Method and apparatus in wireless communication system

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. A method and an apparatus in a wireless communication system are disclosed, the method including: receiving scheduling information including information that the scheduling information is associated with a Radio Access Technology (RAT) or associated with an Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT); receiving and / or transmitting a signal and / or a channel associated with the RAT based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the RAT; receiving and / or transmitting a signal and / or a channel associated with the AIoT based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically, to a method and an apparatus in a wireless communication system.

[0002] 5G mobile communication technologies define broad frequency bands such that high transmission rates and new services are possible, and can be implemented not only in "Sub 6GHz" bands such as 3.5GHz, but also in "Above 6GHz" bands referred to as mmWave including 28GHz and 39GHz. In addition, it has been considered to implement 6G mobile communication technologies (referred to as Beyond 5G systems) in terahertz bands (for example, 95GHz to 3THz bands) in order to accomplish transmission rates fifty times faster than 5G mobile communication technologies and ultra-low latencies one-tenth of 5G mobile communication technologies.

[0003] At the beginning of the development of 5G mobile communication technologies, in order to support services and to satisfy performance requirements in connection with enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), there has been ongoing standardization regarding beamforming and massive MIMO for mitigating radio-wave path loss and increasing radio-wave transmission distances in mmWave, supporting numerologies (for example, operating multiple subcarrier spacings) for efficiently utilizing mmWave resources and dynamic operation of slot formats, initial access technologies for supporting multi-beam transmission and broadbands, definition and operation of BWP (BandWidth Part), new channel coding methods such as a LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code for large amount of data transmission and a polar code for highly reliable transmission of control information, L2 pre-processing, and network slicing for providing a dedicated network specialized to a specific service.

[0004] Currently, there are ongoing discussions regarding improvement and performance enhancement of initial 5G mobile communication technologies in view of services to be supported by 5G mobile communication technologies, and there has been physical layer standardization regarding technologies such as V2X (Vehicle-to-everything) for aiding driving determination by autonomous vehicles based on information regarding positions and states of vehicles transmitted by the vehicles and for enhancing user convenience, NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) aimed at system operations conforming to various regulation-related requirements in unlicensed bands, NR UE Power Saving, Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) which is UE-satellite direct communication for providing coverage in an area in which communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable, and positioning.

[0005] Moreover, there has been ongoing standardization in air interface architecture / protocol regarding technologies such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for supporting new services through interworking and convergence with other industries, IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) for providing a node for network service area expansion by supporting a wireless backhaul link and an access link in an integrated manner, mobility enhancement including conditional handover and DAPS (Dual Active Protocol Stack) handover, and two-step random access for simplifying random access procedures (2-step RACH for NR). There also has been ongoing standardization in system architecture / service regarding a 5G baseline architecture (for example, service based architecture or service based interface) for combining Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies, and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) for receiving services based on UE positions.

[0006] As 5G mobile communication systems are commercialized, connected devices that have been exponentially increasing will be connected to communication networks, and it is accordingly expected that enhanced functions and performances of 5G mobile communication systems and integrated operations of connected devices will be necessary. To this end, new research is scheduled in connection with eXtended Reality (XR) for efficiently supporting AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), MR (Mixed Reality) and the like, 5G performance improvement and complexity reduction by utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), AI service support, metaverse service support, and drone communication.

[0007] Furthermore, such development of 5G mobile communication systems will serve as a basis for developing not only new waveforms for providing coverage in terahertz bands of 6G mobile communication technologies, multi-antenna transmission technologies such as Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas and large-scale antennas, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving coverage of terahertz band signals, high-dimensional space multiplexing technology using OAM (Orbital Angular Momentum), and RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), but also full-duplex technology for increasing frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technologies and improving system networks, AI-based communication technology for implementing system optimization by utilizing satellites and AI (Artificial Intelligence) from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions, and next-generation distributed computing technology for implementing services at levels of complexity exceeding the limit of UE operation capability by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources.

[0008] A low-end IoT device with relatively low performance and cost can be used to make up for the shortcomings of IOT technologies such as MTC and NB-IoT. In the present application, because the transmission of such IoT devices mainly depends on ambient signals, such IoT devices are called Ambient IoT (AIoT) devices, which are named mainly for convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of devices.

[0009] In an AIoT system, the transmission of signals / channels such as data and services can be directly transmitted between a base station and an AIoT node (such as tag device); it can also be transmitted via an intermediate node, for example, the base station transmits information related to the AIoT system to the intermediate node, and the intermediate node transmits data to the AIoT node; and the AIoT node transmits the data to the intermediate node, and the intermediate node transmits the information related to the AIoT system to the base station.

[0010] When the intermediate node acquires the transmission scheduling information, it needs to distinguish whether the scheduling information is associated with the transmission in the Radio Access Technology (RAT) or the transmission in the AIoT system, so as to transmit according to the scheduling information in the corresponding system.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system including: receiving scheduling information including information that the scheduling information is associated with a Radio Access Technology (RAT) or associated with an Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT); receiving and / or transmitting a signal and / or a channel associated with the RAT based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the RAT; receiving and / or transmitting a signal and / or a channel associated with the AIoT based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT.

[0012] In some implementations, the information that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT further includes information that the scheduling information is associated with an AIoT uplink transmission and / or associated with an AIoT downlink transmission.

[0013] In some implementations, the information that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT further includes information that the scheduling information is associated with an AIoT uplink transmission and / or downlink transmission or associated with a Carrier Wave (CW).

[0014] In some implementations, the method further includes receiving the AIoT uplink transmission based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT uplink transmission; and / or transmitting the AIoT downlink transmission based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT downlink transmission.

[0015] In some implementations, the method further includes transmitting the CW based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the CW.

[0016] In some implementations, the scheduling information is indicated in at least one of: Downlink Control Information (DCI); a Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE); Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0017] In some implementations, at least one of the information that the scheduling information is associated with the RAT or associated with the AIoT, and / or the information that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT uplink transmission and / or associated with the AIoT downlink transmission, and / or the information that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT uplink transmission and / or downlink transmission or associated with the Carrier Wave (CW) is indicated by at least one of: different DCI formats; different MAC CEs; different RRC elements; a field in a DCI format; a field in a MAC CE; a field in an RRC signaling; a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) for scrambling the DCI format.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a second node in a wireless communication system including: transmitting scheduling information including information that the scheduling information is associated with a Radio Access Technology (RAT) or associated with an Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT); receiving and / or transmitting a signal and / or a channel associated with the RAT when the scheduling information is associated with the RAT; receiving and / or transmitting a signal and / or a channel associated with the AIoT when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device in a wireless communication system including: a transceiver; and a controller coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform the aforementioned methods.

