminal, the second device is a tag device in a passive Internet of Things (A-IoT), and the third device is a network device or a second terminal.

[0052] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a device communication method, which is executed by a second device, and the method includes: receiving second configuration information sent by a first device, determining that the second device is associated with the first device, and the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second configuration information is used to indicate that the second device communicates with a third device through the first device.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the second device can determine to associate with the first device nearby based on the second configuration information, and can determine to communicate with the third device through the associated first device. Accordingly, in a scenario where the A-IoT device and the network device communicate through an intermediate node, the first device located near the A-IoT device can be configured as an intermediate node based on the positional relationship between the first device and the A-IoT device. Since the distance between the A-IoT device and the intermediate node is generally less than the distance between the A-IoT device and the base station, this is beneficial for saving the power consumption of the A-IoT device while enhancing the coverage of the A-IoT device, and is also beneficial for improving the communication performance of the A-IoT device.

[0054] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a bit stream sent by the first device; and sending a feedback signal of the bit stream to the first device, where the feedback signal is used to indicate a positioning measurement result of the second device, where the positioning measurement result of the second device is used by the first device to obtain second position information, where the second position information is used to indicate the position of the second device.

[0055] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, the positioning measurement result of the second device includes at least one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP); received signal strength indicator (RSSI); horizontal angle of arrival (AoA); vertical angle of arrival (ZoA); and a first area identifier, where the first area identifier is used to identify the area where the second device is located.

[0056] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second device is added to a device set associated with the first device, and the device set further includes other second devices associated with the first device.

[0057] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving second scheduling signaling sent by the first device.

[0058] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device is a first terminal, the second device is a tag device in a passive Internet of Things (A-IoT), and the third device is a network device or a second terminal.

[0059] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a device communication method, which is executed by a third device, and the method includes: sending first configuration information to a first device, wherein the first configuration information is used to indicate that a second device is associated with the first device, and the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second device communicates with the third device through the first device.

[0060] In the above embodiment, the third device can send first configuration information to the first device, so that the first device can determine the association with the nearby second device based on the first configuration information, so that the second device can communicate with the third device through the associated first device. Accordingly, in a scenario where the A-IoT device and the network device communicate through an intermediate node, the first device located near the A-IoT device can be configured as an intermediate node based on the positional relationship between the first device and the A-IoT device. Since the distance between the A-IoT device and the intermediate node is usually less than the distance between the A-IoT device and the base station, while enhancing the coverage of the A-IoT device, it is beneficial to save the power consumption of the A-IoT device and improve the communication performance of the A-IoT device.

[0061] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining first location information based on a positioning reference signal, where the first location information is used to indicate a location of the first device.

[0062] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the positioning reference signal includes at least one of the following: a channel sounding reference signal (SRS) received by the third device from the first device; or a positioning reference signal (PRS) sent by the third device to the first device.

[0063] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving second location information sent by the first device, where the second location information is used to indicate a location of the second device.

[0064] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining, based on the second location information, whether an area where the second device is located is the same area as an area where the first device is located.

[0065] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining a region where the second device is located according to the second location information.

[0066] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information is used to indicate that multiple second devices are associated with the first device.

[0067] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending first scheduling signaling to the first device, where the first scheduling signaling is used to instruct scheduling of a second device in a set of devices associated with the first device.

[0068] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling includes first information, where the first information is used to indicate at least one second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0069] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect. In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: a set identifier, the set identifier is used to identify the device set associated with the first device; a device identifier, the device identifier is used to identify at least one second device that needs to be scheduled; a subset identifier, the subset identifier is used to identify a subset of devices that need to be scheduled in the device set associated with the first device; a second area identifier, the second area identifier is used to identify the area where the at least one second device that needs to be scheduled is located.

[0070] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the manner of indicating the first information includes at least one of the following: indicating the first information based on a first information field; and indicating the first information based on a combination of multiple second information fields.

[0071] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling further includes second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second threshold, and the second threshold is used to determine whether each second device in the device set associated with the first device is a second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0072] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first device is a first terminal, the second device is a tag device in a passive Internet of Things (A-IoT), and the third device is a network device or a second terminal.

[0073] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a device communication device, which includes: a processing module, used to determine, based on first configuration information, that a second device is associated with the first device, and the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; a transceiver module, used to send second configuration information to the second device, and the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with a third device through the first device.

[0074] In the fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a device communication device, which includes: a transceiver module for receiving second configuration information sent by a first device, determining that the second device is associated with the first device, and the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second configuration information is used to indicate that the second device communicates with a third device through the first device.

[0075] In the sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a device communication device, which includes: a transceiver module for sending first configuration information to a first device, wherein the first configuration information is used to indicate that a second device is associated with the first device, and the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second device communicates with a third device through the first device.

[0076] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a first device, which includes: one or more processors; one or more memories for storing instructions; wherein the processor is used to call the instructions so that the first device executes the method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect.

[0077] In the eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a second device, which includes: one or more processors; one or more memories for storing instructions; wherein the processor is used to call the instructions so that the second device executes the method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

[0078] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a third device, which includes: one or more processors; one or more memories for storing instructions; wherein the processor is used to call the instructions so that the third device executes the method described in the third aspect and the optional embodiment of the third aspect.

[0079] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication system, which includes: a first device, a second device and a third device; wherein the first device is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect, the second device is configured to execute the method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect, and the third device is configured to execute the method described in the third aspect and the optional embodiment of the third aspect.

[0080] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a storage medium, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect, the method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect, and / or the method described in the third aspect and the optional embodiment of the third aspect.

[0081] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a program product. When the program product is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the first, second and third aspects, as well as the optional embodiments of the first, second and third aspects.

[0082] In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the methods described in the first, second and third aspects, as well as the optional embodiments of the first, second and third aspects.

[0083] It is understandable that the above-mentioned terminals, network devices, communication devices, communication systems, storage media, program products, and computer programs are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects of the corresponding methods and will not be repeated here.

[0084] The present disclosure provides device communication methods, apparatuses, devices, communication systems, and storage media. In some embodiments, the terms device communication method, device scheduling method, and communication method are interchangeable; the terms terminal, network device, device communication device, device scheduling device, and communication device are interchangeable; and the terms device communication system, device scheduling system, and communication system are interchangeable.

[0085] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional embodiments in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional embodiments of other embodiments.

[0086] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0087] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0088] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "aforementioned", "this", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc.

[0089] For example, when using articles such as “a”, “an”, and “the” in English in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0090] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0091] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one," "one or more," "a plurality of," "multiple," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0092] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "at least one of A and B," "A and / or B," "A in one case, B in another case," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B" may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); and in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0093] In some embodiments, "A or B" and other descriptions may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0094] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description objects, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restrictions should be constituted due to the use of prefixes.

[0095] For example, if the description object is "field," the ordinal number preceding "field" in "first field" and "second field" does not restrict the position or order of the "fields." "First" and "second" do not restrict whether the modified "fields" are in the same message, nor do they restrict the order of the "first field" and "second field." For another example, if the description object is "level," the ordinal number preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" does not restrict the priority of the "levels." For another example, the number of description objects is not restricted by the ordinal number and can be one or more. For example, in the case of "first device," the number of "devices" can be one or more. Furthermore, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device," "first device" and "second device" can be the same or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. For another example, if the description object is "information," "first information" and "second information" can be the same or different information, and their content can be the same or different.

[0096] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0097] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0098] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0099] In some embodiments, devices and the like can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to those in the embodiments.

[0100] The recorded names, "device", "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject" and other terms can be used interchangeably.

[0101] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network (eg, access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.).

[0102] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)", "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station" "fixed station", "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission / reception point (TRP)", "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "serving cell", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0103] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0104] In some embodiments, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device can be replaced by a terminal. For example, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied to a structure in which the communication between the access network device, the core network device, or the network device and the terminal is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, it is also possible to set the structure in which the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. In addition, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can also be replaced by terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channels, downlink channels, etc. can be replaced by side channels, and uplinks, downlinks, etc. can be replaced by side links.

[0105] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device may have a structure that has all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0106] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0107] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0108] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0109] FIG1 is a schematic diagram showing the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0110] As shown in FIG. 1 , a communication system 100 includes a first device 101 , a second device 102 , and a third device 103 .

[0111] In some embodiments, the first device 101 may be a terminal, the second device 102 may be a tag device in A-IoT, and the third device 103 may be a network device. The terminal and the network device may communicate based on a Uu interface. The Uu interface referred to in this disclosure refers to an interface between a terminal and an access network, and may also be referred to as an air interface, a wireless interface, or the like.

[0112] In a possible implementation, the network device includes at least one of the following: an access network device and a core network device. The access network device may be, for example, a base station, and the core network device may be, for example, a location management function (LMF).

