Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, applicable to communication of an IoT device. The method comprises: a network apparatus sends a first signal, and a terminal apparatus detects the first signal. The first signal comprises a start indication signal used for determining a start of a clock capture signal. The start indication signal comprises a first high level and a first low level. The chip length of the clock capture signal is the length of a first chip, and the length of the first chip is one of a plurality of values. For the plurality of values, the length of the first low level remains unchanged, the length of the first low level is a first length, and the first length is different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip. In the present application, for the plurality of values of the length of the first chip, the length of the first low level in the start indication signal is always the first length. Upon detecting the first high level, the terminal apparatus detects the first low level according to a fixed length, thereby reducing the detection complexity of the start indication signal and improving the detection performance of the start indication signal.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411399494.5, filed on September 30, 2024, and entitled "A communication method and apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0004] In an ultra high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) protocol, a start indication signal is all low, which can be used to determine the start of data transmission. Before sending the start indication, the default sender sends a high-level signal to the device without interruption, which serves to charge the device. When the device detects a low level, it can be considered to have detected the start indication.

[0005] However, in possible scenarios, the sender may not send a high-level signal to the device before sending the start indication signal. For example, considering that the device has energy storage capability, the sender may not send a high-level signal to the device before sending the start indication signal. In this case, the device detects the start indication signal by detecting a low level, which may miss or misdetect the start indication signal.

[0006] To this end, a start indication signal is designed based on an ON / OFF pattern. The current start indication signal detection has high complexity. SUMMARY

[0007] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, and provide a design scheme of a start indication signal, which helps to reduce the complexity of the device detecting the start indication signal.

[0008] To achieve the above object, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0009] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a sending device. In the absence of a special description in the present application, the sending device can be the sending device itself, or a module or unit for completing part of the function of the sending device, for example, a circuit or chip / chip system in the sending device. Alternatively, the sending device can be a logic node, a logic module or a software module for implementing all or part of the function of the sending device. As an example, the sending device is a network device, which can be a network equipment, a component (such as a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.) in the network equipment, or a module or unit for completing part or all of the function of the network equipment, for example, a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU) or a radio unit (RU). For the convenience of description, the following takes the sending device as a network device as an example. Alternatively, the network device is a card reader or a card reader / writer, or the network device has the function of a card reader or a card reader / writer.

[0010] The method comprises: generating, by the network device, a first signal and a clock capture signal. The first signal comprises a start indication signal for determining the start of the clock capture signal, and the start indication signal comprises a first high level and a first low level, wherein the chip length of the clock capture signal is a first chip length, and the first chip length is one of a plurality of values. For the plurality of values, the length of the first low level is constant, and the length of the first low level is a first length, which is different from an integer multiple of the first chip length.

[0011] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a receiving device. The receiving device can be a receiving device or a module or unit for completing part of the function of the receiving device, for example, a circuit or chip / chip system in the receiving device. Alternatively, the receiving device can be a logic node, a logic module or a software module for implementing all or part of the function of the receiving device. For example, the receiving device is a terminal device, which can be a terminal equipment or a circuit or chip / chip system (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a system in package (SIP) chip containing a modem core) in the terminal equipment. For the convenience of description, the following takes the method applied to a first terminal device as an example. Alternatively, the first terminal device is an ambient IoT (A-IoT) device, for example, the first terminal device is a tag.

[0012] The method comprises: a first terminal device receiving a first signal, and receiving a clock capture signal, the first signal comprising a start indication signal used to determine the start of the clock capture signal. The start indication signal comprises a first high level and a first low level, wherein the chip length of the clock capture signal is the length of a first chip, and the length of the first chip is one of a plurality of values, for which the length of the first low level is constant, and the length of the first low level is a first length, which is different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip.

[0013] In the scheme provided in the first aspect or the second aspect, for the plurality of values of the length of the first chip, the length of the first low level in the start indication signal is always the first length. Taking 1 / M2 of the length of a first chip as 1 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol as an example, for a set of values of M2, the length of the first low level in the start indication signal is always the first length. In addition, the first length is different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip, which is different from the length of a low level in the clock capture signal or the data signal. For the first terminal device, the first terminal device detects the first high level, and can detect the first low level according to the fixed length. Compared with detecting a plurality of lengths, the detection complexity of the start indication signal is reduced, and the detection performance of the start indication signal is improved.

