Control signal monitoring of ambient internet of things devices
DTT control signal monitoring optimizes energy usage and reduces complexity for low-power ambient IoT devices, addressing energy storage limitations and enabling efficient interoperability with network entities.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/CN2024/077173
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-02-13
- Publication Date
- 2025-08-21
AI Technical Summary
Low-power and low-complexity ambient IoT devices, such as those capable of energy harvesting from RF waves, struggle with efficient control signal monitoring due to energy storage limitations and complex legacy signaling schemes, which hinder their ability to maintain a clock and perform periodic monitoring.
Implementing device-terminated triggered (DTT) control signal monitoring with group-specific or device-specific trigger signals to manage energy-efficient monitoring occasions, enabling interoperability and reducing complexity through limited search domains and simplified signaling formats.
Enables efficient control signal monitoring for low-complexity IoT devices by optimizing energy usage and accommodating reduced capabilities, facilitating interoperability with network entities.
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Figure CN2024077173_21082025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
CONTROL SIGNAL MONITORING OF AMBIENT INTERNET OF THINGS DEVICES
[0001] FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
[0002] The following relates to wireless communications, including control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices.BACKGROUND
[0003] Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power) . Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) , or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) . A wireless multiple-access communications system may include one or more base stations, each supporting wireless communication for communication devices, which may be known as user equipment (UE) .SUMMARY
[0004] Some wireless communications systems may support deployment of ambient Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which include relatively low power and low complexity devices that are capable of harvesting energy from different sources, including radio frequency (RF) waves, solar energy, heat, or other ambient sources. Energy harvesting (EH) -capable devices such as ambient IoT devices may be used for applications such as inventory tracking, sensing, positioning, or command systems. For example, for command systems, EH-capable devices may be used for such applications as control of irrigations systems, dispensing medicine, or providing alerts.
[0005] Some EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices) may be categorized. For instance, EH-capable devices may be categorized according to energy storage capacity or a capability to generate RF signals for transmission. Some EH-capable devices may have no energy storage or relatively limited energy storage. In some approaches, EH-capable devices may be categorized based on these storage capacities. For example, a first device type may have no energy storage, no independent signal generation, or no independent signal amplification (e.g., backscattering transmission) . A second device type may have energy storage and no independent signal generation (e.g., backscattering transmission) . For the second device type, stored energy may be utilized for the amplification of reflected signals. A third device type may have energy storage and may provide independent signal generation (e.g., active RF components for transmission) . Limited energy storage may differ in implementations within the second device type or the third device type, or may differ between the second device type and the third device type. In some cases, the storage of an EH-capable device may be one or more orders of magnitude smaller than the storage of a narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) device.
[0006] Some examples of the techniques described herein may address approaches for EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices) to efficiently monitor a control signal with relatively low complexity. For instance, techniques for control signal monitoring for EH-capable devices for command scenarios are described herein. In some examples, an EH-capable device may perform device-terminated triggered (DTT) control signal monitoring.
[0007] Some EH-capable devices may not have enough energy storage to maintain a clock and perform periodic monitoring. In some aspects, a wireless device (e.g., network entity or UE) may transmit a trigger signal before the control signal transmission. The trigger signal may be a group-specific signal or a device-specific signal.
[0008] In some aspects, a wireless device may configure periodic monitoring occasions for an EH-capable device. For instance, periodic monitoring may work for some EH-capable devices that have sufficient energy storage to maintain a clock and perform monitoring. However, some EH-capable devices may still be unable to follow some legacy signaling schemes. For example, some legacy signaling schemes may be too complex for some EH-capable device due to a relatively large amount of blind detection and a lack of support for resource block (RB) -level monitoring considering reduced filtering capability. To accommodate these reduced capabilities, an EH-capable device may search for (e.g., may limit searching for) a control signal in the time domain. In some approaches, a control signal candidate starting position may be limited to a single starting position for a monitoring occasion.
[0009] Some examples of the techniques described herein may enable interoperability between wireless devices (e.g., network entities or UEs) and EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices) . For instance, some of the approaches may enable group-based signaling for multiple EH-capable devices or reduced.
[0010] A method by a wireless device is described. The method may include outputting a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, outputting, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a set of multiple identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device, and communicating one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based on the at least one control signal.
[0011] A wireless device is described. The wireless device may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories. The one or more processors may individually or collectively be operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to output a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, output, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a set of multiple identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device, and communicate one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based on the at least one control signal.
[0012] Another wireless device is described. The wireless device may include means for outputting a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, means for outputting, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a set of multiple identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device, and means for communicating one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based on the at least one control signal.
[0013] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code is described. The code may include instructions executable by one or more processors to output a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, output, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a set of multiple identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device, and communicate one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based on the at least one control signal.
[0014] In some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, outputting the signal for triggering may include operations, features, means, or instructions for outputting the signal for triggering, the signal indicating a set of multiple different periods between the signal for triggering and a set of multiple occasions, each of the set of multiple occasions associated with a respective EH-capable device of the group of EH-capable devices.
[0015] In some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, outputting the signal for triggering may include operations, features, means, or instructions for outputting the signal for triggering, where the duration of the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal may be associated with the group of EH-capable devices, and where the at least one control signal may be output to the group of EH-capable devices associated with the set of multiple identifiers.
[0016] In some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, outputting the at least one control signal may include operations, features, means, or instructions for outputting multiple control signals to respective EH-capable devices of the group of EH-capable devices, where each of the multiple control signals indicates a respective identifier corresponding to one of the respective EH-capable devices.
[0017] In some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, outputting the signal for triggering may include operations, features, means, or instructions for outputting multiple signals for triggering, where each of the multiple signals may be for triggering a respective EH-capable device of the group of EH-capable devices, and where each of the multiple signals indicates a respective identifier of the set of multiple identifiers associated with the respective EH-capable device.
[0018] Some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for detecting a change in a condition of the channel and outputting a second control signal to the at least one EH-capable device via the channel using a second resource that may be different from the first resource.
[0019] In some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the at least one control signal indicates a command, the at least one control signal having a same format for the command as for an inventory message.
[0020] In some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the signal for triggering the at least one EH-capable device indicates the command and not the inventory message for the at least one control signal.
[0021] In some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, a first control signal indicates the command using a first scrambling sequence that may be different from a second scrambling sequence associated with the inventory message.
[0022] Some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for outputting a second control signal indicating the inventory message during the second occasion.
[0023] Some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for scrambling a first control signal indicating the command using a first scrambling sequence and scrambling the second control signal indicating the inventory message using a second scrambling sequence.
[0024] In some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the at least one control signal indicates a command, the at least one control signal using a different format for the command than for an inventory message.
[0025] Some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for outputting a second control signal indicating an inventory message during the second occasion.
[0026] A method by an EH-capable device is described. The method may include receiving a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal, receiving, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device, and communicating one or more messages with the wireless device based on the control signal.
[0027] An EH-capable device is described. The EH-capable device may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories. The one or more processors may individually or collectively be operable to execute the code to cause the EH-capable device to receive a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal, receive, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device, and communicate one or more messages with the wireless device based on the control signal.
[0028] Another EH-capable device is described. The EH-capable device may include means for receiving a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal, means for receiving, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device, and means for communicating one or more messages with the wireless device based on the control signal.
[0029] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code is described. The code may include instructions executable by one or more processors to receive a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal, receive, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device, and communicate one or more messages with the wireless device based on the control signal.
[0030] In some examples of the method, EH-capable devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, receiving the signal for triggering may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving the signal for triggering, the signal indicating a set of multiple different periods between the signal for triggering and a set of multiple occasions, each of the set of multiple occasions associated with a respective EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices.
[0031] In some examples of the method, EH-capable devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, receiving the signal for triggering may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving the signal for triggering, where the duration of the occasion to monitor for the control signal may be associated with a group of EH-capable devices, and where the EH-capable device receives the control signal indicating the identifier associated with the EH-capable device.
[0032] In some examples of the method, EH-capable devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, receiving the signal for triggering may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving multiple signals for triggering, where each of the multiple signals may be for triggering a respective EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices, where the received control signal may be associated with the signal for triggering that indicates the identifier associated with the EH-capable device, and where the EH-capable device refrains from receiving one or more other control signals associated with one or more other signals for triggering that do not indicate the identifier associated with the EH-capable device.
[0033] A method by a wireless device is described. The method may include obtaining, from an EH-capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band, outputting, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions, and outputting the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions.
[0034] A wireless device is described. The wireless device may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories. The one or more processors may individually or collectively be operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to obtain, from an EH-capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band, output, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions, and output the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions.
[0035] Another wireless device is described. The wireless device may include means for obtaining, from an EH-capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band, means for outputting, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions, and means for outputting the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions.
[0036] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code is described. The code may include instructions executable by one or more processors to obtain, from an EH-capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band, output, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions, and output the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions.
[0037] In some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, outputting the control signal may include operations, features, means, or instructions for outputting the control signal at the starting position during the at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions, the starting position being associated with a type of the EH-capable device, where the type of the EH-capable device may be indicated by the capability signaling.
[0038] In some examples of the method, wireless devices, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the control signal indicates a command, the control signal having a same format for the command as for an inventory message and an association of the command with the control signal may be indicated based on a signal for triggering the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band, a first scrambling sequence that may be different from a second scrambling sequence associated with the inventory message, a first starting position that may be different from a second starting position associated with the inventory message, or any combination thereof.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0039] FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless communications system that supports control signal monitoring of ambient Internet of Things (IoT) devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0040] FIG. 2 shows an example of a wireless communications system that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0041] FIG. 3 shows an example of a wireless communications system that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0042] FIG. 4 shows an example of timing diagrams that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0043] FIG. 5 shows an example of a process flow that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0044] FIGs. 6 and 7 show block diagrams of devices that support control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0045] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0046] FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0047] FIGs. 10 and 11 show block diagrams of devices that support control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0048] FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0049] FIG. 13 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0050] FIGs. 14 through 17 show flowcharts illustrating methods that support control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0051] Some wireless communications systems may support deployment of ambient Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which include relatively low power and low complexity devices that are capable of harvesting energy from different sources, including radio frequency (RF) waves, solar energy, heat, or other ambient sources. Energy harvesting (EH) -capable devices such as ambient IoT devices may be used for applications such as inventory tracking, sensing, positioning, or command systems. For example, for command systems, EH-capable devices may be used for such applications as control of irrigations systems, dispensing medicine, or providing alerts.
[0052] Some EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices) may be categorized. For instance, EH-capable devices may be categorized according to energy storage capacity or a capability to generate RF signals for transmission. Some EH-capable devices may have no energy storage or relatively limited energy storage. In some approaches, EH-capable devices may be categorized based on these storage capacities. For example, a first device type may have no energy storage, no independent signal generation, or no independent signal amplification (e.g., backscattering transmission) . A second device type may have energy storage and no independent signal generation (e.g., backscattering transmission) . For the second device type, stored energy may be utilized for the amplification of reflected signals. A third device type may have energy storage and may provide independent signal generation (e.g., active RF components for transmission) . Limited energy storage may differ in implementations within the second device type or the third device type, or may differ between the second device type and the third device type. In some cases, the storage of an EH-capable device may be one or more orders of magnitude smaller than the storage of a narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) device.
[0053] Some EH-capable devices may be grouped on the basis of deployment environment or on the basis of functionality or application. For instance, a first grouping may be based on whether EH-capable devices are deployed indoors, outdoors, or a combination thereof. A second grouping may be based on whether the EH-capable devices include an inventory functionality, sensors, positioning functionality, or command functionality. For instance, some EH-capable devices may be designed with a harmonized air interface to provide communications for device-originated-device-terminated triggered (DO-DTT) or device triggered (DT) traffic types for indoor inventory (e.g., representative use case 1 (rUC1) ) , indoor command (e.g., rUC4) , or device-originated autonomous (DO-A) scenarios. In some cases, the harmonized air interface may be insufficient to address one or more scenarios.
[0054] In a command scenario, a wireless device (e.g., network entity or user equipment (UE) ) may target a specified EH-capable device (e.g., ambient IoT device) to perform one or more specified functions. In some cases, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) -based monitoring may consume too much power for the EH-capable device. For instance, the EH-capable device may be unable to perform blind detection due to an energy limitation. In other approaches (e.g., radio frequency identification (RFID) or near field communication (NFC) approaches) , the power efficiency of control signal monitoring may be too low, where a control signal is followed by query-based access. For instance, some RFID or NFC approaches may be unable to efficiently harvest sufficient power to perform functions in some scenarios.
[0055] Some examples of the techniques described herein may address approaches for EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices) to efficiently monitor a control signal with relatively low complexity. For instance, techniques for control signal monitoring for EH-capable devices for command scenarios are described herein. In some examples, an EH-capable device may perform device-terminated triggered (DTT) control signal monitoring.