[0020] The present application provides methods and apparatuses to support the needs of communication in the AIoT system.

[0021] In order to illustrate the technical schemes of the embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, the drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be briefly introduced below. Apparently, the drawings described below only refer to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and do not limit the disclosure. In the drawings:

[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example wireless network according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG. 2a illustrates an example wireless transmission path according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 2b illustrates an example wireless reception path according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 3a illustrates an example user equipment (UE) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 3b illustrates an example gNB according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method performed by an intermediate node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0028] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a configuration of a UE according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0030] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0031] It is to be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.

[0032] The term "include" or "may include" refers to the existence of a corresponding disclosed function, operation or component which can be used in various embodiments of the present disclosure and does not limit one or more additional functions, operations, or components. The terms such as "include" and / or "have" may be construed to denote a certain characteristic, number, step, operation, constituent element, component or a combination thereof, but may not be construed to exclude the existence of or a possibility of addition of one or more other characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, constituent elements, components or combinations thereof.

[0033] The term "or" used in various embodiments of the present disclosure includes any or all of combinations of listed words. For example, the expression "A or B" may include A, may include B, or may include both A and B.

[0034] Unless defined differently, all terms used herein, which include technical terminologies or scientific terminologies, have the same meaning as that understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. Such terms as those defined in a generally used dictionary are to be interpreted to have the meanings equal to the contextual meanings in the relevant field of art, and are not to be interpreted to have ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined in the present disclosure.

[0035] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network 100 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless network 100 shown in FIG. 1 is for illustration only. Other embodiments of the wireless network 100 can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0036] The wireless network 100 includes a gNodeB (gNB) 101, a gNB 102, and a gNB 103. gNB 101 communicates with gNB 102 and gNB 103. gNB 101 also communicates with at least one Internet Protocol (IP) network 130, such as the Internet, a private IP network, or other data networks.

[0037] Depending on a type of the network, other well-known terms such as "base station" or "access point" can be used instead of "gNodeB" or "gNB". For convenience, the terms "gNodeB" and "gNB" are used in this patent document to refer to network infrastructure components that provide wireless access for remote terminals. And, depending on the type of the network, other well-known terms such as "mobile station", "user station", "remote terminal", "wireless terminal" or "user apparatus" can be used instead of "user equipment" or "UE". For convenience, the terms "user equipment" and "UE" are used in this patent document to refer to remote wireless devices that wirelessly access the gNB, no matter whether the UE is a mobile device (such as a mobile phone or a smart phone) or a fixed device (such as a desktop computer or a vending machine).

[0038] gNB 102 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a first plurality of User Equipments (UEs) within a coverage area 120 of gNB 102. The first plurality of UEs include a UE 111, which may be located in a Small Business (SB); a UE 112, which may be located in an enterprise (E); a UE 113, which may be located in a WiFi Hotspot (HS); a UE 114, which may be located in a first residence (R); a UE 115, which may be located in a second residence (R); a UE 116, which may be a mobile device (M), such as a cellular phone, a wireless laptop computer, a wireless PDA, etc. GNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to network 130 for a second plurality of UEs within a coverage area 125 of gNB 103. The second plurality of UEs include a UE 115 and a UE 116. In some embodiments, one or more of gNBs 101-103 can communicate with each other and with UEs 111-116 using 5G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A, WiMAX or other advanced wireless communication technologies.

[0039] The dashed lines show approximate ranges of the coverage areas 120 and 125, and the ranges are shown as approximate circles merely for illustration and explanation purposes. It should be clearly understood that the coverage areas associated with the gNBs, such as the coverage areas 120 and 125, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending on configurations of the gNBs and changes in the radio environment associated with natural obstacles and man-made obstacles.

[0040] As will be described in more detail below, one or more of gNB 101, gNB 102, and gNB 103 include a 2D antenna array as described in embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, one or more of gNB 101, gNB 102, and gNB 103 support codebook designs and structures for systems with 2D antenna arrays.

[0041] Although FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the wireless network 100, various changes can be made to FIG. 1. The wireless network 100 can include any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitable arrangement, for example. Furthermore, gNB 101 can directly communicate with any number of UEs and provide wireless broadband access to the network 130 for those UEs. Similarly, each gNB 102-103 can directly communicate with the network 130 and provide direct wireless broadband access to the network 130 for the UEs. In addition, gNB 101, 102 and / or 103 can provide access to other or additional external networks, such as external telephone networks or other types of data networks.

[0042] FIGs. 2a and 2b illustrate example wireless transmission and reception paths according to the present disclosure. In the following description, the transmission path 200 can be described as being implemented in a gNB, such as gNB 102, and the reception path 250 can be described as being implemented in a UE, such as UE 116. However, it should be understood that the reception path 250 can be implemented in a gNB and the transmission path 200 can be implemented in a UE. In some embodiments, the reception path 250 is configured to support codebook designs and structures for systems with 2D antenna arrays as described in embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0043] The transmission path 200 includes a channel coding and modulation block 205, a Serial-to-Parallel (S-to-P) block 210, a size N Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) block 215, a Parallel-to-Serial (P-to-S) block 220, a cyclic prefix addition block 225, and an up-converter (UC) 230. The reception path 250 includes a down-converter (DC) 255, a cyclic prefix removal block 260, a Serial-to-Parallel (S-to-P) block 265, a size N Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) block 270, a Parallel-to-Serial (P-to-S) block 275, and a channel decoding and demodulation block 280.

[0044] In the transmission path 200, the channel coding and modulation block 205 receives a set of information bits, applies coding (such as Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) coding), and modulates the input bits (such as using Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) or Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)) to generate a sequence of frequency-domain modulated symbols. The Serial-to-Parallel (S-to-P) block 210 converts (such as demultiplexes) serial modulated symbols into parallel data to generate N parallel symbol streams, where N is a size of the IFFT / FFT used in gNB 102 and UE 116. The size N IFFT block 215 performs IFFT operations on the N parallel symbol streams to generate a time-domain output signal. The Parallel-to-Serial block 220 converts (such as multiplexes) parallel time-domain output symbols from the Size N IFFT block 215 to generate a serial time-domain signal. The cyclic prefix addition block 225 inserts a cyclic prefix into the time-domain signal. The up-converter 230 modulates (such as up-converts) the output of the cyclic prefix addition block 225 to an RF frequency for transmission via a wireless channel. The signal can also be filtered at a baseband before switching to the RF frequency.