[0113] In some embodiments, the first device 101 may be a first terminal, the second device 102 may be a tag device in A-IoT, and the third device 103 may be a second terminal. The first terminal and the second terminal may communicate directly based on a PC5 interface, that is, the first terminal and the second terminal may communicate on a sidelink (SL). The PC5 interface involved in the present disclosure is an interface for direct communication between different devices (Device to Device, D2D).

[0114] In the above embodiments, the third device may include but is not limited to a base station, a LMF, a positioning server, etc. For ease of description, some embodiments shown in the present disclosure are described as an example in which the first device is a UE and the third device is a base station, which does not mean that the present disclosure is particularly limited.

[0115] In some embodiments, the terminal includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home, but is not limited thereto.

[0116] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved nodeB (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, and at least one of an access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0117] In some embodiments, a core network device may be a device including one or more network elements, or may be multiple devices or device groups, each including all or part of the one or more network elements. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), and a Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0118] In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0119] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with the functions of some protocol layers centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU, but is not limited to this.

[0120] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0121] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 , or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in FIG1 are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or part of the entities shown in FIG1 , or may include other entities outside of FIG1 . The number and form of the entities are arbitrary, and the entities may be physical or virtual. The connection relationships between the entities are illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0122] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), future radio access (FRA), new radio access technology (RAT), new radio (NR), new radio access (NX), future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems based on and extending these methods. Furthermore, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0123] FIG2 is an interactive schematic diagram illustrating a device communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0124] As shown in FIG2 , the device communication method includes:

[0125] Step S201: The third device sends first configuration information to the first device.

[0126] In some embodiments, the first device receives first configuration information sent by the third device.

[0127] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is used to indicate that one or more second devices are associated with the first device; and / or the first configuration information is used to indicate that one or more second devices are associated with the first device; and / or the first configuration information is used to indicate that the one or more second devices are added to a set of devices associated with the first device. The distance between the one or more second devices and the first device may be less than a threshold.

[0128] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes a first field, where the first field is used to identify the second device, such as an identity (ID) of the second device.

[0129] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes a second field for indicating whether the second device is associated with the first device.

[0130] Then, from S202, the first configuration information is also used to configure the first device as an intermediate node, wherein the intermediate node is a node used to assist the second device in communicating with the third device.

[0131] In some embodiments, the first device determines, based on the first configuration information, that the second device is associated with one or more first devices; and / or the first device adds, based on the first configuration information, one or more second devices to a device set associated with the first device.

[0132] In some embodiments, in addition to determining that one or more second devices are associated with the first device based on first configuration information received from a third device, the first device may also determine that one or more second devices are associated with the first device based on pre-configured first configuration information.

[0133] In some embodiments, the third device determines the first configuration information based on the first location information.

[0134] In some embodiments, the first location information is used to indicate the location of the first device; and / or, the first location information is used to indicate a measurement quantity of the first device; and / or, the first location information is used to indicate a positioning measurement result of the first device; and / or, the first location information is used to indicate the coordinates of the first device in a global coordinate system (GCS); the first location information is used to indicate the coordinates of the first device in a local coordinate system (LCS).

[0135] In some embodiments, the third device determines the first location information based on a positioning reference signal. In some possible implementations, the positioning reference signal includes at least one of the following: a sounding reference signal (SRS); a positioning reference signal (PRS). The SRS may be sent by the first device to the third device, and the PRS may be sent by the third device to the first device.

[0136] Step S202: The first device sends second configuration information to the second device.

[0137] In some embodiments, the second configuration information is used to indicate that the second device communicates with the third device through the first device; and / or, the second configuration information is used to indicate that the first device is associated with the second device; and / or, the second configuration information is used to indicate the first device associated with the second device, and the first device is used to assist the second device in communicating with the third device; and / or, the second configuration information is used to indicate that the second device is added to the set of devices associated with the first device; and / or, the second configuration information is used to indicate that the first device is configured as an intermediate node, which is used to assist the second device in communicating with the third device.

[0138] In some embodiments, the second device may receive the second configuration information sent by the first device.

[0139] In some embodiments, the second device determines, based on the second configuration information, that the second device is associated with the first device; and / or, the second device determines, based on the second configuration information, that the second device is added to a set of devices associated with the first device; and / or, the second device determines, based on the second configuration information, to configure the first device as an intermediate node, which is used to assist the second device in communicating with the third device and / or, the second device determines, based on the second configuration information, to communicate with the third device through the first device.

[0140] In some embodiments, after the first device determines that it is associated with the second device, it can obtain second location information; and / or, the first device can locate the associated second device; and / or, the first device can receive data sent by the second device, such as perception data collected by the second device.

[0141] In some embodiments, the second location information indicates the location of the second device; and / or indicates a measurement of the second device; and / or indicates a positioning measurement result of the second device. For details on how the first device and / or the third device locates the second device, please refer to the embodiments below.

[0142] In some embodiments, after the first device is configured as an intermediate node between the second device and the third device, the third device may forward downlink data to the second device through the first device, and the second device may forward uplink data to the third device through the first device.

[0143] Step S203: The third device sends a first scheduling signaling to the first device.

[0144] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling is used to instruct scheduling of a second device in a set of devices associated with the first device.

[0145] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling includes first information, where the first information is used to indicate at least one second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0146] In some possible implementations, the first information may include at least one of the following: a set identifier, which is used to identify a device set associated with the first device; a device identifier, which is used to identify at least one second device that needs to be scheduled; a subset identifier, which is used to identify a subset of devices that need to be scheduled in the device set associated with the first device; and a second area identifier, which is used to identify the area where at least one second device that needs to be scheduled is located.

[0147] In some possible implementations, the manner of indicating the first information may include at least one of the following: indicating the first information based on a first information field; and jointly indicating the first information based on multiple second information fields.

[0148] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling further includes second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second threshold, and the second threshold is used to determine whether each second device in the set of devices associated with the first device is a second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0149] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling further includes third information, where the third information is used to indicate a type of operation that the second device needs to perform.

[0150] In some embodiments, the first device receives first scheduling signaling sent by the third device.

[0151] Step S204: The first device sends a second scheduling signaling to the second device.

[0152] In some embodiments, the second scheduling signaling is used to indicate an operation that the second device needs to perform.

[0153] In some embodiments, the second scheduling signaling is the scheduling signaling that the first device regenerates and sends to the second device after receiving the first scheduling signaling from the third device; or, the second scheduling signaling is the first device forwarding the first scheduling signaling to the second device after receiving the first scheduling signaling from the third device.

[0154] In some embodiments, the first device sends second scheduling signaling to at least one second device in a set of devices associated with the first device that needs to be scheduled.

[0155] In some embodiments, the second device receives the second scheduling signaling sent by the first device.

[0156] In some embodiments, the second device performs a corresponding operation according to the second scheduling signaling. In a further embodiment, the second device may also send a corresponding operation result to the first device.

[0157] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S201 to 204. For example, step S203 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps S201+S202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S203+S204 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but are not limited thereto.

[0158] In some embodiments, steps S201 , S202 , S203 , and S204 may be executed in a swapped order or simultaneously.

[0159] In some embodiments, step S201 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

[0160] In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional embodiments described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 2 .

[0161] Ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) devices do not rely on internal batteries or external power sources. Instead, they can operate by harvesting energy from their surroundings (such as light, heat, and radio frequency energy), achieving self-power. Radio frequency energy can simultaneously address both energy harvesting and signal transmission.

[0162] It should be noted that the A-IoT device involved in the present disclosure can also be described as a tag device in a passive Internet of Things, or can be simply referred to as a tag device, and the present disclosure does not limit this.

[0163] In some embodiments, direct communication between A-IoT devices and network devices can be supported. See Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of a network topology for a passive IoT device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, a tag device can communicate directly with a base station, meaning that the tag device can directly receive downlink data and / or downlink signaling from the base station, and can also directly send uplink data and / or uplink signaling to the base station.

[0164] In some possible implementations, downlink data and / or downlink signaling may be carried by a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and uplink data and / or uplink signaling may be carried by a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0165] In some embodiments, in order to enhance the coverage of A-IoT devices, communication between A-IoT devices and network devices through intermediate nodes can also be supported. Please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of another network topology of a passive Internet of Things according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4, the tag device can communicate with the base station through the intermediate node, that is, the intermediate node can receive downlink data and / or downlink signaling sent by the base station and forward it to the tag device, and the intermediate node can also receive uplink data and / or uplink signaling sent by the tag device and forward it to the base station.

[0166] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device communication method. Figure 5 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a device communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device communication method illustrated in this embodiment can be executed by a first device.

[0167] As shown in FIG5 , the device communication method may include the following steps:

[0168] In step S501, it is determined, based on first configuration information, that a second device is associated with a first device, and a distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold.

[0169] The definition of the first configuration information can be found in the relevant description of “first configuration information” in step S201 and will not be repeated here.