[0056] Some EH-capable devices may not have enough energy storage to maintain a clock and perform periodic monitoring. In some aspects, a wireless device (e.g., network entity or UE) may transmit a trigger signal before the control signal transmission. The trigger signal may be a group-specific signal or a device-specific signal.
[0057] In some aspects, a wireless device may configure periodic monitoring occasions for an EH-capable device. For instance, periodic monitoring may work for some EH-capable devices that have sufficient energy storage to maintain a clock and perform monitoring. However, some EH-capable devices may still be unable to follow some legacy signaling schemes. For example, some legacy signaling schemes may be too complex for some EH-capable device due to a relatively large amount of blind detection and a lack of support for resource block (RB) -level monitoring considering reduced filtering capability. To accommodate these reduced capabilities, an EH-capable device may search for (e.g., may limit searching for) a control signal in the time domain. In some approaches, a control signal candidate starting position may be limited to a single starting position for a monitoring occasion.
[0058] Some examples of the techniques described herein may enable interoperability between wireless devices (e.g., network entities or UEs) and EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices) . For instance, some of the approaches may enable group-based signaling for multiple EH-capable devices or reduced.
[0059] Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communications systems. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to timing diagrams and a process flow that relate to control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices.
[0060] FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless communications system 100 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more devices, such as one or more network devices (e.g., network entities 105) , one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, a New Radio (NR) network, or a network operating in accordance with other systems and radio technologies, including future systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.
[0061] The network entities 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communications system 100 and may include devices in different forms or having different capabilities. In various examples, a network entity 105 may be referred to as a network element, a mobility element, a radio access network (RAN) node, or network equipment, among other nomenclature. In some examples, network entities 105 and UEs 115 may wirelessly communicate via communication link (s) 125 (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) access link) . For example, a network entity 105 may support a coverage area 110 (e.g., a geographic coverage area) over which the UEs 115 and the network entity 105 may establish the communication link (s) 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which a network entity 105 and a UE 115 may support the communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs) .
[0062] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout a coverage area 110 of the wireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of supporting communications with various types of devices in the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., other wireless communication devices, including UEs 115 or network entities 105) , as shown in FIG. 1.
[0063] As described herein, a node of the wireless communications system 100, which may be referred to as a network node, or a wireless node, may be a network entity 105 (e.g., any network entity described herein) , a UE 115 (e.g., any UE described herein) , a network controller, an apparatus, a device, a computing system, one or more components, or another suitable processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, a node may be a UE 115. As another example, a node may be a network entity 105. As another example, a first node may be configured to communicate with a second node or a third node. In one aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a UE 115. In another aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a network entity 105. In yet other aspects of this example, the first, second, and third nodes may be different relative to these examples. Similarly, reference to a UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like may include disclosure of the UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like being a node. For example, disclosure that a UE 115 is configured to receive information from a network entity 105 also discloses that a first node is configured to receive information from a second node.
[0064] In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with a core network 130, or with one another, or both. For example, network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130 via backhaul communication link (s) 120 (e.g., in accordance with an S1, N2, N3, or other interface protocol) . In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with one another via backhaul communication link (s) 120 (e.g., in accordance with an X2, Xn, or other interface protocol) either directly (e.g., directly between network entities 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130) . In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with one another via a midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., in accordance with a midhaul interface protocol) or a fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., in accordance with a fronthaul interface protocol) , or any combination thereof. The backhaul communication link (s) 120, midhaul communication links 162, or fronthaul communication links 168 may be or include one or more wired links (e.g., an electrical link, an optical fiber link) or one or more wireless links (e.g., a radio link, a wireless optical link) , among other examples or various combinations thereof. A UE 115 may communicate with the core network 130 via a communication link 155.
[0065] One or more of the network entities 105 or network equipment described herein may include or may be referred to as a base station 140 (e.g., a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an NR base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation NodeB or giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB) , a 5G NB, a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) , a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology) . In some examples, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may be implemented in an aggregated (e.g., monolithic, standalone) base station architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within one network entity (e.g., a network entity 105 or a single RAN node, such as a base station 140) .
[0066] In some examples, a network entity 105 may be implemented in a disaggregated architecture (e.g., a disaggregated base station architecture, a disaggregated RAN architecture) , which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among multiple network entities (e.g., network entities 105) , such as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance) , or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN) ) . For example, a network entity 105 may include one or more of a central unit (CU) , such as a CU 160, a distributed unit (DU) , such as a DU 165, a radio unit (RU) , such as an RU 170, a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) , such as an RIC 175 (e.g., a Near-Real Time RIC (Near-RT RIC) , a Non-Real Time RIC (Non-RT RIC) ) , a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) system, such as an SMO system 180, or any combination thereof. An RU 170 may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a remote radio head (RRH) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , or a transmission reception point (TRP) . One or more components of the network entities 105 in a disaggregated RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of the network entities 105 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations) . In some examples, one or more of the network entities 105 of a disaggregated RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., a virtual CU (VCU) , a virtual DU (VDU) , a virtual RU (VRU) ) .
[0067] The split of functionality between a CU 160, a DU 165, and an RU 170 is flexible and may support different functionalities depending on which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, RF functions, or any combinations thereof) are performed at a CU 160, a DU 165, or an RU 170. For example, a functional split of a protocol stack may be employed between a CU 160 and a DU 165 such that the CU 160 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU 165 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some examples, the CU 160 may host upper protocol layer (e.g., layer 3 (L3) , layer 2 (L2) ) functionality and signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) , service data adaption protocol (SDAP) , Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) ) . The CU 160 (e.g., one or more CUs) may be connected to a DU 165 (e.g., one or more DUs) or an RU 170 (e.g., one or more RUs) , or some combination thereof, and the DUs 165, RUs 170, or both may host lower protocol layers, such as layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU 160. Additionally, or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between a DU 165 and an RU 170 such that the DU 165 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU 170 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU 165 may support one or multiple different cells (e.g., via one or multiple different RUs, such as an RU 170) . In some cases, a functional split between a CU 160 and a DU 165 or between a DU 165 and an RU 170 may be within a protocol layer (e.g., some functions for a protocol layer may be performed by one of a CU 160, a DU 165, or an RU 170, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU 160, the DU 165, or the RU 170) . A CU 160 may be functionally split further into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. A CU 160 may be connected to a DU 165 via a midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u) , and a DU 165 may be connected to an RU 170 via a fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface) . In some examples, a midhaul communication link 162 or a fronthaul communication link 168 may be implemented in accordance with an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities (e.g., one or more of the network entities 105) that are in communication via such communication links.
[0068] In some wireless communications systems (e.g., the wireless communications system 100) , infrastructure and spectral resources for radio access may support wireless backhaul link capabilities to supplement wired backhaul connections, providing an IAB network architecture (e.g., to a core network 130) . In some cases, in an IAB network, one or more of the network entities 105 (e.g., network entities 105 or IAB node (s) 104) may be partially controlled by each other. The IAB node (s) 104 may be referred to as a donor entity or an IAB donor. A DU 165 or an RU 170 may be partially controlled by a CU 160 associated with a network entity 105 or base station 140 (such as a donor network entity or a donor base station) . The one or more donor entities (e.g., IAB donors) may be in communication with one or more additional devices (e.g., IAB node (s) 104) via supported access and backhaul links (e.g., backhaul communication link (s) 120) . IAB node (s) 104 may include an IAB mobile termination (IAB-MT) controlled (e.g., scheduled) by one or more DUs (e.g., DUs 165) of a coupled IAB donor. An IAB-MT may be equipped with an independent set of antennas for relay of communications with UEs 115 or may share the same antennas (e.g., of an RU 170) of IAB node (s) 104 used for access via the DU 165 of the IAB node (s) 104 (e.g., referred to as virtual IAB-MT (vIAB-MT) ) . In some examples, the IAB node (s) 104 may include one or more DUs (e.g., DUs 165) that support communication links with additional entities (e.g., IAB node (s) 104, UEs 115) within the relay chain or configuration of the access network (e.g., downstream) . In such cases, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., the IAB node (s) 104 or components of the IAB node (s) 104) may be configured to operate according to the techniques described herein.
[0069] For instance, an access network (AN) or RAN may include communications between access nodes (e.g., an IAB donor) , IAB node (s) 104, and one or more UEs 115. The IAB donor may facilitate connection between the core network 130 and the AN (e.g., via a wired or wireless connection to the core network 130) . That is, an IAB donor may refer to a RAN node with a wired or wireless connection to the core network 130. The IAB donor may include one or more of a CU 160, a DU 165, and an RU 170, in which case the CU 160 may communicate with the core network 130 via an interface (e.g., a backhaul link) . The IAB donor and IAB node (s) 104 may communicate via an F1 interface according to a protocol that defines signaling messages (e.g., an F1 AP protocol) . Additionally, or alternatively, the CU 160 may communicate with the core network 130 via an interface, which may be an example of a portion of a backhaul link, and may communicate with other CUs (e.g., including a CU 160 associated with an alternative IAB donor) via an Xn-C interface, which may be an example of another portion of a backhaul link.
[0070] IAB node (s) 104 may refer to RAN nodes that provide IAB functionality (e.g., access for UEs 115, wireless self-backhauling capabilities) . A DU 165 may act as a distributed scheduling node towards child nodes associated with the IAB node (s) 104, and the IAB-MT may act as a scheduled node towards parent nodes associated with IAB node (s) 104. That is, an IAB donor may be referred to as a parent node in communication with one or more child nodes (e.g., an IAB donor may relay transmissions for UEs through other IAB node (s) 104) . Additionally, or alternatively, IAB node (s) 104 may also be referred to as parent nodes or child nodes to other IAB node (s) 104, depending on the relay chain or configuration of the AN. The IAB-MT entity of IAB node (s) 104 may provide a Uu interface for a child IAB node (e.g., the IAB node (s) 104) to receive signaling from a parent IAB node (e.g., the IAB node (s) 104) , and a DU interface (e.g., a DU 165) may provide a Uu interface for a parent IAB node to signal to a child IAB node or UE 115.
[0071] For example, IAB node (s) 104 may be referred to as parent nodes that support communications for child IAB nodes, or may be referred to as child IAB nodes associated with IAB donors, or both. An IAB donor may include a CU 160 with a wired or wireless connection (e.g., backhaul communication link (s) 120) to the core network 130 and may act as a parent node to IAB node (s) 104. For example, the DU 165 of an IAB donor may relay transmissions to UEs 115 through IAB node (s) 104, or may directly signal transmissions to a UE 115, or both. The CU 160 of the IAB donor may signal communication link establishment via an F1 interface to IAB node (s) 104, and the IAB node (s) 104 may schedule transmissions (e.g., transmissions to the UEs 115 relayed from the IAB donor) through one or more DUs (e.g., DUs 165) . That is, data may be relayed to and from IAB node (s) 104 via signaling via an NR Uu interface to MT of IAB node (s) 104 (e.g., other IAB node (s) ) . Communications with IAB node (s) 104 may be scheduled by a DU 165 of the IAB donor or of IAB node (s) 104.
[0072] In the case of the techniques described herein applied in the context of a disaggregated RAN architecture, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured to support test as described herein. For example, some operations described as being performed by a UE 115 or a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may additionally, or alternatively, be performed by one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., components such as an IAB node, a DU 165, a CU 160, an RU 170, an RIC 175, an SMO system 180) .
[0073] A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. A UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, vehicles, or meters, among other examples.
[0074] The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as UEs 115 that may sometimes operate as relays, as well as the network entities 105 and the network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown in FIG. 1.
[0075] The UEs 115 and the network entities 105 may wirelessly communicate with one another via the communication link (s) 125 (e.g., one or more access links) using resources associated with one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of RF spectrum resources having a defined PHY layer structure for supporting the communication link (s) 125. For example, a carrier used for the communication link (s) 125 may include a portion of an RF spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP) ) that is operated according to one or more PHY layer channels for a given RAT (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR) . Each PHY layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information) , control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers. Communication between a network entity 105 and other devices may refer to communication between the devices and any portion (e.g., entity, sub-entity) of a network entity 105. For example, the terms “transmitting, ” “receiving, ” or “communicating, ” when referring to a network entity 105, may refer to any portion of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, a CU 160, a DU 165, a RU 170) of a RAN communicating with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities, such as one or more of the network entities 105) .
[0076] In some examples, such as in a carrier aggregation configuration, a carrier may have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operations for other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an evolved universal mobile telecommunication system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute RF channel number (EARFCN) ) and may be identified according to a channel raster for discovery by the UEs 115. A carrier may be operated in a standalone mode, in which case initial acquisition and connection may be conducted by the UEs 115 via the carrier, or the carrier may be operated in a non-standalone mode, in which case a connection is anchored using a different carrier (e.g., of the same or a different RAT) .
