Communication method, apparatus and device, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application belongs to the field of communications. Disclosed are a communication method, apparatus and device, and a storage medium. The method is executed by a first device. The method comprises: using a first transmitter to send a first signal, and / or using a second transmitter to send a second signal in a backscatter manner, wherein the first signal is used for carrying first information, and the second signal is used for carrying the first information and / or used for positioning.

Description

Communication method, device, equipment and storage medium Technical Field

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

[0002] Traditional transmitters used in common terminal devices place high demands on the device's internal power supply and energy supply system, resulting in high transmission power consumption. However, in some communication scenarios, the need for low-power communication is urgent, but achieving low-power communication using traditional transmitters is difficult.

[0003] Therefore, from the perspective of transmission mode, we can reduce the power consumption required by terminal devices to transmit signals to achieve low-power communication. However, there is no specific feasible solution for how to design the transmission mode in low-power communication.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, device, and storage medium, the technical solution of which at least includes:

[0006] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by a first device, the first device having a first transmitter and a second transmitter, and the method includes:

[0007] The first transmitter is used to send a first signal, and / or the second transmitter is used to send a second signal by backscattering; wherein the first signal is used to carry first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or is used for positioning.

[0008] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, the method being performed by a second device, the method including:

[0009] Receive a first signal and / or a second signal; wherein, the first signal is used to carry first information, the first signal is sent by a first transmitter, the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or is used for positioning, and the second signal is sent by a second transmitter through backscattering.

[0010] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, where the method is performed by a third device and includes:

[0011] Sending control information, where the control information is used to control the first device to use the first transmitter to send the first signal, and / or control the first device to use the second transmitter to send the second signal by backscattering;

[0012] The first signal is used to carry first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or for positioning.

[0013] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided, the device including: a first transmitting module and / or a second transmitting module;

[0014] The first transmitting module is used to send a first signal by active transmission; the second transmitting module is used to send a second signal by backscattering; wherein, the first signal is used to carry first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or for positioning.

[0015] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided, the device including:

[0016] A receiving module is used to receive a first signal and / or a second signal; wherein, the first signal is used to carry the first information, and the first signal is sent by a first transmitter; the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or is used for positioning, and the second signal is sent by a second transmitter through backscattering.

[0017] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided, the device including:

[0018] a transmitting module, configured to send control information, wherein the control information is used to control the first device to use the first transmitter to send the first signal, and / or to control the first device to use the second transmitter to send the second signal by backscattering;

[0019] The first signal is used to carry first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or for positioning.

[0020] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided, comprising: a first transmitter and / or a second transmitter; the communication device is used to implement the communication method described above.

[0021] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor; a receiver and / or transmitter connected to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the communication is used to implement the communication device method as described above.

[0022] According to one aspect of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which executable instructions are stored. The executable instructions are loaded and executed by the processor to implement the communication method as described in the above aspect.

[0023] According to one aspect of the present application, a computer program product is provided, which includes computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions are stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and a processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions, so that the computer device executes to implement the communication method described in the above aspect.

[0024] According to one aspect of the present application, a chip is provided, which includes a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions, and is used to implement the communication method described in the above aspects when the chip is running.

[0025] According to one aspect of the present application, a computer program is provided, which includes computer instructions. A processor of a computer device executes the computer instructions, so that the computer device executes the communication method as described in the above aspect.

[0026] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application may have the following beneficial effects:

[0027] A first device equipped with a first transmitter and a second transmitter supports both active transmission and backscatter communication. Because backscatter communication does not require the first device to independently generate a carrier wave, it can effectively save power on the first device, helping to achieve low-power communication. Furthermore, the second transmitter can be used for positioning, utilizing backscatter communication to improve positioning accuracy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, 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 application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0029] FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG2 shows a schematic diagram of a zero-power communication system provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG3 shows a schematic diagram of radio frequency energy harvesting provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG4 shows a schematic diagram of backscatter communication provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG5 shows a schematic diagram of resistive load modulation provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG6 shows a schematic diagram of backscatter communication provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG7 shows a schematic diagram of a positioning method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG8 is a schematic diagram showing a positioning method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG9 shows a scenario diagram of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG10 shows a scenario diagram of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG11 is a schematic diagram showing a scenario of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG12 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG13 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG14 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG15 is a schematic diagram showing a scenario of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG16 shows a scenario diagram of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG17 is a schematic diagram showing a scenario of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG18 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG19 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG20 shows a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG21 shows a scenario diagram of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG22 shows a scenario diagram of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG23 shows a scenario diagram of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG24 shows a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG25 is a flow chart showing a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG26 shows a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG27 shows a scenario diagram of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG28 shows a scenario diagram of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG29 shows a scenario diagram of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG30 shows a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG31 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG32 is a schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG33 shows a structural block diagram of a transmitting system provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG34 shows a structural block diagram of a communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG35 shows a structural block diagram of a communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG36 shows a structural block diagram of a communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG37 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG38 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0067] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application more clear, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, with examples shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present application, as detailed in the appended claims.

[0068] The terms used in this application are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit this application. As used in this application and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," "the," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0069] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in this application to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of this application, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when" or "in response to determining".

[0070] In the embodiments of the present application, "agreement" can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a communication device (such as a terminal device, a network device), and the present application does not limit its specific implementation method. The communication protocol agreement can also be understood as a predefined communication protocol.

[0071] FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 .

[0072] The network device 110 in the present application provides wireless communication functions, and the network device 110 includes but is not limited to: Evolved Node B (eNB), Radio Network Controller (RNC), Node B (NB), Base Station Controller (BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Home Base Station (e.g., Home Evolved Node B, or Home Node B, HNB), Baseband Unit (BBU), Access Point (AP) in Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, Wireless Relay Node, Wireless Backhaul Node, Transmission Point (TP) or Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), etc., and can also be the Next Generation Node B (NGNB) in the 5th Generation (5G) mobile communication system. B, gNB) or transmission point (TRP or TP), or one or a group of (including multiple antenna panels) antenna panels of a base station in a 5G system, or it can also be a network node constituting a gNB or transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or distributed unit (DU), or a base station in a Beyond Fifth Generation (B5G) mobile communication system or a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a core network (CN), fronthaul, backhaul, radio access network (RAN), network slice, etc., or a reader / writer of a radio frequency identification (RFID) system.

[0073] The number of terminal devices 120 in this application can be one or more, terminal devices also known as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, user device. The terminal devices 120 include, but are not limited to, handheld devices, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as electronic tags, controllers, mobile phones, tablet computers, e-book readers, laptop computers, desktop computers, televisions, game consoles, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), augmented reality (AR) terminals, virtual reality (VR) terminals, and mixed reality (MR) terminals, wearable devices, handles, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical care, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, cellular phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loops (WLANs), and wireless terminals in smart cities. Loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDA), TV set-top boxes (STB), customer premises equipment (CPE), etc.

[0074] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, 5G mobile communication system, New Radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR on unlicensed spectrum (NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum) system. Unlicensed spectrum, NR-U) system, terrestrial communication network (Terrestrial Networks, TN) system, non-terrestrial communication network (Non-Terrestrial Networks, NTN) system, wireless local area network (Wireless Local Area Networks, WLAN), wireless fidelity (Wireless Fidelity, Wi-Fi), cellular Internet of Things system, cellular passive Internet of Things system, can also be applied to the subsequent evolution system of the 5G NR system, and can also be applied to B5G, 6G and subsequent evolution systems. In some embodiments of the present application, "NR" may also be referred to as a 5G NR system or a 5G system. Among them, the 5G mobile communication system may include non-standalone networking (NSA) and / or standalone networking (SA).In the embodiments of the present application, “terminal device” and “UE” are often used interchangeably, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings.

[0075] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to machine type communication (MTC), long term evolution technology for machine-to-machine communication (LTE-M), device-to-device (D2D) network, machine-to-machine (M2M) network, Internet of Things (IoT) network or other networks. Among them, the IoT network can include, for example, the Internet of Vehicles. Among them, the communication mode in the Internet of Vehicles system is collectively referred to as vehicle to other devices (Vehicle to X, V2X, X can represent anything), for example, the V2X can include: vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle to pedestrian communication (V2P) or vehicle to network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0076] In some embodiments, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 communicate with each other via some air interface technology, such as a Uu interface.

[0077] Zero-power devices:

[0078] In outdoor environments, mobile terminal positioning can achieve high accuracy thanks to the Global Positioning System (GPS) and independent cellular systems. However, indoors and in environments with deep shadows, where satellite and cellular signals may be interrupted, positioning becomes more problematic.

[0079] In order to improve the positioning accuracy indoors and in environments with deep shadow effects, this application considers introducing zero-power communication technology to assist positioning. Zero-power communication technology can also be referred to as at least one of the following: ultra-low power communication technology, low-power communication technology, ambient power Internet of Things (Ambient Power Enabled IoT, Ambient IoT / A-IoT / AMP) technology, passive Internet of Things (Passive IoT) technology, zero-power Internet of Things technology, etc. The communication equipment used to implement zero-power communication technology can be called zero-power equipment, and zero-power equipment can also be called at least one of the following: ultra-low power equipment, low-power equipment, passive IoT equipment, Ambient IoT / A-IoT / AMP equipment, etc.

[0080] Specifically, from the perspective of energy sources and usage, zero-power devices can be divided into the following three types:

[0081] (1) Passive devices; Passive devices do not require built-in batteries. When a passive device approaches a network device (such as the reader of an RFID system), the passive device is within the near field formed by the radiation of the network device antenna. Therefore, the passive device antenna generates an induced current through electromagnetic induction, and the induced current drives the low-power chip circuit of the passive device. This realizes the demodulation of the forward link signal and the modulation of the backward link signal. For the backscatter link, the passive device can use backscatter or extremely low-power active transmission to transmit the signal. Passive devices do not require built-in batteries to drive either the forward link or the reverse link. Therefore, passive devices can be considered as true zero-power devices.

[0082] In addition to not requiring batteries, the RF circuits and baseband circuits of passive devices are also very simple. For example, they do not require low-noise amplifiers (LNA), power amplifiers (PA), crystal oscillators, analog to digital converters (ADC) and other devices, making passive devices have many advantages such as small size, light weight, very low price and long service life.

[0083] Passive devices can also support other energy harvesting methods, by harvesting energy from the environment (such as light energy, heat energy, kinetic energy, mechanical energy, etc.) to obtain energy for driving circuits to achieve communication.

[0084] (2) Semi-passive devices: Semi-passive devices do not have conventional batteries installed. Radio wave energy is collected through a radio frequency energy collection module, or energy in the environment (such as light energy, heat energy, kinetic energy, mechanical energy, etc.) is collected using an energy collection module, and the collected energy is stored in an energy storage unit (such as a capacitor). After the energy storage unit obtains energy, it can drive the low-power chip circuit of the semi-passive device. It can realize the demodulation of the forward link signal and the modulation of the backward link signal. For the backscatter link, the semi-passive device can use backscatter or low-power active transmission to transmit the signal.

[0085] Semi-passive devices do not require built-in batteries to drive either the forward link or the reverse link. Although they use energy stored in capacitors during operation, this energy comes from radio frequency energy. Therefore, semi-passive devices can be considered as true zero-power devices.

[0086] Semi-passive devices inherit many advantages of passive devices, such as small size, light weight, very cheap price, long service life, etc.

[0087] (3) Active devices; Active devices can have built-in batteries. The battery is used to drive the low-power chip circuit of the active device. It can realize the demodulation of the forward link signal and the modulation of the reverse link signal. The reverse link signal transmission of the active device can be realized by backscattering without consuming the active device's own power. Alternatively, the active device can realize reverse link transmission by low-power active transmission. Although the battery is built in, this type of active device has extremely low power consumption and complexity, so the battery capacity can be set within a smaller range, thereby achieving smaller cost and size. The built-in battery of the active device can also be used as an energy storage unit to store the ambient energy collected by the energy harvesting module, so that the maintenance cycle of the active device is longer or even maintenance-free.

[0088] Active devices use built-in batteries to increase their communication range and improve communication reliability. Therefore, active devices are used in scenarios with relatively high requirements for communication distance and read latency.

[0089] 2 shows a zero-power communication system 200 provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application, which includes a network device 210 and a zero-power device 220. The network device 210 can refer to the design of the network device 110. FIG2 takes the network device 210 as an example of a reader / writer.

[0090] The zero-power device 220 includes an energy harvesting module 321. Optionally, in addition to the energy harvesting module 321, the zero-power device 220 also includes one or more of a backscatter communication module 322, a logic processing module 323, a sensor module 324, and a memory (not shown). Exemplarily, the logic processing module 323 includes a low-power computing module. It should be understood that the modules included in the zero-power device 220 shown in FIG. 2 are merely illustrative and not limiting.

[0091] Exemplarily, the energy collection module 321 can collect environmental energy, such as radio frequency energy, light energy, kinetic energy, mechanical energy, solar energy, etc., to power the various modules of the zero-power device 220. After the zero-power device 220 obtains energy, it can receive a signal from the network device 210 through a receiver, or reflect a signal to the network device 210 through the backscatter communication module 322, or transmit a signal to the network device 210 through a transmitter (not shown in the figure). The data reflected or transmitted by the zero-power device 220 can be data stored by itself (such as an identity or pre-written information, such as the production date, brand, manufacturer, etc. of the product). The sensor module 324 can include various sensors, and the zero-power device 220 can report the data collected by various sensors based on a low-power mechanism. The memory is used to store some basic information (such as item identification, etc.) or obtain sensor data such as ambient temperature and ambient humidity.

[0092] The zero-power device 220 can use the logic processing module 323 to implement simple signal demodulation, decoding or encoding, modulation and other simple computing tasks. The hardware design can be very simple, making the zero-power device 220 very low in cost and small in size.

[0093] In the communication system shown in Figure 1 or the zero-power communication system shown in Figure 2, different codes can be used to represent binary "1" and "0," that is, different pulse signals are used to represent "0" and "1." Commonly, one of the following encoding methods is used: non-return to zero (NRZ) encoding; Manchester encoding; unipolar return to zero (URZ) encoding; differential binary phase (DBP) encoding; Miller encoding; and differential encoding.

[0094] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of radio frequency power harvesting (RFP) performed by energy harvesting module 321. RF energy harvesting is based on the principle of electromagnetic induction. The RF module RF, connected in parallel with a capacitor C and a load resistor RL, collects electromagnetic wave energy from space, obtaining the energy required to power zero-power devices. This energy is used to drive low-power demodulation modules, modulation modules, sensors, and memory access. This allows zero-power devices to be implemented without the need for traditional batteries.