[0170] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is preconfigured. For example, the first device UE#1 may determine that the second device tag#1 located near the first device UE#1 is associated with the first device UE#1 based on the preconfigured first configuration information.

[0171] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is sent by a third device to the first device. Optionally, the third device sends the first configuration information to the first device. In some possible implementations, the first device receives the first configuration information sent by the third device. In some possible implementations, the first configuration information may be sent via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. For example, the first device UE#1 receives the first configuration information sent by the base station; based on the received first configuration information, the first terminal may determine that the second device tag#1 located near the first device UE#1 is associated with the first device UE#1.

[0172] In some embodiments, the first device determines, based on the first configuration information, that multiple second devices are associated with the first device. The first device may also add the associated multiple second devices to a device set associated with the first device.

[0173] For example, based on the first configuration information, the first device UE#1 can determine that the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2 and the second device tag#3 located near the first device UE#1 are associated with the first device UE#1, and can add the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2 and the second device tag#3 to the device set tag set#1 associated with the first device UE#1, that is, tag set#1 = {tag#1, tag#2, tag#3}.

[0174] In step S502, second configuration information is sent to the second device, where the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with the third device through the first device.

[0175] The definition of the second configuration information can be found in the relevant description of “second configuration information” in step S202 and will not be repeated here.

[0176] For example, after the first device UE#1 determines to associate with the second device tag#1, it can send second configuration information to the associated second device tag#1 to instruct the second device tag#1 to communicate with the base station through the first device UE#1.

[0177] For example, after the first device UE#1 determines that it is associated with the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2 and the second device tag#3, it can send second configuration information to the associated second device tag#1, the second device tag#2 and the second device tag#3 respectively to instruct the three second devices to communicate with the base station through the first device UE#1.

[0178] Optionally, the second device may receive the second configuration information sent by the first device, and the second device may also determine, based on the second configuration information, that the second device is associated with the first device.

[0179] It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed and the present disclosure does not limit it.

[0180] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first device can determine to associate with a nearby second device based on first configuration information, and can send second configuration information to the associated second device to instruct the second device to communicate with a third device through the associated first device. Accordingly, in a scenario where an A-IoT device and a network device communicate through an intermediate node, the first device located near the A-IoT device can be configured as an intermediate node based on the positional relationship between the first device and the A-IoT device. Since the distance between the A-IoT device and the intermediate node is generally less than the distance between the A-IoT device and the base station, while enhancing the coverage of the A-IoT device, it is beneficial to save the power consumption of the A-IoT device and improve the communication performance of the A-IoT device.

[0181] In some embodiments, the third device obtains the location of the first device through a positioning process. In this case, the first device can determine first location information based on the positioning reference signal, where the first location information is used to indicate the location of the first device.

[0182] In some possible implementations, the positioning reference signal includes, but is not limited to: a sounding reference signal (SRS), which may be sent by the first device to the third device; and a positioning reference signal (PRS), which may be received by the first device from the third device.

[0183] In some embodiments, the first device may further report a measurement quantity to the third device. In some possible implementations, the measurement quantity may specifically include, but is not limited to: Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD); Reference Signal Time of Arrival (RTOA); Angle of Arrival (AoA); Angle of Departure (AoD); Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of the reference signal, or Reference Signal Received Power (RSRPP) per path (generally the RSRP of the first arrival path); the receive beam of the first device; and the Rx-Tx time difference between the first device and the third device.

[0184] In the above embodiment, the third device can obtain the location of the first device through the positioning process, and then the third device can configure the first device to associate with the second device nearby to configure the first device as an intermediate node between the third device and the second device, thereby enhancing the coverage of the A-IoT device.

[0185] In some embodiments, the first device may determine the location of the second device by performing positioning measurements on the second device or by receiving measurement quantities reported by the second device. Furthermore, the third device may also determine the location of the second device through the first device. In some possible implementations, the first device may determine the location of the second device and send the location of the second device to the third device, or the first device may forward the measurement quantities reported by the second device to the third device so that the third device can determine the location of the second device.

[0186] In some embodiments, the first device may obtain second location information, where the second location information indicates the location of the second device. The first device may also send the second location information to a third device. Optionally, the third device may determine the location of the second device based on the second location information received from the first device.

[0187] For example, the first device UE#1 may perform positioning measurement on the associated second device tag#1, and send the device identifier of the second device tag#1 and the positioning measurement result of the first device UE#1 on the second device tag#1 to the base station.

[0188] For example, the first device UE#1 may receive the positioning measurement result reported by the second device tag#1, and forward the device identifier of the second device tag#1 and the positioning measurement result reported by the second device tag#1 to the base station.

[0189] In some possible implementations, the first device may send a bit stream to the second device to perform positioning measurement on the second device; the first device may receive a feedback signal of the bit stream sent by the second device, where the feedback signal is used to indicate the positioning measurement result of the second device; and the first device obtains second location information based on the positioning measurement result of the second device.

[0190] For example, the first device UE#1 can send a bit stream to the associated second device tag#1; further, the first device UE#1 can receive a feedback signal of the bit stream sent by the second device tag#1, and obtain the positioning measurement result of the second device tag#1 based on the feedback signal; further, the first device UE#1 can obtain the location information of the second device tag#1 based on the positioning measurement result of the second device tag#1.

[0191] It should be noted that, considering that A-IoT devices do not support the transmission and reception of positioning reference signals in related technologies, and do not have large bandwidth capabilities for data transmission, it is difficult to meet the requirements of positioning accuracy. In the above embodiment, in the scenario where the A-IoT device and the network device communicate through an intermediate node, the intermediate node can be configured for the A-IoT device first, and then the intermediate node sends a bit stream to the A-IoT device. Then, the terminal can determine the positioning measurement result (i.e., the measurement quantity) of the A-IoT device based on the feedback signal of the bit stream sent by the A-IoT device, and the network device can also locate the A-IoT through the intermediate node.

[0192] A bitstream is a data stream consisting of a sequence of binary bits, which can be used to represent data, instructions, or control information. In some embodiments, the terms "bitstream," "sequence," and "a set of bit values" are interchangeable. For example, the bitstream sent by a first device to a second device may be {10101001}.

[0193] The feedback signal of the bit stream can be obtained based on On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation, which is also called 2-Amplitude Shift Keying (2ASK) modulation. For example, an OOK ON symbol can represent a bit "1", and an OOK OFF symbol can represent a bit "0".

[0194] Among them, the positioning measurement result corresponding to the second device may include at least one of the following: the average value of RSRP; the average value of received signal strength indication (RSSI); the horizontal angle of arrival (Azimuth of Arrival, AoA) measured by the first terminal; the vertical angle of arrival (Zenith of Arrival, ZoA) measured by the first terminal; a first area identifier (for example, a zone ID), where the first area identifier is used to identify the area where the second device is located.

[0195] In the above embodiments, the present disclosure does not limit the specific division method of "regions". In one possible implementation, the plane space corresponding to the global coordinate system (GCS) can be divided into several rectangles according to the configured length and width. In this case, based on the coordinates of the second device in the GCS, the region identifier of the region where the second device is located can be determined by the following formula:

[0196] Where x is the horizontal coordinate of the second device in the GCS, y is the vertical coordinate of the second device in the GCS, L is the length of each configured zone, W is the width of each configured zone, Nx and Ny are coefficients that control the repetition of zone_id; FLOOR represents the rounding-down operation, and Mod represents the remainder operation.

[0197] In some embodiments, the first device may determine the first location information as the second location information based on the positioning measurement result of the second device being less than or equal to a first threshold, wherein the first location information is used to indicate the location of the first device, and the second location information is used to indicate the location of the second device. The first threshold may be preconfigured or configured for the first device by a third device.

[0198] In some implementations, the first location information and / or the second location information may specifically include, but are not limited to: coordinates within a GCS, and coordinates within a local coordinate system (LCS).

[0199] In the above embodiment, if the positioning measurement result between the first device and the second device is less than or equal to the first threshold, it can be considered that the actual distance between the first device and the second device is very close, and therefore it can be considered that the first device and the second device have the same location information, and the location information of the first device can be determined as the location information of the second device. It should be noted that although the A-IoT device does not support the transmission and reception of positioning reference signals in related technologies, and does not have a large bandwidth capability for data transmission, the third device can obtain the location information of the first device more accurately through the positioning process. When the actual distance between the first device and the second device is very close, by determining the location information of the first device as the location information of the second device, it is beneficial to improve the accuracy of positioning the second device.

[0200] In some embodiments, the second location information is used to indicate whether the area where the second device is located is the same area as the area where the first device is located. Optionally, the third device determines whether the area where the second device is located is the same area as the area where the first device is located based on the second location information received from the first device.

[0201] For example, the second location information can be 1-bit indication information; the first device UE#1 can obtain that the area where the second device tag#1 is located is zone#3, and since the area where the first device UE#1 is located is zone#3, the second location information sent by the first device UE#1 to the third device can take the value of "1", which is used to indicate that the area where the second device tag#1 is located is the same area as the area where the first device UE#1 is located.