[0045] The RF signal transmitted from gNB 102 arrives at UE 116 after passing through the wireless channel, and operations in reverse to those at gNB 102 are performed at UE 116. The down-converter 255 down-converts the received signal to a baseband frequency, and the cyclic prefix removal block 260 removes the cyclic prefix to generate a serial time-domain baseband signal. The Serial-to-Parallel block 265 converts the time-domain baseband signal into a parallel time-domain signal. The Size N FFT block 270 performs an FFT algorithm to generate N parallel frequency-domain signals. The Parallel-to-Serial block 275 converts the parallel frequency-domain signal into a sequence of modulated data symbols. The channel decoding and demodulation block 280 demodulates and decodes the modulated symbols to recover the original input data stream.

[0046] Each of gNBs 101-103 may implement a transmission path 200 similar to that for transmitting to UEs 111-116 in the downlink, and may implement a reception path 250 similar to that for receiving from UEs 111-116 in the uplink. Similarly, each of UEs 111-116 may implement a transmission path 200 for transmitting to gNBs 101-103 in the uplink, and may implement a reception path 250 for receiving from gNBs 101-103 in the downlink.

[0047] Each of the components in FIGs. 2a and 2b can be implemented using only hardware, or using a combination of hardware and software / firmware. As a specific example, at least some of the components in FIGs. 2a and 2b may be implemented in software, while other components may be implemented in configurable hardware or a combination of software and configurable hardware. For example, the FFT block 270 and IFFT block 215 may be implemented as configurable software algorithms, in which the value of the size N may be modified according to the implementation.

[0048] Furthermore, although described as using FFT and IFFT, this is only illustrative and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Other types of transforms can be used, such as Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) functions. It should be understood that for DFT and IDFT functions, the value of variable N may be any integer (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), while for FFT and IFFT functions, the value of variable N may be any integer which is a power of 2 (such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.).

[0049] Although FIGs. 2a and 2b illustrate examples of wireless transmission and reception paths, various changes may be made to FIGs. 2a and 2b. For example, various components in FIGs. 2a and 2b can be combined, further subdivided or omitted, and additional components can be added according to specific requirements. Furthermore, FIGs. 2a and 2b are intended to illustrate examples of types of transmission and reception paths that can be used in a wireless network. Any other suitable architecture can be used to support wireless communication in a wireless network.

[0050] FIG. 3a illustrates an example UE 116 according to the present disclosure. The embodiment of UE 116 shown in FIG. 3a is for illustration only, and UEs 111-115 of FIG. 1 can have the same or similar configuration. However, a UE has various configurations, and FIG. 3a does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any specific implementation of the UE.

[0051] UE 116 includes an antenna 305, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 310, a transmission (TX) processing circuit 315, a microphone 320, and a reception (RX) processing circuit 325. UE 116 also includes a speaker 330, a processor / controller 340, an input / output (I / O) interface 345, an input device(s) 350, a display 355, and a memory 360. The memory 360 includes an operating system (OS) 361 and one or more applications 362.

[0052] The RF transceiver 310 receives an incoming RF signal transmitted by a gNB of the wireless network 100 from the antenna 305. The RF transceiver 310 down-converts the incoming RF signal to generate an intermediate frequency (IF) or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is transmitted to the RX processing circuit 325, where the RX processing circuit 325 generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. The RX processing circuit 325 transmits the processed baseband signal to speaker 330 (such as for voice data) or to processor / controller 340 for further processing (such as for web browsing data).

[0053] The TX processing circuit 315 receives analog or digital voice data from microphone 320 or other outgoing baseband data (such as network data, email or interactive video game data) from processor / controller 340. The TX processing circuit 315 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. The RF transceiver 310 receives the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from the TX processing circuit 315 and up-converts the baseband or IF signal into an RF signal transmitted via the antenna 305.

[0054] The processor / controller 340 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute an OS 361 stored in the memory 360 in order to control the overall operation of UE 116. For example, the processor / controller 340 can control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of backward channel signals through the RF transceiver 310, the RX processing circuit 325 and the TX processing circuit 315 according to well-known principles. In some embodiments, the processor / controller 340 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

[0055] The processor / controller 340 is also capable of executing other processes and programs residing in the memory 360, such as operations for channel quality measurement and reporting for systems with 2D antenna arrays as described in embodiments of the present disclosure. The processor / controller 340 can move data into or out of the memory 360 as required by an execution process. In some embodiments, the processor / controller 340 is configured to execute the application 362 based on the OS 361 or in response to signals received from the gNB or the operator. The processor / controller 340 is also coupled to an I / O interface 345, where the I / O interface 345 provides UE 116 with the ability to connect to other devices such as laptop computers and handheld computers. I / O interface 345 is a communication path between these accessories and the processor / controller 340.

[0056] The processor / controller 340 is also coupled to the input device(s) 350 and the display 355. An operator of UE 116 can input data into UE 116 using the input device(s) 350. The display 355 may be a liquid crystal display or other display capable of presenting text and / or at least limited graphics (such as from a website). The memory 360 is coupled to the processor / controller 340. A part of the memory 360 can include a random access memory (RAM), while another part of the memory 360 can include a flash memory or other read-only memory (ROM).

[0057] Although FIG. 3a illustrates an example of UE 116, various changes can be made to FIG. 3a. For example, various components in FIG. 3a can be combined, further subdivided or omitted, and additional components can be added according to specific requirements. As a specific example, the processor / controller 340 can be divided into a plurality of processors, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processing units (GPUs). Furthermore, although FIG. 3a illustrates that the UE 116 is configured as a mobile phone or a smart phone, UEs can be configured to operate as other types of mobile or fixed devices.

[0058] FIG. 3b illustrates an example gNB 102 according to the present disclosure. The embodiment of gNB 102 shown in FIG. 3b is for illustration only, and other gNBs of FIG. 1 can have the same or similar configuration. However, a gNB has various configurations, and FIG. 3b does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any specific implementation of a gNB. It should be noted that gNB 101 and gNB 103 can include the same or similar structures as gNB 102.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 3b, gNB 102 includes a plurality of antennas 370a-370n, a plurality of RF transceivers 372a-372n, a transmission (TX) processing circuit 374, and a reception (RX) processing circuit 376. In certain embodiments, one or more of the plurality of antennas 370a-370n include a 2D antenna array. gNB 102 also includes a controller / processor 378, a memory 380, and a backhaul or network interface 382.

[0060] RF transceivers 372a-372n receive an incoming RF signal from antennas 370a-370n, such as a signal transmitted by UEs or other gNBs. RF transceivers 372a-372n down-convert the incoming RF signal to generate an IF or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is transmitted to the RX processing circuit 376, where the RX processing circuit 376 generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. RX processing circuit 376 transmits the processed baseband signal to controller / processor 378 for further processing.