[0014] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the start indication signal starts with the first high level and ends with the first low level. The first high level can be used to provide a reference time for detecting the first low level, so that the first terminal device determines the start position of detecting the first low level according to the first high level. This scheme provides a design of the start indication signal. For example, the start indication signal only comprises the first high level and the first low level in sequence, which is relatively simple.

[0015] In an implementation form of the first aspect, the method further comprises: a network device sending a data signal, and the chip length of the data signal is the length of a first chip. Correspondingly, in an implementation form of the second aspect, the method further comprises: a first terminal device receiving a data signal, and the chip length of the data signal is the length of a first chip.

[0016] In this scheme, the chip length of the data signal is the same as the chip length of the clock capture signal. If there is remaining time domain resource in the OFDM symbol in which the start indication signal and the clock capture signal are located, the data signal can be contained in the first signal. If there is no remaining time domain resource in the OFDM symbol in which the start indication signal and the clock capture signal are located, the network device sends the data signal on the OFDM symbol after the OFDM symbol in which the start indication signal and the clock capture signal are located.

[0017] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the integer multiple of the length of the first chip is 1 or 2, to adapt to more modulation modes.

[0018] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first length is X times the length of the second chip, X is a fixed value, and X is a positive integer. The length of one OFDM symbol is M1 times the length of the second chip, or the length of the second chip is 1 / M1 times the length of one OFDM symbol, or the length of one OFDM symbol is M1 times the length of the second chip, and M1 is a positive integer. In this scheme, by limiting the values of M1 and X, the length of the first low level is always limited to the first length. The first terminal device can detect the first low level according to the fixed value of X, and the complexity is relatively low.

[0019] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the value of M1 is not in the value set of M2, wherein the length of one OFDM symbol is M2 times the length of the first chip, or the length of the first chip is 1 / M2 times the length of one OFDM symbol, or the length of one OFDM symbol is M2 times the length of the first chip, and M2 is a positive integer. This scheme provides an implementation form of the value of M1, for example, the value of M1 is different from any value of M2. For example, the value set of M2 is {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24}, and the value of M1 is one of {3, 5, 7, 9}. Alternatively, M1 is the maximum value in the value set of M1, to distinguish the length of the first length and the low level in the data signal under all values of M2, and to reduce the false detection of the starting indication signal.

[0020] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the value of M1 is one value in the value set of M2, wherein the length of one OFDM symbol is M2 times the length of the first chip, and M2 is a positive integer. This scheme provides another implementation form of the value of M1, for example, M1 is a specific value in the value set of M2. Alternatively, M1 is the maximum value in the value set of M2, to distinguish the length of the low level in the data signal under all values of M2, and to reduce the false detection of the starting indication signal.

[0021] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first high level has a second length, and the second length is a length of Y first chips, Y is a fixed value, and a part of the one OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal includes Z second chips, Z is a positive integer. This scheme provides a design of the start indication signal. For example, the total length of the start indication signal is fixed, and the length of the first high level and the length of the first low level are fixed. In this way, the first terminal device detects the high level according to the fixed second length, and then detects the low level according to the fixed first length, and considers that the start indication signal is detected, which can further reduce the complexity of the start indication signal. In addition, the part of the one OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal includes an integer number of second chips, which can ensure the integrity of the information as much as possible, reduce the false detection, and improve the detection performance.

[0022] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the first high level has a second length, and the second length is a length of Y first chips, Y is a fixed value, and a part of the one OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal includes Z second chips, Z is a positive integer. This scheme provides a design of the start indication signal. For example, the total length of the start indication signal is fixed, and the length of the first high level and the length of the first low level are fixed. In this way, the first terminal device detects the high level according to the fixed second length, and then detects the low level according to the fixed first length, and considers that the start indication signal is detected, which can further reduce the complexity of the start indication signal. In addition, the part of the one OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal includes an integer number of second chips, which can ensure the integrity of the information as much as possible, reduce the false detection, and improve the detection performance.