[0202] For example, the second location information can be 1-bit indication information; the first device UE#1 can obtain the area where the second device tag2 is located as zone#0, and since the area where the first device UE#1 is located is zone#3, the second location information sent by the first device UE#1 to the third device can take the value of "0", which is used to indicate that the area where the second device tag#1 is located is not the same area as the area where the first device UE#1 is located.

[0203] It should be noted that the above is merely an exemplary statement and does not specifically limit the present disclosure. For example, a value of "0" for the second location information indicates that the second device is located in a different area than the first device, and a value of "1" for the second location information indicates that the second device is located in the same area as the first device. For example, the second location information may include multiple bits of indication information, which are not listed here.

[0204] In some embodiments, the second location information may be used to indicate the area where the second device is located. Alternatively, the third device may determine the area where the second device is located based on the second location information received from the first device.

[0205] For example, the first device UE#1 may obtain that the area where the second device tag#1 is located is zone#3, and the area where the second device tag#2 is located is zone#0. Furthermore, the first device UE#1 may send second location information to the third device. The second location information may be, for example, "{tag#1, zone#3}, {tag#2, zone#0}". Optionally, the third device may determine the area where the second device is located based on the second location information received from the first device, and further, the third device may determine the location of the second device based on the area where the second device is located. In one possible implementation, the midpoint coordinates of the area where the second device is located may be determined as the location of the second device.

[0206] It should be noted that in the above embodiment, the zone identifier of the zone where the first device is located is not required to be the same as the zone identifier of the zone where the second device associated with the first device is located. For example, as shown in Figure 7, if the zone where the first device UE#1 is located is zone#3, then the second devices located in zones zone#3, zone#0, zone#1, zone#4, zone#6, and zone#7 can all be determined as second devices associated with the first device UE#1.

[0207] In some embodiments, a first device may add one or more second devices to a set of devices associated with the first device.

[0208] For example, refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of a device set determined based on the location of an intermediate node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, the third device can obtain the location of the first device UE#1 and the location of the first device UE#2 through the Uu port positioning process, and the location of the first device UE#1 is different from the location of the first device UE#2. Based on the first configuration information, the first device UE#1 can determine that the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2, and the second device tag#3 located near the first device UE#1 are associated with the first device UE#1, and can add the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2, and the second device tag#3 to the device set tag#1 associated with the first device UE#1, that is, tag set#1 = {tag#1, tag#2, tag#3}. In addition, based on the first configuration information, the first device UE#2 can determine that the second device tag#4 and the second device tag#5 located near UE#2 are associated with the first device UE#2, and can add the second device tag#4 and the second device tag#5 to the device set tag set#2 associated with the first device UE#2, that is, tag set#2 = {tag#4, tag#5}.

[0209] It should be noted that the device scheduling mechanism of A-IoT technology is designed with reference to the device scheduling mechanism of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. In the related technology of RFID inventory, it is usually only supported to schedule a single tag device, that is, a scheduling of a reader to a tag device can only schedule one tag device to report data. However, in A-IoT technology, considering that the reader may be a network device such as a base station or LMF, the coverage of the network device is higher than that of the RFID reader, and the range of tag devices that the network device may schedule is larger; in this case, if scheduling of a single tag device is supported, there is a problem of low scheduling efficiency. If the network device needs to schedule multiple tag devices, it will cause the entire scheduling process to take a long time. In the embodiments involved in the present disclosure, in the scenario where the A-IoT device and the network device communicate through an intermediate node, by configuring multiple tag devices located near the intermediate node as a device set associated with the intermediate node, it is beneficial to subsequently support a device scheduling mechanism based on a device set, and multiple tag devices can be scheduled to report data at the same time, thereby shortening the time of the entire scheduling process and improving scheduling efficiency.

[0210] Optionally, the third device may send a device set list associated with the first device to the first device, where the device set list includes device identifiers of multiple second devices associated with the first device.

[0211] In some embodiments, a first device receives a device set list associated with the first device from a third device. In one possible implementation, the device set list may identify different second devices using coding such as Electronic Product Code (EPC) or country code.

[0212] In some embodiments, the first device may perform an inventory of the second devices according to the received device set list until all second devices in the device set list are completely inventoried.

[0213] In some embodiments, after the first device is configured as an intermediate node between the second device and the third device, the third device may forward downlink data to the second device through the first device, and the second device may forward uplink data to the third device through the first device.

[0214] In some embodiments, based on grouping the second devices according to the location of the first device, the first device may receive first scheduling signaling sent by a third device, where the first scheduling signaling is used to instruct the scheduling of the second devices in the device set associated with the first device. In further embodiments, the first device may also send second scheduling signaling to one or more second devices that require scheduling.

[0215] Among them, the implementation example of the first scheduling signaling can refer to the relevant description of the "first scheduling signaling" in step S203, and the implementation example of the second scheduling signaling can refer to the relevant description of the "second scheduling signaling" in step S204, which will not be repeated here.

[0216] For example, the first device UE#1 can receive a first scheduling signaling sent by the base station, and the first scheduling signaling is used to indicate the scheduling of the second device in the device set tag set#1 associated with the first device UE#1; further, the first device UE#1 can send a second scheduling signaling to the second device tag#4 and the second device tag#5 included in the device set tag set#1 respectively.

[0217] For example, the first device UE#2 can receive a first scheduling signaling sent by the base station, and the first scheduling signaling is used to indicate the scheduling of the second device in the device set tag set#2 associated with the first device UE#2; further, the first device UE#2 can send a second scheduling signaling to the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2 and the second device tag#3 included in the device set tag set#2 respectively.

[0218] In some possible implementations, the first scheduling signaling and / or the second scheduling signaling may include at least one of the following: selection signaling; inventory signaling; and access signaling. The selection signaling may be used to select one or more second devices. The inventory signaling may be used to identify the second devices and enable the corresponding second devices to transmit uplink data. The access signaling may be used to perform operations such as reading, writing, locking, deactivating, and authenticating the second devices.

[0219] It's important to note that the command set for A-IoT technology is designed with reference to the RFID command set. However, in RFID-related technologies, a count signaling command can only schedule a single tag device to send uplink data, and a reader can only connect to one tag device, making it impossible to schedule multiple tags simultaneously.

[0220] In some possible implementations, the first scheduling signaling includes first information, and the first scheduling is used to indicate at least one second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0221] The first scheduling information may include at least one of the following:

[0222] (1-1) A set identifier, which is used to identify a device set associated with the first device.

[0223] For example, in the first scheduling signaling received by the first device UE#1, the first scheduling information may be "tag set#1", which is used to indicate that the first scheduling signaling schedules the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2 and the second device tag#3 included in the device set tag set#1.

[0224] (1-2) Device identification: The device identification is used to identify one or more second devices that need to be scheduled.

[0225] For example, in the first scheduling signaling received by the first device UE#1, the first scheduling information may be "{tag#1, tag#2, tag#3}", which is used to indicate that the first scheduling signaling schedules the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2 and the second device tag#3 included in the device set tag set#1.

[0226] (1-3) Subset identifier, which is used to identify one or more device subsets that need to be scheduled in the device set associated with the first device.

[0227] For example, the device set tag set#1 can be further configured into multiple device subsets, wherein the device subset tag set#1_1 includes the second device tag#1, and the device subset tag set#1_2 includes the second device tag#2 and the second device tag#3; in the first scheduling signaling received by the first device UE#1, the first scheduling information may be "tag set#1_2", which is used to indicate that the first scheduling signaling schedules the second device tag#2 and the second device tag#3 included in the device subset tag set#1_2.

[0228] (1-4) A second area identifier, which is used to identify an area where one or more second devices that need to be scheduled are located.

[0229] For example, see Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of a zone-based inventory mechanism according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The zone where the second device tag#1 is located is zone#3, the zone where the second device tag#2 is located is zone#5, and the zone where the second device tag#3 is located is also zone#5; in the first scheduling signaling received by the first device UE#1, the first scheduling information may be "zone#3", which is used to indicate that the first scheduling signaling schedules the second device tag#1 included in the device set tag set#1 and located in zone#3.

[0230] In some possible implementations, the indication manner of the first information may include at least one of the following:

[0231] (2-1) The first information is indicated based on the first information field.

[0232] In some embodiments, the first information field may be an information field added in the first scheduling signaling for independently indicating the first information.

[0233] For example, the first scheduling signaling is an inventory signaling, and a first information field for indicating the first information can be newly added to the existing inventory signaling. The first information field can be used to explicitly indicate or implicitly indicate the first information.

[0234] (2-2) The first information is jointly indicated based on a plurality of second information fields.

[0235] In some embodiments, the second information field may be an information field in the first scheduling signaling that is also used to indicate other information in addition to the first information, and multiple second information fields may jointly indicate the first information.