[0061] The TX processing circuit 374 receives analog or digital data (such as voice data, network data, email or interactive video game data) from the controller / processor 378. TX processing circuit 374 encodes, multiplexes and / or digitizes outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. RF transceivers 372a-372n receive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from TX processing circuit 374 and up-convert the baseband or IF signal into an RF signal transmitted via antennas 370a-370n.

[0062] The controller / processor 378 can include one or more processors or other processing devices that control the overall operation of gNB 102. For example, the controller / processor 378 can control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of backward channel signals through the RF transceivers 372a-372n, the RX processing circuit 376 and the TX processing circuit 374 according to well-known principles. The controller / processor 378 can also support additional functions, such as higher-level wireless communication functions. For example, the controller / processor 378 can perform a Blind Interference Sensing (BIS) process such as that performed through a BIS algorithm, and decode a received signal from which an interference signal is subtracted. A controller / processor 378 may support any of a variety of other functions in gNB 102. In some embodiments, the controller / processor 378 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

[0063] The controller / processor 378 is also capable of executing programs and other processes residing in the memory 380, such as a basic OS. The controller / processor 378 can also support channel quality measurement and reporting for systems with 2D antenna arrays as described in embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the controller / processor 378 supports communication between entities such as web RTCs. The controller / processor 378 can move data into or out of the memory 380 as required by an execution process.

[0064] The controller / processor 378 is also coupled to the backhaul or network interface 382. The backhaul or network interface 382 allows gNB 102 to communicate with other devices or systems through a backhaul connection or through a network. The backhaul or network interface 382 can support communication over any suitable wired or wireless connection(s). For example, when gNB 102 is implemented as a part of a cellular communication system, such as a cellular communication system supporting 5G or new radio access technology or NR, LTE or LTE-A, the backhaul or network interface 382 can allow gNB 102 to communicate with other gNBs through wired or wireless backhaul connections. When gNB 102 is implemented as an access point, the backhaul or network interface 382 can allow gNB 102 to communicate with a larger network, such as the Internet, through a wired or wireless local area network or through a wired or wireless connection. The backhaul or network interface 382 includes any suitable structure that supports communication through a wired or wireless connection, such as an Ethernet or an RF transceiver.

[0065] The memory 380 is coupled to the controller / processor 378. A part of the memory 380 can include an RAM, while another part of the memory 380 can include a flash memory or other ROMs. In certain embodiments, a plurality of instructions, such as the BIS algorithm, are stored in the memory. The plurality of instructions are configured to cause the controller / processor 378 to execute the BIS process and decode the received signal after subtracting at least one interference signal determined by the BIS algorithm.

[0066] As will be described in more detail below, the transmission and reception paths of gNB 102 (implemented using RF transceivers 372a-372n, TX processing circuit 374 and / or RX processing circuit 376) support aggregated communication with FDD cells and TDD cells.

[0067] Although FIG. 3b illustrates an example of gNB 102, various changes may be made to FIG. 3b. For example, gNB 102 can include any number of each component shown in FIG. 3a. As a specific example, the access point can include many backhaul or network interfaces 382, and the controller / processor 378 can support routing functions to route data between different network addresses. As another specific example, although shown as including a single instance of the TX processing circuit 374 and a single instance of the RX processing circuit 376, gNB 102 can include multiple instances of each (such as one for each RF transceiver).

[0068] In order to make the purpose, technical schemes and advantages of the present application clearer, the implementations of the present application will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0069] The text and drawings are provided as examples only to help readers understand the present disclosure. They are not intended and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Although certain embodiments and examples have been provided, based on the content disclosed herein, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications to the illustrated embodiments and examples can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0070] The Internet of Things technology has the characteristics of low cost, low power consumption, supporting large-scale connection and so on, and is usually used in smart factories, smart medical care, urban management and other application scenarios with a large number of devices and emphasis on cost control to achieve the communication effect of the Internet of Everything.

[0071] In the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) technology includes Machine Type Communication (MTC) and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT). These two kinds of communication technologies have the characteristics of low cost, low power consumption, high delay, wide coverage, large-scale access and so on, and can be used in Internet of Things scenarios such as smart cities, smart factories and remote meter reading. Compared with the cell communication technology, the NB-IoT has the characteristics of low rate, low cost, wide coverage and large capacity, and can be used as an effective supplement to cell communication with medium and high speed as the main design target.

[0072] The existing IOT devices have achieved the reduction of power consumption and cost on the basis of comparing the terminals of cell communication, but when they are actually applied to IOT scenarios, their power consumption and cost are still the bottleneck of system deployment. Devices such as MTC and NB-IoT follow the basic design concept of cell communication in device structure and signal design, so their costs cannot compete with simple technologies such as RFID; and their power consumptions are usually supported by the batteries of the devices, and they communicate by their own wireless signals, so their service lives are limited in the scenario of long-term communication. With the development of Internet of Things application scenarios, the magnitude of deployment of Internet of Things devices is gradually increasing, and the manufacturing cost of Internet of Things devices and the maintenance cost caused by replacing batteries or updating devices for Internet of Things devices with exhausted batteries are increasingly becoming important factors that hinder the market development of Internet of Things technology.

[0073] Therefore, a low-end IoT device with relatively low performance and cost can be used to make up for the shortcomings of IOT technologies such as MTC and NB-IoT. In the present application, because the transmission of such IoT devices mainly depends on ambient signals, such IoT devices are called Ambient IoT (AIoT) devices, which are named mainly for convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of devices.

[0074] In an AIoT system, the transmission of signals / channels such as data and services can be directly transmitted between a base station and an AIoT node (such as tag device); it can also be transmitted via an intermediate node, for example, the base station transmits information related to the AIoT system to the intermediate node, and the intermediate node transmits data to the AIoT node; and the AIoT node transmits the data to the intermediate node, and the intermediate node transmits the information related to the AIoT system to the base station.

[0075] Low-end AIoT devices can only perform envelope detection, so the wireless signals used in the existing cell communication technology cannot be recognized by such low-end IoT devices and need to be enhanced.

[0076] The present application proposes that the intermediate node generates different wireless signals or channels when communicating with the AIoT device and the base station. Therefore, when the intermediate node acquires the transmission scheduling information, it needs to distinguish whether the scheduling information is associated with the transmission in the Radio Access Technology (RAT) or the transmission in the AIoT system, so as to transmit according to the scheduling information in the corresponding system.