[0023] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, M1 is a value in {12, 16, 24}, or M1 is a value in {3, 5, 7, 9}. M1 can take a larger value to distinguish the length of the first length and the length of the low level in the data signal under all values of M2, and reduce the false detection of the start indication signal.

[0024] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the start indication signal further includes a second high level and a second low level, the second high level and the second low level are located before the first high level and the first low level, and the second high level and the second low level have a third length. This scheme provides a design of the start indication signal. For example, the start indication signal includes the second high level, the second low level, the first high level and the first low level in sequence. The second high level and the second low level have the third length. When the first terminal device detects the start indication signal, the second high level and the second low level of the third length are detected in sequence, and the first high level and the second low level are further detected to consider that the start indication signal is detected, so as to reduce the false detection of the start indication signal.

[0025] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the start indication signal starts with the second high level and ends with the first low level. When the start indication signal comprises the second high level, the second low level, the first high level and the first low level, the start indication signal starts with the second high level and ends with the first low level. In this way, the first terminal device only needs to identify a fixed combination of high and low levels when detecting the start indication signal, thereby reducing the complexity of detecting the start indication signal.

[0026] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the second high level and the second low level are used to detect a high level or a low level. In this solution, the second high level and the second low level can enable the terminal device to obtain an effective threshold, quantize the high level or the low level, and facilitate subsequent detection of the first high level and the first low level.

[0027] In an implementation form of the first aspect or the second aspect, the third length is P second chips, P is a positive integer, the length of one OFDM symbol is M1 second chips, or the length of one second chip is 1 / M1 of the length of one OFDM symbol, M1 is a positive integer. Through this solution, the detection performance of the start indication signal can be improved.

[0028] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, which has the functions of implementing the behaviors in the method embodiments of the first aspect or the second aspect. The beneficial effects can be referred to the related description of the first aspect or the second aspect and will not be described here. For example, the communication device can be the network device in the first aspect, or the communication device can be a device capable of supporting the functions required by the network device to implement the method provided by the first aspect, for example, the communication device can be a chip or chip system in the network device. For another example, the communication device can be the first terminal device in the second aspect, or the communication device can be a device capable of supporting the functions required by the terminal device to implement the method provided by the second aspect, for example, the communication device can be a chip or chip system in the terminal device.

[0029] In a possible design, the communication device comprises a baseband device and a radio frequency device.

[0030] In a possible design, the communication apparatus includes corresponding means or modules or units for performing the methods of the first aspect or the second aspect. The modules or means or units can be implemented by software or by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware. For example, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit (also referred to as a processing module or a processor) and / or a transceiver unit (also referred to as a transceiver module or a transceiver). The transceiver unit can implement the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it can be referred to as a sending unit (also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be referred to as a receiving unit (also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional unit, which is referred to as a transceiver unit and can implement the sending function and the receiving function. Alternatively, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional units, and the transceiver unit refers to both of the functional units. The units (modules) can perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of the first aspect or the second aspect, and details are not described herein again.

[0031] For example, the communication apparatus is used to implement the corresponding functions in the method examples of the first aspect. Accordingly, the processing module can be used to generate a first signal, where the first signal includes a start indication signal used to determine a start of a clock capture signal, and the start indication signal includes a first high level and a first low level, and a chip length of the clock capture signal is a length of a first chip, and the length of the first chip is one of a plurality of values. For the plurality of values, the length of the first low level is constant, and the length of the first low level is a first length, and the first length is different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip. The transceiver module is used to send the first signal and the clock capture signal.

[0032] For another example, the communication apparatus is used to implement the corresponding functions in the method examples of the second aspect. Accordingly, the transceiver module is used to receive a first signal and a clock capture signal, where the first signal includes a start indication signal used to determine a start of the clock capture signal. The start indication signal includes a first high level and a first low level, and a chip length of the clock capture signal is a length of a first chip, and the length of the first chip is one of a plurality of values, and for the plurality of values, the length of the first low level is constant, and the length of the first low level is a first length, and the first length is different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip. The processing module is used to determine the start of the clock capture signal.

[0033] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which comprises a processor configured to cause the method in the first aspect or the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof to be performed. Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface. Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory for storing a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instruction), data, etc. The processor is coupled with the memory and the communication interface. When the processor reads the computer program, data, etc. from the memory, the method in the first aspect or the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof is caused to be performed.