[0236] For example, the first scheduling signaling is an inventory signaling, and can jointly indicate the first information based on multiple second information fields in the existing inventory signaling that are originally used to indicate other information.

[0237] In one possible implementation, the first information can be implicitly indicated based on the three second information fields (MemRank, Pointer, Length); wherein the second information field MemRan is used to indicate the memory area identifier, the second information field Pointer is used to indicate the pointer position (that is, the position where data starts to be read in the memory area), and the second information field Length is used to indicate the length of the data read in the memory. For example, assuming that the memory area of ​​the first device UE#1 stores the device identifiers of multiple second devices associated with the first device UE#1 as {tag#1, tag#2, tag#3}, Pointer indicates that reading starts from the second data, and Length indicates that the length of the read data is 2, then the first information is used to indicate that the second devices that need to be scheduled are tag#2 and tag#3.

[0238] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling further includes second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second threshold, wherein the second threshold is used to determine whether one or more second devices associated with the first device are second devices that need to be scheduled.

[0239] For example, please refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of an inventory mechanism based on a second threshold according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first scheduling signaling received by the first device UE#1 includes the first information "tag set#1" and the second information "threshold value a"; the first device UE#1 can determine whether each second device in the device set tag set#1 is a second device that needs to be scheduled based on the threshold value a configured by the base station, wherein when the average value or cumulative value of the high level in the feedback signal received by the first device UE#1 is greater than or equal to the threshold value a, the corresponding second device is scheduled to send uplink data; when the average value or cumulative value of the high level in the feedback signal received by the first device UE#1 is less than the threshold value a, the corresponding second device is not scheduled to send uplink data.

[0240] For example, the first scheduling signaling received by the first device UE#1 includes the first information "tag set#1" and the second information "threshold value b"; the first device UE#1 can determine whether each second device in the device set tag set#1 is a second device that needs to be scheduled based on the threshold value b configured by the base station, wherein when the RSSI is greater than or equal to the threshold value b, the corresponding second device is scheduled to send uplink data, and when the RSSI is less than the threshold value a, the corresponding second device is not scheduled to send uplink data.

[0241] For example, the first scheduling signaling received by the first device UE#1 includes the first information "tag set#1" and the second information "the lower limit value c and the upper limit value d of the threshold range"; the first device UE#1 can determine whether each second device in the device set tag set#1 is a second device that needs to be scheduled based on the threshold range configured by the base station (that is, the lower limit value c and the upper limit value d), wherein when the average value or the accumulated value of the high level in the feedback signal received by the first device UE#1 is within the threshold range [c, d], the corresponding second device is scheduled to send uplink data; when the average value or the accumulated value of the high level in the feedback signal received by the first device UE#1 is outside the threshold range [c, d], the corresponding second device is not scheduled to send uplink data.

[0242] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling further includes third information, where the third information is used to indicate a type of operation that the second device that needs to be scheduled needs to perform.

[0243] For example, the first scheduling signaling is a selection signaling. The first scheduling signaling received by the first device UE#1 may include a third information "action field". The third information is used to indicate the type of operation that the second device to be scheduled needs to perform, such as keeping the SL label, inventory->A, canceling SL, not keeping SL, inventory->B, etc.

[0244] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device communication method. Figure 9 is a schematic flow chart illustrating another device communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device communication method illustrated in this embodiment can be executed by a second device.

[0245] As shown in FIG9 , the device communication method may include the following steps:

[0246] In step S901, second configuration information sent by a first device is received, and it is determined that a second device is associated with the first device, and a distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with a third device through the first device.

[0247] For example, the second device tag#1 can receive the second configuration information sent by the first device UE#1, and determine that the second device tag#1 is associated with the first device UE#1, and the second device tag#1 is located near the first device UE#1, wherein the second configuration information is used to indicate that the second device tag#1 communicates with the base station through the first device UE#1.

[0248] Optionally, the first device sends second configuration information to the second device.

[0249] It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed and the present disclosure does not limit it.

[0250] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second device can determine to associate with the first device nearby based on the second configuration information, and can determine to communicate with the third device through the associated first device. Accordingly, in a scenario where the A-IoT device and the network device communicate through an intermediate node, the first device located near the A-IoT device can be configured as an intermediate node based on the positional relationship between the first device and the A-IoT device. Since the distance between the A-IoT device and the intermediate node is generally less than the distance between the A-IoT device and the base station, while enhancing the coverage of the A-IoT device, it is beneficial to save the power consumption of the A-IoT device and improve the communication performance of the A-IoT device.

[0251] In some embodiments, the second device may receive a bit stream sent by the first device; the second device may also send a feedback signal of the bit stream to the first device, the feedback signal indicating the positioning measurement result of the second device, the positioning measurement result of the second device being used by the first device to obtain second location information, the second location information indicating the location of the second device. Alternatively, the first device may send a bit stream to the second device to perform positioning measurement on the second device; the first device may also receive a feedback signal of the bit stream sent by the second device, the feedback signal indicating the positioning measurement result of the second device; the first device may obtain the second location information based on the positioning measurement result of the second device, and thereby determine the location of the second device.

[0252] For example, the second device tag#1 can receive the bit stream sent by the first device UE#1; further, the second device tag#1 can send a feedback signal of the bit stream to the first device UE#1, so that the first device UE#1 can obtain the positioning measurement result of the second device tag#1.

[0253] It should be noted that, considering that A-IoT devices do not support the transmission and reception of positioning reference signals in related technologies, and do not have the ability to transmit data at a large bandwidth, it is difficult to meet the requirements of positioning accuracy. In the above embodiment, in the scenario where the A-IoT device and the network device communicate through an intermediate node, the intermediate node can be configured for the A-IoT device, and then the intermediate node sends a bit stream to the A-IoT device. Then, the terminal can determine the positioning measurement result (i.e., the measurement quantity) of the A-IoT device based on the feedback signal of the bit stream sent by the A-IoT device.

[0254] A bitstream is a data stream consisting of a sequence of binary bits, which can be used to represent data, instructions, or control information. In some embodiments, the terms "bitstream," "sequence," and "a set of bit values" are interchangeable. For example, the bitstream sent by a first device to a second device may be {10101001}.

[0255] The feedback signal of the bit stream can be obtained based on On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation, which is also called 2-Amplitude Shift Keying (2ASK) modulation. For example, an OOK ON symbol can represent a bit "1", and an OOK OFF symbol can represent a bit "0".

[0256] Among them, the positioning measurement result of the second device may include at least one of the following: the average value of RSRP; the average value of received signal strength indication (RSSI); the horizontal angle of arrival (Azimuth of Arrival, AoA) measured by the first terminal; the vertical angle of arrival (Zenith of Arrival, ZoA) measured by the first terminal; the first zone identifier (zone ID), the first zone identifier is used to identify the area where the second device is located.

[0257] In the above embodiments, the present disclosure does not limit the specific division method of "regions". In one possible implementation, the plane space corresponding to the global coordinate system (GCS) can be divided into several rectangles according to the configured length and width. In this case, based on the coordinates of the second device in the GCS, the region identifier of the region where the second device is located can be determined by the following formula:

[0258] Where x is the horizontal coordinate of the second device in the GCS, y is the vertical coordinate of the second device in the GCS, L is the length of each configured zone, W is the width of each configured zone, Nx and Ny are coefficients that control the repetition of zone_id; FLOOR represents the rounding-down operation, and Mod represents the remainder operation.

[0259] In some embodiments, the second device is added to a device set associated with the first device, the device set also including other second devices associated with the first device. Optionally, the first device determines, based on the first configuration information, that one or more second devices are associated with the first device, and adds the associated one or more second devices to the device set associated with the first device.

[0260] For example, as shown in Figure 6, the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2 and the second device tag#3 are added to the device set tag set#1 associated with the first device UE#1; the second device tag#4 and the second device tag#5 are added to the device set tag set#2 associated with the first device UE#2.

[0261] In the above embodiment, by configuring multiple label devices located near the intermediate node as a device set associated with the intermediate node, it is beneficial to subsequently support a device scheduling mechanism based on a device set, and multiple label devices can be scheduled to report data at the same time, thereby shortening the time of the entire scheduling process and improving scheduling efficiency.

[0262] In some embodiments, the second device may also receive second scheduling signaling sent by the first device.

[0263] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device communication method. Figure 10 is a schematic flow chart illustrating another device communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device communication method illustrated in this embodiment can be executed by a third device.

[0264] As shown in FIG10 , the device communication method may include the following steps:

[0265] In step S1001, first configuration information is sent to a first device, where the first configuration information is used to indicate that a second device is associated with the first device, and a distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second device communicates with a third device through the first device.

[0266] For example, the base station may send first configuration information to the first device UE#1, where the configuration information is used to indicate that the second device tag#1 located near the first device UE#1 is associated with the first device UE#1, wherein the second device tag#1 communicates with the base station through the first device UE#1.