[0077] The first node in the present application may be an intermediate node, for example, at least one of a relay node, an IAB node, a repeater node, and a sidelink node.

[0078] The second node in the present application may be a base station, for example, at least one of an LTE base station, an NR base station, an enhanced NR base station, and a 6G base station.

[0079] In the specification, for the services in the AIoT system, with a similar principle to the traditional cell communication, the transmission transmitted by the base station or by the intermediate node to the AIoT node is called downlink transmission, and the transmission transmitted by the AIoT node to the base station or to the intermediate node is called uplink transmission. In addition, the transmission related to the AIoT system that is transmitted by the base station to the intermediate node can also be called downlink transmission, and the transmission related to the AIoT system that is transmitted by the intermediate node to the base station can be called uplink transmission. Unless otherwise specified in the specification, the uplink / downlink transmission corresponds to the relationship between the transmitting and receiving nodes, and is not used to limit whether the transmission occurs on uplink or downlink resources. For example, the uplink transmission in the AIoT system can also be transmitted and received in the downlink spectrum in an FDD system, and the downlink transmission in the AIoT system can also be transmitted and received in the uplink slot in a TDD system.

[0080] The base station in the specification can also be replaced by other devices, such as communication devices as plug-in attachments of the base station, relay nodes, IAB nodes, repeater nodes and sidelink nodes. Any mechanism applicable to the base station in the specification can also be similarly used in the scenario where the base station is replaced by other nodes, and the description are not redundantly repeated. The difference between the communication devices of plug-in attachments of the base station and the base station may include: the devices can transmit DL signals / channels on the UL spectrum in the FDD system and on the UL time unit in the TDD system, including transmitting DL signals / channels corresponding to the communication between the base station and the UE and the communication between the base station and the AIoT device.

[0081] The UE in the specification includes a device node in the AIoT system, which can be a specific type of node or device, such as a tag type of device.

[0082] In the embodiment of the present application, below a threshold can also be replaced by below or equal to the threshold, above (exceeding) the threshold can also be replaced by above or equal to the threshold, less than or equal to can also be replaced by less than, greater than or equal to can also be replaced by greater than; and vice versa.

[0083] In the embodiment of the present application, unless otherwise specified, configuration information includes at least one of information configured by the base station, indicated in the received signaling, configured by the higher layer and preconfigured. Further, it can be a set of configuration information obtained by the above methods; it can also be multiple sets of configuration information obtained by the above method, and the UE or node can select a set of configuration information to use according to predefined conditions; it can also be a set of configuration information obtained by the above method, and the set of configuration information includes multiple subsets, and the UE or node can select a subset to use according to predefined conditions.

[0084] When the AIoT device communicates with the intermediate node, the wireless transmission related to the communication, including uplink transmission and downlink transmission, can be carried out under the control and scheduling of the base station. At present, the control and scheduling of devices that can be used as intermediate nodes by base stations only correspond to the needs of cell communication, and cannot fully support the needs of communication in the AIoT system, so it is necessary to design a method for the base station to schedule the transmission of intermediate nodes in the AIoT system.

[0085] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method performed by an intermediate node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In S401, the intermediate node receives scheduling information including information that the scheduling information is associated with a Radio Access Technology (RAT) or associated with an AIoT. In S402, when scheduling information is associated with the RAT, a signal and / or a channel associated with the RAT is received and / or transmitted based on the scheduling information; and / or, when scheduling information is associated with the AIoT, a signal and / or a channel associated with the AIoT is received and / or transmitted based on the scheduling information.

[0086] The RAT includes at least one of LTE, NR, enhanced NR and 6G technologies.

[0087] In various embodiments of the present application, the scheduling information includes control information for scheduling data transmission indicated in physical layer signaling such as DCI, and also includes configuration information. For example, the configured grant used to schedule semi-static transmission in the NR system is indicated in an RRC IE and can be understood as a kind of configuration information. For another example, the scheduling information used to schedule semi-static transmission in the AIoT can also be indicated in the RRC IE, which is understood as a kind of configuration information.

[0088] Optionally, the scheduling information is indicated in at least one of:

[0089] Physical Layer Control Information (DCI);

[0090] a Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE);

[0091] Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, including an RRC Information Element (RRC IE).

[0092] Optionally, the information that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT further includes: information associated with an AIoT uplink transmission and / or associated with an AIoT downlink transmission. Optionally, when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT uplink transmission, the AIoT uplink transmission is received based on the scheduling information; and / or when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT downlink transmission, the AIoT downlink transmission is transmitted based on the scheduling information.

[0093] Optionally, the information that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT further includes: information associated with an AIoT uplink and / or downlink transmission or associated with a Carrier Wave (CW). Optionally, when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT uplink transmission, the AIoT uplink transmission is received based on the scheduling information; and / or, when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT downlink transmission, the AIoT downlink transmission is transmitted based on the scheduling information; and / or, when the scheduling information is associated with the CW, the CW is transmitted based on the scheduling information.

[0094] Optionally, at least one of the information that the scheduling information is associated with the RAT or associated with the AIoT, and / or the information indicating that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT uplink transmission and / or associated with the AIoT downlink transmission, and / or the information indicating that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT uplink and / or downlink transmission or associated with the Carrier Wave (CW) is indicated by at least one of:

[0095] different DCI formats; for example, the scheduling information is indicated in a DCI format, and the DCI format is used to indicate the scheduling information associated with the AIoT; for another example, the scheduling information is indicated in another DCI format, and the DCI format is used to indicate the scheduling information associated with an NR;

[0096] different MAC CEs; for example, the scheduling information is indicated in a MAC CE, and the MAC CE is used to indicate the scheduling information associated with the AIoT; for another example, the scheduling information is indicated in another MAC CE, and the MAC CE is used to indicate the scheduling information associated with the NR;

[0097] different RRC IEs; for example, the scheduling information is indicated in an RRC IE, and the RRC IE is used to indicate the scheduling information associated with the AIoT uplink transmission; for another example, the scheduling information is indicated in another RRC IE, and the RRC IE is used to indicate the scheduling information associated with the AIoT downlink transmission;

[0098] a field in a DCI format; for example, the scheduling information is indicated in a DCI format, which includes 1 bit to indicate that the scheduling information is associated with the RAT or associated with the AIoT; for another example, the scheduling information is indicated in a DCI format, which includes 2 bits to indicate that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT uplink transmission and / or associated with the AIoT downlink transmission (further, 4 states of 2 bits respectively correspond to: being associated with uplink, being associated with downlink, being associated with uplink and downlink, and being associated with the RAT); for another example, the scheduling information is indicated in a DCI format, which includes 2 bits to indicate that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT uplink and / or downlink transmission or associated with the Carrier Wave (CW) (further, 4 states of the 2 bits respectively correspond to: being associated with uplink, being associated with downlink, being associated with uplink and downlink, and being associated with the CW; the association with AIoT or NR in this example may be indicated by other methods); for another example, the scheduling information is indicated in a DCI format, which includes N1+N2+N3 bits to indicate the scheduling information associated with the AIoT uplink transmission, the scheduling information associated with the AIoT downlink transmission, and the scheduling information associated with the Carrier Wave (CW) of the AIoT, respectively;

[0099] a field in a MAC CE; for example, the scheduling information is indicated in a MAC CE, which includes several bits to indicate the at least one information, and the specific example is similar to the method of indicating the at least one information through the field in the DCI format.