[0034] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which comprises an input / output interface and a logic circuit. The input / output interface is configured to input and / or output information. The input / output interface can be an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuit, etc. The logic circuit is configured to perform the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0035] In the fourth aspect and the fifth aspect, the communication apparatus can be the network apparatus in the first aspect. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can be an apparatus capable of supporting the functions required by the network device to implement the method provided in the first aspect, for example, the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system in the network device. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can be the first terminal apparatus in the second aspect. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can be an apparatus capable of supporting the functions required by the terminal device to implement the method provided in the second aspect, for example, the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system in the terminal device. The chip can be a baseband chip and / or a radio frequency chip, and the chip system can be composed of a chip or can contain a chip and other discrete devices.

[0036] In an implementation manner of the fifth aspect, when the communication apparatus is a terminal device, the interface circuit can be a radio frequency processing chip in the terminal device, and the processing circuit can be a baseband processing chip in the terminal device. When the communication apparatus is a network device, the interface circuit can be a radio frequency processing chip in the network device, and the processing circuit can be a baseband processing chip in the network device.

[0037] In an implementation process of the fifth aspect, when the communication apparatus is a chip or a chip system, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the logic circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, various logic circuits, etc. The input received by the input circuit can be received by, for example but not limited to, a receiver and input, the output output by the output circuit can be output to, for example but not limited to, a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. The present application does not limit the specific implementation manners of the input / output interface and the logic circuit.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device is configured to implement the method of the first aspect, and the network device is configured to implement the method of the second aspect. Optionally, the terminal device is an A-IoT device, and the network device is a reader-writer.

[0039] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, configured to store a computer program or instructions, which when executed, cause the method of the first aspect or the second aspect and any implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0040] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the method of the first aspect or the second aspect and any implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0041] The advantages of the third aspect to the eighth aspect and the implementation thereof can refer to the advantages of the first aspect and any implementation thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0042] FIG. 1 is a working schematic diagram of a backscattering system;

[0043] FIGS. 2-3 are schematic diagrams of a communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

[0044] FIGS. 4A-4B are schematic diagrams of structures of A-IoT;

[0045] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of A-IoT;

[0046] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIGS. 7-11 are schematic diagrams of a design of a start indication signal provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of another design of a start indication signal provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another structure of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] Embodiments of the present application provide technical solutions that can be applied to various communication systems, such as a third generation partnership project (3GPP) related cellular system, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) communication system, a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system / new radio (NR) communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system, or other similar communication systems. Other similar communication systems include, for example, wireless fidelity (WiFi), vehicle to everything (V2X), spark link system, Bluetooth system, near field communication system, internet of things (IoT) system, such as ambient IoT (A-IoT / A-IoT), narrow band IoT (NB-IoT), and the like. Alternatively, the solutions provided by embodiments of the present application can also be applied to a communication system that combines two or more of the above systems. It should be understood that IoT technology is widely used in various industries, for example, IoT technology can be applied to logistics, warehousing, industrial manufacturing, identity recognition, or environmental monitoring scenarios. IoT is based on RFID technology. RFID technology is a non-contact communication technology that uses radio frequency communication. The principle is that the reader and the tag do not need to be in contact, and data communication is achieved through radio waves.

[0052] The technical solutions provided by embodiments of the present application are applicable to a backscatter system. The backscatter system generally consists of an exciter, a receiver and a transmitter, and its communication link includes a downlink from the exciter to the reflector and an uplink from the reflector to the receiver. As shown in FIG. 1, a backscatter system is illustrated with a tag and a reader. The reader can send a carrier signal to the tag, and the tag receives the carrier signal through an antenna. The solid line in FIG. 1 represents the carrier signal sent by the reader, and the dashed line represents the reflected signal transmitted by the tag based on the carrier signal. The tag can adjust the information to be transmitted in the reflected signal. In this way, the tag uses a low-precision low-power medium-low frequency ring oscillator or a completely local oscillator-free method to receive the downlink signal, which can further reduce the power consumption of the tag in downlink reception. Alternatively, the carrier can also be understood as an excitation signal, and the carrier can be sent by a device other than the reader or a device integrated with the reader (such as an external node).