[0095] In backscatter communication, the backscatter signal can be modulated or unmodulated. Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of modulated backscatter communication. Zero-power device 220 receives wireless signal carrier 131 transmitted by transmitter module (TX) 111 of network device 210 using amplifier (AMP) 112, modulates wireless signal carrier 131, loads the information to be transmitted using logic processing module 323, and harvests RF energy using energy harvesting module 321. Zero-power device 220 radiates modulated reflected signal 132 using antenna 316. This information transmission process is called backscatter communication. Receiver module (RX) 113 of network device 210 receives modulated reflected signal 132 using low-noise amplifier (LNA) 114. Backscatter and load modulation are closely related. Load modulation achieves the modulation process by adjusting and controlling the circuit parameters of the oscillator circuit of zero-power device 220 according to the data stream's rhythm, causing parameters such as the impedance of zero-power device 220 to change accordingly.

[0096] Load modulation technology mainly includes resistance load modulation and capacitance load modulation. Figure 5 shows the principle diagram of resistance load modulation. In resistance load modulation, the load resistor R L The third resistor R3 is connected in parallel, and the switch S based on the binary code control is turned on or off. The on and off of the third resistor R3 will cause the voltage on the circuit to change. The load resistor R L Maintaining a parallel connection relationship with the first capacitor C1, the load resistor R LThe first inductor L1 is connected in series with the second inductor R2, and the second inductor R2 is connected in series with the first inductor L1. The first inductor L1 is coupled to the second inductor L2, and the second inductor L2 is connected in series with the second capacitor C2. For example, amplitude shift keying (ASK) modulation can be implemented, that is, the modulation and transmission of the signal is achieved by adjusting the amplitude of the backscattered signal of the terminal device. Similarly, in capacitive load modulation, the resonant frequency of the circuit can be changed by turning the capacitor on and off, thereby achieving frequency shift keying (FSK), that is, the modulation and transmission of the signal is achieved by adjusting the operating frequency of the backscattered signal of the terminal device.

[0097] The zero-power device 220 can perform information modulation on the incoming signal by means of load modulation, thereby realizing the backscatter communication process.

[0098] Therefore, zero-power devices have the following significant advantages: (1) They do not actively transmit signals, so they do not require complex RF links such as PAs and RF filters; (2) They do not need to actively generate high-frequency signals, so they do not require high-frequency crystal oscillators; (3) With the help of backscatter communication, signal transmission does not require its own energy consumption.

[0099] In general, compared with other terminal devices, zero-power devices have many advantages such as no conventional battery, no maintenance, small size, low complexity and low cost, and long life cycle. They can be widely used in various industries, such as logistics for vertical industries, object recognition, smart warehousing, smart agriculture, energy and electricity, industrial Internet, etc., as well as smart wearables, smart homes, smart control, environmental monitoring, positioning and other services.

[0100] Positioning principle of zero-power devices:

[0101] As can be seen from the foregoing, zero-power devices have low complexity and low cost, and have the advantages of being maintenance-free and battery-free. They can obtain the energy required for communication from the environment by energy harvesting, and communicate in the form of backscattering or low-power active transmission. Therefore, zero-power devices can be deployed in a high-density and large-scale manner. During deployment, zero-power devices can be used as anchor devices to assist in the positioning of target devices and improve positioning accuracy. In the embodiment of the present application, the target device is the device that needs to obtain the position, that is, the device that needs to be located. The anchor device is a device with a known position, which is used to assist in determining the position of the target device. The positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application through zero-power devices is applicable to a wide range of scenarios, such as: cargo positioning in logistics scenarios, animal positioning in animal husbandry farms, low-power positioning of individual users and items, positioning in indoor places such as shopping malls, and so on.

[0102] In this embodiment of the present application, the distance between the target device and the anchor device is estimated based on the signal strength and phase characteristics of the signal. Optionally, during the positioning process, the location information of the anchor device may also be obtained. The location information of the anchor device may be fixed, known to the target device, or sent to the target device by the anchor device.

[0103] Regarding signal strength: As you can understand, due to propagation characteristics like attenuation and scattering, the farther the target device is from the anchor device, the weaker the signal strength. The measured signal strength can be used to estimate the distance between the two signal receivers. For example, the distance between the target device and the zero-power device can be inferred based on the strength of the target device's transmitted signal and the strength of the backscattered signal received by the target device.

[0104] In some embodiments, the signal strength can be represented by at least one of the following: Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) value, Reference Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) value, Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) value, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) value, Cross Link Interference (CLI) value, and Channel State Information (CSI).

[0105] Regarding the phase characteristics of the signal: the main use is the phase shift / phase rotation characteristics of the signal in the backscatter communication. As shown in Figure 6, the target device sends a radio frequency signal to the zero-power device. The frequency of the signal is f, the wavelength is λ, and the speed of light is c=f*λ. Assume that the distance between the zero-power device and the target device is d. When the zero-power device receives the radio frequency signal sent by the target device, it can backscatter the signal and send it to the target device. The backscattered signal can be modulated to carry the information sent by the zero-power device, or it can be unmodulated. When the signal is from the zero-power device to the target device, it will generate Then, when the signal goes from the target device to the zero-power device and then returns from the zero-power device to the target device, a phase rotation of Theoretically, the distance d between the target device and the zero-power device can be calculated by measuring the phase difference corresponding to the distance d or 2d. In the embodiment of the present application, "mod" represents a modulo operation.

[0106] However, in actual signal transmission and reception, in addition to the phase rotation caused by the distance d, there are other phase rotations. In the embodiment of the present application, the other phase rotations other than the phase rotation caused by the distance d are called phase rotation errors. in Indicates phase rotation error, which may be caused by the circuit structure of the target device or the zero-power device itself, or by various processing during signal reception and transmission. Indicates the phase rotation produced by the target device's transmitting circuit, Indicates the phase rotation produced by the receiving circuit of the target device, The phase rotation caused by the circuit structure of the zero-power device is a phase rotation error that may cause positioning error. Therefore, the distance d estimated based on the phase characteristics of a signal at only one frequency inevitably contains errors. If high-precision positioning is required, further consideration should be given to how to avoid the negative impact of these phase rotation errors on positioning accuracy.

[0107] To this end, the present invention considers positioning through the phase characteristics of multiple signals of different frequencies. Taking two signals of different frequencies as an example, the present invention uses two signals of different frequencies to send two signals of different frequencies to the zero-power device. For example, the target device sends signal S1 and signal S2 at frequencies f1 and f2, respectively.

[0108] If the phase rotation caused by one-way propagation is considered, that is, the phase rotation related to the distance d, the phase rotation generated by the signal S1 is The phase rotation generated by signal S2 in Represents the phase rotation error of one-way propagation, minus The one-way phase difference can be obtained This can be eliminated The influence of

[0109] If we consider the phase rotation caused by the round trip, that is, the phase rotation related to the distance 2d, the signal S1 reaches the zero-power device from the target device and is backscattered by the zero-power device to the target device, the phase rotation generated is Signal S2 is sent from the target device to the zero-power device and then backscattered by the zero-power device to the target device, resulting in a phase rotation of in represents the phase rotation error of the two-way propagation, minus The two-way phase difference can be obtained This can be eliminated The impact of One-way distance

[0110] It can be seen that the supported positioning distance d is related to the frequency difference Δf. The smaller the frequency difference Δf, the greater the supported positioning distance d. When positioning based on the phase of signals of different frequencies, the maximum frequency difference between the different signals needs to be determined based on the target scenario for the zero-power device and the maximum positioning distance. For example, when supporting positioning with a maximum range of 300 meters, a frequency difference Δf of less than 1 MHz produces better positioning results.

[0111] It is understood that the number of signals of different frequencies is not limited to two. The more signals there are, the better the accuracy of the positioning result will be, but more resources will be consumed. Therefore, the number of signals can be adjusted according to actual conditions, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0112] Considering the initial phase of the signal transmitted by the zero-power device, the embodiments of the present application provide the following three cases to discuss how to determine the distance d based on the phase difference.

[0113] Case 1: The zero-power device can control the initial phase of the signal transmission and can use the same initial phase to send signals at different frequencies. In this way, when the receiver receives different frequency signals (taking f1 and f2 as an example) sent by the same zero-power device, since the initial phase of the signal is the same, the phase difference of the two received signals of different frequencies can be obtained at the receiver (assuming that the phase rotation introduced by the transmitter and receiver can be offset) is approximately The distance between the zero-power device and the receiver can be approximated as It should be noted that the phase difference between the two different frequency signals calculated by the receiving end actually also includes the phase rotation error as mentioned above. The receiving end can use other methods to estimation and elimination.

[0114] Situation 1 is actually an ideal situation.

[0115] Case 2: Zero-power devices can maintain a fixed initial phase difference when sending signals at different frequencies Or a zero-power device can determine the initial phase difference when sending signals at different frequencies And report the phase difference to the receiver In this way, the receiving end can use the fixed initial phase difference Or the initial phase difference reported by the zero-power device The phase difference between the two received signals of different frequencies at the receiving end is determined (assuming that the phase rotation introduced by the transmitting and receiving ends can be offset) by Then the distance between the zero-power device and the receiver is approximately Similar to the first case, the phase difference between the two different frequency signals calculated by the receiving end is also the phase rotation error as mentioned above. The receiving end can use other methods to estimation and elimination.

[0116] Case 2 is a suboptimal situation.

[0117] Case 3: When the zero-power device transmits a signal (either backscattered or actively transmitted), the initial phase of the signal is correlated with the phase of other signals (e.g., continuous, identical, or with a known or fixed phase offset). Based on this correlation, the receiver can use the phase difference method to determine the distance between the zero-power device and the receiver.

[0118] Typically, a zero-power device can communicate using backscattering communication, so that there is a correlation between the phase of the outgoing signal and the phase of the incident signal during backscattering communication. For example, device A can provide the carrier required for backscattering to the zero-power device, and the zero-power device performs backscattering based on the carrier sent by device A. After device A receives the backscattered signal from the zero-power device, it can determine the phase difference associated with the distance d based on the received signal (phase) and the signal sent by device A (phase). The phase difference corresponding to the signal with a frequency of f1 is in, It is used to indicate the correlation between the incident signal and the outgoing signal when the zero-power device performs backscatter communication. In different implementations, when the phases of the incident signal and the outgoing signal are continuous or the same, it can be considered that When there is a phase deviation between the incident signal and the output signal, the phase offset between the incident signal and the output signal can be considered to be It is used to indicate the phase offset caused by the antenna transmitting the signal or other devices. Correspondingly, the phase difference of the signal with frequency f2 is in, and similar, and Then, the phase difference between the backscattered signals at frequencies f1 and f2 can be expressed as: In fact, This represents the phase rotation error mentioned above, which can be estimated and eliminated to a certain extent.

[0119] In some embodiments, when the zero-power consumption device performs backscattering, the backscattering may be performed on a carrier wave of the original frequency, that is, the frequency of the incident signal is f1, and the frequency of the backscattered outgoing signal is also f1.

[0120] In some embodiments, when performing backscattering, the zero-power device may perform backscattering on a carrier associated with the carrier of the original frequency, that is, the frequency of the incident signal is f1, and the outgoing backscattered signal is f2, and there is an associated relationship or mapping relationship between frequencies f1 and f2. More specifically, for example, in an FDD system, f1 is a DL frequency, and f2 is a UL frequency paired with f1.

[0121] Case three is easier to implement.

[0122] Based on the above content, the distance between the target device and the anchor device can be obtained, which can meet the distance measurement requirements. However, in some cases, if it is desired to obtain accurate location information of the target device, then only obtaining the distance between the target device and one anchor device may not be enough. Generally speaking, at least three anchor devices are required to determine the location information of the target device. The location information in the embodiments of the present application can be absolute location information, such as longitude and latitude information; or relative location information, such as location information relative to a reference point, location information in a three-dimensional coordinate system, etc.

[0123] Figures 7 and 8 illustrate two positioning diagrams provided by exemplary embodiments of the present application, using three anchor devices to assist in locating a target device. Of course, in actual applications, the number of anchor devices can be greater or lesser. This embodiment of the present application uses three anchor devices as an example for assisted positioning, and does not limit the number of anchor devices.

[0124] In Figure 7, the positioning process is performed by target device 701 receiving signals actively transmitted by anchor devices 702, 703, and 704. In other words, the three anchor devices actively transmit signals to the target device, without the target device sending a trigger signal to the anchor devices to trigger the positioning process. For example, the anchor devices may periodically transmit signals, or they may actively transmit signals when their energy reaches a certain threshold.

[0125] In Figure 8 , the positioning process is triggered by target device 701. Target device 701 sends a trigger signal, such as a scheduling signal, to schedule anchor devices 702, 703, and 704 to transmit or reflect signals toward target device 701. For another example, the target device sends a broadcast / multicast / multicast signal to trigger anchor devices 702, 703, and 704 to transmit or reflect signals toward target device 701.

[0126] In the embodiment of the present application, the target device may be the terminal device 120 as shown in FIG. 1 , or the zero-power device 220 as shown in FIG. 2 , or other communication devices capable of transmitting and receiving signals.

[0127] In an embodiment of the present application, the anchor device, as a zero-power device, may be an active device with a built-in battery, or it may be a passive or semi-passive device that collects environmental energy (such as light energy, thermal energy, kinetic energy, mechanical energy, radio frequency energy, etc.). Therefore, Figures 7 and 8 also show an optional power supply device 705, which can provide energy (such as radio frequency energy, etc.) for each anchor device.

[0128] As can be seen from the above, the zero-power device provided in the embodiments of the present application supports both active transmission and backscatter communication modes. The backscatter communication mode can be applied to positioning services, achieving a high-accuracy, high-flexibility, low-power, and low-cost positioning method.

[0129] For ease of explanation, the terms such as first device, second device, and third device are introduced below. The first device can be implemented as a communication device such as a zero-power device, an ultra-low-power device, a low-power device, a passive IoT device, an Ambient IoT / A-IoT / AMP device as described above. The second device is, for example, the terminal device 120 or the network device 110 as shown in Figure 1, or an intermediate node (Intermediate Node) in the communication system, or a customer premises equipment (CPE), or an assisting node (Assisting Node), or a dedicated positioning device, etc. The third device is, for example, the terminal device 120 or the network device 110 as shown in Figure 1, or the network device 210 as shown in Figure 2, or a core network entity (such as a location management function (LMF)), or a central controller, etc.

[0130] In an embodiment of the present application, the first device can determine which transmission mode to use based on the scheduling or triggering of other devices, and can also independently determine which transmission mode to use according to different situations (such as different power levels, different available environmental energies, etc.).

[0131] Next, two solutions for determining the signal transmission mode are specifically introduced. These two solutions can be freely combined with the various embodiments provided in this application:

[0132] Solution 1: The first device determines the signal transmission mode according to the received indication information.

[0133] First, it should be noted that the indication information can be sent by the second device, by the second device under the control / scheduling of a third device, or by the third device itself. Regardless of which communication device the indication information originates from, it can be shown that the first device determines its own signal transmission method under the control or triggering of another device.

[0134] In some embodiments, the indication information is implemented as at least one of the following: control signaling, system message, dynamic signaling, and sequence. Dynamic signaling, for example, includes downlink control information (DCI). Control signaling, for example, includes RRC signaling, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), and the like.