[0077] The communication link (s) 125 of the wireless communications system 100 may include downlink transmissions (e.g., forward link transmissions) from a network entity 105 to a UE 115, uplink transmissions (e.g., return link transmissions) from a UE 115 to a network entity 105, or both, among other configurations of transmissions. Carriers may carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in an FDD mode) or may be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode) .
[0078] A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the RF spectrum and, in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a “system bandwidth” of the carrier or the wireless communications system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a set of bandwidths for carriers of a particular RAT (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz) ) . Devices of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., the network entities 105, the UEs 115, or both) may have hardware configurations that support communications using a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configurable to support communications using one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may include network entities 105 or UEs 115 that support concurrent communications using carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured for operating using portions (e.g., a sub-band, a BWP) or all of a carrier bandwidth.
[0079] Signal waveforms transmitted via a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) ) . In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may refer to resources of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, in which case the symbol period and subcarrier spacing may be inversely related. The quantity of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both) , such that a relatively higher quantity of resource elements (e.g., in a transmission duration) and a relatively higher order of a modulation scheme may correspond to a relatively higher rate of communication. A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of an RF spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., a spatial layer, a beam) , and the use of multiple spatial resources may increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE 115.
[0080] One or more numerologies for a carrier may be supported, and a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing (Δf) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs having the same or different numerologies. In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time and communications for the UE 115 may be restricted to one or more active BWPs.
[0081] The time intervals for the network entities 105 or the UEs 115 may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of Ts=1 / (Δfmax·Nf) seconds, for which Δfmax may represent a supported subcarrier spacing, and Nf may represent a supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms) ) . Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023) .
[0082] Each frame may include multiple consecutively-numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a quantity of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable quantity of slots, and the quantity of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a quantity of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period) . In some wireless communications systems, such as the wireless communications system 100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots associated with one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may be associated with one or more (e.g., Nf) sampling periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation.
[0083] A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI) . In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., a quantity of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally, or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs) ) .
[0084] Physical channels may be multiplexed for communication using a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed for signaling via a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET) ) for a physical control channel may be defined by a set of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 may monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to an amount of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs) ) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets may include common search space sets configured for sending control information to UEs 115 (e.g., one or more UEs) or may include UE-specific search space sets for sending control information to a UE 115 (e.g., a specific UE) .
[0085] A network entity 105 may provide communication coverage via one or more cells, for example a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof. The term “cell” may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a network entity 105 (e.g., using a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID) , a virtual cell identifier (VCID) ) . In some examples, a cell also may refer to a coverage area 110 or a portion of a coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) over which the logical communication entity operates. Such cells may range from smaller areas (e.g., a structure, a subset of structure) to larger areas depending on various factors such as the capabilities of the network entity 105. For example, a cell may be or include a building, a subset of a building, or exterior spaces between or overlapping with coverage areas 110, among other examples.
[0086] A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by the UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider supporting the macro cell. A small cell may be associated with a network entity 105 operating with lower power (e.g., a base station 140 operating with lower power) relative to a macro cell, and a small cell may operate using the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells may provide unrestricted access to the UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider or may provide restricted access to the UEs 115 having an association with the small cell (e.g., the UEs 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG) , the UEs 115 associated with users in a home or office) . A network entity 105 may support one or more cells and may also support communications via the one or more cells using one or multiple component carriers.
[0087] In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) , enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) ) that may provide access for different types of devices.
[0088] In some examples, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving coverage area, such as the coverage area 110. In some examples, coverage areas 110 (e.g., different coverage areas) associated with different technologies may overlap, but the coverage areas 110 (e.g., different coverage areas) may be supported by the same network entity (e.g., a network entity 105) . In some other examples, overlapping coverage areas, such as a coverage area 110, associated with different technologies may be supported by different network entities (e.g., the network entities 105) . The wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the network entities 105 support communications for coverage areas 110 (e.g., different coverage areas) using the same or different RATs.
[0089] The wireless communications system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140) may have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different network entities (e.g., different ones of the network entities 105) may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, network entities 105 may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different network entities (e.g., different ones of network entities 105) may, in some examples, not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations.
[0090] Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be relatively low cost or low complexity devices and may provide for automated communication between machines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication) . M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application program that uses the information or presents the information to humans interacting with the application program. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.
[0091] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but not transmission and reception concurrently) . In some examples, half-duplex communications may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for the UEs 115 may include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not engaging in active communications, operating using a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications) , or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs) ) within a carrier, within a guard-band of a carrier, or outside of a carrier.
[0092] The wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) . The UEs 115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical functions. Ultra-reliable communications may include private communication or group communication and may be supported by one or more services such as push-to-talk, video, or data. Support for ultra-reliable, low-latency functions may include prioritization of services, and such services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.
[0093] In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured to support communicating directly with other UEs (e.g., one or more of the UEs 115) via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link, such as a D2D communication link 135 (e.g., in accordance with a peer-to-peer (P2P) , D2D, or sidelink protocol) . In some examples, one or more UEs 115 of a group that are performing D2D communications may be within the coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) , which may support aspects of such D2D communications being configured by (e.g., scheduled by) the network entity 105. In some examples, one or more UEs 115 of such a group may be outside the coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 or may be otherwise unable to or not configured to receive transmissions from a network entity 105. In some examples, groups of the UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications may support a one-to-many (1: M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to one or more of the UEs 115 in the group. In some examples, a network entity 105 may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In some other examples, D2D communications may be carried out between the UEs 115 without an involvement of a network entity 105.
[0094] In some systems, a D2D communication link 135 may be an example of a communication channel, such as a sidelink communication channel, between vehicles (e.g., UEs 115) . In some examples, vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of these. A vehicle may signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergencies, or any other information relevant to a V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside infrastructure, such as roadside units, or with the network via one or more network nodes (e.g., network entities 105, base stations 140, RUs 170) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, or with both.
[0095] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC) , which may include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME) , an access and mobility management function (AMF) ) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW) , a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) , or a user plane function (UPF) ) . The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs 115 served by the network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140) associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to IP services 150 for one or more network operators. The IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, Intranet (s) , an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) , or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service.
[0096] The wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, which may be in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz) . Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, which may be referred to as clusters, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs 115 located indoors. Communications using UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than one hundred kilometers) compared to communications using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.
[0097] The wireless communications system 100 may also operate using a super high frequency (SHF) region, which may be in the range of 3 GHz to 30 GHz, also known as the centimeter band, or using an extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz) , also known as the millimeter band. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UEs 115 and the network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140, RUs 170) , and EHF antennas of the respective devices may be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, such techniques may facilitate using antenna arrays within a device. The propagation of EHF transmissions, however, may be subject to even greater attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions that use one or more different frequency regions, and designated use of bands across these frequency regions may differ by country or regulating body.
[0098] The wireless communications system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed RF spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access (LAA) , LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) RAT, or NR technology using an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. While operating using unlicensed RF spectrum bands, devices such as the network entities 105 and the UEs 115 may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations using unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating using a licensed band (e.g., LAA) . Operations using unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples.
[0099] A network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a network entity 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a network entity 105 may be located at diverse geographic locations. A network entity 105 may include an antenna array with a set of rows and columns of antenna ports that the network entity 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may include one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally, or alternatively, an antenna panel may support RF beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port.
[0100] The network entities 105 or the UEs 115 may use MIMO communications to exploit multipath signal propagation and increase spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. Such techniques may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, for example, be transmitted by the transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiple signals may be received by the receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry information associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords) . Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) , for which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) , for which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.
[0101] Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a network entity 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating along particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation) .
[0102] A network entity 105 or a UE 115 may use beam sweeping techniques as part of beamforming operations. For example, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to conduct beamforming operations for directional communications with a UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted by a network entity 105 multiple times along different directions. For example, the network entity 105 may transmit a signal according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different directions of transmission. Transmissions along different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device, such as a network entity 105, or by a receiving device, such as a UE 115) a beam direction for later transmission or reception by the network entity 105.
[0103] Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by a transmitting device (e.g., a network entity 105 or a UE 115) along a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device, such as another network entity 105 or UE 115) . In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based on a signal that was transmitted along one or more beam directions. For example, a UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the network entity 105 along different directions and may report to the network entity 105 an indication of the signal that the UE 115 received with a highest signal quality or an otherwise acceptable signal quality.
[0104] In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., by a network entity 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from a network entity 105 to a UE 115) . The UE 115 may report feedback that indicates precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured set of beams across a system bandwidth or one or more sub-bands. The network entity 105 may transmit a reference signal (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) , a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) ) , which may be precoded or unprecoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook) . Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted along one or more directions by a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) , a UE 115 may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times along different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115) or for transmitting a signal along a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device) .
[0105] A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115) may perform reception operations in accordance with multiple receive configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals from a transmitting device (e.g., a network entity 105) , such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, a receiving device may perform reception in accordance with multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” according to different receive configurations or receive directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single receive configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal) . The single receive configuration may be aligned along a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) , or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions) .
[0106] The wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or PDCP layer may be IP-based. An RLC layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate via logical channels. A MAC layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer also may implement error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmissions to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, an RRC layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE 115 and a network entity 105 or a core network 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. A PHY layer may map transport channels to physical channels.
[0107] The UEs 115 and the network entities 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is one technique for increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly via a communication link (e.g., the communication link (s) 125, a D2D communication link 135) . HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) ) , forward error correction (FEC) , and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ) ) . HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in relatively poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions) . In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, in which case the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received via a previous symbol in the slot. In some other examples, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.
[0108] The wireless communications system 100 may support deployment of EH-capable devices such as ambient IoT devices or radio frequency identification (RFID) devices. For example, one or more UEs 115 may be EH-capable devices. ambient IoT devices may include relatively low power and low complexity devices that are capable of harvesting energy from different sources, including RF waves, solar energy, heat, or other ambient sources. EH-capable devices such as ambient IoT devices may be used for applications such as inventory tracking, sensing, positioning, or command systems. For example, for command systems, EH-capable devices may be used for such applications as control of irrigations systems, dispensing medicine, or providing alerts. In some aspects, an EH-capable device (e.g., ambient IoT device) may perform a backscatter based communication (e.g., transmit data) via backscattering an interrogating signal received from another wireless device (e.g., a reader device such as a UE 115 or a network entity 105) .
[0109] Some EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices) may be categorized. For instance, EH-capable devices may be categorized according to energy storage capacity or a capability to generate RF signals for transmission. Some EH-capable devices may have no energy storage or relatively limited energy storage. In some approaches, EH-capable devices may be categorized based on these storage capacities. For example, a first device type may have no energy storage, no independent signal generation, or no independent signal amplification (e.g., backscattering transmission) . A second device type may have energy storage and no independent signal generation (e.g., backscattering transmission) . For the second device type, stored energy may be utilized for the amplification of reflected signals. A third device type may have energy storage and may provide independent signal generation (e.g., active RF components for transmission) . Limited energy storage may differ in implementations within the second device type or the third device type, or may differ between the second device type and the third device type. In some cases, the storage of an EH-capable device may be one or more orders of magnitude smaller than the storage of a NB-IoT device.
[0110] Some EH-capable devices may be grouped on the basis of deployment environment or on the basis of functionality or application. For instance, a first grouping may be based on whether EH-capable devices are deployed indoors, outdoors, or a combination thereof. A second grouping may be based on whether the EH-capable devices include an inventory functionality, sensors, positioning functionality, or command functionality. For instance, some EH-capable devices may be designed with a harmonized air interface to provide communications for device-originated-device-terminated triggered (DO-DTT) or device triggered (DT) traffic types for indoor inventory (e.g., rUC1) , indoor command (e.g., rUC4) , or DO-A scenarios. In some cases, the harmonized air interface may be insufficient to address one or more scenarios.
[0111] In a command scenario, a wireless device (e.g., a network entity 105 or UE 115) may target a specified EH-capable device (e.g., ambient IoT device) to perform one or more specified functions. In some cases, PDCCH-based monitoring may consume too much power for the EH-capable device. For instance, the EH-capable device may be unable to perform blind detection due to an energy limitation. In other approaches (e.g., RFID or NFC approaches) , the power efficiency of control signal monitoring may be too low, where a control signal is followed by query-based access. For instance, some RFID or NFC approaches may be unable to efficiently harvest sufficient power to perform functions in some scenarios.
[0112] Some examples of the techniques described herein may address approaches for EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices) to efficiently monitor a control signal with relatively low complexity. For instance, techniques for control signal monitoring for EH-capable devices for command scenarios are described herein. In some examples, an EH-capable device may perform DTT control signal monitoring.
[0113] Some EH-capable devices may not have enough energy storage to maintain a clock and perform periodic monitoring. In some aspects, a wireless device (e.g., network entity 105 or UE 115) may transmit a trigger signal before the control signal transmission. The trigger signal may be a group-specific signal or a device-specific signal.