[0053] For example, please refer to FIG. 2, which shows a communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication system includes a network device and an A-IoT device. The A-IoT device can be a standalone device, or the A-IoT device can be integrated with a terminal device, i.e., the A-IoT device is part of the terminal device. In the communication system, the network device can communicate with the A-IoT device. It should be noted that FIG. 1 takes the network device as an example of the device that communicates with the A-IoT device. In possible scenarios, the device that communicates with the A-IoT device can be a device other than the network device, such as a terminal device.

[0054] For another example, please refer to FIG. 3, which shows a schematic diagram of another communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 3, the communication system includes a network device, an intermediate node, and an A-IoT device, wherein the intermediate node can forward information between the network device and the A-IoT device. FIG. 2 takes a terminal device as an example of the intermediate node, i.e., the terminal device serves as an intermediate node between the network device and the A-IoT device. The A-IoT device transmits information to the terminal device, and the terminal device forwards the information to the network device through a Uu interface; or the network device transmits information to the terminal device, and the terminal device forwards the information to the A-IoT device; or based on pre-authorized or pre-configured resources of the network device, the terminal device performs bidirectional communication with the A-IoT device through an A-IoT air interface.

[0055] The intermediate node can also be a device other than the terminal device, for example, the intermediate node can be a network device. The network device can be located outdoors, and the terminal device and the A-IoT device can be located indoors, which means that the outdoor network device communicates with the indoor A-IoT device through the indoor intermediate node. Alternatively, the intermediate node can be referred to as an intermediate terminal device (intermediate UE). For another example, the intermediate node can be an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node. The IAB node can serve as an intermediate node between the network device and the A-IoT device, and the A-IoT device transmits information to the IAB node, and the IAB node forwards the information to the network device through a Uu interface; or the network device transmits information to the IAB node, and the IAB node forwards the information to the A-IoT device. Based on the resources pre-authorized or pre-configured by the network device, the IAB node can also perform bidirectional communication with the A-IoT device through an A-IoT air interface. For another example, the intermediate node can be a relay node. The relay node can serve as an intermediate node between the network device and the A-IoT device, and the A-IoT device transmits information to the relay node, and the relay node forwards the information to the network device through a Uu interface; or the network device transmits information to the relay node, and the relay node forwards the information to the A-IoT device. Based on the resources pre-authorized or pre-configured by the network device, the relay node can also perform bidirectional communication with the A-IoT device through an A-IoT air interface.

[0056] Alternatively, the energy required by the A-IoT device to transmit information is provided by an excitation signal, which can come from an exciter. The exciter can be a network device, a terminal device, or a device other than a network device and a terminal device. In a possible scenario, the functions of a device (for example, a reader) that communicates with the A-IoT device can be further separated. The reader can be divided into a receiver and an exciter in terms of function, and the receiver and the exciter can be deployed in different network devices, for example, the receiver is deployed in a first network device, and the exciter is deployed in a second network device. The first network device can perform the receiving function of the reader. The second network device can perform the transmitting function of the reader. The receiver is also referred to as a receiving end or a receiving unit, and the exciter is also referred to as an exciting end or an exciting unit.

[0057] As described above, several communication systems to which embodiments of the present application are applicable are introduced. In order to better understand the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, some terms, concepts, and the like related to the embodiments of the present application are first introduced.

[0058] (1) Network device, also referred to as network apparatus

[0059] In embodiments of the present application, the network device refers to a (wireless) access network ((radio) access network, (R)AN) device / RAN node. In embodiments of the present application, the (R)AN and the RAN can be replaced, and for the convenience of description, the RAN is taken as an example below. The RAN can be a third generation partnership project (3GPP) related cellular system. The RAN can also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a virtualized RAN (vRAN), a non terrestrial network (NTN), etc. The RAN can also be a communication system in which two or more of the above systems are fused. The RAN device can also be referred to as a RAN node, a RAN entity, or an access node, etc.

[0060] In a possible scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, etc. The RAN node can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, a donor node / host node, or a radio controller, etc. The RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the RAN node in the V2X technology can be a road side unit (RSU).