[0135] In some embodiments, the indication information explicitly indicates the signal transmission mode of the first device. Exemplarily, the value of a field in the control signaling indicates the active transmission communication mode or the backscattering communication mode. Taking the signal transmission mode of the first device scheduled by DCI as an example, a first bit field is set in the DCI. When the value of the first bit field is the first value, it indicates that the active transmission communication mode is adopted, such as the first transmission module 3310 in Figure 33 or Figure 34 below is adopted; when the value of the first bit field is the second value, it indicates that the backscattering communication mode is adopted, such as the second transmission module 3320 in Figure 33 or Figure 34 below is adopted. The first value is different from the second value. Exemplarily, the first value is "1" or "True", and the second value is "0" or "False". Exemplarily, the second value is "1" or "True", and the first value is "0" or "False".

[0136] In some embodiments, the indication information implicitly indicates the signal transmission mode of the first device. For example, the control signaling used to schedule / trigger the first device to use the active transmission communication mode is different from the control signaling used to schedule / trigger the first device to use the backscatter communication mode. If the first device receives the corresponding control signaling, it indicates the corresponding signal transmission mode.

[0137] Taking the signal transmission method of the first device scheduled by DCI as an example, when the first device is scheduled to communicate through the first DCI format (such as DCI format A), it means that the first device is scheduled to use the first transmission module to work, that is, an active transmission communication method is adopted; when the first device is scheduled to communicate through the second DCI format (such as DCI format B), it means that the first device is scheduled to use the second transmission module to work, that is, a backscatter communication method is adopted.

[0138] Taking the signal transmission method of the first device scheduled by sequence as an example, when the first device is scheduled / triggered to communicate through the first sequence, it means that the first device is scheduled to work with the first transmission module, that is, the active transmission communication method is adopted; when the first device is scheduled / triggered to communicate through the second sequence, it means that the first device is scheduled to work with the second transmission module, that is, the backscattering communication method is adopted.

[0139] Solution 2: The first device independently determines the signal transmission method.

[0140] The first device can autonomously determine which signal transmission mode to use based on a judgment condition. The judgment condition can be predefined in the communication protocol or preconfigured. Exemplarily, the judgment condition is related to at least one of the following: battery level, ambient energy type, received signal strength, payload size, and service type. For example, if the battery level is above threshold A, the first transmitting module is used, i.e., an active transmission communication mode is used; if the battery level is below threshold B, the second transmitting module is used, i.e., a backscatter communication mode is used. For example, if the ambient energy is radio frequency energy, the second transmitting module is used, i.e., a backscatter communication mode is used; if the ambient energy is light energy, the first transmitting module is used, i.e., an active transmission communication mode is used. For example, if the received signal strength is above threshold C, the first transmitting module is used, i.e., an active transmission communication mode is used; if the received signal strength is below threshold D, the second transmitting module is used, i.e., a backscatter communication mode is used. For example, when data transmission is required, the first transmitting module is used, i.e., an active transmission communication mode is used; when auxiliary positioning is required, the second transmitting module is used, i.e., a backscatter communication mode is used.

[0141] This application uses the payload size as an example for schematic illustration. For example, when the information bits that the first device needs to transmit are greater than or equal to the first threshold, the first transmission module is used, that is, the active transmission communication method is adopted; when the information bits that the first device needs to transmit are less than the second threshold (specially, including the case where the information bits to be transmitted are 0), the second transmission module is used, that is, the backscattering communication method is adopted.

[0142] Optionally, the first threshold value is the same as or different from the second threshold value.

[0143] Optionally, the first threshold and / or the second threshold are configured by the network device. Exemplarily, the first threshold is semi-statically configured by the network device through RRC signaling, MAC CE, etc., or dynamically configured through DCI, etc., and the second threshold is semi-statically configured by the network device through RRC signaling, MAC CE, etc., or dynamically configured through DCI, etc.

[0144] Optionally, the first threshold and / or the second threshold are agreed upon by a communication protocol. Exemplarily, the communication protocol agrees on the value of the first threshold and / or the second threshold, or the communication protocol agrees on the calculation method of the first threshold and / or the second threshold.

[0145] Optionally, the first threshold and / or the second threshold are determined based on the implementation of the first device. Exemplarily, the first threshold and / or the second threshold are determined by the network device based on capability information reported by the first device. Exemplarily, the first threshold and / or the second threshold are determined autonomously by the first device based on its own capabilities.

[0146] In some embodiments, if a first condition is met, a first transmitter is used to send a first signal; the first condition includes at least one of the following: receiving first indication information, the first indication information being used to instruct the first device to operate using the first transmitter; and the number of bits of the first information being greater than or equal to a first threshold. For explicit and implicit indication methods of the first indication information, see Solution 1.

[0147] In some embodiments, if a second condition is met, a second transmitter is used to transmit a second signal via backscattering. The second condition includes at least one of the following: receiving second indication information, the second indication information being used to instruct the first device to operate using the second transmitter; the number of bits of the first information being less than or equal to a second threshold; or receiving third indication information, the third indication information being used to instruct the first device to perform the positioning service. For explicit and implicit indication methods of the second indication information, refer to Solution 1.

[0148] In the embodiment of the present application, the time-frequency resources used by the first device to transmit the signal are further designed:

[0149] To facilitate the distinction between various signals, in the embodiments of the present application, the signal actively transmitted by the first device using the first transmitting module is referred to as the first signal, and the signal backscattered by the first device using the second transmitting module is referred to as the second signal. The first signal is used to carry the first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or to be used for positioning. The first information can be data information or control information. In practice, the information carried by the first signal and the second signal can be the same or different. The embodiments of the present application are only illustrative using the first information as an example and are not intended to be limiting.

[0150] As can be seen from the foregoing, when backscatter communication is performed, other devices are required to provide a carrier signal (Carrier Wave / Carrier Signal) for the first device. For ease of explanation, the carrier provided by the outside world can be referred to as the third signal. Therefore, the second signal can also be understood as the backscatter signal of the third signal, and the third signal can also be understood as the carrier of the second signal. In the embodiment of the present application, the carrier signal can also be equivalently referred to as a carrier. In fact, the carrier of the second signal can also be in the form of a sequence. This application takes the third signal as an example for illustrative explanation, but it does not mean that a method of providing a carrier for the first device through a sequence is excluded.

[0151] In some embodiments, the third signal is sent by the second device, or by the second device under the control / scheduling of the third device, or by the third device. The examples of the second device and the third device are as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0152] In some embodiments, the first device coordinates the time-frequency resources of the second signal using the first transmitting module and then transmits the second signal using the second transmitting module in a backscattering manner. The first device may negotiate the time-frequency resources of the second signal with the second device and / or the third device.

[0153] In some embodiments, the first device uses the first transmitting module to send a fourth signal, and the fourth signal is used to negotiate time and frequency resources used by the second signal.

[0154] In some embodiments, the first device receives a fifth signal, where the fifth signal is used to configure time-frequency resources used by the second signal, or to configure an offset between the time-frequency resources used by the second signal and the time-frequency resources used by the reference signal.

[0155] About time domain resources:

[0156] In some embodiments, the time domain resource used by the second signal is agreed upon by a communication protocol, or configured by the second device, or the second device is configured under the control of a third device, or configured by the third device.

[0157] In some embodiments, the time domain resources used by the second signal are determined based on the time domain resources used by the reference signal. The reference signal refers to a signal received by the first device, and the reference signal includes at least one of the following signals: control signaling from the second device, scheduling signaling from the second device, a data signal from the second device, a third signal from the second device, control signaling from a third device, scheduling signaling from a third device, a data signal from a third device, and a third signal from a third device. Exemplarily, the time domain resources used by the second signal are associated with the time domain resources used by the third signal. Exemplarily, a mapping relationship exists between the time domain resources used by the second signal and the time domain resources used by the third signal.

[0158] In some embodiments, there is a first offset between the time domain resources used by the second signal and the time domain resources used by the reference signal. The first offset is agreed upon by the communication protocol, or configured by the second device, or the second device is configured under the control of the third device, or configured by the third device. The first offset is, for example, a time domain offset of Δt, or a time domain offset of x time domain units. In an embodiment of the present application, the time domain unit includes at least one of the following: frame, subframe, slot, mini-slot, subslot, symbol, symbol group, and time domain unit based on other time domain units.

[0159] In some embodiments, the communication protocol specifies the time domain resources used by the second signal. Alternatively, the second device configures the time domain resources used by the second signal. Alternatively, the second device configures the time domain resources used by the second signal under the control of a third device. Alternatively, the third device configures the time domain resources used by the second signal.

[0160] In some embodiments, the communication protocol stipulates a first offset of the time domain resources used by the second signal relative to the time domain resources used by the reference signal. Alternatively, the second device configures the first offset of the time domain resources used by the second signal relative to the time domain resources used by the reference signal. Alternatively, the second device, under the control of a third device, configures the first offset of the time domain resources used by the second signal relative to the time domain resources used by the reference signal. Alternatively, the third device configures the first offset of the time domain resources used by the second signal relative to the time domain resources used by the reference signal.

[0161] In some embodiments, the carrier provided by the other device to the first device is a specific sequence, and the first device determines the time domain resource used by the second signal based on the specific sequence. Exemplarily, the specific sequence is associated with the starting position of the time domain resource used by the second signal.

[0162] About frequency domain resources:

[0163] In some embodiments, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are agreed upon by a communication protocol, or configured by the second device, or the second device is configured under the control of a third device, or configured by the third device.

[0164] In some embodiments, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are the same as or different from the frequency domain resources used by the third signal. Exemplarily, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are the frequency domain resources used by the third signal, and the first device sends the second signal by backscattering at the frequency of the received carrier signal. Exemplarily, there is a second offset between the frequency domain resources used by the second signal and the frequency domain resources used by the third signal, that is, the second signal and the third signal use different frequency domain resources. The second offset is, for example, a frequency domain offset of Δf, or a frequency domain offset of y frequency domain units. The second offset is agreed upon by the communication protocol, or configured by the second device, or the second device is configured under the control of the third device, or configured by the third device. In an embodiment of the present application, the frequency domain unit includes at least one of the following: bandwidth, carrier, subcarrier, physical resource block (PRB), resource block group (RBG), bandwidth part (BWP), subband, subchannel, and unit based on other frequency domain units.

[0165] In some embodiments, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are determined based on the frequency domain resources used by the reference signal. The reference signal is as described above. Exemplarily, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are associated with the frequency domain resources used by the third signal. Exemplarily, a mapping relationship exists between the frequency domain resources used by the second signal and the frequency domain resources used by the third signal. Exemplarily, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are determined based on the frequency domain resources used by the third signal and the second offset.

[0166] In some embodiments, the communication protocol specifies the frequency domain resources used by the second signal. Alternatively, the second device configures the frequency domain resources used by the second signal. Alternatively, the second device configures the frequency domain resources used by the second signal under the control of a third device. Alternatively, the third device configures the frequency domain resources used by the second signal.

[0167] In some embodiments, the communication protocol stipulates a second offset of the frequency domain resources used by the second signal relative to the frequency domain resources used by the reference signal. Alternatively, the second device configures the second offset of the frequency domain resources used by the second signal relative to the frequency domain resources used by the reference signal. Alternatively, the second device, under the control of a third device, configures the second offset of the frequency domain resources used by the second signal relative to the frequency domain resources used by the reference signal. Alternatively, the third device configures the second offset of the frequency domain resources used by the second signal relative to the frequency domain resources used by the reference signal.

[0168] In some embodiments, the carrier provided by the other device to the first device is a specific sequence, and the first device determines the frequency domain resources used by the second signal based on the specific sequence. Exemplarily, the specific sequence is associated with the starting position of the frequency domain resources used by the second signal.

[0169] Similar to the time-frequency resources of the second signal, the time-frequency resources of the first signal may also be agreed upon by the communication protocol, or configured by the second device, or configured by the second device under the control of a third device, or configured by the third device.

[0170] In some embodiments, the time-frequency resources of the first signal may also be determined based on the time-frequency resources used by the reference signal. For example, there may be an association, mapping relationship, or offset between the two. For related designs, reference may be made to the second signal and will not be described in detail.

[0171] Specifically, considering the positioning process and participating nodes, the embodiments of the present application provide at least the following four communication solutions:

[0172] Solution 1: The second device receives the second signal sent by the first device in a backscattering manner. The first device assists the second device in positioning, and the second device determines the distance between itself and the first device.

[0173] For details on which transmission method the first device adopts, please refer to the previous "Scheme 1: The first device determines the signal transmission method based on the received indication information". Exemplarily, the second device sends a first indication message to the first device to instruct the first device to adopt an active transmission communication method. The first indication message may be an explicit indication or an implicit indication. Exemplarily, the second device sends a second indication message to the first device to instruct the first device to adopt a backscattering communication method. The second indication message may be an explicit indication or an implicit indication. Exemplarily, the second device sends a third indication message to the first device. The third indication message is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning service. Then, after receiving the third indication message, the first device adopts a backscattering communication method.

[0174] In some embodiments, the second device provides a carrier signal (ie, a third signal, which may also be implemented as a sequence) to the first device, and the first device transmits the second signal in a backscattering manner. The time-frequency resources used by the second signal are as described above.

[0175] Solution 2: Under the control of the third device, the second device receives the second signal sent by the first device in a backscattering manner. The first device assists the second device in positioning, and the second device determines the distance between itself and the first device.

[0176] For details on the transmission mode adopted by the first device, please refer to the above “Solution 1: The first device determines the signal transmission mode according to the received instruction information”. Please refer to Solution 1 here.

[0177] In some embodiments, the third device directly sends instruction information to the first device to instruct the first device which transmission mode to use. In other words, when instructing the first device which transmission mode to use, the third device can directly configure the first device without the involvement of the second device.

[0178] In some embodiments, the second device provides a carrier signal (ie, a third signal, which may also be implemented as a sequence) to the first device, and the first device transmits the second signal in a backscattering manner. The time-frequency resources used by the second signal are as described above.

[0179] In some embodiments, a second device receives, under control of a third device, a second signal sent by a first device using backscatter. This can be understood as follows: prior to receiving the second signal sent by the first device using backscatter, the second device receives indication information, control signaling, authorization information, etc. from the third device, indicating that the communication between the second device and the first device was actually triggered by the third device. Optionally, prior to receiving the second signal sent by the first device using backscatter, the third device sends configuration information of the first device to the second device.

[0180] Solution 3: Under the control of a third device, the second device provides a carrier signal to the first device. The third device receives the second signal sent by the first device using backscattering. The first device assists in locating the second device, and the third device determines the distance between the second and first devices. Alternatively, the first device assists in locating the third device, and the third device determines the distance between the first and third devices. Alternatively, the first device assists in locating the third device, and the third device determines the distance between the second and third devices.

[0181] For details on the transmission mode adopted by the first device, please refer to the above “Solution 1: The first device determines the signal transmission mode according to the received instruction information”. Please refer to Solution 1 here.