[0114] In some aspects, a wireless device may configure periodic monitoring occasions for an EH-capable device. For instance, periodic monitoring may work for some EH-capable devices that have sufficient energy storage to maintain a clock and perform monitoring. However, some EH-capable devices may still be unable to follow some legacy signaling schemes. For example, some legacy signaling schemes may be too complex for some EH-capable device due to a relatively large amount of blind detection and a lack of support for RB-level monitoring considering reduced filtering capability. To accommodate these reduced capabilities, an EH-capable device may search for (e.g., may limit searching for) a control signal in the time domain. In some approaches, a control signal candidate starting position may be limited to a single starting position for a monitoring occasion. For example, during initial access, the wireless device may determine that the EH-capable device has limited capabilities and may only support communication in a particular frequency band or in a limited set of one or more frequency bands. The EH-capable device may indicate its capability to monitor only a single possible starting position for a control signal per one or more monitoring occasions. In some cases, the starting position is device-specific, and the wireless device may consider the impact of clock variation of the EH-capable device by, for example, adding a guard duration to at least one monitoring occasion.
[0115] Some examples of the techniques described herein may enable interoperability between wireless devices (e.g., network entities 105 or UEs 115) and EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices) . For instance, some of the approaches may enable group-based signaling for multiple EH-capable devices or reduced.
[0116] FIG. 2 shows an example of a wireless communications system 200 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 200 may implement aspects of the wireless communications system 100.
[0117] The wireless communications system 200 may include a wireless device 205, which may be an example of a UE 115 or a network entity 105 as described herein. The wireless device 205 may also be referred to as a wireless communication device. In some aspects, the wireless device 205 may be an example of an energy transfer device or an RFID reader. The wireless communications system 200 may include an EH-capable device 210. In some examples, the EH-capable device 210 may be a UE 115 as described herein. The EH-capable device 210 may be capable of performing backscattering based communication. In some examples, the EH-capable device 210 may be an example of an IoT device, an ambient IoT device, an RFID tag, or any combination thereof. EH-capable devices may harvest energy over the air (e.g., via reception of an interrogating signal 215) and power transmission / reception circuitry 225 via using the energy of the interrogating signal to transmit a responsive signal 220 to the interrogating signal. Responsive signals 220 transmitted by RFID devices may be backscatter modulated (e.g., referred to as backscatter responses) . In some examples, RFID devices may be semi-passive or active and may include an energy storage device (e.g., a battery) . In some examples, a wireless communications system may support a bistatic structure, where one network device (e.g., the wireless device 205) transmits an energy transfer signal (e.g., the interrogating signal 215) to the EH-capable device 210 and another network device may receive the responsive signal 220 (e.g., may communicate with the EH-capable device) .
[0118] EH-capable devices may be passive, semi-passive, or active. Table 1 below shows characteristics of passive, semi-passive, and active EH-capable devices. Example applications for passive EH-capable devices include access or proximity cards. Example applications for semi-passive EH-capable devices include electronic tolls or pallet tracking. Example applications for active EH-capable devices include large asset tracking or livestock tracking.
[0119] Table 1
[0120] Passive EH-capable devices may have short range capability (e.g., less than 10 meters) due to insufficient link budget issues and poor communication reliability. For example, the maximum transmit power by the wireless device 205 may be limited for the transmission band. For example, the effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) for the network device may be 36 decibel-milliwatts (dBm) . As another example, weak reflected backscatter signal by passive EH-capable devices may limit the range of the passive EH-capable devices. As passive EH-capable devices are power limited, the reflected signal power strength is approximately inversely proportional to the fourth power of the distance Another issue affecting the range of passive EH-capable devices may be interference from other reader devices, other tags, or other communications systems. Cyclic redundancy check (CRC) may be used for error detection for signals involving passive EH-capable devices.
[0121] As described herein, ambient IoT devices such as the EH-capable device 210 may be used for command systems in indoor or outdoor environments. For example, Table 2 shows different example use cases for indoor ambient IoT devices and parameters associated with the use cases. Table 3 shows different example use cases for outdoor ambient IoT devices and parameters associated with the use cases.
[0122] Table 2
[0123] Table 3
[0124] In some examples, the wireless device 205 may be implemented with one or more of the structures, or may be implemented to perform one or more of the operations described with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 4, or FIG. 5. Additionally, or alternatively, the EH-capable device 210 may be implemented with one or more of the structures, or may be implemented to perform one or more of the operations described with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 4, or FIG. 5.
[0125] FIG. 3 shows an example of a wireless communications system 300 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 300 may implement aspects of the wireless communications system 100 or the wireless communications system 200. For example, the wireless communications system 300 includes a wireless device 205-a, which may be an example of a wireless device 205 as described herein. As another example, the wireless communications system 300 includes at least one EH-capable device 210-a, which may be an example of an EH-capable device 210 as described herein.
[0126] The wireless device 205-a may output a signal 305 for triggering at least one EH-capable device 210-a of a group 320 of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal 310. The signal 305 for triggering may be an RF signal transmitted for initiating communication with the at least one EH-capable device 210-a or for providing power to the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. In some cases a control signal 310 may be device-specific, group-specific, a broadcast signal (for any or all EH-capable devices within a range, for instance) , or any combination thereof.
[0127] In some examples, the signal 305 for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal 310. The occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal 310 may be one or more periods for communication of the at least one control signal 310. For instance, an EH-capable device 210-a may monitor for at least one control signal 310 targeted to the EH-capable device 210-a during the one or more occasions. The duration may be a quantity of time of the occasion to monitor. For instance, the duration may be a quantity of seconds, milliseconds (ms) , microseconds (μs) , symbol period (s) , slot (s) , or clock cycle (s) , among other examples. The duration may be indicated by one or more values, one or more bits, an arrangement of a signal (s) (e.g., fields, values, pulse shape, signal phase, or signal amplitude, among other examples) , or a timing of the signal 305 for triggering.
[0128] In some examples, the signal 305 for triggering indicates a period between the signal 305 for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal. The period between the signal 305 for triggering and the occasion to monitor may be a quantity of time from the signal 305 for triggering (or from a portion thereof, such as from the beginning of the signal 305, from the end of the signal 305, or from a time within a duration of the signal 305) and the occasion to monitor (e.g., to the beginning of the occasion to monitor) . For instance, the period may be a quantity of seconds, ms, μs, symbol period (s) , slot (s) , or clock cycle (s) , among other examples. The period may be indicated by one or more values, one or more bits, an arrangement of a signal (s) (e.g., fields, values, pulse shape, signal phase, or signal amplitude, among other examples) , or a timing of the signal 305 for triggering. Examples of the period from the signal 305 for triggering and the duration of the occasion to monitor are provided with reference to FIG. 4.
[0129] In some examples, the signal 305 for triggering indicates at least one identifier of a plurality of identifiers. The at least one identifier may be associated with the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. For instance, each EH-capable device of the group 320 of EH-capable devices may have an associated identifier, which may be expressed as a number, a value (s) , a name, or an alphanumeric string. The identifier may be indicated by one or more values, one or more bits, an arrangement of a signal (s) (e.g., fields, values, pulse shape, signal phase, or signal amplitude, among other examples) , or a timing of the signal 305 for triggering. In some examples, the wireless device 205-a may request or receive the one or more identifiers from one or more of the EH-capable devices (using an inventory message, for instance) .
[0130] The at least one EH-capable device 210-a may receive the signal 305 for triggering. For instance, the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may receive, store (e.g., buffer) , demodulate, or decode the signal 305 for triggering. In some examples, the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may harvest energy from the signal 305 to energize one or more components of the at least one EH-capable device 210-a or to perform one or more operations (e.g., one or more of the operations described herein) . In some examples, the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may determine the duration of the occasion to monitor, the period between the signal 305 for triggering and the occasion to monitor, the at least one identifier, or a combination thereof based on the signal 305 for triggering.
[0131] In response to the signal 305 for triggering, the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may monitor for the at least one control signal 310 after the period for the duration indicated by the signal 305 for triggering. For instance, an EH-capable device 210-a may be ready to receive, store (e.g., buffer) , demodulate, or decode one or more signals (e.g., the control signal 310) for the duration of the occasion to monitor after the period from the signal 305 for triggering.
[0132] The wireless device 205-a may output, to the at least one EH-capable device 210-a during the occasion, the at least one control signal 310 subsequent to the period. The at least one EH-capable device 210-a may receive the at least one control signal 310. In some examples, at least one control signal 310 may indicate at least one identifier of a plurality of identifiers. For instance, the at least one control signal 310 may indicate the at least one identifier in addition to, or alternatively from, the signal 305 for triggering. The at least one identifier may be associated with the at least one EH-capable device 210-a or may be indicated as described herein.
[0133] In some examples, the at least one control signal 310 may indicate one or more commands. For instance, the one or more commands may include a command to modify data, erase data, receive data, store data, activate, deactivate, permanently deactivate, or to perform one or more other operations. Examples of one or more of commands are provided in relation to Table 2. The one or more commands may be utilized by the at least one EH-capable device 210-a to perform one or more operations.
[0134] In some examples, a command may be distinct from an inventory message. An inventory message may be a message that requests the memory contents of an EH-capable device (e.g., an identifier of the EH-capable device, data stored in the memory of the EH-capable device, or a combination thereof) . In some examples, an inventory message may include a broadcast selection signal to control which EH-capable device (s) may access or communicate with the wireless device 205-a, which may reduce signaling collisions. A command may be a command for an EH-capable device to perform an operation (besides merely providing an identifier or memory content, for instance) . In some approaches, the at least one control signal 310 indicates a command, where the at least one control signal 310 has a same format for the command as for an inventory message (e.g., the inventor message and the command message share a same format) . For instance, one format (e.g., framing, timing, or signaling structure) may be utilized for inventory messages and commands, whereas the content of the inventory messages may differ from the content of commands. In a case where control signals for inventory messages and commands share the same format, one or more techniques may be utilized to distinguish whether a control signal is for a command or an inventory message.
[0135] In some approaches, a different trigger signal may be utilized (e.g., configured) for an inventory message than a trigger signal for a command. The signal 305 for triggering the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may indicate a command (and not an inventory message for the at least one control signal 310) . For instance, the signal 305 for triggering may include information (e.g., a value, bit, or other information) indicating that the associated control signal 310 includes a command (and not an inventory message, for example) .
[0136] In some approaches, a different scrambling sequence may be utilized (e.g., configured) for an inventory message than a scrambling sequence for a command. For instance, the wireless device 205-a may use a first scrambling sequence for a control signal 310 with a command and a second scrambling sequence for another control signals associated with an inventory message. A control signal 310 that indicates a command may have a first scrambling sequence that is different from a second scrambling sequence associated with an inventory message. The at least one EH-capable device may utilize the scrambling sequences to detect whether a control signal is associated with a command or an inventory message. For example, if the content of a control signal is successfully descrambled using the first scrambling sequence, then the content may include a command. If the content of a control signal is unsuccessfully descrambled using the first scrambling sequence or if the content of a control signal is successfully descrambled using the second scrambling sequence, the content may not include a command or may include an inventory message.
[0137] In some approaches, a same trigger signal may be utilized for commands and inventory messages, where a monitoring occasion for a command may have a different starting point than a monitoring occasion for an inventory message. For example, the signal 305 for triggering the at least one EH-capable device indicate a first period between the signal 305 and the occasion, and indicates a second period between the signal 305 and a second occasion. The control signal 310 indicating a command may be output during the first occasion. The wireless device 205-a may output a second control signal indicating the inventory message during the second occasion.
[0138] In some examples, a combination of techniques may be utilized to distinguish a control signal for a command from a control signal for an inventory message. For instance, a control signal for a command may be output with a first scrambling sequence during one monitoring occasion and a control signal for an inventory message may be output with a second scrambling sequence during a second monitoring occasion. The wireless device 205-a may scramble a first control signal indicating the command using a first scrambling sequence and may scramble a second control signal indicating the inventory message using a second scrambling sequence.
[0139] In some approaches, a separate format may be used for a control signal for a command from a format for a control signal for an inventory message. For instance, the at least one control signal 310 may indicates a command, where the at least one control signal 310 uses a different format for the command than for an inventory message.
[0140] In some approaches, a different monitoring occasion may be utilized for a control signal for a command than a monitoring occasion utilized for a command message. For example, the signal 305 for triggering the at least one EH-capable device 210-a indicates a first period between the signal 305 and the occasion, and indicates a second period between the signal 305 and a second occasion. The wireless device 205-may output a second control signal indicating an inventory message during the second occasion.