[0100] a field in RRC signaling; for example, the scheduling information is indicated in an RRC signaling, which includes several bits to indicate the at least one information, and the specific example is similar to the method of indicating the at least one information through the field in the DCI format.

[0101] a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) for scrambling the DCI format (further, scrambling CRC in the DCI format). For example, the scheduling information is indicated in a DCI format, and the DCI format can be scrambled by at least two RNTIs, where at least one RNTI is used to indicate the scheduling information associated with the AIoT and / or at least one RNTI is used to indicate the scheduling information associated with the NR. The at least two RNTIs can be preset, or configured or preconfigured by the base station for the intermediate node.

[0102] In various embodiments of the present application, the base station transmits the scheduling information including the information that the scheduling information is associated with the Radio Access Technology (RAT) or associated with the Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT). When the scheduling information is associated with the RAT, the base station receives and / or transmits a signal and / or a channel associated with the RAT; when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT, the base station receives and / or transmits a signal and / or a channel associated with the AIoT. The RAT includes at least one of LTE, NR, enhanced NR and 6G technologies.

[0103] When an AIoT device performs communication, it needs to consume energy at least during transmission (including transmission based on backscattering and transmission of self-generated radio signals) and reception (including actually detecting signals and demodulating and / or decoding them, and trying to detect signals but failing to receive signals that can be decoded). The AIoT device can acquire energy through RF energy harvesting, and can also use the energy stored in the device's own energy storage module to support energy consumption during transmission and reception. Therefore, the wireless system needs to handle the problem of how to charge the AIoT device, including how to charge the energy storage device of the AIoT, and / or how to charge the AIoT device through RF energy harvesting through appropriate function signals.

[0104] In the following various embodiments, for convenience of description, the AIoT device, such as a tag, is called a UE; and various types of intermediate nodes (for example, UE-type / IAB-type / repeater-type intermediate nodes) and base stations are collectively referred to as a reader.

[0105] In an exemplary embodiment, the type of UE charging includes at least one of:

[0106] initial charging. Optionally, this type of charging can correspond to that, before starting charging, energy storage of the UE is lower than or equal to a first threshold (including 0), and / or the energy storage of the UE is lower than or equal to a first percentage threshold (the percentage can be a percentage of the energy stored by the UE to a capacity of the energy storage device of the UE), and / or a time after the end of charging of the UE for the last time exceeds a first threshold, and / or a time after the end of communication of the reader with the UE for the last time exceeds a first threshold, and / or the charging is charging before a first signal / channel (for example, a downlink channel for triggering random access, a delimiter signal for starting an AIoT communication session). Optionally, this type of charging may correspond to that, after the charging is ended, the energy storage of the UE is higher than or equal to a second threshold (including full energy storage), and / or the energy storage of the UE is higher than or equal to a second percentage threshold (this percentage may be a percentage of the energy stored by the UE to the capacity of the energy storage device of the UE). For the first and second thresholds and / or percentage thresholds in this type of charging, their values can be preset and / or configured (including by at least one of the base station, the reader, and a higher layer), and / or correspond to specific AIoT communication and / or correspond to a specific communication duration; the specific AIoT communication can be communication corresponding to the initial charging, for example, when the initial charging is used to make the UE receive and / or transmit at least one AIoT signal, the specific AIoT communication is the at least one AIoT signal;

[0107] supplementary charging. Optionally, this type of charging can correspond to that, before starting charging, the energy storage of the UE is lower than or equal to a third threshold and higher than or equal to the first threshold (including 0), and / or the energy storage of the UE is lower than or equal to a third percentage threshold and higher than or equal to the first percentage threshold, and / or the time after the end of charging of the UE for the last time is lower than a given threshold, and / or the time after the end of communication of the reader with the UE for the last time is lower than a given threshold, and / or the charging is charging in a transmission / reception process of the first signal / channel (for example, a downlink channel for triggering random access, a delimiter signal for starting an AIoT communication session), and / or the charging is charging before a second signal / channel (for example, a signal / channel for random access after being triggered random access, a signal / channel for reporting UE identity information and / or data information in an inventory process) in a transmission / reception process of the second signal / channel.

[0108] The above two types of charging can correspond to different charging requirements in the communication system. For example, the initial charging corresponds to the process of charging a UE that has not been charged for a long time and has completely lost power, and filling up or charging its energy storage to a sufficient magnitude to complete a communication transmission / reception; and the supplementary charging corresponds to charging a UE that has a certain energy reserve and is transmitting data and / or trying to receive data, as a supplement to the energy reserve of the UE, and can enable the UE to acquire enough energy as far as possible to complete a communication transmission / reception. They can correspond to different parameters in the charging process (for example, an amplitude of energy corresponding to charging and an energy conversion efficiency of RF energy harvesting) and correspond to different charging time lengths, so they can be used by the reader and / or the UE to determine the charging time or other related information (for example, scheduling information of charging signals).

[0109] Optionally, the UE and / or the reader determines the magnitude of the energy corresponding to the charging according to at least one information in a first information set corresponding to the UE (for example, charging several microfarads (μF)).

[0110] The first information set includes: a type of the charging, a maximum capacity of energy storage, a type of an AIoT transmission / reception corresponding to the charging, a time length of the AIoT transmission / reception corresponding to the charging, radio parameters of the AIoT transmission / reception corresponding to the charging (for example, a modulation method such as OOK / BPSK / FSK / ASK, etc., a linear coding method such as Manchester coding / FM0 coding / Miller coding, etc., a data rate, a waveform such as single-tone or multi-tone), an energy conversion efficiency of RF energy harvesting (for example, a charging signal with power X is received, and the converted charging power is the energy conversion efficiency multiplied by X), a first threshold, a first percentage threshold, a second threshold and a second percentage threshold.