[0182] In some embodiments, the second device provides a carrier signal (i.e., a third signal, which may also be implemented as a sequence) to the first device under the control of a third device. This can be understood as follows: before providing the carrier signal to the first device, the second device receives instruction information, control signaling, or authorization information from the third device, indicating that the communication between the second device and the first device was actually triggered by the third device. Optionally, before providing the carrier signal to the first device, the third device sends the configuration information of the first device to the second device.

[0183] In some embodiments, the first device transmits the second signal in a backscattering manner. The time-frequency resources used by the second signal are as described above.

[0184] In some embodiments, the third device receives the second signal sent by the first device in a backscattering manner and determines the distance between the second device and the first device.

[0185] Solution 4: The third device provides a carrier signal to the first device. Under the control of the third device, the second device receives the second signal sent by the first device using backscattering. The first device assists the second device in positioning, and the second device determines the distance between itself and the first device.

[0186] For details on which transmission method the first device adopts, please refer to the previous "Solution 1: The first device determines the signal transmission method based on the received indication information".

[0187] In some embodiments, the third device directly sends instruction information to the first device to instruct the first device which transmission mode to use. In other words, when instructing the first device which transmission mode to use, the third device can directly configure the first device without the involvement of the second device.

[0188] In some embodiments, the third device provides a carrier signal (ie, a third signal, which may also be implemented as a sequence) to the first device. The first device transmits the second signal in a backscattering manner. The time-frequency resources used by the second signal are as described above.

[0189] In some embodiments, the first device transmits the second signal in a backscattering manner. The time-frequency resources used by the second signal are as described above.

[0190] In some embodiments, a second device receives, under control of a third device, a second signal sent by a first device using backscatter. This can be understood as follows: prior to receiving the second signal sent by the first device using backscatter, the second device receives indication information, control signaling, authorization information, etc. from the third device, indicating that the communication between the second device and the first device was actually triggered by the third device. Optionally, prior to receiving the second signal sent by the first device using backscatter, the third device sends configuration information of the first device to the second device.

[0191] It should be noted that in the above four solutions, the second signal sent by the first device in a backscattered manner can be received by the first device or the third device. The distance between the first and second devices can be determined by the first device or the third device.

[0192] Exemplarily, the second device receives the second signal and determines the distance between the first device and the second device based on the second signal. Optionally, the second device can also determine the position of the second device itself (when the position of the first device is obtained) or the position of the first device (when the position of the first device is known) based on the distance between the first device and the second device. Optionally, the second device can also send the distance between the first device and the second device to a third device, and the third device determines the position of the first device and / or the second device.

[0193] Exemplarily, the third device receives the second signal and determines the distance between the first device and the second device based on the second signal. Optionally, the third device may also determine the location of the first device and / or the second device based on the distance between the first device and the second device. Optionally, the third device may also send the distance between the first device and the second device to the second device, and the second device may determine the location of the first device and / or the second device.

[0194] Exemplarily, the second device receives the second signal and obtains relevant information of the second signal (such as at least one of the phase difference and signal strength of the second signal), and sends intermediate data used for positioning (such as at least one of the relevant information of the second signal, the location information of the second device, the location information of the first device, etc.) to the third device, and the third device determines the location of the first device and / or the second device.

[0195] Exemplarily, the third device receives the second signal and obtains relevant information of the second signal (such as at least one of the phase difference and signal strength of the second signal), and sends intermediate data used for positioning (such as at least one of the relevant information of the second signal, the location information of the second device, the location information of the first device, etc.) to the second device, and the second device determines the location of the first device and / or the second device.

[0196] If the second device determines the position of the first device and / or the second device, it can be considered that the positioning service is performed by the second device, and the first device and / or the third device is used to assist the second device in performing the positioning service.

[0197] If the location of the first device and / or the second device is determined by the third device, it can be considered that the current positioning service is performed by the third device, and the first device and / or the second device is used to assist the third device in performing the positioning service.

[0198] Next, the above four communication solutions are explained in combination with specific communication scenarios, taking phase difference positioning as an example.

[0199] 1. Communication Scenario 1 As shown in FIG9 , a first device 910 and a second device 920 are included. For example, the second device 920 is a network device or a UE.

[0200] The first device 910 and the second device 920 can communicate based on active transmission, as shown in Figure 10, or can communicate based on backscattering, as shown in Figure 11. Considering the source of the carrier signal required for backscatter communication, Figure 11 (a) shows a schematic diagram of the second device providing the carrier signal, and Figure 11 (b) shows a schematic diagram of the carrier signal provided by another device 930 other than the first and second devices.

[0201] In some embodiments, in the communication scenario shown in FIG10 , the active communication process between the first device and the second device is shown in FIG12 , and includes at least one of the following steps:

[0202] Step 1201 (optional step): The second device sends data information and / or control information to the first device.

[0203] Optionally, the control information may be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt active communication, and may also be used to configure time-frequency resources of the first signal.

[0204] Step 1203: The first device sends a first signal to the second device in an active transmission manner.

[0205] The first signal is actively transmitted by the first device, that is, the carrier of the first signal is generated by the first device itself.

[0206] The time-frequency resources used by the first signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0207] The execution order of step 1201 and step 1203 can be adjusted according to actual conditions, for example, step 1203 can be executed before step 1201.

[0208] In some embodiments, in the communication scenario shown in FIG11(a), the backscatter communication process between the first device and the second device is shown in FIG13 and includes at least one of the following steps:

[0209] Step 1301 (optional step): The second device sends indication information to the first device.

[0210] Optionally, the indication information may be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt backscatter communication, and may also be used to configure time-frequency resources of the second signal.

[0211] Step 1303: The second device sends a third signal to the first device.

[0212] The third signal is a carrier signal. Optionally, the third signal can be implemented as a sequence.

[0213] Step 1305: The first device sends a second signal to the second device by backscattering.

[0214] The second signal is transmitted by the first device in a backscattering manner, that is, the carrier of the second signal is not generated by the first device itself but is provided by the outside world.

[0215] The time-frequency resources used by the second signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0216] Step 1307 (optional step): The second device determines the phase difference according to the received second signal.

[0217] In the embodiments of the present application, the phase difference used to determine the distance can be the phase difference corresponding to the one-way distance between the first device and the second device, or the phase difference corresponding to the round-trip distance between the first device and the second device. In addition, in order to improve the accuracy of the positioning result, the second signal can be sent by backscattering at a different frequency. Optionally, the second device also determines its own position information based on the phase difference. For the relevant content on determining the phase difference and the positioning principle, please refer to the previous content and will not be repeated here.

[0218] Illustratively, at least one of the following information of the second signal is used for positioning: a phase difference of the second signal, a signal strength of the second signal, and first information carried by the second signal. The first information, for example, includes location information of the first device. The location information of the first device can be absolute or relative.

[0219] In some embodiments, the phase difference of the second signal includes a phase difference between the second signal and the third signal.

[0220] In some embodiments, the second signal includes a first sub-signal and a second sub-signal, and the third signal includes a third sub-signal and a fourth sub-signal. The first sub-signal is a backscattered signal of the third sub-signal, that is, the third sub-signal is a carrier signal of the first sub-signal. The second sub-signal is a backscattered signal of the fourth sub-signal, that is, the fourth sub-signal is a carrier signal of the second sub-signal. The third sub-signal and the fourth sub-signal can be independent signals or can be associated signals (such as frequency domain resources are associated, sequences are associated, information carried is associated, etc.), and the frequency domain resources used by the third sub-signal and the fourth sub-signal are different.

[0221] In some embodiments, the phase difference between the first sub-signal and the third sub-signal is referred to as the first phase difference, and the phase difference between the second sub-signal and the fourth sub-signal is referred to as the second phase difference. The phase difference between the second signal and the third signal is determined based on the first phase difference and the second phase difference. Exemplarily, the difference between the first phase difference and the second phase difference is the phase difference between the second signal and the third signal.

[0222] The execution order of step 1301, step 1303, step 1305, and step 1307 can be adjusted according to actual circumstances. For example, step 1303 can be executed before step 1301. For example, step 1303 and step 1304 can be implemented as the same step, and the indication information can even be carried in the third signal. In other words, the third signal is both a carrier signal for backscatter and can also be used to trigger backscatter communication and / or configure the time-frequency resources of the second signal.

[0223] In some embodiments, in the communication scenario shown in FIG11( b ), the backscatter communication process between the first device and the second device is shown in FIG14 , and includes at least one of the following steps:

[0224] Step 1401 (optional step): The second device sends indication information to the first device.

[0225] Optionally, the indication information can be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt backscatter communication, can be used to configure time and frequency resources of the second signal, and can be used to trigger the first device to perform a positioning service.

[0226] Step 1403: The other device sends a third signal to the first device.

[0227] The third signal is a carrier signal. Optionally, the third signal can be implemented as a sequence.

[0228] Step 1405: The first device sends a second signal to the second device by backscattering.

[0229] The second signal is transmitted by the first device in a backscattering manner, that is, the carrier of the second signal is not generated by the first device itself but is provided by the outside world.

[0230] The time-frequency resources used by the second signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0231] Step 1407 (optional step): The second device determines the phase difference according to the received second signal.

[0232] In the embodiments of the present application, the phase difference used to determine the distance can be the phase difference corresponding to the one-way distance between the first device and the second device, or the phase difference corresponding to the round-trip distance between the first device and the second device. In addition, in order to improve the accuracy of the positioning result, the second signal can be sent by backscattering at a different frequency. Optionally, the second device also determines its own position information based on the phase difference. For the relevant content on determining the phase difference and the positioning principle, please refer to the previous content and will not be repeated here.

[0233] It should be noted that the number of second devices shown in Figures 9 to 14 can be one or more, and the number of first devices can also be one or more. The second device can determine its own location information based on the distance between itself and multiple first devices. The first device can also determine its own location information based on the distance between itself and multiple second devices.

[0234] The communication processes shown in Figures 12, 13, and 14 can be used individually or in combination. For example, Figure 12 can be used in combination with Figure 13, or Figure 12 can be used in combination with Figure 14.

[0235] 15, including a first device 1510, a second device 1520, and a third device 1530. For example, the second device 1520 is an intermediate node and the third device 1530 is a network device. For example, the second device 1520 and the third device 1530 communicate via a Uu interface.

[0236] The second device 1520 can communicate with the first device 1510 based on active transmission under the control of the third device 1530, as shown in Figure 16. The second device 1520 can also communicate with the first device 1510 based on backscatter under the control of the third device 1530, as shown in Figure 17. Considering the source of the carrier signal required for backscatter communication, Figure 17 (a) shows a schematic diagram of the second device 1520 providing the carrier signal, and Figure 17 (b) shows a schematic diagram of the carrier signal provided by other devices 1540 other than the first device 1510, the second device 1520, and the third device 1530. Of course, in some cases, the third device 1530 can also directly provide the carrier signal to the first device 1510.

[0237] In some embodiments, in the communication scenario shown in FIG16 , the active communication process of the first device is shown in FIG18 , including at least one of the following steps:

[0238] Step 1801 (optional step): The third device sends data information and / or control information to the second device.

[0239] Optionally, the control information may be used to schedule or trigger the second device to communicate with the first device based on active transmission.

[0240] Step 1802 (optional step): The second device sends data information and / or control information to the first device.

[0241] Optionally, the control information may be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt active communication, and may also be used to configure time-frequency resources of the first signal.

[0242] Step 1803: The first device sends a first signal to the second device in an active transmission manner.

[0243] The first signal is actively transmitted by the first device, that is, the carrier of the first signal is generated by the first device itself.

[0244] The time-frequency resources used by the first signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0245] Step 1804 (optional step): The second device sends data information and / or control information to the third device.

[0246] Step 1801 and step 1804 represent the communication between the third device and the second device. The third device and the second device can exchange data information, control information, request information, etc.

[0247] The execution order of steps 1801 to 1804 can be adjusted according to actual conditions. For example, step 1804 can be executed before step 1801, step 1804 can be executed before step 1803, step 1804 can be executed before step 1802, step 1803 can be executed before step 1801, step 1803 can be executed before step 1802, and so on. They are not listed here one by one.

[0248] In some embodiments, in the communication scenario shown in Figure 17, the backscatter communication process is shown in Figure 19 or Figure 20. The positioning service shown in Figure 19 is initiated by the second device, and the positioning service shown in Figure 20 is initiated by the third device.

[0249] The backscatter communication process shown in FIG19 includes at least one of the following steps:

[0250] Step 1901 (optional step): The second device sends a service request to the third device.

[0251] The service request is used to request execution of the positioning service. It is understandable that the second device may also directly execute step 1903 to initiate the positioning service without sending the service request.

[0252] Step 1902 (optional step): The third device sends authorization information to the second device.

[0253] The authorization information herein is referred to in the preceding text. The authorization information is used to authorize the second device to perform the positioning service. Optionally, the authorization information may be implemented as control signaling, scheduling signaling, etc., to trigger / control backscatter-based communication between the second device and the first device. Optionally, the authorization information includes configuration information for the time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

[0254] If step 1901 and step 1902 are executed, it can be considered that the positioning service is initiated by the second device, authorized by the third device, and executed by the first device and the second device.

[0255] Step 1903 (optional step): The second device sends indication information to the first device.

[0256] Optionally, the indication information can be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt backscatter communication, can be used to configure time and frequency resources of the second signal, and can be used to trigger the first device to perform a positioning service.

[0257] Step 1904: The first device receives a third signal.

[0258] The third signal is a carrier signal. Optionally, the third signal can be implemented as a sequence. Optionally, the third signal comes from the second device, or from the third device, or from a device other than the second and third devices. Figure 19 takes the third signal coming from the second device as an example.

[0259] Step 1905: The first device sends a second signal to the second device by backscattering.

[0260] The second signal is transmitted by the first device in a backscattering manner, that is, the carrier of the second signal is not generated by the first device itself but is provided by the outside world.

[0261] The time-frequency resources used by the second signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0262] Step 1906 (optional step): The second device and / or the third device determines the positioning result of the second device.

[0263] In some embodiments, the phase difference of the second signal is calculated by the second device. Alternatively, the second device sends the phase characteristic of the received second signal to a third device, and the third device calculates the phase difference of the second signal.

[0264] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by the second device, that is, the second device determines its own position information based on the phase difference of the second signal. Optionally, the second device reports the obtained positioning result to the third device.

[0265] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by a third device, that is, the third device determines its own location information based on the phase difference of the second signal. The phase difference of the second signal can be calculated by the second device and reported to the third device, or calculated by the third device based on intermediate data reported by the second device.

[0266] The principle of determining the phase difference can be referred to as described above. In the embodiments of the present application, the phase difference used to determine the distance can be the phase difference corresponding to the one-way distance between the first and second devices, or the phase difference corresponding to the round-trip distance between the first and second devices. Furthermore, to improve the accuracy of the positioning results, the second signal can be sent using backscattering at a different frequency. The principle of this can also be referred to as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0267] The execution order of steps 1901 to 1907 can be adjusted according to actual circumstances. For example, step 1903 is executed before step 1901, step 1904 is executed before step 1903, step 1904 is executed before step 1902, step 1903 is executed before step 1901, step 1903 is executed before step 1902, and so on. These are not listed here one by one. For example, step 1903 and step 1904 are implemented as the same step, and even the indication information is carried in the third signal, that is, the third signal is both a carrier signal for backscattering and can also be used to trigger backscattering communication and / or configure the time-frequency resources of the second signal.