[0141] The wireless device 205-a may communicate one or more messages (e.g., a first message 325, a second message 330, or a combination thereof) with the at least one EH-capable device 210-a based at least in part on the at least one control signal 310. As used herein, the term “communicate” and variants thereof may denote outputting, transmission, obtaining, receiving, or any combination thereof. For instance, at least one EH-capable device 210-a may transmit a first message 325 to the wireless device 205-a. In some aspects, the first message 325 may indicate an acknowledgment of the control signal 310, data provided in response to the control signal 310, confirmation of an operation performed in response to the control signal 310, or another message in response to the control signal 310. Additionally, or alternatively, the wireless device 205-a may output (e.g., transmit) a second message 330 to the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. The second message 330 may indicate data provided in association with the control signal 310, a request for one or more operations performed in association with the control signal 310, or another message associated with the control signal 310.
[0142] In some aspects, the signal 305 for triggering may indicate a plurality of different periods between the signal 305 for triggering and a plurality of occasions. Each of the plurality of occasions may be associated with an EH-capable device or a set of EH-capable devices of the group 320 of EH-capable devices. For instance, an EH-capable device or a set of EH-capable devices of the group 320 may have an associated period, where each period is different to provide a separate monitoring occasion for each EH-capable device or set of EH-capable devices.
[0143] In some examples, the signal 305 for triggering may include one or more identifiers associated with each period to assign different monitoring occasions for EH-capable devices, sets of EH-capable devices within the group 320, or a combination thereof. For control signal 310 monitoring, different EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices or one or more sets of ambient IoT devices within the group 320) may have different starting points for monitoring (e.g., different ambient IoT devices within the same group may have different starting points for monitoring) . Each EH-capable device or set of EH-capable devices may monitor for a control signal 310 during a respective (e.g., assigned) occasion for monitoring. A first timing diagram 405 as described with reference to FIG. 4 illustrates an example of different periods and different monitoring occasions for respective EH-capable devices.
[0144] In some aspects, the duration of the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal may be associated with the group 320 of EH-capable devices. The at least one control signal 310 may be output to the group 320 of EH-capable devices associated with the plurality of identifiers. In some examples, different EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices or sets of ambient IoT devices) within the group 320 (e.g., within the same group) may have the same monitoring occasion or occasions. For instance, the wireless device 205-a may output a signal 305 for triggering the group 320 of EH-capable devices, where there is one period or one duration indicated for the group 320 of EH-capable devices. The group 320 of EH-capable devices may monitor for at least one control signal 310 during the occasion for the group 320.
[0145] In some aspects, the control signal 310 may specify an EH-capable device or a set of EH-capable devices. For instance, the wireless device 205-a may output multiple control signals 310 to respective EH-capable devices of the group 320 of EH-capable devices. Each of the multiple control signals 310 may indicate a respective identifier corresponding to one of the respective EH-capable devices (or to a set of EH-capable devices or a subset of EH-capable devices in the group 320) . Each identified EH-capable device may receive the corresponding control signal 310. For instance, the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may receive the control signal 310 indicating the identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. In some cases, an EH-capable device may disregard one or more control signals 310 corresponding to (e.g., identifying) one or more other EH-capable devices. A second timing diagram 425 as described with reference to FIG. 4 illustrates an example of one monitoring occasion for a group of EH-capable devices.
[0146] In some approaches, the wireless device 205-a may output multiple signals 305 for triggering. Each of the multiple signals 305 may be utilized for triggering a respective EH-capable device (or set of EH-capable devices) of the group 320 of EH-capable devices. Each signal 305 for triggering may be a device-specific signal. For example, each of the multiple signals may indicate a respective identifier of the plurality of identifiers associated with the respective EH-capable device.
[0147] At least one EH-capable device 210-a may receive the multiple signals 305 for triggering. The at least one EH-capable device 210-a may receive a control signal 310 that is associated with the signal 305 for triggering that indicates the identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. In some aspects, the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may refrains from receiving one or more other control signals 310 associated with one or more other signals 305 for triggering that do not indicate the identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. In some examples with multiple signals 305 for triggering, the consumed power for detection of the signal 305 for triggering may be greater than other approaches for triggering. The length of the signal 305 for triggering may be relatively longer to support for EH-capable devices (e.g., ambient IoT devices) . A third timing diagram 450 as described with reference to FIG. 4 illustrates an example multiple signals 305 for triggering.
[0148] In some approaches, the control signal 310 may follow an initial access (e.g., reading, inventory signaling) of the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. In some examples, initial access may refer to communication one or more messages for establishing connectivity between the wireless device 205-a and the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. A time duration may be established between a time when the at least one EH-capable device 210-a (e.g., an ambient IoT device) is acknowledged as a target device of the wireless device 205-a and transmission of the control signal 310 by the wireless device 205-a. In some approaches, the signal 305 for triggering and the control signal 310 may be communicated without an initial access of the at least one EH-capable device 210-a.
[0149] The at least one control signal 310 may be output (e.g., communicated) via a channel to the at least one EH-capable device 210-a using a first resource (e.g., time resource, frequency resource, spatial resource, or a combination thereof) . In some approaches, the wireless device 205-a or the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may not support link adaption. For example, the link between the wireless device 205-a and the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may utilize a fixed aggregation level or fixed resources.
[0150] In some approaches, link adaptation (e.g., limited link adaptation) may be supported by the wireless device 205-a or the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. For different resources may be utilized for the control signal 310 based on different channel conditions. In some examples, the wireless device 205-a may detect a change (e.g., a threshold change) in a condition of the channel. For instance, the wireless device 205-a may measure one or more characteristics (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) , signal-to-interference-noise ratio (SINR) , or channel quality, among other examples) periodically or occasionally over time. In a case that the one or more characteristics of the channel changes (e.g., a characteristic changes to satisfy a threshold amount or a characteristic degrades below a threshold, among other examples) , the wireless device 205-a may adapt the resource for control signal 310 transmission. In some approaches, the wireless device 205-a may output (e.g., transmit) a second control signal to the at least one EH-capable device 210-a via the channel using a second resource (e.g., time resource, frequency resource, spatial resource, among other examples) , that is different from the first resource.
[0151] In some examples, the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may be capable of performing periodic monitoring occasions (e.g., may have sufficient energy storage to maintain a clock and perform periodic monitoring) . The at least one EH-capable device 210-a may transmit capability signaling indicating a capability of the at least one EH-capable device 210-a to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band. The wireless device 205-a may obtain (e.g., receiving) the capability signaling from the energy harvesting EH-capable device. Periodic monitoring may be performed with or without utilizing the signal 305 for triggering.
[0152] The wireless device 205-a may output (e.g., transmit) a configuration message for configuring the at least one EH-capable device 210-a to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal 310 to the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. In some examples, the configuration message may indicate a starting position (e.g., a start time) and a periodicity (e.g., a time between occasions or a frequency of occasions, among other examples) of the one or more periodic occasions.
[0153] The at least one EH-capable device 210-a may receive the configuration message. For example, the at least one EH-capable device 210-a may receive the configuration and monitor the periodic occasions based on the starting position and the periodicity indicated by the configuration message.
[0154] The wireless device 205-a may output (e.g., transmit) the control signal 310 in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions. For instance, the control signal 310 may be transmitted during one or more of the periodic occasions. An example of periodic monitoring is described with reference to FIG. 5.
[0155] In some examples, a starting position for a monitoring occasion may be specified. For instance, the wireless device 205-a may output the control signal 310 at the starting position during the at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions. The starting position may be associated with a type of the at least one EH-capable device 210-a. The type of the EH-capable device is indicated by the capability signaling. In some approaches, an impact of clock variation may be addressed. For instance, a guard duration may be added to the monitoring occasion to account for the clock variation of one or more EH-capable devices.
[0156] In some approaches, the control signal 310 may indicate a command, where the control signal has a same format for the command as for an inventory message, and where an association of the command with the control signal is indicated based on the signal 305 for triggering the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band, a first scrambling sequence that is different from a second scrambling sequence associated with the inventory message, a first starting position that is different from a second starting position associated with the inventory message, or any combination thereof.
[0157] FIG. 4 shows an example of timing diagrams 400 that support control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The timing diagrams 400 may implement aspects of the wireless communications system 100, the wireless communications system 200, or the wireless communications system 300.
[0158] In the example shown in the first timing diagram 405, a wireless device outputs a first signal 410 for triggering EH-capable devices. The first signal 410 indicates a first period 420-a between the first signal 410 and a first occasion 415-a for a first EH-capable device (or a set of first EH-capable devices) to monitor. The first signal 410 also indicates a second period 420-b between the first signal 410 and a second occasion 415-b for a second EH-capable device (or a set of second EH-capable devices) to monitor. The first signal 410 further indicates a third period 420-c between the first signal 410 and a third occasion 415-c for a third EH-capable device (or a set of third EH-capable devices) to monitor. The first signal 410 may also indicate respective identifiers associated with the first period 420-a, the second period 420-b, and the third period 420-c corresponding to the first EH-capable device, the second EH-capable device, and the third EH-capable device. Each EH-capable device may monitor a respective occasion with a corresponding identifier for a control signal targeted to that EH-capable device. The wireless device may output a first control signal for the first EH-capable device during the first occasion 415-a, may output a second control signal for the second EH-capable device during the second occasion 415-b, or may output a third control signal for the third EH-capable device during the third occasion 415-c.
[0159] In the example shown in the second timing diagram 425, a wireless device outputs a second signal 430 for triggering EH-capable devices. The second signal 430 indicates a fourth period 440 between the second signal 430 and a fourth occasion 435 for a first EH-capable device, a second EH-capable device, and a third EH-capable device to monitor. In some approaches, the second signal 430 may indicate respective identifiers of the three EH-capable devices to monitor the fourth occasion 435. In some approaches, the second signal 430 may be broadcast to all EH-capable devices that can receive the second signal 430. Each EH-capable device may monitor the fourth occasion for a control signal targeted to that EH-capable device. In some examples, the control signal may indicate one or more identifiers corresponding to one or more targeted EH- capable devices for which the wireless device transmits the control signal (s) (e.g., one or more commands to one or more EH-capable devices) .
[0160] The wireless device may output a control signal during the fourth occasion 435 with a first and second commands for the first and second EH-capable devices, respectively. For instance, the first EH-capable device and the second EH-capable device may be targeted to receive the respective first and second commands, while the wireless device may not output a command for the third EH-capable device. The first EH-capable device may receive the first command (with a corresponding identifier, for instance) and may disregard the second command (with a non-corresponding identifier, for instance) . The second EH-capable device may receive the second command (with a corresponding identifier, for instance) and may disregard the first command (with a non-corresponding identifier, for instance) . The third EH-capable device may disregard the first and second commands (with a non-corresponding identifiers, for instance) .
[0161] In the example shown in the third timing diagram 450, a wireless device outputs a third signal 460-a for triggering one or more first EH-capable devices and a fourth signal 460-b for triggering one or more second EH-capable devices. In some approaches, the third signal 460-a may be a device-specific signal (e.g., a device-specific trigger signal) or a group-specific signal (e.g., a group-specific trigger signal) . The third signal 460-a indicates a fifth period 465-a between the third signal 460-a and a fifth occasion 455-a for a first EH-capable device to monitor or a group of first EH-capable devices to monitor. The fourth signal 460-b indicates a sixth period 465-b between the fourth signal 460-b and a sixth occasion 455-b for a second EH-capable device to monitor or a group of second EH-capable devices to monitor. In some approaches, the third signal 460-a may indicate an identifier (s) of the first EH-capable device (s) to monitor the fifth occasion 455-a. The fourth signal 460-b may indicate an identifier (s) of the second EH-capable device (s) to monitor the sixth occasion 455-b.
[0162] The wireless device may output a first control signal (s) during the fifth occasion 455-a for the first EH-capable device (s) , and may output a second control signal (s) during the sixth occasion 455-b for the second EH-capable device (s) . The first EH-capable device (s) may receive the first control signal (s) (associated with the third signal 460-a with a corresponding identifier (s) , for instance) and may disregard the second control signal (s) (associated with the fourth signal 460-b with a non- corresponding identifier (s) , for instance) . The second EH-capable device (s) may receive the second control signal (s) (associated with the fourth signal 460-b with a corresponding identifier (s) , for instance) and may disregard the first control signal (s) (associated with the third signal 460-a with a non-corresponding identifier (s) , for instance) .
[0163] FIG. 5 shows an example of a process flow 500 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The process flow 500 may include a wireless device 205-b, which may be an example of a wireless device 205 (e.g., wireless device 205-a) as described herein. The process flow 500 may include an EH-capable device 210-b, which may be an example of an EH-capable device 210 (e.g., EH-capable device 210-a) as described herein. In the following description of the process flow 500, the operations between the wireless device 205-b and the EH-capable device 210-b may be transmitted in a different order than the example order shown, or the operations performed by the wireless device 205-b and the EH-capable device 210-b may be performed in different orders or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted from the process flow 500, and other operations may be added to the process flow 500.