[0111] Optionally, the UE and / or the reader determines the time length corresponding to the charging according to at least one of the amplitude of the energy corresponding to the charging, a strength of the charging signal, and the energy conversion efficiency of the RF energy harvesting. Optionally, the UE and / or the reader determines the time length corresponding to the charging according to at least one information in the first information set corresponding to the UE and / or the strength of the charging signal. The time length can be understood as a threshold, for example, an actual charging time length should not be shorter than the determined time length corresponding to the charging.

[0112] The strength of the charging signal can be determined by a coverage of the UE reported by the UE and / or detected by the reader, and / or a signal strength of the UE detected by the reader. The coverage of the UE detected by the reader includes: the reader detects a signal transmitted by the UE to the reader and measures its signal strength or estimates a distance of the UE according to the signal, and determines the coverage of the UE according to the signal strength / distance, for example, determines that the coverage of the UE is a deep coverage / medium coverage / coverage edge; each coverage can correspond to a typical value of the strength of the charging signal. In the above method, the determining of the time length corresponding to the charging based on the strength of the charging signal may also be based on at least one of other parameters for determining the strength of the charging signal in the embodiment.

[0113] Optionally, the UE reports at least one information in the first information set corresponding to the UE to the reader, and the reported information can be used by the reader to determine how to charge the UE. Optionally, an intermediate node-type reader reports at least one information in the first information set (including information in the first information set acquired by the intermediate node itself and / or information in the first information set reported by the UE to the intermediate node) to the base station, and the reported information can be used by the base station to determine how the base station charges the UE and / or how to schedule the reader to charge the UE.

[0114] In a specific example, the reader determines that an amplitude of energy collected by the UE in a unit time is α*p, on the basis that the energy conversion efficiency of the RF energy harvesting of the UE is α and the power of the charging signal is P; the reader determines that an amplitude of energy corresponding to initial charging of the UE is F=(a2%-a1%)*F0, on the basis that the maximum capacity of the energy storage of the UE (which can be reported by the UE to the reader as a UE capability) is F0 and the first and second percentage thresholds are a1% and a2% respectively; thereby determining that the time length corresponding to the charging of the UE is T=F / (α*P). The information can be acquired by the reader itself, predefined, configured for the reader, or acquired by the reader through the report of the UE. In another specific example, the intermediate node-type reader and / or the UE reports at least one of the above information for determining the charging time T to the base station, and the base station determines the time length corresponding to the charging of the UE according to the reported information and also according to information acquired by the base station itself and / or predefined.

[0115] The UE may not be able to perform the AIoT transmission or reception due to energy limitation before the initial charging and requires the initial charging, and UE may not be able to continue transmission or reception due to energy limitation after performing the AIoT transmission or reception for a period of time and requires the supplementary charging. Therefore, the reader can provide charging for the UE in a first time range and / or communicate with the UE in a second time range, according to a charging state of the UE and the time length corresponding to the charging. For example, the first time range includes a time length corresponding to the initial charging before the reader starts a communication session with the UE and a time length in which the supplementary charging is performed during the communication session with the UE; and / or, the second time range includes a time length with a length not exceeding a fourth threshold after the UE ends the initial charging or the supplementary charging and / or from a time point at which the UE starts the initial charging or the supplementary charging, where the fourth threshold corresponds to a communication time that the energy of the UE can support.

[0116] In an exemplary embodiment, the reader and / or the UE determines the time range in which communication with the UE can be performed and / or cannot be performed, further including determining the fourth threshold, according to at least one of: a fifth threshold of the stored energy corresponding to the UE maintaining the communication; whether the UE has the stored energy and / or an amplitude of the energy among the stored energy of the UE that can be used for the communication; whether the UE is charged through RF energy harvesting and / or the power of energy acquired by the UE through RF energy harvesting; power consumption of the UE when maintaining communication.

[0117] In a specific example, the UE is not charged through RF energy harvesting; the UE uses the stored energy for communication, and an amplitude of the energy among the stored energy of it that can be used for the communication is F1 (optionally, the stored energy of the UE is F2, and the fifth threshold of the stored energy corresponding to the UE maintaining the communication is F3, where F1 = F2-F3); the power consumption of the UE when maintaining the communication is P. The fourth threshold Tp = F1 / P.

[0118] In another specific example, the UE does not use the stored energy for communication; the UE is charged through RF energy harvesting, and its power is PEH; the power consumption of the UE when maintaining communication is P. When PEH>P, the UE can perform communication in a time range in which it can be charged through RF energy harvesting (that is, the fourth threshold corresponds to the time range in which the UE can be charged through RF energy harvesting), and cannot perform communication in a time range in which it cannot be charged through RF energy harvesting (that is, the fourth threshold = 0); when PEH<P, the UE cannot perform communication without using the stored energy for the communication.

[0119] In another specific example, the UE uses the stored energy for communication, and an amplitude of the energy among the stored energy of it that can be used for the communication is F1; the UE is charged through RF energy harvesting, and its power is PEH; the power consumption of the UE when maintaining communication is P. When PEH>P, the UE can perform communication in a time range in which it can be charged through RF energy harvesting, and can perform communication in a time range with a length not exceeding F1 / P after the powering through RF energy harvesting is ended. When PEH<P, the UE can perform communication in a time range with a length not exceeding F1 / (PEH-P) on the premise of maintaining RF energy harvesting.

[0120] When the reader communicates with the UE, it can transmit a charging signal or transmit / receive a data signal according to the time range in which the communication with the UE can / cannot be performed. When the reader is a base station, the base station can schedule the reader to transmit the charging signal, and the base station itself can transmit / receive the data signal after the charging is completed. When the reader is an intermediate node, the intermediate node can request the base station to schedule other intermediate nodes to transmit the charging signal, and the intermediate node itself can transmit / receive the data signal after the charging is completed; the intermediate node itself can also transmit the charging signal and transmit / receive the data signal.

[0121] In an exemplary embodiment, the base station schedules the reader to transmit an AIoT transmission to a UE in an AIoT system, and the scheduling information indicates that the AIoT transmission is at least one of a charging signal, a CW (the CW can also be used as a charging signal), and a data signal, and indicates at least one of time-domain and / or frequency-domain resource locations and power control parameters of the transmission. The reader transmits the AIoT transmission accordingly according to the scheduling information.