[0268] The backscatter communication process shown in FIG20 includes at least one of the following steps:

[0269] Step 2001 (optional step): The third device initiates a positioning service.

[0270] The third device initiates the positioning service by, for example, sending information for scheduling the second device to perform the positioning service to the second device. Exemplarily, the information for scheduling the second device to perform the positioning service is, for example, scheduling information, control signaling, triggering message, or specific sequence.

[0271] Step 2002 (optional step): The third device sends authorization information to the second device.

[0272] The authorization information herein is referred to in the preceding text. The authorization information is used to authorize the second device to perform the positioning service. Optionally, the authorization information may be implemented as control signaling, scheduling signaling, etc., to trigger / control backscatter-based communication between the second device and the first device. Optionally, the authorization information includes configuration information for the time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

[0273] Optionally, step 2001 and step 2002 are implemented as the same step. For example, the information used to schedule the second device to perform the positioning service carries the configuration information of the time-frequency resources, and so on.

[0274] Step 2003 (optional step): The second device sends indication information to the first device.

[0275] Optionally, the indication information can be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt backscatter communication, can be used to configure time and frequency resources of the second signal, and can be used to trigger the first device to perform a positioning service.

[0276] Step 2004: The first device receives a third signal.

[0277] The third signal is a carrier signal. Optionally, the third signal can be implemented as a sequence. Optionally, the third signal comes from the second device, or from the third device, or from another device other than the second and third devices. FIG20 takes the third signal coming from another device as an example.

[0278] Step 2005: The first device sends a second signal to the second device by backscattering.

[0279] The second signal is transmitted by the first device in a backscattering manner, that is, the carrier of the second signal is not generated by the first device itself but is provided by the outside world.

[0280] The time-frequency resources used by the second signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0281] Step 2006 (optional step): The second device and / or the third device determines the positioning result of the second device.

[0282] In some embodiments, the phase difference of the second signal is calculated by the second device. Alternatively, the second device sends the phase characteristic of the received second signal to a third device, and the third device calculates the phase difference of the second signal.

[0283] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by the second device, that is, the second device determines its own position information based on the phase difference of the second signal. Optionally, the second device reports the obtained positioning result to the third device.

[0284] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by a third device, that is, the third device determines its own location information based on the phase difference of the second signal. The phase difference of the second signal can be calculated by the second device and reported to the third device, or calculated by the third device based on intermediate data reported by the second device.

[0285] The principle of determining the phase difference can be referred to as described above. In the embodiments of the present application, the phase difference used to determine the distance can be the phase difference corresponding to the one-way distance between the first device and the second device, or the phase difference corresponding to the round-trip distance between the first device and the second device. Furthermore, to improve the accuracy of the positioning results, a second signal can be sent via backscattering at a different frequency. The principle of this can also be referred to as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0286] The execution order of steps 2001 to 2007 can be adjusted according to actual circumstances. For example, step 2003 is executed before step 2001, step 2004 is executed before step 2003, step 2004 is executed before step 2002, step 2003 is executed before step 2001, step 2003 is executed before step 2002, and so on. For example, steps 2003 and 2004 can be implemented as the same step, and even the indication information is carried in the third signal. That is, the third signal is both a carrier signal for backscattering and can also be used to trigger backscattering communication and / or configure the time-frequency resources of the second signal.

[0287] It should be noted that the number of second devices shown in Figures 18 to 20 can be one or more, and the number of first devices can also be one or more. The second device can determine its own location information based on the distance between itself and multiple first devices. The first device can also determine its own location information based on the distance between itself and multiple second devices.

[0288] The communication processes shown in Figures 18, 19, and 20 can be used individually or in combination. For example, Figures 18 and 19 can be used in combination, or Figures 18 and 20 can be used in combination.

[0289] 3. Communication scenario three is shown in Figure 21, and includes a first device 2110, a second device 2120 and a third device 2130. Take the second device 2120 as a UE and the third device 2130 as a network device as an example. For example, the second device 2110 and the third device 2130 communicate via the Uu interface. The difference from communication scenario two is that the first device 2110 in communication scenario three can communicate directly with the third device 2130. As shown in Figure 22, the first device 2110 sends a second signal to the third device 2130 in a backscattering manner. Taking into account the source of the carrier signal required for backscatter communication, Figure 22 (a) shows a schematic diagram of the carrier signal provided by the second device 2120, and Figure 22 (b) shows a schematic diagram of the carrier signal provided by other devices 2140 other than the first device 2110, the second device 2120 and the third device 2130. Of course, in some cases, the third device 2130 can also directly provide the carrier signal to the first device 2110.

[0290] In some embodiments, the second device may trigger the first device to perform active transmission communication under the control of the third device, as shown in FIG23 .

[0291] In some embodiments, in the communication scenario shown in FIG23 , the active communication process of the first device is shown in FIG24 , including at least one of the following steps:

[0292] Step 2401 (optional step): The third device sends data information and / or control information to the second device.

[0293] Optionally, the control information may be used to schedule or trigger the second device to communicate with the first device based on active transmission.

[0294] Step 2402 (optional step): The second device sends data information and / or control information to the first device.

[0295] Optionally, the control information may be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt active communication, and may also be used to configure time-frequency resources of the first signal.

[0296] Step 2403: The first device sends a first signal to the third device in an active transmission manner.

[0297] The first signal is actively transmitted by the first device, that is, the carrier of the first signal is generated by the first device itself.

[0298] Optionally, the first device may also actively transmit the first signal to the second device.

[0299] The time-frequency resources used by the first signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0300] Step 2404 (optional step): The second device sends data information and / or control information to the third device.

[0301] Step 2401 and step 2404 represent the communication between the third device and the second device. The third device and the second device can exchange data information, control information, request information, etc.

[0302] The execution order of step 2401 to step 2404 can be adjusted according to actual conditions, for example, step 2404 is executed before step 2401, for example, step 2404 is executed before step 2403, for example, step 2404 is executed before step 2402, for example, step 2403 is executed before step 2401, for example, step 2403 is executed before step 2402, and so on. They are not listed here one by one.

[0303] In some embodiments, in the communication scenario shown in Figure 22, the backscatter communication process is shown in Figure 25 or Figure 26. The positioning service shown in Figure 25 is initiated by the second device, and the positioning service shown in Figure 26 is initiated by the third device.

[0304] The backscatter communication process shown in FIG25 includes at least one of the following steps:

[0305] Step 2501 (optional step): The second device sends a service request to the third device.

[0306] The service request is used to request execution of the positioning service. It is understandable that the second device may also directly execute step 2503 to initiate the positioning service without sending the service request.

[0307] Step 2502 (optional step): The third device sends authorization information to the second device.

[0308] The authorization information herein is referred to in the preceding text. The authorization information is used to authorize the second device to perform the positioning service. Optionally, the authorization information may be implemented as control signaling, scheduling signaling, or the like to trigger / control backscatter-based communication between the second device and the first device. Optionally, the authorization information includes configuration information for the time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

[0309] If step 2501 and step 2502 are executed, it can be considered that the positioning service is initiated by the second device, authorized by the third device, and executed by the first device and the second device.

[0310] Step 2503 (optional step): The second device sends indication information to the first device.

[0311] Optionally, the indication information can be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt backscatter communication, can be used to configure time and frequency resources of the second signal, and can be used to trigger the first device to perform a positioning service.

[0312] Step 2504 (optional step): Other devices receive control information.

[0313] Optionally, the third device sends control information to other devices, instructing the other devices to provide a carrier signal to the first device.

[0314] Optionally, the second device sends control information to other devices, instructing the other devices to provide carrier signals to the first device (not shown in the figure).

[0315] Optionally, the first device sends control information to other devices, instructing the other devices to provide carrier signals to the first device.

[0316] Step 2505: The first device receives the third signal.

[0317] The third signal is a carrier signal. Optionally, the third signal can be implemented as a sequence. Optionally, the third signal comes from the second device, or from the third device, or from another device other than the second and third devices. Figure 25 takes another device providing the third signal to the first device as an example.

[0318] Step 2506: The first device sends a second signal to the third device by backscattering.

[0319] The second signal is transmitted by the first device in a backscattering manner, that is, the carrier of the second signal is not generated by the first device itself but is provided by the outside world.

[0320] The time-frequency resources used by the second signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0321] Step 2507 (optional step): The third device determines the positioning result of the second device.

[0322] In some embodiments, the phase difference of the second signal is calculated by the second device. Alternatively, the second device sends the phase characteristic of the received second signal to a third device, and the third device calculates the phase difference of the second signal.

[0323] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by the second device, that is, the second device determines its own position information based on the phase difference of the second signal. Optionally, the second device reports the obtained positioning result to the third device.

[0324] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by a third device, that is, the third device determines its own location information based on the phase difference of the second signal. The phase difference of the second signal can be calculated by the second device and reported to the third device, or calculated by the third device based on intermediate data reported by the second device.

[0325] The principle of determining the phase difference can be referred to as described above. In the embodiments of the present application, the phase difference used to determine the distance can be the phase difference corresponding to the one-way distance between the first device and the second device, or the phase difference corresponding to the round-trip distance between the first device and the second device. Furthermore, to improve the accuracy of the positioning results, a second signal can be sent via backscattering at a different frequency. The principle of this can also be referred to as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0326] The execution order of steps 2501 to 2507 can be adjusted according to actual circumstances. For example, step 2503 is executed before step 2501, step 2504 is executed before step 2503, step 2504 is executed before step 2502, step 2503 is executed before step 2501, step 2503 is executed before step 2502, and so on. These are not listed here one by one.

[0327] The backscatter communication process shown in FIG26 includes at least one of the following steps:

[0328] Step 2601 (optional step): The third device initiates a positioning service.

[0329] The third device initiates the positioning service by, for example, sending information for scheduling the second device to perform the positioning service to the second device. Exemplarily, the information for scheduling the second device to perform the positioning service is, for example, scheduling information, control signaling, triggering message, or specific sequence.

[0330] Step 2602 (optional step): The third device sends authorization information to the second device.

[0331] The authorization information herein is referred to in the preceding text. The authorization information is used to authorize the second device to perform the positioning service. Optionally, the authorization information may be implemented as control signaling, scheduling signaling, etc., to trigger / control backscatter-based communication between the second device and the first device. Optionally, the authorization information includes configuration information for the time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

[0332] Optionally, step 2001 and step 2002 are implemented as the same step. For example, the information used to schedule the second device to perform the positioning service carries the configuration information of the time-frequency resources, and so on.

[0333] Step 2603 (optional step): The second device sends indication information to the first device.

[0334] Optionally, the indication information can be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt backscatter communication, can be used to configure time and frequency resources of the second signal, and can be used to trigger the first device to perform a positioning service.

[0335] Step 2604 (optional step): Other devices receive control information.

[0336] Optionally, the third device sends control information to other devices, instructing the other devices to provide a carrier signal to the first device.

[0337] Optionally, the second device sends control information to other devices, instructing the other devices to provide carrier signals to the first device (not shown in the figure).

[0338] Optionally, the first device sends control information to other devices, instructing the other devices to provide carrier signals to the first device.

[0339] Step 2605: The first device receives the third signal.

[0340] The third signal is a carrier signal. Optionally, the third signal can be implemented as a sequence. Optionally, the third signal comes from the second device, or from the third device, or from a device other than the second device and the third device.

[0341] Step 2606: The first device sends a second signal to the third device by backscattering.

[0342] The second signal is transmitted by the first device in a backscattering manner, that is, the carrier of the second signal is not generated by the first device itself but is provided by the outside world.

[0343] The time-frequency resources used by the second signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0344] Step 2607 (optional step): The third device determines the positioning result of the second device.

[0345] In some embodiments, the phase difference of the second signal is calculated by the second device. Alternatively, the second device sends the phase characteristic of the received second signal to a third device, and the third device calculates the phase difference of the second signal.

[0346] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by the second device, that is, the second device determines its own position information based on the phase difference of the second signal. Optionally, the second device reports the obtained positioning result to the third device.

[0347] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by a third device, that is, the third device determines its own location information based on the phase difference of the second signal. The phase difference of the second signal can be calculated by the second device and reported to the third device, or calculated by the third device based on intermediate data reported by the second device.

[0348] The principle of determining the phase difference can be referred to as described above. In the embodiments of the present application, the phase difference used to determine the distance can be the phase difference corresponding to the one-way distance between the first device and the second device, or the phase difference corresponding to the round-trip distance between the first device and the second device. Furthermore, to improve the accuracy of the positioning results, a second signal can be sent via backscattering at a different frequency. The principle of this can also be referred to as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0349] The execution order of steps 2601 to 2607 can be adjusted according to actual circumstances. For example, step 2603 is executed before step 2601, step 2604 is executed before step 2603, step 2604 is executed before step 2602, step 2603 is executed before step 2601, step 2603 is executed before step 2602, and so on. These are not listed here one by one. For example, step 2603 and step 2604 are implemented as the same step, and even the indication information is carried in the third signal, that is, the third signal is both a carrier signal for backscattering and can also be used to trigger backscattering communication and / or configure the time-frequency resources of the second signal.

[0350] It should be noted that the number of second devices shown in Figures 24 to 26 can be one or more, and the number of first devices can also be one or more. The second device can determine its own location information based on the distance between itself and multiple first devices. The first device can also determine its own location information based on the distance between itself and multiple second devices.

[0351] The communication processes shown in Figures 24, 25, and 26 can be used individually or in combination. For example, Figures 24 and 25 can be used in combination, or Figures 24 and 26 can be used in combination.

[0352] 27, including a first device 2710, a second device 2720, and a third device 2730. For example, the second device 2720 is a UE and the third device 2730 is a network device. For example, the second device 2710 and the third device 2730 communicate via a Uu interface.

[0353] Communication scenario four differs from communication scenario two in that the first device 2710 in communication scenario four can communicate directly with the third device 2730. As shown in Figure 28, the first device 2710 sends a second signal to the third device 2730 by backscattering. Considering the source of the carrier signal required for backscatter communication, Figure 28 (a) shows a schematic diagram of the third device 2730 directly providing the carrier signal to the first device 2710, Figure 28 (b) shows a schematic diagram of the carrier signal provided by other devices 2740 other than the first device 2710, the second device 2720, and the third device 2730, and Figure 28 (c) shows a schematic diagram of the carrier signal provided by the second device 2720.

[0354] The difference between communication scenario four and communication scenario three is that the first device 2710 in communication scenario four transmits the second signal directly to the third device 2730, that is, the first device 2710 transmits the second signal to the third device 2730 by backscattering.

[0355] The schematic diagram of communication based on active transmission in communication scenario four is shown in Figure 29.