[0164] At 505, the EH-capable device 210-b may transmit, to the wireless device 205-b, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device 210-b to perform periodic monitoring. In some examples, the capability to perform periodic monitoring may be limited to periodic monitoring in the time domain in a single frequency band. In some examples, the EH-capable device 210-b may indicate a capability to perform periodic monitoring in multiple bands (e.g., in one band selected from a plurality of bands) . The wireless device may receive the capability signaling. Communicating the capability signaling may be performed as described with reference to FIG. 3 in some examples.
[0165] At 510, the wireless device 205-b may output (e.g., transmit) , to the EH-capable device 210-b, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device 210-b. The configuration message may indicate a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions. Communicating the configuration message may be performed as described with reference to FIG. 3 in some examples.
[0166] At 515-a, the EH-capable device 210-b monitors for a control signal from the wireless device 205-b during a first periodic occasion. For instance, the EH-capable device 210-b may begin monitoring at a time of the starting position indicated by the configuration message. In this example, a control signal is not communicated during the first periodic occasion.
[0167] At 515-b, the EH-capable device 210-b monitors for a control signal from the wireless device 205-b during a second periodic occasion. For instance, the EH-capable device 210-b may begin monitoring at second period from the starting position based on the periodicity indicated by the configuration message.
[0168] At 520, the wireless device 205-b outputs (e.g., transmits) the control signal during the second periodic occasion. The EH-capable device 210-b may receive the control signal. Communicating the control signal during a periodic occasion may be performed as described with reference to FIG. 3 in some examples. In some approaches, the EH-capable device 210-b may execute a command indicated by the control signal or may communicate one or more additional signals with the wireless device 205-b based on the control signal.
[0169] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a device 605 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 605 may be an example of aspects of a wireless device (e.g., network entity 105 or UE 115) as described herein. The device 605 may include a receiver 610, a transmitter 615, and a communications manager 620. The device 605, or one or more components of the device 605 (e.g., the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, the communications manager 620) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to, individually or collectively, support or enable the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0170] The receiver 610 may provide a means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 605. In some examples, the receiver 610 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the receiver 610 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.
[0171] The transmitter 615 may provide a means for outputting (e.g., transmitting, providing, conveying, sending) information generated by other components of the device 605. For example, the transmitter 615 may output information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . In some examples, the transmitter 615 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the transmitter 615 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 615 and the receiver 610 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include or be coupled with a modem.
[0172] The communications manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices as described herein. For example, the communications manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be capable of performing one or more of the functions described herein.
[0173] In some examples, the communications manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry) . The hardware may include at least one of a processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, at least one processor and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by one or more processors, individually or collectively, executing instructions stored in the at least one memory) .
[0174] Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by at least one processor (e.g., referred to as a processor-executable code) . If implemented in code executed by at least one processor, the functions of the communications manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure) .
[0175] In some examples, the communications manager 620 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or both. For example, the communications manager 620 may receive information from the receiver 610, send information to the transmitter 615, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
[0176] For example, the communications manager 620 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal. The communications manager 620 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a set of multiple identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device. The communications manager 620 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based on the at least one control signal.
[0177] For example, the communications manager 620 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for obtaining, from an EH-capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band. The communications manager 620 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions. The communications manager 620 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions.
[0178] By including or configuring the communications manager 620 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 605 (e.g., at least one processor controlling or otherwise coupled with the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, the communications manager 620, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for reduced processing, reduced power consumption, or more efficient utilization of communication resources.
[0179] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a device 705 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 705 may be an example of aspects of a device 605 or a wireless device (e.g., network entity 105 or UE 115) as described herein. The device 705 may include a receiver 710, a transmitter 715, and a communications manager 720. The device 705, or one or more components of the device 705 (e.g., the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, the communications manager 720) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to support the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0180] The receiver 710 may provide a means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 705. In some examples, the receiver 710 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the receiver 710 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.
[0181] The transmitter 715 may provide a means for outputting (e.g., transmitting, providing, conveying, sending) information generated by other components of the device 705. For example, the transmitter 715 may output information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . In some examples, the transmitter 715 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the transmitter 715 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 715 and the receiver 710 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include or be coupled with a modem.
[0182] The device 705, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices as described herein. For example, the communications manager 720 may include a trigger manager 725, a control manager 730, a message manager 735, a capability manager 740, a configuration manager 745, or any combination thereof. The communications manager 720 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 620 as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager 720, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both. For example, the communications manager 720 may receive information from the receiver 710, send information to the transmitter 715, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
[0183] The trigger manager 725 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal. The control manager 730 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a set of multiple identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device. The message manager 735 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based on the at least one control signal.
[0184] The capability manager 740 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for obtaining, from an EH-capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band. The configuration manager 745 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions. The control manager 730 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions.
[0185] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a communications manager 820 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 820 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 620, a communications manager 720, or both, as described herein. The communications manager 820, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices as described herein. For example, the communications manager 820 may include a trigger manager 825, a control manager 830, a message manager 835, a capability manager 840, a configuration manager 845, a channel detection manager 850, an inventory message manager 855, a scrambling manager 860, or any combination thereof. Each of these components, or components or subcomponents thereof (e.g., one or more processors, one or more memories) , may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0186] The trigger manager 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal. The control manager 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a set of multiple identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device. The message manager 835 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based on the at least one control signal.
[0187] In some examples, to support outputting the signal for triggering, the trigger manager 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting the signal for triggering, the signal indicating a set of multiple different periods between the signal for triggering and a set of multiple occasions, each of the set of multiple occasions associated with a respective EH-capable device of the group of EH-capable devices.
[0188] In some examples, to support outputting the signal for triggering, the trigger manager 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting the signal for triggering, where the duration of the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal is associated with the group of EH-capable devices, and where the at least one control signal is output to the group of EH-capable devices associated with the set of multiple identifiers.
[0189] In some examples, to support outputting the at least one control signal, the control manager 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting multiple control signals to respective EH-capable devices of the group of EH-capable devices, where each of the multiple control signals indicates a respective identifier corresponding to one of the respective EH-capable devices.
[0190] In some examples, to support outputting the signal for triggering, the trigger manager 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting multiple signals for triggering, where each of the multiple signals is for triggering a respective EH-capable device of the group of EH-capable devices, and where each of the multiple signals indicates a respective identifier of the set of multiple identifiers associated with the respective EH-capable device.
[0191] In some examples, the channel detection manager 850 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for detecting a change in a condition of the channel. In some examples, the control manager 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a second control signal to the at least one EH-capable device via the channel using a second resource that is different from the first resource.
[0192] In some examples, the at least one control signal indicates a command, the at least one control signal having a same format for the command as for an inventory message.
[0193] In some examples, the signal for triggering the at least one EH-capable device indicates the command and not the inventory message for the at least one control signal.
[0194] In some examples, a first control signal indicates the command using a first scrambling sequence that is different from a second scrambling sequence associated with the inventory message.
[0195] In some examples, the control manager 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a second control signal indicating the inventory message during the second occasion.
[0196] In some examples, the scrambling manager 860 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for scrambling a first control signal indicating the command using a first scrambling sequence. In some examples, the scrambling manager 860 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for scrambling the second control signal indicating the inventory message using a second scrambling sequence.
[0197] In some examples, the at least one control signal indicates a command, the at least one control signal using a different format for the command than for an inventory message.
[0198] In some examples, the inventory message manager 855 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a second control signal indicating an inventory message during the second occasion.
[0199] The capability manager 840 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for obtaining, from an EH-capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band. The configuration manager 845 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions. In some examples, the control manager 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions.
[0200] In some examples, to support outputting the control signal, the control manager 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting the control signal at the starting position during the at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions, the starting position being associated with a type of the EH-capable device, where the type of the EH-capable device is indicated by the capability signaling.
[0201] In some examples, the control signal indicates a command, the control signal having a same format for the command as for an inventory message. In some examples, an association of the command with the control signal is indicated based on a signal for triggering the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band, a first scrambling sequence that is different from a second scrambling sequence associated with the inventory message, a first starting position that is different from a second starting position associated with the inventory message, or any combination thereof.
[0202] FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a system 900 including a device 905 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 may be an example of or include components of a device 605, a device 705, or a wireless device (e.g., network entity 105 or UE 115) as described herein. The device 905 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager 920, a transceiver 910, one or more antennas 915, at least one memory 925, code 930, and at least one processor 935. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., a bus 940) .
[0203] The transceiver 910 may support bi-directional communications via wired links, wireless links, or both as described herein. In some examples, the transceiver 910 may include a wired transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wired transceiver. Additionally, or alternatively, in some examples, the transceiver 910 may include a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. In some examples, the device 905 may include one or more antennas 915, which may be capable of transmitting or receiving wireless transmissions (e.g., concurrently) . The transceiver 910 may also include a modem to modulate signals, to provide the modulated signals for transmission (e.g., by one or more antennas 915, by a wired transmitter) , to receive modulated signals (e.g., from one or more antennas 915, from a wired receiver) , and to demodulate signals. In some implementations, the transceiver 910 may include one or more interfaces, such as one or more interfaces coupled with the one or more antennas 915 that are configured to support various receiving or obtaining operations, or one or more interfaces coupled with the one or more antennas 915 that are configured to support various transmitting or outputting operations, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 910 may include or be configured for coupling with one or more processors or one or more memory components that are operable to perform or support operations based on received or obtained information or signals, or to generate information or other signals for transmission or other outputting, or any combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 910, or the transceiver 910 and the one or more antennas 915, or the transceiver 910 and the one or more antennas 915 and one or more processors or one or more memory components (e.g., the at least one processor 935, the at least one memory 925, or both) , may be included in a chip or chip assembly that is installed in the device 905. In some examples, the transceiver 910 may be operable to support communications via one or more communications links (e.g., communication link (s) 125, backhaul communication link (s) 120, a midhaul communication link 162, a fronthaul communication link 168) .
[0204] The at least one memory 925 may include RAM, ROM, or any combination thereof. The at least one memory 925 may store computer-readable, computer-executable, or processor-executable code, such as the code 930. The code 930 may include instructions that, when executed by one or more of the at least one processor 935, cause the device 905 to perform various functions described herein. The code 930 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 930 may not be directly executable by a processor of the at least one processor 935 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the at least one memory 925 may include, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices. In some examples, the at least one processor 935 may include multiple processors and the at least one memory 925 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein (for example, as part of a processing system) .
[0205] The at least one processor 935 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices (e.g., one or more general-purpose processors, one or more DSPs, one or more central processing units (CPUs) , one or more graphics processing units (GPUs) , one or more neural processing units (NPUs) (also referred to as neural network processors or deep learning processors (DLPs) ) , one or more microcontrollers, one or more ASICs, one or more FPGAs, one or more programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, one or more discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof) . In some cases, the at least one processor 935 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into one or more of the at least one processor 935. The at least one processor 935 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., one or more of the at least one memory 925) to cause the device 905 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices) . For example, the device 905 or a component of the device 905 may include at least one processor 935 and at least one memory 925 coupled with one or more of the at least one processor 935, the at least one processor 935 and the at least one memory 925 configured to perform various functions described herein. The at least one processor 935 may be an example of a cloud-computing platform (e.g., one or more physical nodes and supporting software such as operating systems, virtual machines, or container instances) that may host the functions (e.g., by executing code 930) to perform the functions of the device 905. The at least one processor 935 may be any one or more suitable processors capable of executing scripts or instructions of one or more software programs stored in the device 905 (such as within one or more of the at least one memory 925) . In some examples, the at least one processor 935 may include multiple processors and the at least one memory 925 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein. In some examples, the at least one processor 935 may be a component of a processing system, which may refer to a system (such as a series) of machines, circuitry (including, for example, one or both of processor circuitry (which may include the at least one processor 935) and memory circuitry (which may include the at least one memory 925) ) , or components, that receives or obtains inputs and processes the inputs to produce, generate, or obtain a set of outputs. The processing system may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. For example, the at least one processor 935 or a processing system including the at least one processor 935 may be configured to, configurable to, or operable to cause the device 905 to perform one or more of the functions described herein. Further, as described herein, being “configured to, ” being “configurable to, ” and being “operable to” may be used interchangeably and may be associated with a capability, when executing code stored in the at least one memory 925 or otherwise, to perform one or more of the functions described herein.
[0206] In some examples, a bus 940 may support communications of (e.g., within) a protocol layer of a protocol stack. In some examples, a bus 940 may support communications associated with a logical channel of a protocol stack (e.g., between protocol layers of a protocol stack) , which may include communications performed within a component of the device 905, or between different components of the device 905 that may be co-located or located in different locations (e.g., where the device 905 may refer to a system in which one or more of the communications manager 920, the transceiver 910, the at least one memory 925, the code 930, and the at least one processor 935 may be located in one of the different components or divided between different components) .