[0267] Optionally, the first device may receive the first configuration information sent by the third device. In a further embodiment, the first device may determine that one or more second devices are associated with the first device based on the first configuration information.

[0268] In some possible implementations, the first configuration information may be sent via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0269] It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed, and the present disclosure does not limit it.

[0270] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a third device can send first configuration information to a first device, so that the first device can determine to associate with a nearby second device based on the first configuration information, so that the second device can communicate with the third device through the associated first device. Accordingly, in a scenario where an A-IoT device and a network device communicate through an intermediate node, the first device located near the A-IoT device can be configured as an intermediate node based on the positional relationship between the first device and the A-IoT device. Since the distance between the A-IoT device and the intermediate node is generally less than the distance between the A-IoT device and the base station, while enhancing the coverage of the A-IoT device, it is beneficial to save the power consumption of the A-IoT device and improve the communication performance of the A-IoT device.

[0271] In some embodiments, the third device may determine first location information based on the positioning reference signal, where the first location information is used to indicate the location of the first device.

[0272] In some possible implementations, the positioning reference signal may include, but is not limited to: an SRS, which may be received by the third device from the first device; and a PRS, which may be sent by the third device to the first device.

[0273] In some embodiments, the third device may obtain a measurement quantity reported by the first device. In some possible implementations, the measurement quantity may specifically include, but is not limited to: Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD); Reference Signal Time of Arrival (RTOA); Angle of Arrival (AoA); Angle of Departure (AoD); Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of the reference signal, or Reference Signal Received Power (RSRPP) per path (generally the RSRP of the first arrival path); the receive beam of the first device; and the Rx-Tx time difference between the first device and the third device.

[0274] In the above embodiment, the third device can obtain the location of the first device through the positioning process, and then the third device can configure the first device to associate with the second device nearby to configure the first device as an intermediate node between the third device and the second device, thereby enhancing the coverage of the A-IoT device.

[0275] In some embodiments, the third device may receive second location information sent by the first device, where the second location information indicates the location of the second device, and may determine the location of the second device based on the second location information.

[0276] It should be noted that, considering that A-IoT devices do not support the transmission and reception of positioning reference signals in related technologies, and do not have the ability to transmit data at a large bandwidth, it is difficult to meet the requirements of positioning accuracy. In the above embodiment, in the scenario where the A-IoT device and the network device communicate through an intermediate node, the intermediate node can be configured for the A-IoT device, and then the intermediate node sends a bit stream to the A-IoT device. Then, the terminal can determine the positioning measurement result (i.e., the measurement quantity) of the A-IoT device based on the feedback signal of the bit stream sent by the A-IoT device.

[0277] A bitstream is a data stream consisting of a sequence of binary bits, which can be used to represent data, instructions, or control information. In some embodiments, the terms "bitstream," "sequence," and "a set of bit values" are interchangeable. For example, the bitstream sent by a first device to a second device may be {10101001}.

[0278] The feedback signal of the bit stream can be obtained based on On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation, which is also called 2-Amplitude Shift Keying (2ASK) modulation. For example, an OOK ON symbol can represent a bit "1", and an OOK OFF symbol can represent a bit "0".

[0279] Among them, the positioning measurement result of the second device may include at least one of the following: the average value of RSRP; the average value of received signal strength indication (RSSI); the horizontal angle of arrival (Azimuth of Arrival, AoA) measured by the first terminal; the vertical angle of arrival (Zenith of Arrival, ZoA) measured by the first terminal; the zone identifier (zone id) of the area where the second device is located.

[0280] In the above embodiments, the present disclosure does not limit the specific division method of "regions". In one possible implementation, the plane space corresponding to the global coordinate system (GCS) can be divided into several rectangles according to the configured length and width. In this case, based on the coordinates of the second device in the GCS, the region identifier of the region where the second device is located can be determined by the following formula:

[0281] Where x is the horizontal coordinate of the second device in the GCS, y is the vertical coordinate of the second device in the GCS, L is the length of each configured zone, W is the width of each configured zone, Nx and Ny are coefficients that control the repetition of zone_id; FLOOR represents the rounding-down operation, and Mod represents the remainder operation.

[0282] In some embodiments, the third device may determine, based on the second location information, whether the area where the second device is located is the same area as the area where the first device is located.

[0283] For example, the second location information can be 1-bit indication information; when the value of the second location information sent by the first device UE#1 to the third device is "1", it is used to indicate that the area where the second device tag#1 is located is the same area as the area where the first device UE#1 is located; when the value of the second location information sent by the first device UE#1 to the third device is "0", it is used to indicate that the area where the second device tag#1 is located is not the same area as the area where the first device UE#1 is located.

[0284] It should be noted that the above is merely an exemplary statement and does not impose any particular limitation on the present disclosure. For example, a value of "0" for the second location information indicates that the second device is located in a different area than the first device, and a value of "1" for the second location information indicates that the second device is located in the same area as the first device. For example, the second location information may indicate multiple bits of information, which are not listed here one by one.

[0285] In some embodiments, the third device may determine the area where the second device is located based on the second location information.

[0286] For example, if the second indication information is "{tag#1, zone#3}, {tag#2, zone#0}," the base station can determine, based on the second location information, that the zone where the second device, tag#1, is located is zone#3, and that the zone where the second device, tag#2, is located is zone#0. The base station can then determine the locations of the second devices, tag#1 and tag#2. In one possible implementation, the midpoint coordinates of the zone where the second device is located can be determined as the location of the second device.

[0287] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is used to indicate that one or more second devices are associated with the first device.

[0288] For example, refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of a device set determined based on the location of an intermediate node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, the third device can obtain the location of the first device UE#1 and the location of the first device UE#2 through the Uu port positioning process, and the location of the first device UE#1 is different from the location of the first device UE#2. Based on the first configuration information, the first device UE#1 can determine that the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2, and the second device tag#3 located near the first device UE#1 are associated with the first device UE#1, and can add the second device tag#1, the second device tag#2, and the second device tag#3 to the device set tag#1 associated with the first device UE#1, that is, tag set#1 = {tag#1, tag#2, tag#3}. In addition, based on the first configuration information, the first device UE#2 can determine that the second device tag#4 and the second device tag#5 located near UE#2 are associated with the first device UE#2, and can add the second device tag#4 and the second device tag#5 to the device set tag set#2 associated with the first device UE#2, that is, tag set#2 = {tag#4, tag#5}.

[0289] In the above embodiment, by configuring multiple label devices located near the intermediate node as a device set associated with the intermediate node, it is beneficial to subsequently support a device scheduling mechanism based on a device set, and multiple label devices can be scheduled to report data at the same time, thereby shortening the time of the entire scheduling process and improving scheduling efficiency.

[0290] In some embodiments, a third device may send a device collection list associated with the first device to the first device, where the device collection list includes the device identifiers of multiple second devices associated with the first device. Optionally, the first device receives the device collection list associated with the first device sent by the third device. In further embodiments, the first device may perform an inventory of the second devices according to the received device collection list until all second devices in the device collection list have been inventoried.

[0291] In a possible implementation, different second devices may be identified in the device set list using coding methods such as Electronic Product Code (EPC) and country code.

[0292] In some embodiments, after the first device is configured as an intermediate node between the second device and the third device, the third device may forward downlink data to the second device through the first device, and the second device may forward uplink data to the third device through the first device.

[0293] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending first scheduling signaling to the first device, the first scheduling signaling being used to instruct scheduling of a second device in a device set associated with the first device. Optionally, the first device may receive the first scheduling signaling sent by a third device. In a further embodiment, the first device may send second scheduling signaling to at least one second device in the device set that requires scheduling.

[0294] For example, the base station may send a first scheduling signaling to the first device UE#1, where the first scheduling signaling is used to instruct to schedule the second device in the device set tag set#1 associated with the first device UE#1.

[0295] For example, the base station may send a first scheduling signaling to the first device UE#2, where the first scheduling signaling is used to instruct to schedule the second device in the device set tag set#2 associated with the first device UE#2.

[0296] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling includes first information, and the first information is used to indicate at least one second device that needs to be scheduled. The specific implementation of the "first information" is described in the previous embodiment, and is not repeated here.

[0297] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling further includes second information, the second information being used to indicate a second threshold, which is used to determine whether each second device in the set of devices associated with the first device is a second device requiring scheduling. The specific implementation of the "second information" is described in the preceding embodiments and is not further elaborated here.

[0298] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a type of operation that the second device that needs to be scheduled needs to perform.

[0299] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc. are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codeword", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0300] In some embodiments, terms such as "moment", "time point", "time", and "time position" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "duration", "period", "time window", "window", and "time" can be replaced with each other.

[0301] In some embodiments, the terms "component carrier (CC)", "cell", "frequency carrier", "carrier frequency" and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0302] In some embodiments, "obtain", "get", "get", "receive", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be interchangeable, and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, obtaining from protocols, obtaining from higher layers, obtaining by self-processing, autonomous implementation, etc.