[0356] In some embodiments, in the communication scenario shown in FIG29 , the active communication process of the first device is shown in FIG30 , including at least one of the following steps:

[0357] Step 3001 (optional step): The third device sends data information and / or control information to the second device.

[0358] Optionally, the control information may be used to schedule or trigger the second device to communicate with the first device based on active transmission.

[0359] Step 3002 (optional step): The third device sends data information and / or control information to the first device.

[0360] Optionally, the control information may be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt active communication, and may also be used to configure time-frequency resources of the first signal.

[0361] Step 3003: The first device sends a first signal to the second device in an active transmission manner.

[0362] The first signal is actively transmitted by the first device, that is, the carrier of the first signal is generated by the first device itself.

[0363] Optionally, the first device may also actively transmit the first signal to the second device.

[0364] The time-frequency resources used by the first signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0365] In some embodiments, the first device may also send the first signal to the third device in an active transmission manner (not shown in the figure).

[0366] Step 3004 (optional step): The second device sends data information and / or control information to the third device.

[0367] Step 3001 and step 3004 represent the communication between the third device and the second device. The third device and the second device can exchange data information, control information, request information, etc.

[0368] The execution order of steps 3001 to 3004 can be adjusted according to actual conditions. For example, step 3004 can be executed before step 3001, step 3004 can be executed before step 3003, step 3004 can be executed before step 3002, step 3003 can be executed before step 3001, step 3003 can be executed before step 3002, and so on. They are not listed here one by one.

[0369] In some embodiments, in the communication scenario shown in Figure 28, the backscatter communication process is shown in Figure 31 or Figure 32. The positioning service shown in Figure 31 is initiated by the second device, and the positioning service shown in Figure 32 is initiated by the third device.

[0370] The backscatter communication process shown in FIG31 includes at least one of the following steps:

[0371] Step 3101 (optional step): The second device sends a service request to the third device.

[0372] The service request is used to request execution of the positioning service. It is understandable that the second device may also directly execute step 3103 to initiate the positioning service without sending the service request.

[0373] Step 3102 (optional step): The third device sends authorization information to the second device.

[0374] The authorization information herein is referred to in the preceding text. The authorization information is used to authorize the second device to perform the positioning service. Optionally, the authorization information may be implemented as control signaling, scheduling signaling, etc., to trigger / control backscatter-based communication between the second device and the first device. Optionally, the authorization information includes configuration information for the time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

[0375] If step 3101 and step 3102 are executed, it can be considered that the positioning service is initiated by the second device, authorized by the third device, and executed by the first device and the second device.

[0376] Step 3103 (optional step): The third device sends indication information to the first device.

[0377] Optionally, the indication information can be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt backscatter communication, can be used to configure time and frequency resources of the second signal, and can be used to trigger the first device to perform a positioning service.

[0378] Step 3104 (optional step): Other devices receive control information.

[0379] Optionally, the third device sends control information to other devices, instructing the other devices to provide a carrier signal to the first device.

[0380] Optionally, the second device sends control information to other devices, instructing the other devices to provide carrier signals to the first device (not shown in the figure).

[0381] Optionally, the first device sends control information to other devices, instructing the other devices to provide carrier signals to the first device.

[0382] Step 3105: The first device receives the third signal.

[0383] The third signal is a carrier signal. Optionally, the third signal can be implemented as a sequence. Optionally, the third signal comes from the second device, or from the third device, or from another device other than the second and third devices. Figure 31 takes another device providing the third signal to the first device as an example.

[0384] Step 3106: The first device sends a second signal to the second device via backscattering.

[0385] The second signal is transmitted by the first device in a backscattering manner, that is, the carrier of the second signal is not generated by the first device itself but is provided by the outside world.

[0386] The time-frequency resources used by the second signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0387] Step 3107 (optional step): The second device and / or the third device determines the positioning result of the second device.

[0388] In some embodiments, the phase difference of the second signal is calculated by the second device. Alternatively, the second device sends the phase characteristic of the received second signal to a third device, and the third device calculates the phase difference of the second signal.

[0389] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by the second device, that is, the second device determines its own position information based on the phase difference of the second signal. Optionally, the second device reports the obtained positioning result to the third device.

[0390] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by a third device, that is, the third device determines its own location information based on the phase difference of the second signal. The phase difference of the second signal can be calculated by the second device and reported to the third device, or calculated by the third device based on intermediate data reported by the second device.

[0391] The principle of determining the phase difference can be referred to as described above. In the embodiments of the present application, the phase difference used to determine the distance can be the phase difference corresponding to the one-way distance between the first device and the second device, or the phase difference corresponding to the round-trip distance between the first device and the second device. Furthermore, to improve the accuracy of the positioning results, a second signal can be sent via backscattering at a different frequency. The principle of this can also be referred to as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0392] The execution order of steps 3101 to 3107 can be adjusted according to actual circumstances. For example, step 3103 is executed before step 3101, step 3104 is executed before step 3103, step 3104 is executed before step 3102, step 3103 is executed before step 3101, step 3103 is executed before step 3102, and so on. These are not listed here one by one.

[0393] The backscatter communication process shown in FIG32 includes at least one of the following steps:

[0394] Step 3201 (optional step): The third device initiates a positioning service.

[0395] The third device initiates the positioning service by, for example, sending information for scheduling the second device to perform the positioning service to the second device. Exemplarily, the information for scheduling the second device to perform the positioning service is, for example, scheduling information, control signaling, triggering message, or specific sequence.

[0396] Step 3202 (optional step): The third device sends authorization information to the second device.

[0397] The authorization information herein is referred to in the preceding text. The authorization information is used to authorize the second device to perform the positioning service. Optionally, the authorization information may be implemented as control signaling, scheduling signaling, or the like to trigger / control backscatter-based communication between the second device and the first device. Optionally, the authorization information includes configuration information for the time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

[0398] Optionally, step 2001 and step 2002 are implemented as the same step. For example, the information used to schedule the second device to perform the positioning service carries the configuration information of the time-frequency resources, and so on.

[0399] Step 3203 (optional step): The third device sends indication information to the first device.

[0400] Optionally, the indication information can be used to schedule or trigger the first device to adopt backscatter communication, can be used to configure time and frequency resources of the second signal, and can be used to trigger the first device to perform a positioning service.

[0401] Step 3204: The first device receives the third signal.

[0402] The third signal is a carrier signal. Optionally, the third signal can be implemented as a sequence. Optionally, the third signal comes from the second device, or from the third device, or from a device other than the second and third devices. Figure 32 uses the example of the second device providing a carrier signal to the first device.

[0403] Step 3205: The first device sends a second signal to the second device via backscattering.

[0404] The second signal is transmitted by the first device in a backscattering manner, that is, the carrier of the second signal is not generated by the first device itself but is provided by the outside world.

[0405] The time-frequency resources used by the second signal can be referred to as described above and will not be described again here.

[0406] Step 3206 (optional step): The second device and / or the third device determines the positioning result of the second device.

[0407] In some embodiments, the phase difference of the second signal is calculated by the second device. Alternatively, the second device sends the phase characteristic of the received second signal to a third device, and the third device calculates the phase difference of the second signal.

[0408] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by the second device, that is, the second device determines its own position information based on the phase difference of the second signal. Optionally, the second device reports the obtained positioning result to the third device.

[0409] In some embodiments, the positioning result is calculated by a third device, that is, the third device determines its own location information based on the phase difference of the second signal. The phase difference of the second signal can be calculated by the second device and reported to the third device, or calculated by the third device based on intermediate data reported by the second device.

[0410] The principle of determining the phase difference can be referred to as described above. In the embodiments of the present application, the phase difference used to determine the distance can be the phase difference corresponding to the one-way distance between the first device and the second device, or the phase difference corresponding to the round-trip distance between the first device and the second device. Furthermore, to improve the accuracy of the positioning results, a second signal can be sent via backscattering at a different frequency. The principle of this can also be referred to as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0411] The execution order of steps 3201 to 3206 can be adjusted according to actual circumstances. For example, step 3203 is executed before step 3201, step 3204 is executed before step 3203, step 3204 is executed before step 3202, step 3203 is executed before step 3201, step 3203 is executed before step 3202, and so on. For example, steps 3203 and 3204 can be implemented as the same step, and even the indication information is carried in the third signal. That is, the third signal is both a carrier signal for backscattering and can also be used to trigger backscattering communication and / or configure the time-frequency resources of the second signal.

[0412] It should be noted that the number of second devices shown in Figures 30 to 32 can be one or more, and the number of first devices can also be one or more. The second device can determine its own location information based on the distance between itself and multiple first devices. The first device can also determine its own location information based on the distance between itself and multiple second devices.

[0413] The communication processes shown in Figures 30, 31, and 32 can be used individually or in combination. For example, Figure 30 can be used in combination with Figure 31, or Figure 30 can be used in combination with Figure 32.

[0414] With reference to the above positioning process and in combination with actual communication conditions, an embodiment of the present application provides a transmission system 3300 as shown in FIG33 . The transmission system 3300 can be implemented as a part of the first device as described above.

[0415] The transmitting system 3300 includes a first transmitting module 3310 and / or a second transmitting module 3320. Optionally, the transmitting system 3300 may further include other modules 3330, such as one or more of the following modules: an antenna, an LNA, a PA, a frequency converter, a filter, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a modulator, an oscillator, and an encoder.

[0416] The first transmitting module 3310 supports active signal transmission, and therefore, the first transmitting module 3310 can also be referred to as an active transmitting module. In the embodiment of the present application, the active transmission method means that no other communication device is required to provide a carrier signal. When the first transmitting module 3310 transmits a signal, the carrier signal required for communication can be generated internally by the first device. The first transmitting module 3310 has the ability to actively transmit the carrier signal generated by the first device. The signals supported for transmission by the first transmitting module 3310 include at least one of the following: a single-carrier signal, a multi-carrier signal, a code division multiple access signal, and an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal. The first transmitting module 3310 can be implemented as at least one of the following transmitters or a portion of a transmitter: an NR transmitter, a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) transmitter, an MTC transmitter, a Bluetooth transmitter, a Wi-Fi transmitter, a low-power active transmitter with a peak power consumption of less than hundreds of microwatts, etc., and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0417] The second transmitting module 3320 supports backscatter signals. Therefore, the second transmitting module 3320 can also be referred to as a backscatter communication module, a backscatter transmitting module, a backscatter module, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, the backscatter transmission mode means that other devices are required to provide a carrier signal. When the second transmitting module 3320 transmits a signal, it backscatters the externally provided carrier signal. The second transmitting module 3320 does not have the ability to actively transmit a carrier signal. It can also be understood that the second transmitting module 3320 has the ability to passively transmit a carrier signal. The modulation modes supported by the second transmitting module 3320 include at least one of the following: amplitude shift keying (ASK) modulation, on-off keying (OOK) modulation, phase shift keying (PSK) modulation, binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation, frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation, etc., which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The second transmitting module 3320 can be implemented as a backscatter transmitter or part of a backscatter transmitter. The backscatter transmitter can be powered by energy harvesting, or it can use the power supply or stored energy of the first device to operate itself (e.g., to drive logic circuits related to backscattering). It is understood that the power supply or stored energy of the first device can drive both the second transmitter module 3320 and the first transmitter module 3310.

[0418] In some embodiments, the first transmitting module 3310 and the second transmitting module 3320 are implemented as independent transmitters. For example, the first transmitting module 3310 is implemented as a low-power active transmitter, and the second transmitting module 3320 is implemented as a backscatter transmitter, and the active transmitter and the backscatter transmitter are independent of each other.

[0419] In some embodiments, the first transmitting module 3310 and the second transmitting module 3320 are integrated into the same transmitter. That is, the first device has one transmitter, but the transmitter includes two transmitting modules. For example, the first device has a low-power transmitter, and the low-power transmitter includes the first transmitting module 3310 and the second transmitting module 3320.

[0420] This transmission system that supports active transmission and backscattering can not only ensure the communication quality between itself and other communication devices (such as using active transmission communication mode), but also realize auxiliary positioning with the advantage of low power consumption. When auxiliary positioning is needed, the backscattering communication mode is used to transmit the signal, so that the signal receiver can determine the distance based on the signal strength or the phase characteristics of the signal to locate the target device. Taking the determination of distance d based on the phase characteristics as an example, the signal receiver can determine the phase difference caused by the propagation distance d based on the relationship between the initial phase of the outgoing signal in the backscattering communication process and the phase of the incident carrier (such as the same phase, continuous phase, phase offset, etc.), thereby determining the distance d.

[0421] In some embodiments, a first device equipped with a transmission system 3300 can report its capability information to a network device. For example, the first device sends first capability information indicating whether the first device supports operation using the first transmission module 3310 and / or the second transmission module 3320. Reporting the first capability information allows the network device to select an appropriate transmission method for the first device based on the actual service type (e.g., data service, positioning service, etc.), thereby improving efficiency within the communication system.

[0422] Exemplarily, after the network device learns that the first device has both active transmission capability and backscatter communication capability, when the first device is required to perform non-positioning services, the network device schedules or triggers the first device to be in active transmission mode (that is, adopting an active transmission communication method), wherein the non-positioning services include but are not limited to at least one of the following: data transmission, parameter configuration, paging, reporting, etc. When the first device is required to perform positioning services, the network device schedules or triggers the first device to be in backscatter transmission mode (that is, adopting a backscatter communication method). Such a design not only helps to ensure the communication quality of the first device, but also helps to save the power consumption of the first device, greatly improves the communication flexibility of the first device, expands the application scenarios of the first device, and meets various communication service needs.

[0423] In some embodiments, the first capability information is carried in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0424] In some embodiments, the first capability information is sent via the first transmitting module 3310. That is, the first transmitting module 3310 actively transmits the first capability information.

[0425] FIG34 shows a block diagram of a communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The device can be implemented as the first device described above, or as a part of the first device described above. The device includes a first transmitting module 3310 and a second transmitting module 3320. Optionally, the device also includes a receiving module 3340 and / or a processing module 3350. Optionally, the device also includes other modules 3330 as shown in FIG33 (not shown in FIG34).

[0426] The first transmitting module 3310 is used to send a first signal; the second transmitting module 3320 is used to send a second signal by backscattering; wherein, the first signal is used to carry first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or for positioning.

[0427] The first transmitting module 3310 and the second transmitting module 3320 can refer to the embodiment shown in Figure 33 and will not be described again here.

[0428] In some embodiments, the carrier signal of the second signal is a third signal; wherein the third signal is sent by the second device, or is sent by the second device under the control of a third device.

[0429] In some embodiments, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are the same as or different from the frequency domain resources used by the third signal.

[0430] In some embodiments, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are determined according to the frequency domain resources used by the third signal.

[0431] In some embodiments, there is a first offset between the time domain resources used by the first signal and the time domain resources used by the second signal; the first offset is configured by a network device, or agreed upon by a communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the communication device.

[0432] In some embodiments, there is a second offset between the frequency domain resources used by the first signal and the frequency domain resources used by the second signal; the second offset is configured by the network device, or agreed upon by the communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the communication device.