[0207] In some examples, the communications manager 920 may manage aspects of communications with a core network 130 (e.g., via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links) . For example, the communications manager 920 may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115. In some examples, the communications manager 920 may manage communications with one or more other network entities 105, and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs 115 (e.g., in cooperation with the one or more other network devices) . In some examples, the communications manager 920 may support an X2 interface within an LTE / LTE-A wireless communications network technology to provide communication between network entities 105.
[0208] For example, the communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a set of multiple identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based on the at least one control signal.
[0209] For example, the communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for obtaining, from an EH-capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions.
[0210] By including or configuring the communications manager 920 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 905 may support techniques for improved communication reliability, reduced latency, reduced power consumption, more efficient utilization of communication resources, improved coordination between devices, longer battery life, or improved utilization of processing capability.
[0211] In some examples, the communications manager 920 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver 910, the one or more antennas 915 (e.g., where applicable) , or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager 920 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 920 may be supported by or performed by the transceiver 910, one or more of the at least one processor 935, one or more of the at least one memory 925, the code 930, or any combination thereof (for example, by a processing system including at least a portion of the at least one processor 935, the at least one memory 925, the code 930, or any combination thereof) . For example, the code 930 may include instructions executable by one or more of the at least one processor 935 to cause the device 905 to perform various aspects of control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices as described herein, or the at least one processor 935 and the at least one memory 925 may be otherwise configured to, individually or collectively, perform or support such operations.
[0212] FIG. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1005 may be an example of aspects of a EH-capable device (e.g., EH-capable device 210, EH-capable device 210-a, or EH-capable device 210-b) as described herein. The device 1005 may include a receiver 1010, a transmitter 1015, and a communications manager 1020. The device 1005, or one or more components of the device 1005 (e.g., the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, the communications manager 1020) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to, individually or collectively, support or enable the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0213] The receiver 1010 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 1005. The receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0214] The transmitter 1015 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 1005. For example, the transmitter 1015 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices) . In some examples, the transmitter 1015 may be co-located with a receiver 1010 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 1015 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0215] The communications manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices as described herein. For example, the communications manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof may be capable of performing one or more of the functions described herein.
[0216] In some examples, the communications manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry) . The hardware may include at least one of a processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, at least one processor and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by one or more processors, individually or collectively, executing instructions stored in the at least one memory) .
[0217] Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by at least one processor (e.g., referred to as a processor-executable code) . If implemented in code executed by at least one processor, the functions of the communications manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure) .
[0218] In some examples, the communications manager 1020 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or both. For example, the communications manager 1020 may receive information from the receiver 1010, send information to the transmitter 1015, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
[0219] For example, the communications manager 1020 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal. The communications manager 1020 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device. The communications manager 1020 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating one or more messages with the wireless device based on the control signal.
[0220] By including or configuring the communications manager 1020 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 1005 (e.g., at least one processor controlling or otherwise coupled with the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, the communications manager 1020, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for reduced processing, reduced power consumption, or more efficient utilization of communication resources.
[0221] FIG. 11 shows a block diagram 1100 of a device 1105 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1105 may be an example of aspects of a device 1005 or a EH-capable device (e.g., EH-capable device 210, EH-capable device 210-a, or EH-capable device 210-b) as described herein. The device 1105 may include a receiver 1110, a transmitter 1115, and a communications manager 1120. The device 1105, or one or more components of the device 1105 (e.g., the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, the communications manager 1120) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to support the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0222] The receiver 1110 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 1105. The receiver 1110 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0223] The transmitter 1115 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 1105. For example, the transmitter 1115 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices) . In some examples, the transmitter 1115 may be co-located with a receiver 1110 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 1115 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0224] The device 1105, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices as described herein. For example, the communications manager 1120 may include a trigger component 1125, a control component 1130, a message component 1135, or any combination thereof. The communications manager 1120 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 1020 as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager 1120, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, or both. For example, the communications manager 1120 may receive information from the receiver 1110, send information to the transmitter 1115, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
[0225] The trigger component 1125 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal. The control component 1130 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device. The message component 1135 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating one or more messages with the wireless device based on the control signal.
[0226] FIG. 12 shows a block diagram 1200 of a communications manager 1220 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 1220 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 1020, a communications manager 1120, or both, as described herein. The communications manager 1220, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices as described herein. For example, the communications manager 1220 may include a trigger component 1225, a control component 1230, a message component 1235, or any combination thereof. Each of these components, or components or subcomponents thereof (e.g., one or more processors, one or more memories) , may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0227] The trigger component 1225 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal. The control component 1230 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device. The message component 1235 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating one or more messages with the wireless device based on the control signal.
[0228] In some examples, to support receiving the signal for triggering, the trigger component 1225 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving the signal for triggering, the signal indicating a set of multiple different periods between the signal for triggering and a set of multiple occasions, each of the set of multiple occasions associated with a respective EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices.
[0229] In some examples, to support receiving the signal for triggering, the trigger component 1225 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving the signal for triggering, where the duration of the occasion to monitor for the control signal is associated with a group of EH-capable devices, and where the EH-capable device receives the control signal indicating the identifier associated with the EH-capable device.
[0230] In some examples, to support receiving the signal for triggering, the trigger component 1225 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving multiple signals for triggering, where each of the multiple signals is for triggering a respective EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices, where the received control signal is associated with the signal for triggering that indicates the identifier associated with the EH-capable device, and where the EH-capable device refrains from receiving one or more other control signals associated with one or more other signals for triggering that do not indicate the identifier associated with the EH-capable device.
[0231] FIG. 13 shows a diagram of a system 1300 including a device 1305 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1305 may be an example of or include components of a device 1005, a device 1105, or a EH-capable device (e.g., EH-capable device 210, EH-capable device 210-a, or EH-capable device 210-b) as described herein. The device 1305 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager 1320, an I / O controller, such as an I / O controller 1310, a transceiver 1315, one or more antennas 1325, at least one memory 1330, code 1335, and at least one processor 1340. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., a bus 1345) .
[0232] The I / O controller 1310 may manage input and output signals for the device 1305. The I / O controller 1310 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 1305. In some cases, the I / O controller 1310 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I / O controller 1310 may utilize an operating system such as or another known operating system. Additionally, or alternatively, the I / O controller 1310 may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I / O controller 1310 may be implemented as part of one or more processors, such as the at least one processor 1340. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 1305 via the I / O controller 1310 or via hardware components controlled by the I / O controller 1310.
[0233] In some cases, the device 1305 may include a single antenna. However, in some other cases, the device 1305 may have more than one antenna, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1315 may communicate bi-directionally via the one or more antennas 1325 using wired or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 1315 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1315 may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 1325 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 1325. The transceiver 1315, or the transceiver 1315 and one or more antennas 1325, may be an example of a transmitter 1015, a transmitter 1115, a receiver 1010, a receiver 1110, or any combination thereof or component thereof, as described herein.
[0234] The at least one memory 1330 may include RAM and ROM. The at least one memory 1330 may store computer-readable, computer-executable, or processor-executable code, such as the code 1335. The code 1335 may include instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor 1340, cause the device 1305 to perform various functions described herein. The code 1335 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 1335 may not be directly executable by the at least one processor 1340 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the at least one memory 1330 may include, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.
[0235] The at least one processor 1340 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices (e.g., one or more general-purpose processors, one or more DSPs, one or more central processing units (CPUs) , one or more graphics processing units (GPUs) , one or more neural processing units (NPUs) (also referred to as neural network processors or deep learning processors (DLPs) ) , one or more microcontrollers, one or more ASICs, one or more FPGAs, one or more programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, one or more discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof) . In some cases, the at least one processor 1340 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the at least one processor 1340. The at least one processor 1340 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the at least one memory 1330) to cause the device 1305 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices) . For example, the device 1305 or a component of the device 1305 may include at least one processor 1340 and at least one memory 1330 coupled with or to the at least one processor 1340, the at least one processor 1340 and the at least one memory 1330 configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the at least one processor 1340 may include multiple processors and the at least one memory 1330 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the at least one processor 1340 may be a component of a processing system, which may refer to a system (such as a series) of machines, circuitry (including, for example, one or both of processor circuitry (which may include the at least one processor 1340) and memory circuitry (which may include the at least one memory 1330) ) , or components, that receives or obtains inputs and processes the inputs to produce, generate, or obtain a set of outputs. The processing system may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. For example, the at least one processor 1340 or a processing system including the at least one processor 1340 may be configured to, configurable to, or operable to cause the device 1305 to perform one or more of the functions described herein. Further, as described herein, being “configured to, ” being “configurable to, ” and being “operable to” may be used interchangeably and may be associated with a capability, when executing code 1335 (e.g., processor-executable code) stored in the at least one memory 1330 or otherwise, to perform one or more of the functions described herein.
[0236] For example, the communications manager 1320 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal. The communications manager 1320 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device. The communications manager 1320 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating one or more messages with the wireless device based on the control signal.
[0237] By including or configuring the communications manager 1320 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 1305 may support techniques for improved communication reliability, reduced latency, reduced power consumption, more efficient utilization of communication resources, improved coordination between devices, longer battery life, or improved utilization of processing capability.
[0238] In some examples, the communications manager 1320 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver 1315, the one or more antennas 1325, or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager 1320 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 1320 may be supported by or performed by the at least one processor 1340, the at least one memory 1330, the code 1335, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 1335 may include instructions executable by the at least one processor 1340 to cause the device 1305 to perform various aspects of control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices as described herein, or the at least one processor 1340 and the at least one memory 1330 may be otherwise configured to, individually or collectively, perform or support such operations.
[0239] FIG. 14 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1400 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1400 may be implemented by a wireless device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1400 may be performed by a wireless device as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 9. In some examples, a wireless device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the wireless device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the wireless device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.
[0240] At 1405, the method may include outputting a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal. The operations of 1405 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed by a trigger manager 825 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0241] At 1410, the method may include outputting, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a set of multiple identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device. The operations of 1410 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by a control manager 830 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0242] At 1415, the method may include communicating one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based on the at least one control signal. The operations of 1415 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1415 may be performed by a message manager 835 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0243] FIG. 15 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1500 may be implemented by a wireless device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1500 may be performed by a wireless device as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 9. In some examples, a wireless device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the wireless device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the wireless device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.
[0244] At 1505, the method may include outputting a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal. The operations of 1505 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1505 may be performed by a trigger manager 825 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0245] At 1510, the method may include outputting, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a set of multiple identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device. The operations of 1510 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1510 may be performed by a control manager 830 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0246] At 1515, the method may include communicating one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based on the at least one control signal. The operations of 1515 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1515 may be performed by a message manager 835 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0247] At 1520, the method may include detecting a change in a condition of the channel. The operations of 1520 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1520 may be performed by a channel detection manager 850 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0248] At 1525, the method may include outputting a second control signal to the at least one EH-capable device via the channel using a second resource that is different from the first resource. The operations of 1525 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1525 may be performed by a control manager 830 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0249] FIG. 16 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1600 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1600 may be implemented by a EH-capable device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1600 may be performed by a EH-capable device as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 5 and 10 through 13. In some examples, a EH-capable device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the EH-capable device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the EH-capable device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.
[0250] At 1605, the method may include receiving a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, where the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal. The operations of 1605 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1605 may be performed by a trigger component 1225 as described with reference to FIG. 12.
[0251] At 1610, the method may include receiving, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, where the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device. The operations of 1610 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1610 may be performed by a control component 1230 as described with reference to FIG. 12.
[0252] At 1615, the method may include communicating one or more messages with the wireless device based on the control signal. The operations of 1615 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1615 may be performed by a message component 1235 as described with reference to FIG. 12.
[0253] FIG. 17 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1700 that supports control signal monitoring of ambient IoT devices in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1700 may be implemented by a wireless device or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1700 may be performed by a wireless device as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 9. In some examples, a wireless device may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the wireless device to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the wireless device may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.
[0254] At 1705, the method may include obtaining, from an EH-capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band. The operations of 1705 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1705 may be performed by a capability manager 840 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0255] At 1710, the method may include outputting, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions. The operations of 1710 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1710 may be performed by a configuration manager 845 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0256] At 1715, the method may include outputting the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions. The operations of 1715 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1715 may be performed by a control manager 830 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0257] The following provides an overview of aspects of the present disclosure:
[0258] Aspect 1: A method for wireless communications at a wireless device, comprising: outputting a signal for triggering at least one EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, wherein the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal; outputting, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, wherein the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a plurality of identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device; and communicating one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based at least in part on the at least one control signal.
[0259] Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, wherein outputting the signal for triggering comprises: outputting the signal for triggering, the signal indicating a plurality of different periods between the signal for triggering and a plurality of occasions, each of the plurality of occasions associated with a respective EH-capable device of the group of EH-capable devices.