[0303] In some embodiments, terms such as "send", "transmit", "report", "download", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be used interchangeably.

[0304] Corresponding to the aforementioned embodiments of the device communication method, the present disclosure also provides embodiments of a device communication apparatus.

[0305] FIG11 is a schematic block diagram of a device communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG11 , the device communication apparatus 1100 includes a processing module 1001 and a transceiver module 1002 .

[0306] In some embodiments, the processing module is used to determine that the second device is associated with the first device based on the first configuration information, and the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; the transceiver module is used to send second configuration information to the second device, and the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with the third device through the first device.

[0307] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is pre-configured, or the first configuration information is received by the first device from the third device.

[0308] In some embodiments, the processing module is further configured to determine first location information based on a positioning reference signal, where the first location information is configured to indicate a location of the first device.

[0309] In some embodiments, the positioning reference signal includes at least one of the following: an SRS sent by the first device to the third device; and a PRS received by the first device from the third device.

[0310] In some embodiments, the processing module is further used to obtain second location information, where the second location information is used to indicate the location of the second device; and the transceiver module is further used to send the second location information to the third device.

[0311] In some embodiments, obtaining the second location information includes: sending a bit stream to the second device to perform positioning measurement on the second device; receiving a feedback signal of the bit stream sent by the second device, the feedback signal being used to indicate the positioning measurement result of the second device; and obtaining the second location information based on the positioning measurement result of the second device.

[0312] In some embodiments, the positioning measurement result of the second device includes at least one of the following: RSRP; RSSI; AoA; ZoA; a first area identifier, where the first area identifier is used to identify the area where the second device is located.

[0313] In some embodiments, obtaining the second location information according to the positioning measurement result of the second device includes: determining the first location information as the second location information according to the positioning measurement result of the second device being less than or equal to a first threshold.

[0314] In some embodiments, the second location information is used to indicate whether an area where the second device is located is the same area as an area where the first device is located.

[0315] In some embodiments, the second location information is used to indicate an area where the second device is located.

[0316] In some embodiments, the processing module is used to determine, based on the first configuration information, that multiple second devices are associated with the first device; the processing module is also used to add the multiple second devices to a device set associated with the first device.

[0317] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is also used to receive a first scheduling signaling sent by the third device, and the first scheduling signaling is used to indicate the scheduling of a second device in a device set associated with the first device; the transceiver module is also used to send a second scheduling signaling to at least one second device in the device set that needs to be scheduled.

[0318] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling includes first information, where the first information is used to indicate at least one second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0319] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: a set identifier, which is used to identify a set of devices associated with the first device; a device identifier, which is used to identify at least one second device that needs to be scheduled; a subset identifier, which is used to identify a subset of devices that need to be scheduled in the set of devices associated with the first device; and a second area identifier, which is used to identify an area where at least one second device that needs to be scheduled is located.

[0320] In some embodiments, the manner of indicating the first information includes at least one of the following: indicating the first information based on a first information field; and jointly indicating the first information based on multiple second information fields.

[0321] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling further includes second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second threshold, and the second threshold is used to determine whether each second device in the set of devices associated with the first device is a second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0322] In some embodiments, the first device is a first terminal, the second device is a tag device in a passive Internet of Things (A-IoT), and the third device is a network device or a second terminal.

[0323] It should be noted that the modules included in the device communication apparatus are not limited to the modules described in the above embodiments, and may also include other modules, such as a storage module, a display module, a positioning module, a measurement module, etc.

[0324] FIG12 is a schematic block diagram of a device communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG12 , the device communication apparatus 1200 includes a transceiver module 1201 .

[0325] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to receive second configuration information sent by a first device, determine that the second device is associated with the first device, and that the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second configuration information is used to indicate that the second device communicates with a third device through the first device.

[0326] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is further used to receive a bit stream sent by the first device; the transceiver module is further used to send a feedback signal of the bit stream to the first device, the feedback signal is used to indicate a positioning measurement result of the second device, the positioning measurement result of the second device is used by the first device to obtain second position information, and the second position information is used to indicate the position of the second device.

[0327] In some embodiments, the positioning measurement result of the second device includes at least one of the following: RSRP; RSSI; AoA; ZoA; a first area identifier, where the first area identifier is used to identify the area where the second device is located.

[0328] In some embodiments, the second device is added to a device set associated with the first device, the device set also including other second devices associated with the first device.

[0329] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is further configured to receive second scheduling signaling sent by the first device.

[0330] In some embodiments, the first device is a first terminal, the second device is a tag device in a passive Internet of Things (A-IoT), and the third device is a network device or a second terminal.

[0331] It should be noted that the modules included in the device communication apparatus 1200 are not limited to the modules described in the above embodiments, and may also include other modules, such as a storage module, a display module, a measurement module, a sensor module, etc.

[0332] FIG13 is a schematic block diagram of a device communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG13 , the device communication apparatus 1300 includes a transceiver module 1301 .

[0333] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to send first configuration information to a first device, where the first configuration information is used to indicate that a second device is associated with the first device, and the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein the second device communicates with a third device through the first device.

[0334] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes: a processing module, further configured to determine first location information based on a positioning reference signal, where the first location information is used to indicate a location of the first device.

[0335] In some embodiments, the positioning reference signal includes at least one of the following: a channel sounding reference signal SRS received by the third device from the first device; and a positioning reference signal PRS sent by the third device to the first device.

[0336] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is further used to receive second location information sent by the first device, where the second location information is used to indicate the location of the second device.

[0337] In some embodiments, the processing module is configured to determine, based on the second location information, whether an area where the second device is located is the same area as an area where the first device is located.

[0338] In some embodiments, the processing module is used to determine the area where the second device is located based on the second location information.

[0339] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is used to indicate that a plurality of second devices are associated with the first device.

[0340] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is further configured to send a first scheduling signaling to the first device, where the first scheduling signaling is configured to instruct scheduling of a second device in a set of devices associated with the first device.

[0341] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling includes first information, where the first information is used to indicate at least one second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0342] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: a set identifier, which is used to identify a set of devices associated with the first device; a device identifier, which is used to identify at least one second device that needs to be scheduled; a subset identifier, which is used to identify a subset of devices that need to be scheduled in the set of devices associated with the first device; and a second area identifier, which is used to identify an area where at least one second device that needs to be scheduled is located.

[0343] In some embodiments, the manner of indicating the first information includes at least one of the following: indicating the first information based on a first information field; and jointly indicating the first information based on multiple second information fields.

[0344] In some embodiments, the first scheduling signaling further includes second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second threshold, and the second threshold is used to determine whether each second device in the set of devices associated with the first device is a second device that needs to be scheduled.

[0345] In some embodiments, the first device is a first terminal, the second device is a tag device in a passive Internet of Things (A-IoT), and the third device is a network device or a second terminal.

[0346] It should be noted that the modules included in the device communication apparatus 1300 are not limited to the modules described in the above embodiments, and may also include other modules, such as a storage module, a display module, a measurement module, a positioning module, a configuration module, etc.

[0347] For the device embodiment, since it basically corresponds to the method embodiment, the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment. The device embodiment described above is merely illustrative, wherein the modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network modules. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the scheme of this embodiment. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement it without paying any creative work.

[0348] An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a first device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the first device to execute the device communication method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect.

[0349] An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a second device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the second device to execute the device communication method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

[0350] An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a third device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions to enable the third device to execute the device communication method described in the third aspect and the optional embodiment of the third aspect.

[0351] An embodiment of the present disclosure also proposes a communication system, comprising a first device, a second device, and a third device, wherein the first device is configured to implement the device communication method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect, the second device is configured to implement the device communication method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect, and the third device is configured to implement the device communication method described in the third aspect and the optional embodiment of the third aspect.

[0352] An embodiment of the present disclosure also proposes a storage medium storing instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the device communication method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect, and / or the device communication method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect, and / or the device communication method described in the third aspect and the optional embodiment of the third aspect.

[0353] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0354] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0355] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of the hardware circuit. The logical relationship of the above-mentioned hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and implementing the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0356] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 14100 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Communication device 14100 can be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., a user equipment, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a network device implementing any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a terminal implementing any of the above methods. Communication device 14100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiments.

[0357] As shown in Figure 7, the communication device 14100 includes one or more processors 14101. The processor 14101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. The processor 14101 is used to call instructions to enable the communication device 14100 to perform any of the above methods.

[0358] In some embodiments, the communication device 14100 further includes one or more memories 14102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 14102 may be located outside the communication device 14100.

[0359] In some embodiments, the communication device 14100 further includes one or more transceivers 14103. When the communication device 14100 includes one or more transceivers 14103, the communication steps such as sending and receiving in the above method are performed by the transceiver 14103, and the other steps are performed by the processor 14101.

[0360] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, and transceiver circuit may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit may be used interchangeably.