[0433] In some embodiments, the first transmitting module 3310 is further used to send a fourth signal, where the fourth signal is used to negotiate time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

[0434] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3340 is used to receive a fifth signal, and the fifth signal is used to configure the time-frequency resources used by the second signal, or to configure the offset between the time-frequency resources used by the second signal and the time domain resources used by the reference signal.

[0435] In some embodiments, the first transmitting module 3310 is further used to send the first signal when a first condition is met; wherein the first condition includes at least one of the following: receiving first indication information, the first indication information is used to instruct the communication device to operate using the first transmitter; the number of bits of the first information is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0436] In some embodiments, the processing module 3350 is used to determine whether the first condition is met.

[0437] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3340 is used to receive the first indication information.

[0438] In some embodiments, the first indication information is sent by the second device; or, the first indication information is sent by the second device under the control of a third device.

[0439] In some embodiments, the second transmitting module 3320 is used to send the second signal by backscattering using the second transmitter when a second condition is met; wherein the second condition includes at least one of the following: receiving second indication information, the second indication information is used to instruct the communication device to operate using the second transmitter; the number of bits of the first information is less than or equal to a second threshold; receiving third indication information, the third indication information is used to instruct the communication device to perform positioning services.

[0440] In some embodiments, the processing module 3350 is used to determine whether the second condition is met.

[0441] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3340 is configured to receive the second indication information and / or the third indication information.

[0442] In some embodiments, the first transmitting module 3310 is further used to send first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether the communication device supports operation using the first transmitter and / or the second transmitter.

[0443] In some embodiments, the first capability information is carried in radio resource control RRC signaling.

[0444] In some embodiments, the first capability information is sent via the first transmitter.

[0445] In some embodiments, at least one of the following information of the second signal is used for positioning: a phase difference of the second signal, a signal strength of the second signal, and the first information carried by the second signal.

[0446] In some embodiments, the phase difference of the second signal includes a phase difference between the second signal and a third signal, and the second signal is a backscattered signal of the third signal.

[0447] In some embodiments, the phase difference between the second signal and the third signal is determined based on the first phase difference and the second phase difference; wherein, the second signal includes a first sub-signal and a second sub-signal, the third signal includes a third sub-signal and a fourth sub-signal, the first sub-signal is the backscattered signal of the third sub-signal, the second sub-signal is the backscattered signal of the fourth sub-signal, the first phase difference is the phase difference between the first sub-signal and the third sub-signal, and the second phase difference is the phase difference between the second sub-signal and the fourth sub-signal.

[0448] In some embodiments, the communication device includes at least one of the following devices: a zero-power device, an ultra-low-power device, a low-power device, a passive Internet of Things device, and an A-IoT device.

[0449] In some embodiments, one or more modules among the first transmitting module 3310, the second transmitting module 3320, the receiving module 3340, and the processing module 3350 are used to execute the functions and steps performed by the first device in the embodiments shown in Figures 10 to 32.

[0450] In summary, the device provided in the embodiments of the present application supports both active transmission and backscatter communication. Because backscatter communication does not require the device to autonomously generate a carrier wave, it can effectively save power and help achieve low-power communication. Furthermore, it supports positioning services, and the use of backscatter communication helps improve positioning accuracy.

[0451] Figure 35 shows a block diagram of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The device can be implemented as the second device described above, or as a portion of the second device described above. The device includes a receiving module 3510. Optionally, the device also includes a transmitting module 3530 and / or a processing module 3550.

[0452] Receiving module 3510 is used to receive a first signal and / or a second signal; wherein, the first signal is used to carry the first information, and the first signal is sent by a first transmitter; the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or is used for positioning, and the second signal is sent by a second transmitter through backscattering.

[0453] In some embodiments, the transmitting module 3530 is used to send a third signal, or to send the third signal under the control of a third device; wherein the third signal is a carrier signal of the second signal.

[0454] In some embodiments, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are the same as or different from the frequency domain resources used by the third signal.

[0455] In some embodiments, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are determined according to the frequency domain resources used by the third signal.

[0456] In some embodiments, there is a first offset between the time domain resources used by the first signal and the time domain resources used by the second signal; the first offset is configured by the network device, or agreed upon by the communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the first device.

[0457] In some embodiments, there is a second offset between the frequency domain resources used by the first signal and the frequency domain resources used by the second signal; the second offset is configured by the network device, or agreed upon by the communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the first device.

[0458] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3510 is configured to receive a fourth signal, where the fourth signal is sent by the first transmitter and the fourth signal is used to negotiate time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

[0459] In some embodiments, the transmitting module 3530 is used to send a fifth signal, or to send the fifth signal under the control of a third device; wherein the fifth signal is used to configure the time-frequency resources used by the second signal, or to configure the offset between the time-frequency resources used by the second signal and the time domain resources used by the reference signal.

[0460] In some embodiments, the transmitting module 3530 is configured to:

[0461] Sending first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first device to operate using the first transmitter;

[0462] sending the first indication information under the control of a third device;

[0463] Sending second indication information, where the second indication information is used to instruct the first device to operate using the second transmitter;

[0464] sending the second indication information under the control of the third device;

[0465] Sending third indication information, where the third indication information is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning service;

[0466] The third indication information is sent under the control of the third device.

[0467] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3510 is used to receive first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether the first device supports operation using the first transmitter and / or the second transmitter.

[0468] In some embodiments, the first capability information is sent via the first transmitter.

[0469] In some embodiments, the processing module 3550 is configured to determine a positioning result based on at least one of the following information of the second signal: a phase difference of the second signal, a signal strength of the second signal, and the first information carried by the second signal.

[0470] In some embodiments, the transmitting module 3530 is configured to report at least one of the following information of the second signal: a phase difference of the second signal, a signal strength of the second signal, and the first information carried by the second signal.

[0471] In some embodiments, the phase difference of the second signal includes a phase difference between the second signal and a third signal, and the third signal is a carrier signal of the second signal.

[0472] In some embodiments, the phase difference between the second signal and the third signal is determined based on the first phase difference and the second phase difference; wherein, the second signal includes a first sub-signal and a second sub-signal, the third signal includes a third sub-signal and a fourth sub-signal, the third sub-signal is the carrier signal of the first sub-signal, the fourth sub-signal is the carrier signal of the second sub-signal, the first phase difference is the phase difference between the first sub-signal and the third sub-signal, and the second phase difference is the phase difference between the second sub-signal and the fourth sub-signal.

[0473] In some embodiments, the first device includes at least one of the following devices: a zero-power device, an ultra-low-power device, a low-power device, a passive Internet of Things device, and an A-IoT device.

[0474] In some embodiments, one or more modules among the receiving module 3510, the transmitting module 3530, and the processing module 3550 are used to execute the functions and steps performed by the second device in the embodiments shown in Figures 10 to 32.

[0475] In summary, the apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application can achieve positioning using the backscatter signal of the first device, achieving good positioning accuracy while saving the overall power consumption of the communication system. Furthermore, it supports spontaneous communication with the first device based on active transmission and / or backscatter, which helps achieve low-power communication.

[0476] Figure 36 shows a block diagram of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The device may be implemented as, or part of, the aforementioned third device. The device includes a transmitting module 3610. Optionally, the device also includes a receiving module 3630 and / or a processing module 3650.

[0477] The transmitting module 3610 is used to send control information, and the control information is used to control the first device to use the first transmitter to send the first signal, and / or control the first device to use the second transmitter to send the second signal by backscattering; wherein, the first signal is used to carry the first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or is used for positioning.

[0478] In some embodiments, the transmitting module 3610 is configured to send the control information to the second device; or, to send the control information to the first device.

[0479] In some embodiments, the third signal is sent by the second device, or is sent by the second device under the control of the third device.

[0480] In some embodiments, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are the same as or different from the frequency domain resources used by the third signal.

[0481] In some embodiments, the frequency domain resources used by the second signal are determined according to the frequency domain resources used by the third signal.

[0482] In some embodiments, there is a first offset between the time domain resources used by the first signal and the time domain resources used by the second signal; the first offset is configured by the network device, or agreed upon by the communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the first device.

[0483] In some embodiments, there is a second offset between the frequency domain resources used by the first signal and the frequency domain resources used by the second signal; the second offset is configured by the network device, or agreed upon by the communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the first device.

[0484] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3630 is used to receive a fourth signal, where the fourth signal is sent by the first transmitter and the fourth signal is used to negotiate time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

[0485] In some embodiments, the transmitting module 3610 is used to send a fifth signal to the first device or the second device; wherein the fifth signal is used to configure the time-frequency resources used by the second signal, or to configure the offset between the time-frequency resources used by the second signal and the time domain resources used by the reference signal.

[0486] In some embodiments, the transmitting module 3610 is configured to:

[0487] Sending first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first device to operate using the first transmitter;

[0488] Sending second indication information, where the second indication information is used to instruct the first device to operate using the second transmitter;

[0489] Send third indication information, where the third indication information is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning service.

[0490] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3630 is used to receive first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether the first device supports operation using the first transmitter and / or the second transmitter.

[0491] In some embodiments, the first capability information is carried in radio resource control RRC signaling.

[0492] In some embodiments, the first capability information is sent via the first transmitter.

[0493] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3630 is used to receive the first signal and / or the second signal.

[0494] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3630 is used to receive at least one of the following information: the phase difference of the second signal, the signal strength of the second signal, the first information carried by the second signal, the distance information related to the second signal, and the positioning result related to the second signal.

[0495] In some embodiments, the processing module 3650 is used to determine the positioning result related to the second signal based on at least one of the following information: the phase difference of the second signal, the signal strength of the second signal, the first information carried by the second signal, and the distance information related to the second signal.

[0496] In some embodiments, the phase difference of the second signal includes a phase difference between the second signal and a third signal, and the third signal is a carrier signal of the second signal.

[0497] In some embodiments, the phase difference between the second signal and the third signal is determined based on the first phase difference and the second phase difference; wherein, the second signal includes a first sub-signal and a second sub-signal, the third signal includes a third sub-signal and a fourth sub-signal, the third sub-signal is the carrier signal of the first sub-signal, the fourth sub-signal is the carrier signal of the second sub-signal, the first phase difference is the phase difference between the first sub-signal and the third sub-signal, and the second phase difference is the phase difference between the second sub-signal and the fourth sub-signal.

[0498] In some embodiments, the first device includes at least one of the following devices: a zero-power device, an ultra-low-power device, a low-power device, a passive Internet of Things device, and an A-IoT device.

[0499] In some embodiments, one or more modules among the transmitting module 3610, the receiving module 3630, and the processing module 3650 are used to execute the functions and steps performed by the third device in the embodiments shown in Figures 10 to 32.

[0500] In summary, the apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application can achieve positioning using the backscatter signal of the first device, achieving good positioning accuracy while saving the overall power consumption of the communication system. Furthermore, it supports spontaneous communication with the first device based on active transmission and / or backscatter, which helps achieve low-power communication.

[0501] Figure 37 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 3700 provided in an exemplary embodiment of the present application, which includes at least one of the following: a receiver 3701, a transmitter 3702, a processor 3703, a memory 3704, and a bus (not shown in the figure). The communication device 3700 can be used to execute some or all of the steps executed by the second device and / or the third device and / or other devices described above.

[0502] The receiver 3701 is used to implement the receiving function, and the transmitter 3702 is used to implement the sending function.

[0503] In some embodiments, receiver 3701 and transmitter 3702 may be implemented as a communication component, which may be a communication chip and referred to as a transceiver. In some embodiments, receiver 3701 may be used to implement the functions and steps of receiving module 3510 and / or receiving module 3630 described above, and transmitter 3702 may be used to implement the functions and steps of transmitting module 3530 and / or transmitting module 3610 described above.

[0504] In some embodiments, the receiver 3701 and the transmitter 3702 can be implemented as a wireless communication component and / or a wired communication component. Optionally, the wireless communication component includes a wireless communication chip and / or a radio frequency antenna. Optionally, the wired communication component includes a wired communication chip and / or a wired interface.

[0505] The processor 3703 includes one or more processing cores, and the processor 3703 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules. In some embodiments, the processor 3703 can be used to implement the functions and steps of the processing module 3550 and / or the processing module 3650 described above.

[0506] The memory 3704 may be used to store a computer program executed by the processor 3703 , and the processor 3703 is used to execute the computer program to implement each step in the above method embodiment.

[0507] In some embodiments, the memory 3704 may be connected to the processor 3703 as well as the receiver 3701 and the transmitter 3702 .

[0508] In addition, the memory 3704 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof. Volatile or non-volatile storage devices include but are not limited to: magnetic disks or optical disks, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, and programmable read-only memory (PROM).

[0509] In some embodiments, the receiver 3701 receives signals / data independently, or the processor 3703 controls the receiver 3701 to receive signals / data, or the processor 3703 requests the receiver 3701 to receive signals / data, or the processor 3703 cooperates with the receiver 3701 to receive signals / data.

[0510] In some embodiments, the transmitter 3702 independently sends signals / data, or the processor 3703 controls the transmitter 3702 to send signals / data, or the processor 3703 requests the transmitter 3702 to send signals / data, or the processor 3703 cooperates with the transmitter 3702 to send signals / data.

[0511] For details not described in detail in this embodiment, please refer to the above embodiments and will not be described in detail here.

[0512] Figure 38 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 3800 provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application, which includes at least one of the following: a receiver 3810, a transmitter 3820, a processor 3830, a memory 3840, and a bus (not shown in the figure). The communication device 3800 can be used to perform some or all of the steps performed by the first device described above.

[0513] The receiver 3810 is used to implement the receiving function, and the transmitter 3820 is used to implement the sending function.

[0514] In some embodiments, the receiver 3810 and the transmitter 3820 can be implemented as a communication component, which can be a communication chip and can be referred to as a transceiver. For example, the receiver 3810 and the transmitter 3820 are implemented as a wireless communication component. Optionally, the wireless communication component includes a wireless communication chip and / or a radio frequency antenna (not shown).

[0515] In some embodiments, the receiver 3810 is used to implement the functions and steps of the above-mentioned receiving module 3340.

[0516] In some embodiments, the receiver 3810 may be implemented as a first receiver 3813 and a second receiver 3815 .

[0517] In some embodiments, the first receiver 3813 and the second receiver 3815 are two independently operating receivers, that is, the receiver 3810 includes two independent first receivers 3813 and second receivers 3815. Alternatively, the receiver 3810 is implemented as a combined receiver of the first receiver 3813 and the second receiver 3815.

[0518] In some embodiments, the first receiver 3813 is implemented as a wake-up receiver (WUR), which can also be called a low power WUR (LP-WUR), an ultra-low power WUR, a low power receiver, an ultra-low power receiver, a zero power receiver, an auxiliary receiver, etc.

[0519] In some embodiments, the second receiver 3815 is implemented as a main receiver or a legacy receiver.