[0260] Aspect 3: The method of any aspect 1, wherein outputting the signal for triggering comprises: outputting the signal for triggering, wherein the duration of the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal is associated with the group of EH-capable devices, and wherein the at least one control signal is output to the group of EH-capable devices associated with the plurality of identifiers.
[0261] Aspect 4: The method of aspect 3, wherein outputting the at least one control signal comprises: outputting multiple control signals to respective EH-capable devices of the group of EH-capable devices, wherein each of the multiple control signals indicates a respective identifier corresponding to one of the respective EH-capable devices.
[0262] Aspect 5: The method of any of aspects 1, wherein outputting the signal for triggering comprises: outputting multiple signals for triggering, wherein each of the multiple signals is for triggering a respective EH-capable device of the group of EH-capable devices, and wherein each of the multiple signals indicates a respective identifier of the plurality of identifiers associated with the respective EH-capable device.
[0263] Aspect 6: The method of any of aspects 1 through 5, wherein the at least one control signal is output via a channel to the at least one EH-capable device using a first resource, the method further comprising: detecting a change in a condition of the channel; and outputting a second control signal to the at least one EH-capable device via the channel using a second resource that is different from the first resource.
[0264] Aspect 7: The method of any of aspects 1 through 6, wherein the at least one control signal indicates a command, the at least one control signal having a same format for the command as for an inventory message.
[0265] Aspect 8: The method of aspect 7, wherein the signal for triggering the at least one EH-capable device indicates the command and not the inventory message for the at least one control signal.
[0266] Aspect 9: The method of any of aspects 7 through 8, wherein a first control signal indicates the command using a first scrambling sequence that is different from a second scrambling sequence associated with the inventory message.
[0267] Aspect 10: The method of any of aspects 7 through 9, wherein the signal for triggering the at least one EH-capable device indicates a first period between the signal and the occasion, and indicates a second period between the signal and a second occasion, the method further comprising: outputting a second control signal indicating the inventory message during the second occasion.
[0268] Aspect 11: The method of aspect 10, further comprising: scrambling a first control signal indicating the command using a first scrambling sequence; and scrambling the second control signal indicating the inventory message using a second scrambling sequence.
[0269] Aspect 12: The method of any of aspects 1 through 6, wherein the at least one control signal indicates a command, the at least one control signal using a different format for the command than for an inventory message.
[0270] Aspect 13: The method of any of aspects 1 through 12, wherein the signal for triggering the at least one EH-capable device indicates a first period between the signal and the occasion, and indicates a second period between the signal and a second occasion, the method further comprising: outputting a second control signal indicating an inventory message during the second occasion.
[0271] Aspect 14: A method for wireless communications at an EH-capable device, comprising: receiving a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, wherein the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal; receiving, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, wherein the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device; and communicating one or more messages with the wireless device based at least in part on the control signal.
[0272] Aspect 15: The method of aspect 14, wherein receiving the signal for triggering comprises: receiving the signal for triggering, the signal indicating a plurality of different periods between the signal for triggering and a plurality of occasions, each of the plurality of occasions associated with a respective EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices.
[0273] Aspect 16: The method of aspect 14, wherein receiving the signal for triggering comprises: receiving the signal for triggering, wherein the duration of the occasion to monitor for the control signal is associated with a group of EH-capable devices, and wherein the EH-capable device receives the control signal indicating the identifier associated with the EH-capable device.
[0274] Aspect 17: The method of aspect 14, wherein receiving the signal for triggering comprises: receiving multiple signals for triggering, wherein each of the multiple signals is for triggering a respective EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices, wherein the received control signal is associated with the signal for triggering that indicates the identifier associated with the EH-capable device, and wherein the EH-capable device refrains from receiving one or more other control signals associated with one or more other signals for triggering that do not indicate the identifier associated with the EH-capable device.
[0275] Aspect 18: A method for wireless communications at a wireless device, comprising: obtaining, from an EH-capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band; outputting, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions; and outputting the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions.
[0276] Aspect 19: The method of aspect 18, wherein outputting the control signal comprises: outputting the control signal at the starting position during the at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions, the starting position being associated with a type of the EH-capable device, wherein the type of the EH-capable device is indicated by the capability signaling.
[0277] Aspect 20: The method of any of aspects 18 through 19, wherein the control signal indicates a command, the control signal having a same format for the command as for an inventory message, and an association of the command with the control signal is indicated based at least in part on a signal for triggering the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band, a first scrambling sequence that is different from a second scrambling sequence associated with the inventory message, a first starting position that is different from a second starting position associated with the inventory message, or any combination thereof.
[0278] Aspect 21: A wireless device comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 13.
[0279] Aspect 22: A wireless device comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 1 through 13.
[0280] Aspect 23: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 13.
[0281] Aspect 24: An EH-capable device comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the EH-capable device to perform a method of any of aspects 14 through 17.
[0282] Aspect 25: An EH-capable device comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 14 through 17.
[0283] Aspect 26: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform a method of any of aspects 14 through 17.
[0284] Aspect 27: A wireless device comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to perform a method of any of aspects 18 through 20.
[0285] Aspect 28: A wireless device comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 18 through 20.
[0286] Aspect 29: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform a method of any of aspects 18 through 20.
[0287] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations. The operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.
[0288] Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) , Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi) , IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) , IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.
[0289] Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
[0290] The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, a graphics processing unit (GPU) , a neural processing unit (NPU) , an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor but, in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration) . Any functions or operations described herein as being capable of being performed by a processor may be performed by multiple processors that, individually or collectively, are capable of performing the described functions or operations.
[0291] The functions described herein may be implemented using hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented using software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored as or transmitted using one or more instructions or code of a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.
[0292] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) , flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) , or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc. Disks may reproduce data magnetically, and discs may reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media. Any functions or operations described herein as being capable of being performed by a memory may be performed by multiple memories that, individually or collectively, are capable of performing the described functions or operations.
[0293] As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of” ) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) . Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. ”
[0294] As used herein, including in the claims, the article “a” before a noun is open-ended and understood to refer to “at least one” of those nouns or “one or more” of those nouns. Thus, the terms “a, ” “at least one, ” “one or more, ” and “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. For example, if a claim recites “acomponent” that performs one or more functions, each of the individual functions may be performed by a single component or by any combination of multiple components. Thus, the term “acomponent” having characteristics or performing functions may refer to “at least one of one or more components” having a particular characteristic or performing a particular function. Subsequent reference to a component introduced with the article “a” using the terms “the” or “said” may refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, a component introduced with the article “a” may be understood to mean “one or more components, ” and referring to “the component” subsequently in the claims may be understood to be equivalent to referring to “at least one of the one or more components. ” Similarly, subsequent reference to a component introduced as “one or more components” using the terms “the” or “said” may refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, referring to “the one or more components” subsequently in the claims may be understood to be equivalent to referring to “at least one of the one or more components. ”
[0295] The term “determine” or “determining” encompasses a variety of actions and, therefore, “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, a database, or another data structure) , ascertaining, and the like. Also, “determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information) , accessing (e.g., accessing data stored in memory) , and the like. Also, “determining” can include resolving, obtaining, selecting, choosing, establishing, and other such similar actions.
[0296] In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label or other subsequent reference label.
[0297] The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples. ” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some figures, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.
[0298] The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
Claims
1.A wireless device, comprising:one or more memories storing processor-executable code; andone or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:output a signal for triggering at least one energy harvesting (EH) -capable device of a group of EH-capable devices to monitor for at least one control signal, wherein the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal;output, to the at least one EH-capable device during the occasion, the at least one control signal subsequent to the period, wherein the signal for triggering or the at least one control signal indicates at least one identifier of a plurality of identifiers, the at least one identifier associated with the at least one EH-capable device; andcommunicate one or more messages with the at least one EH-capable device based at least in part on the at least one control signal.2.The wireless device of claim 1, wherein, to output the signal for triggering, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:output the signal for triggering, the signal indicating a plurality of different periods between the signal for triggering and a plurality of occasions, each of the plurality of occasions associated with a respective EH-capable device of the group of EH-capable devices.3.The wireless device of claim 1, wherein, to output the signal for triggering, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:output the signal for triggering, wherein the duration of the occasion to monitor for the at least one control signal is associated with the group of EH-capable devices, and wherein the at least one control signal is output to the group of EH-capable devices associated with the plurality of identifiers.4.The wireless device of claim 3, wherein, to output the at least one control signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:output multiple control signals to respective EH-capable devices of the group of EH-capable devices, wherein each of the multiple control signals indicates a respective identifier corresponding to one of the respective EH-capable devices.5.The wireless device of claim 1, wherein, to output the signal for triggering, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:output multiple signals for triggering, wherein each of the multiple signals is for triggering a respective EH-capable device of the group of EH-capable devices, and wherein each of the multiple signals indicates a respective identifier of the plurality of identifiers associated with the respective EH-capable device.6.The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the at least one control signal is output via a channel to the at least one EH-capable device using a first resource, and wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:detect a change in a condition of the channel; andoutput a second control signal to the at least one EH-capable device via the channel using a second resource that is different from the first resource.7.The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the at least one control signal indicates a command, the at least one control signal having a same format for the command as for an inventory message.8.The wireless device of claim 7, wherein the signal for triggering the at least one EH-capable device indicates the command and not the inventory message for the at least one control signal.9.The wireless device of claim 7, wherein a first control signal indicates the command using a first scrambling sequence that is different from a second scrambling sequence associated with the inventory message.10.The wireless device of claim 7, wherein the signal for triggering the at least one EH-capable device indicates a first period between the signal and the occasion, and indicates a second period between the signal and a second occasion, and wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:output a second control signal indicating the inventory message during the second occasion.11.The wireless device of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:scramble a first control signal indicating the command using a first scrambling sequence; andscramble the second control signal indicating the inventory message using a second scrambling sequence.12.The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the at least one control signal indicates a command, the at least one control signal using a different format for the command than for an inventory message.13.The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the signal for triggering the at least one EH-capable device indicates a first period between the signal and the occasion, and indicates a second period between the signal and a second occasion, and wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:output a second control signal indicating an inventory message during the second occasion.14.An energy harvesting (EH) -capable device, comprising:one or more memories storing processor-executable code; andone or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the EH-capable device to:receive a signal for triggering the EH-capable device from a wireless device, wherein the signal for triggering indicates a duration of an occasion to monitor for a control signal, and indicates a period between the signal for triggering and the occasion to monitor for the control signal;receive, during the occasion, the control signal subsequent to the period, wherein the signal for triggering or the control signal indicates an identifier associated with the EH-capable device; andcommunicate one or more messages with the wireless device based at least in part on the control signal.15.The EH-capable device of claim 14, wherein, to receive the signal for triggering, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the EH-capable device to:receive the signal for triggering, the signal indicating a plurality of different periods between the signal for triggering and a plurality of occasions, each of the plurality of occasions associated with a respective EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices.16.The EH-capable device of claim 14, wherein, to receive the signal for triggering, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the EH-capable device to:receive the signal for triggering, wherein the duration of the occasion to monitor for the control signal is associated with a group of EH-capable devices, and wherein the EH-capable device receives the control signal indicating the identifier associated with the EH-capable device.17.The EH-capable device of claim 14, wherein, to receive the signal for triggering, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the EH-capable device to:receive multiple signals for triggering, wherein each of the multiple signals is for triggering a respective EH-capable device of a group of EH-capable devices, wherein the received control signal is associated with the signal for triggering that indicates the identifier associated with the EH-capable device, and wherein the EH-capable device refrains from receiving one or more other control signals associated with one or more other signals for triggering that do not indicate the identifier associated with the EH-capable device.18.A wireless device, comprising:one or more memories storing processor-executable code; andone or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:obtain, from an energy harvesting (EH) -capable device, capability signaling indicating a capability of the EH-capable device to perform periodic monitoring in a time domain in a single frequency band;output, from the wireless device, a configuration message for configuring the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band during one or more periodic occasions for communicating a control signal to the EH-capable device, the configuration message indicating a starting position and a periodicity of the one or more periodic occasions; andoutput the control signal in the single frequency band at the starting position during at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions.19.The wireless device of claim 18, wherein, to output the control signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the wireless device to:output the control signal at the starting position during the at least one periodic occasion of the one or more periodic occasions, the starting position being associated with a type of the EH-capable device, wherein the type of the EH-capable device is indicated by the capability signaling.20.The wireless device of claim 18, wherein:the control signal indicates a command, the control signal having a same format for the command as for an inventory message, andan association of the command with the control signal is indicated based at least in part on a signal for triggering the EH-capable device to monitor the single frequency band, a first scrambling sequence that is different from a second scrambling sequence associated with the inventory message, a first starting position that is different from a second starting position associated with the inventory message, or any combination thereof.
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