[0122] In another exemplary embodiment, the base station schedules the reader to transmit an AIoT transmission to the UE in the AIoT system, and the scheduling information indicates that the AIoT transmission is at least one of a CW and a data signal, and indicates at least one of time-domain and / or frequency-domain resource locations and power control parameters of the transmission. The reader transmits the AIoT transmission accordingly according to the scheduling information, and transmits the charging signal corresponding to the AIoT transmission according to charging-related information corresponding to the AIoT. Optionally, the transmission of the charging signal corresponding to the AIoT transmission is transmitted on resources indicated in the scheduling information. For example, when the reader is scheduled with time-domain resources with a length of T0 and a time length of the initial charging is determined to be T1, the charging signal is transmitted on resources in the first range of T1 and the CW and / or the data signal is transmitted on resources in the last range of T0-T1. For another example, the reader is scheduled with time-domain resources with a length of T0, and it is determined that the time range in which the UE can perform communication after the initial charging / supplementary charging is ended is T2 and a time range of the supplementary charging is T3, then the CW and / or the data signal is transmitted in a time range not exceeding T2 from start of the scheduled time-domain resources with the length of T0, then the charging signal is transmitted in a time range not less than T3, and then the CW and / or the data signal is transmitted in a time range not exceeding T2, which is cycled until the end of the scheduled time-domain resources. Optionally, the transmission of the charging signal corresponding to the AIoT transmission is transmitted outside the resources indicated in the scheduling information. For example, when the reader is scheduled with time-domain resources with a length of T0 and a time length of the initial charging time is determined to be T1, the charging signal is transmitted before a start position of the time-domain resources with the length of T0 in a time range with a length not less than T1, and the CW and / or the data signal is transmitted on the scheduled time resources in the range of T0. For another example, the reader is scheduled with several time-frequency resources R1, R2 and R3, and it is determined that a time range in which the UE can perform communication after the initial charging / supplementary charging is ended is T2 and a time range of the supplementary charging is T3, then the charging signal is transmitted before a start position of the first time-frequency resource in a time range with a length not less than T1, and / or before a start position of each time-frequency resource (or each time-frequency resource except the first one) in a time range with a length not less than T3, and the CW and / or the data signal is transmitted on R1, R2 and R3. For the case that the charging signal is transmitted outside the resources indicated in the scheduling information, optionally, the method can be used when the reader is configured by the base station to transmit the charging signal by itself, and / or conditions of configuring the resource locations (including at least frequency-domain locations) to transmit the charging signal by itself are satisfied.

[0123] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a configuration of an electronic device 500 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0124] Referring to FIG. 5, the electronic device 500 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may include a transceiver 501 and a controller 502. For example, the transceiver 501 may be configured to transmit and receive signals. For example, the controller 502 may be coupled to the transceiver 501 and configured to perform the aforementioned methods.

[0125] Those skilled in the art will understand that the above illustrative embodiments are described herein and are not intended to be limiting. It should be understood that any two or more of the embodiments disclosed herein may be combined in any combination. Furthermore, other embodiments may be utilized and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that aspects of the invention of the disclosure as generally described herein and shown in the drawings may be arranged, replaced, combined, separated and designed in various different configurations, all of which are contemplated herein.

[0126] Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and steps described in the present application may be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described above in the form of their functional sets. Whether such function sets are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Technicians may implement the described functional sets in different ways for each specific application, but such design decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

[0127] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in the present application may be implemented or performed by a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logics, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, more than one microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0128] The steps of the method or algorithm described in the present application may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination thereof. The software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, register, hard disk, removable disk, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor to enable the processor to read and write information from / to the storage media. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside in the user terminal as discrete components.

[0129] In one or more exemplary designs, the functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, each function may be stored as one or more pieces of instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium or delivered through it. The computer-readable medium includes both a computer storage medium and a communication medium, the latter including any medium that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

[0130] The above description is only an exemplary implementation of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention, which is determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1.A method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:receiving scheduling information including information indicating whether the scheduling information is associated with a Radio Access Technology (RAT) or associated with an Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT);receiving or transmitting a signal or a channel associated with the RAT based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the RAT; andreceiving or transmitting a signal or a channel associated with the AIoT based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT.2.The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicating that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT further includes information indicating whether the scheduling information is associated with an AIoT uplink transmission or associated with an AIoT downlink transmission.3.The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicating that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT further includes information indicating whether the scheduling information is associated with an AIoT transmission or associated with a Carrier Wave (CW).4.The method of claim 2, further comprising:receiving the AIoT uplink transmission based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT uplink transmission; andtransmitting the AIoT downlink transmission based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT downlink transmission.5.The method of claim 3, further comprising transmitting the CW based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the CW.6.The method of claim 1, wherein the scheduling information is indicated in at least one of:Downlink Control Information (DCI);a Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE);Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.7.A method performed by a second node in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:transmitting scheduling information including information indicating whether the scheduling information is associated with a Radio Access Technology (RAT) or associated with an Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT);receiving or transmitting a signal or a channel associated with the RAT when the scheduling information is associated with the RAT; andreceiving or transmitting a signal or a channel associated with the AIoT when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT.8.The method of claim 7, wherein the information indicating that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT further includes information indicating whether the scheduling information is associated with an AIoT uplink transmission or associated with an AIoT downlink transmission.9.The method of claim 7, wherein the information indicating that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT further includes information indicating whether the scheduling information is associated with an AIoT transmission or associated with a Carrier Wave (CW).10.The method of claim 7, wherein the scheduling information is indicated in at least one of:Downlink Control Information (DCI);a Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE);Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.11.A first node in a wireless communication system, the first node comprising:a transceiver; anda controller configured to:receive scheduling information including information indicating whether the scheduling information is associated with a Radio Access Technology (RAT) or associated with an Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT),receive or transmit a signal or a channel associated with the RAT based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the RAT, andreceive or transmit a signal or a channel associated with the AIoT based on the scheduling information when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT.12.The first node of claim 11, wherein the information indicating that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT further includes information indicating whether the scheduling information is associated with an AIoT uplink transmission or associated with an AIoT downlink transmission.13.The first node of claim 11, wherein the information indicating that the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT further includes information indicating whether the scheduling information is associated with an AIoT transmission or associated with a Carrier Wave (CW).14.The first node of claim 11, wherein the scheduling information is indicated in at least one of:Downlink Control Information (DCI);a Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE);Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.15.A second node in a wireless communication system, the second node comprising:a transceiver; anda controller configured to:transmit scheduling information including information indicating whether the scheduling information is associated with a Radio Access Technology (RAT) or associated with an Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT),receive or transmit a signal or a channel associated with the RAT when the scheduling information is associated with the RAT, andreceive or transmit a signal or a channel associated with the AIoT when the scheduling information is associated with the AIoT.

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