[0520] In some embodiments, the transmitter 3820 may be used to implement the functions and steps of the first transmitter module 3310 and / or the second transmitter module 3320. Alternatively, the transmitter 3820 may be implemented as a first transmitter 3823 and / or a second transmitter 3825, wherein the first transmitter 3823 is used to implement the functions and steps of the first transmitter module 3310, and the second transmitter 3825 is used to implement the functions and steps of the second transmitter module 3320.

[0521] In some embodiments, the first transmitter 3823 and the second transmitter 3825 are two independently operating transmitters, that is, the transmitter 3820 includes two independent first transmitters 3823 and second transmitters 3825. Alternatively, the transmitter 3820 is implemented as a combined transmitter of the first transmitter 3823 and the second transmitter 3825.

[0522] In some embodiments, the first transmitter 3823 is implemented as an active transmitter and the second transmitter 3825 is implemented as a backscatter transmitter.

[0523] In some embodiments, the processor 3830 and the receiver 3810 may be implemented as one module, or the processor 3830 may be implemented as a part of the receiver 3810 .

[0524] The processor 3830 includes one or more processing cores, and the processor 3830 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules. In some embodiments, the processor 3830 can be used to implement the functions and steps of the processing module 1150 described above.

[0525] The memory 3840 may be used to store a computer program executed by the processor 3830 , and the processor 3830 is used to execute the computer program to implement each step in the above method embodiment.

[0526] In some embodiments, the memory 3840 may be connected to the processor 3830 as well as the receiver 3810 and the transmitter 3820 .

[0527] In addition, the memory 3840 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: magnetic or optical disks, EEPROM, EPROM, SRAM, ROM, magnetic storage, flash memory, PROM.

[0528] In some embodiments, the receiver 3810 receives signals / data independently, or the processor 3830 controls the receiver 3810 to receive signals / data, or the processor 3830 requests the receiver 3810 to receive signals / data, or the processor 3830 cooperates with the receiver 3810 to receive signals / data.

[0529] In some embodiments, the transmitter 3820 independently sends signals / data, or the processor 3830 controls the transmitter 3820 to send signals / data, or the processor 3830 requests the transmitter 3820 to send signals / data, or the processor 3830 cooperates with the transmitter 3820 to send signals / data.

[0530] In some embodiments, the processor 3830 and the receiver 3810 may be implemented as one module, or the processor 3830 may be implemented as a part of the receiver 3810 .

[0531] In some embodiments, the processor 3830 and the transmitter 3820 may be implemented as one module, or the processor 3830 may be implemented as part of the transmitter 3820 .

[0532] For details not described in detail in this embodiment, please refer to the above embodiments and will not be described in detail here.

[0533] In an exemplary embodiment of the present application, a chip is further provided, which includes a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions. When the chip runs on a communication device, it is used to implement the transmission methods provided by the above-mentioned various method embodiments.

[0534] In some embodiments, the chip includes a first transmitting module 3310 and / or a second transmitting module 3320. Optionally, the chip also includes other modules 3330 and / or a receiving module 3340 and / or a processing module 3350. The relevant content can be referred to above and will not be repeated here.

[0535] In some embodiments, the chip includes a receiving module 3510. Optionally, the chip also includes a transmitting module 3530 and / or a processing module 3550. For related content, please refer to the above description and will not be repeated here.

[0536] In some embodiments, the chip includes a transmitting module 3610. Optionally, the chip also includes a receiving module 3630 and / or a processing module 3650. The relevant contents can be referred to above and will not be repeated here.

[0537] In an exemplary embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is further provided, in which at least one program is stored. The at least one program is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the communication method provided by the above-mentioned various method embodiments.

[0538] In an exemplary embodiment of the present application, a computer program product is further provided. When the computer program product is executed on a processor of a computer device, the computer device is enabled to execute the above communication method.

[0539] In an exemplary embodiment of the present application, a computer program is further provided. The computer program includes computer instructions. A processor of a computer device executes the computer instructions, so that the computer device executes the above communication method.

[0540] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps to implement the above embodiments may be accomplished by hardware, or may be accomplished by a program instructing the relevant hardware, and the program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the above-mentioned storage medium may be a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk, etc.

[0541] The above are only optional embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is performed by a first device, which has a first transmitter and a second transmitter. The method includes: Sending a first signal using the first transmitter, and / or sending a second signal using the second transmitter by backscattering; wherein, the first signal is used to carry first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or for positioning.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The carrier signal of the second signal is a third signal; wherein, the third signal is sent by a second device, or sent by the second device under the control of a third device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The frequency-domain resources used by the second signal are the same as or different from the frequency-domain resources used by the third signal.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The frequency-domain resources used by the second signal are determined according to the frequency-domain resources used by the third signal.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, There is a first offset between the time-domain resources used by the first signal and the time-domain resources used by the second signal; the first offset is configured by a network device, or agreed upon by a communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the first device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that There is a second offset between the frequency-domain resources used by the first signal and the frequency-domain resources used by the second signal; the second offset is configured by a network device, or agreed upon by a communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the first device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending a fourth signal using the first transmitter, where the fourth signal is used to negotiate the time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving a fifth signal, where the fifth signal is used to configure the time-frequency resources used by the second signal, or to configure the offset between the time-frequency resources used by the second signal and the time-domain resources used by a reference signal.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The step of sending the first signal using the first transmitter includes: Under the condition of satisfying a first condition, sending the first signal using the first transmitter; wherein, the first condition includes at least one of the following: Receiving a first indication message, where the first indication message is used to indicate that the first device operates using the first transmitter; The number of bits of the first information is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein The first indication message is sent by a second device; or the first indication message is sent by the second device under the control of a third device.

11. According to the method described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Sending the second signal using the second transmitter by backscattering includes: Under the condition of satisfying a second condition, sending the second signal using the second transmitter by backscattering; wherein, the second condition includes at least one of the following: Receiving a second indication message, where the second indication message is used to indicate that the first device operates using the second transmitter; The number of bits of the first information is less than or equal to a second threshold; Receiving a third indication message, where the third indication message is used to indicate that the first device performs a positioning service.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether the first device supports operating using the first transmitter and / or the second transmitter.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein The first capability information is carried in Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The first capability information is sent through the first transmitter.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that, At least one of the following information of the second signal is used for positioning: the phase difference of the second signal, the signal strength of the second signal, and the first information carried by the second signal.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The phase difference of the second signal includes the phase difference between the second signal and the third signal, and the second signal is the backscattered signal of the third signal.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The phase difference between the second signal and the third signal is determined according to a first phase difference and a second phase difference; Wherein, the second signal includes a first sub-signal and a second sub-signal, the third signal includes a third sub-signal and a fourth sub-signal, the first sub-signal is the backscattered signal of the third sub-signal, the second sub-signal is the backscattered signal of the fourth sub-signal, the first phase difference is the phase difference between the first sub-signal and the third sub-signal, and the second phase difference is the phase difference between the second sub-signal and the fourth sub-signal.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that, The first device includes at least one of the following devices: a zero-power device, an ultra-low-power device, a low-power device, a passive Internet of Things device, and an ambient energy Internet of Things A-IoT device.

19. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a second device, and the method includes: Receiving a first signal and / or a second signal; wherein, the first signal is used to carry first information, the first signal is sent by a first transmitter, the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or for positioning, and the second signal is sent by a second transmitter in a backscattering manner.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The method further includes: sending a third signal, or sending the third signal under the control of a third device; wherein, the third signal is the carrier signal of the second signal.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein The frequency domain resources used by the second signal are the same as or different from the frequency domain resources used by the third signal.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, The frequency domain resources used by the second signal are determined according to the frequency domain resources used by the third signal.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that There is a first offset between the time domain resources used by the first signal and the time domain resources used by the second signal; the first offset is configured by a network device, or agreed upon by a communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the first device.

24. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 23, characterized in that, There is a second offset between the frequency domain resources used by the first signal and the frequency domain resources used by the second signal; the second offset is configured by a network device, or agreed upon by a communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the first device.

25. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving a fourth signal, the fourth signal is sent by the first transmitter, and the fourth signal is used to negotiate the time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

26. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 25, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending a fifth signal, or sending the fifth signal under the control of a third device; Wherein, the fifth signal is used to configure the time-frequency resources used by the second signal, or to configure the offset between the time-frequency resources used by the second signal and the time domain resources used by a reference signal.

27. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 26, characterized in that, The method further includes at least one of the following: Sending first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first device operates using the first transmitter; Sending the first indication information under the control of a third device; Send a second indication message, where the second indication message is used to indicate that the first device operates using the second transmitter; Send the second indication message under the control of a third device; Send a third indication message, where the third indication message is used to indicate that the first device performs a positioning service; Send the third indication message under the control of a third device.

28. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 27, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate whether the first device supports operating using the first transmitter and / or the second transmitter.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein The first capability information is carried in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

30. The method according to claim 28 or 29, characterized in that, The first capability information is sent through the first transmitter.

31. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 30, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine a positioning result based on at least one of the following information of the second signal: the phase difference of the second signal, the signal strength of the second signal, the first information carried by the second signal.

32. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 30, characterized in that, The method further includes: Report at least one of the following information of the second signal: the phase difference of the second signal, the signal strength of the second signal, the first information carried by the second signal.

33. The method according to claim 31 or 32, characterized in that, The phase difference of the second signal includes the phase difference between the second signal and a third signal, where the third signal is the carrier signal of the second signal.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein The phase difference between the second signal and the third signal is determined based on a first phase difference and a second phase difference; Wherein, the second signal includes a first sub-signal and a second sub-signal, the third signal includes a third sub-signal and a fourth sub-signal, the third sub-signal is the carrier signal of the first sub-signal, the fourth sub-signal is the carrier signal of the second sub-signal, the first phase difference is the phase difference between the first sub-signal and the third sub-signal, and the second phase difference is the phase difference between the second sub-signal and the fourth sub-signal.

35. The method according to claim 23 or 24 or 27 or 28, characterized in that, The first device includes at least one of the following devices: a zero-power device, an ultra-low-power device, a low-power device, a passive Internet of Things device, an ambient energy Internet of Things A-IoT device.

36. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a third device, and the method includes: Send control information, where the control information is used to control the first device to send a first signal using a first transmitter, and / or, control the first device to send a second signal in a backscattering manner using a second transmitter; Wherein, the first signal is used to carry first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or for positioning.

37. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that, The sending of the control information includes: Send the control information to a second device; or, send the control information to the first device.

38. The method according to claim 36 or 37, characterized in that, The third signal is sent by the second device, or sent by the second device under the control of the third device.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein The frequency domain resources used by the second signal are the same as or different from the frequency domain resources used by the third signal.

40. The method according to claim 38 or 39, characterized in that, The frequency domain resources used by the second signal are determined according to the frequency domain resources used by the third signal.

41. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 40, characterized in that, There is a first offset between the time domain resources used by the first signal and the time domain resources used by the second signal; the first offset is configured by a network device, or agreed upon by a communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the first device.

42. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 41, characterized in that, There is a second offset between the frequency-domain resources used by the first signal and the frequency-domain resources used by the second signal; the second offset is configured by a network device, or agreed upon by a communication protocol, or determined according to the capabilities of the first device.

43. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 42, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving a fourth signal, which is sent by the first transmitter and is used to negotiate the time-frequency resources used by the second signal.

44. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 43, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending a fifth signal to the first device or the second device; wherein the fifth signal is used to configure the time-frequency resources used by the second signal, or is used to configure the offset between the time-frequency resources used by the second signal and the time-domain resources used by a reference signal.

45. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 44, characterized in that, The method further includes at least one of the following: Sending first indication information, which is used to indicate that the first device operates using the first transmitter; Sending second indication information, which is used to indicate that the first device operates using the second transmitter; Sending third indication information, which is used to indicate that the first device performs a positioning service.

46. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 45, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving first capability information, which is used to indicate whether the first device supports operating using the first transmitter and / or the second transmitter.

47. The method according to claim 46, wherein, The first capability information is carried in radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

48. The method according to claim 46 or 47, characterized in that, The first capability information is sent through the first transmitter.

49. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 48, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving the first signal and / or the second signal.

50. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 49, characterized in that The method further includes: Receiving at least one of the following information: the phase difference of the second signal, the signal strength of the second signal, the first information carried by the second signal, distance information related to the second signal, and a positioning result related to the second signal.

51. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 50, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determining a positioning result related to the second signal according to at least one of the following information: the phase difference of the second signal, the signal strength of the second signal, the first information carried by the second signal, and distance information related to the second signal.

52. The method according to claim 50 or 51, characterized in that, The phase difference of the second signal includes the phase difference between the second signal and a third signal, and the third signal is the carrier signal of the second signal.

53. The method according to claim 52, characterized in that, The phase difference between the second signal and the third signal is determined according to a first phase difference and a second phase difference; wherein the second signal includes a first sub-signal and a second sub-signal, the third signal includes a third sub-signal and a fourth sub-signal, the third sub-signal is the carrier signal of the first sub-signal, the fourth sub-signal is the carrier signal of the second sub-signal, the first phase difference is the phase difference between the first sub-signal and the third sub-signal, and the second phase difference is the phase difference between the second sub-signal and the fourth sub-signal.

54. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 53, characterized in that, The first device includes at least one of the following devices: a zero-power consumption device, an ultra-low-power consumption device, a low-power consumption device, a passive Internet of Things device, and an ambient energy Internet of Things (A-IoT) device.

55. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: a first transmitting module and / or a second transmitting module; The first transmitting module is used to send a first signal in an active transmission manner; The second transmitting module is configured to transmit a second signal in a backscattering manner; wherein, the first signal is used to carry first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or for positioning.

56. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: a receiving module, configured to receive a first signal and / or a second signal; wherein, the first signal is used to carry first information, the first signal is transmitted by a first transmitter, the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or for positioning, and the second signal is transmitted by a second transmitter in a backscattering manner.

57. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: a transmitting module, configured to transmit control information, the control information being used to control a first device to transmit a first signal by a first transmitter, and / or, to control the first device to transmit a second signal by a second transmitter in a backscattering manner; wherein, the first signal is used to carry first information, and the second signal is used to carry the first information and / or for positioning.

58. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes: a first transmitter and / or a second transmitter; the communication device is configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

59. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes: a processor, a receiver and / or a transmitter connected to the processor, and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; the communication device is configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 19 to 35, or according to any one of claims 36 to 54.

60. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The readable storage medium stores executable instructions, and the executable instructions are loaded and executed by a processor to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, or according to any one of claims 19 to 35, or according to any one of claims 36 to 54.

61. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes a programmable logic circuit or program, and the chip is configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, or according to any one of claims 19 to 35, or according to any one of claims 36 to 54.

62. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions, the computer instructions are stored in a computer-readable storage medium, a processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions, so that the computer device executes the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, or according to any one of claims 19 to 35, or according to any one of claims 36 to 54.

63. A computer program, characterized in that, The computer program includes computer instructions, and a processor of a computer device executes the computer instructions, so that the computer device executes the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, or according to any one of claims 19 to 35, or according to any one of claims 36 to 54.

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