[0361] Optionally, the communication device 14100 further includes one or more interface circuits 14104, which are connected to the memory 14102. The interface circuits 14104 may be configured to receive signals from the memory 14102 or other devices, and may be configured to send signals to the memory 14102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuits 14104 may read instructions stored in the memory 14102 and send the instructions to the processor 14101.

[0362] The communication device 14100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 14100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 14100 may not be limited by FIG. 7 . The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data or programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0363] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 15200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the case where the communication device 14100 may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 15200 shown in FIG8 , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0364] The chip 15200 includes one or more processors 15201 , and the processor 15201 is used to call instructions so that the chip 15200 executes any of the above methods.

[0365] In some embodiments, the chip 15200 further includes one or more interface circuits 15202, which are connected to the memory 15203. The interface circuit 15202 can be used to receive signals from the memory 15203 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory.

[0366] 15203 or other devices to send signals. For example, the interface circuit 15202 can read the instructions stored in the memory 15203 and send the instructions to the processor 15201. Optionally, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, transceiver, etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0367] In some embodiments, chip 15200 further includes one or more memories 15203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of memory 15203 may be external to chip 15200.

[0368] The present disclosure also provides a storage medium having instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed on the communication device 14100, the communication device 14100 is caused to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a transient storage medium.

[0369] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 14100, enables the communication device 14100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0370] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

Claims

1. A device communication method, characterized in that, Performed by a first device, the method includes: Determine that a second device is associated with the first device according to first configuration information, where the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; Send second configuration information to the second device, where the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with a third device through the first device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first configuration information is pre-configured, or the first configuration information is received by the first device from the third device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes: Determine first position information based on a positioning reference signal, where the first position information is used to indicate the position of the first device.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein The positioning reference signal includes at least one of the following: A sounding reference signal SRS sent by the first device to the third device; A positioning reference signal PRS received by the first device from the third device.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes: Obtain second position information, where the second position information is used to indicate the position of the second device; Send the second position information to the third device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The obtaining of the second position information includes: Send a bit stream to the second device to perform positioning measurement on the second device; Receive a feedback signal of the bit stream sent by the second device, where the feedback signal is used to indicate the positioning measurement result of the second device; Obtain the second position information according to the positioning measurement result of the second device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The positioning measurement result of the second device includes at least one of the following: Reference signal received power RSRP; Received signal strength indication RSSI; Horizontal angle of arrival AoA; Vertical angle of arrival ZoA; A first area identifier, where the first area identifier is used to identify the area where the second device is located.

8. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 7, characterized in that, The obtaining of the second position information according to the positioning measurement result of the second device includes: Determine the first position information as the second position information according to the positioning measurement result of the second device being less than or equal to a first threshold.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein The second position information is used to indicate whether the area where the second device is located and the area where the first device is located are the same area.

10. The method according to claim 5, wherein The second position information is used to indicate the area where the second device is located.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The determining that the second device is associated with the first device according to the first configuration information includes: Determine that a plurality of second devices are associated with the first device according to the first configuration information; The method further includes: Add the plurality of second devices to a device set associated with the first device.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The method further includes: Receive a first scheduling signaling sent by the third device, where the first scheduling signaling is used to indicate scheduling of second devices in the device set associated with the first device; Send a second scheduling signaling to at least one second device in the device set that needs to be scheduled.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein The first scheduling signaling includes first information, where the first information is used to indicate at least one second device that needs to be scheduled.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The first information includes at least one of the following: A set identifier, where the set identifier is used to identify the device set associated with the first device; A device identifier, where the device identifier is used to identify at least one second device that needs to be scheduled; Subset identifier, which is used to identify the subset of devices to be scheduled in the device set associated with the first device; Second area identifier, which is used to identify the area where at least one second device to be scheduled is located.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The indication method of the first information includes at least one of the following: Indicating the first information based on the first information field; Indicating the first information based on the joint indication of multiple second information fields.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein The first scheduling signaling further includes second information, which is used to indicate a second threshold, and the second threshold is used to determine whether each second device in the device set associated with the first device is a second device to be scheduled.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that, The first device is a first terminal, the second device is a tag device in the passive Internet of Things A-IoT, and the third device is a network device or a second terminal.

18. A device communication method, characterized in that, Executed by the second device, the method includes: Receiving second configuration information sent by the first device, determining that the second device is associated with the first device, and the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein, the second configuration information is used to instruct the second device to communicate with the third device through the first device.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The method further includes: Receiving the bitstream sent by the first device; Sending a feedback signal of the bitstream to the first device, where the feedback signal is used to indicate the positioning measurement result of the second device, and the positioning measurement result of the second device is used for the first device to obtain second position information, and the second position information is used to indicate the position of the second device.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The positioning measurement result of the second device includes at least one of the following: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP); Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI); Angle of Arrival (AoA) in the horizontal direction; Zenith Angle of Arrival (ZoA); First area identifier, which is used to identify the area where the second device is located.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein The second device is added to the device set associated with the first device, and the device set further includes other second devices associated with the first device.

22. The method according to claim 18, wherein The method further includes: Receiving the second scheduling signaling sent by the first device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterized in that, The first device is a first terminal, the second device is a tag device in the passive Internet of Things A-IoT, and the third device is a network device or a second terminal.

24. A device communication method, characterized in that, Executed by the third device, the method includes: Sending first configuration information to the first device, where the first configuration information is used to instruct the second device to be associated with the first device, and the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; wherein, the second device communicates with the third device through the first device. The method further includes:

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein Determining first position information based on a positioning reference signal, where the first position information is used to indicate the position of the first device. The positioning reference signal includes at least one of the following:

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein The channel sounding reference signal (SRS) received by the third device from the first device; The positioning reference signal (PRS) sent by the third device to the first device. The method further includes:

27. The method according to claim 24, wherein Receiving the second position information sent by the first device, where the second position information is used to indicate the position of the second device. ​ 28. The method according to claim 27, wherein The method further includes: Determining whether the area where the second device is located and the area where the first device is located are the same area according to the second location information.

29. The method according to claim 27, wherein The method further includes: Determining the area where the second device is located according to the second location information.

30. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 29, characterized in that, The first configuration information is used to indicate that a plurality of second devices are associated with the first device.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein The method further includes: Sending a first scheduling signaling to the first device, where the first scheduling signaling is used to indicate scheduling of second devices in a device set associated with the first device.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein The first scheduling signaling includes first information, and the first information is used to indicate at least one second device to be scheduled.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein The first information includes at least one of the following: A set identifier, where the set identifier is used to identify a device set associated with the first device; A device identifier, where the device identifier is used to identify at least one second device to be scheduled; A subset identifier, where the subset identifier is used to identify a device subset to be scheduled in a device set associated with the first device; A second area identifier, where the second area identifier is used to identify the area where at least one second device to be scheduled is located.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein The indication manner of the first information includes at least one of the following: Indicating the first information based on a first information field; Jointly indicating the first information based on a plurality of second information fields.

35. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that, The first scheduling signaling further includes second information, and the second information is used to indicate a second threshold, where the second threshold is used to determine whether each second device in a device set associated with the first device is a second device to be scheduled.

36. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 35, characterized in that, The first device is a first terminal, the second device is a tag device in a passive Internet of Things A-IoT, and the third device is a network device or a second terminal.

37. A device communication apparatus, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: A processing module, configured to determine that a second device is associated with the first device according to first configuration information, where the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; A transceiver module, configured to send second configuration information to the second device, where the second configuration information is used to indicate that the second device communicates with a third device through the first device.

38. A device communication apparatus, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: A transceiver module, configured to receive second configuration information sent by a first device, determine that a second device is associated with the first device, where the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; where the second configuration information is used to indicate that the second device communicates with a third device through the first device.

39. A device communication apparatus, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: A transceiver module, configured to send first configuration information to a first device, where the first configuration information is used to indicate that a second device is associated with the first device, where the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold; where the second device communicates with a third device through the first device.

40. A first device, characterized in that, Includes: One or more processors; Wherein, the processor is configured to call an instruction to cause the first device to execute the device communication method according to any one of claims 1-17.

41. A second device, characterized in that, Includes: One or more processors; Wherein, the processor is configured to call an instruction to cause the second device to execute the device communication method according to any one of claims 18-23.

42. A third device, characterized in that, Comprising: One or more processors; Wherein, the processor is used to call instructions so that the third device is used to execute the device communication method described in any one of claims 24-36.

43. A communication system, characterized in that, Comprising a first device, a second device and a third device, wherein, the first device is configured to implement the device communication method described in any one of claims 1-17, the second device is configured to implement the device communication method described in any one of claims 18-23, and the third device is configured to implement the device communication method described in any one of claims 24-36.

44. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that, When the instruction runs on the communication device, the communication device is made to execute the device communication method described in any one of claims 1-17, 18-23 or 24-36.

Images