[0061] In another possible scenario, a RAN node can be a module or unit that completes part of functions of a base station; or multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist a terminal device to implement radio access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of functions of a base station. For example, a RAN node can be a CU, a DU, or an RU, etc. The functions of a CU can be implemented by one entity, or can also be implemented by different entities. For example, the functions of a CU can be further divided, i.e., the control plane and the user plane are separated and implemented by different entities, respectively, as a control plane CU entity (i.e., a CU-control plane (CP) entity) and a user plane CU entity (i.e., a CU-user plane (UP) entity). The CU-CP entity and the CU-UP entity can be coupled with a DU to jointly complete the functions of a RAN node. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), the DU, and the RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0062] The CU and the DU can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement: for example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and above protocol layers (such as a radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, etc.); and the DU is configured to implement the functions of a PDCP layer below protocol layers (such as a radio link control (RLC), a media access control (MAC) layer, and / or a physical (PHY) layer, etc.). For specific descriptions of the above-mentioned various protocol layers, refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3GPP or the technical specifications of other applicable communication protocols.

[0063] The above-mentioned division of processing functions of the CU and the DU according to protocol layers is only an example, and the division can also be performed in other manners, which is not limited in this application. For example, in one design, the CU or the DU can also be divided into part of the processing functions of the protocol layers. In one design, part of the functions of an RLC layer and the functions of protocol layers above the RLC layer are arranged in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of protocol layers below the RLC layer are arranged in the DU.

[0064] When the RAN is an O-RAN, it can also have an artificial intelligence (AI) function, for example, the O-RAN includes an intelligent controller. The intelligent controller can be a non-real time RAN intelligent controller (non-real time RAN intelligent controller, non-RT RIC / NRT RIC), or a near-real time RAN intelligent controller (near-real time RAN intelligent controller, near-RT RIC / nRT RIC). The non-real time RIC can be used to implement non-real time intelligent management of the RAN function, can implement a workflow including model training and model updating, and guide applications / functions in the nRT RIC based on a policy. The near-real time RIC can be used to implement near-real time intelligent management of the RAN. Through data collection and related operations on the E2 interface, near-real time control and optimization of modules and resources of the O-RAN are implemented.

[0065] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the network device can be the network device itself, or a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system or a combination device or component that can implement the function of the network device, which can be installed in the network device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0066] (2) Terminal device

[0067] In the embodiments of the present application, all devices capable of data communication with a base station can be regarded as terminal devices. The terminal device is also called a terminal, a terminal device, a user equipment (UE), a user device, a mobile station, or a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal device can be widely applied to various scenes, for example, the terminal device can be a mobile phone, a computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a station (STA), a mechanical arm, a camera, a robot, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, or a smart home device (such as a television, an air conditioner, a sweeping machine, a sound box, a set-top box), a relay, a customer premise equipment (CPE), etc.

[0068] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a terminal device in an IoT system, for example, a water meter, an electricity meter, an electronic tag / tag, etc. IoT is an important part of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is to connect objects through communication technology and network, so as to realize the intelligent network of man-machine interconnection and object-object interconnection.

[0069] The terminal device can also be referred to as a V2X device when it is applied to V2X, for example, a smart car or an intelligent car, an unmanned car or a driverless car or a pilotless car or an automobile, a road site unit (RSU). As introduced above, various terminal devices can be considered as vehicle-mounted terminal devices if they are located on a vehicle (for example, placed / installed in the vehicle). The vehicle-mounted terminal device can be built-in as one or more components or units in a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted module group, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip or a vehicle-mounted unit of the vehicle, and the vehicle can implement the method of the present application through the built-in vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted module group, vehicle-mounted component, vehicle-mounted chip or vehicle-mounted unit. The vehicle-mounted terminal device can be a whole vehicle device, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle, an on-board unit (OBU), an RSU, a telematics box (T-box), a chip or a system on chip (SOC), etc. The above-mentioned chip or SoC can be installed in the vehicle, OBU, RSU or T-box.

[0070] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the terminal device can be the network device itself, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to realize the function, such as a chip system or a combination device / component that can realize the function of the terminal device, which can be installed in the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0071] (3) Device in IoT system

[0072] IoT can include various devices, such as smart water meters, shared bicycles, and smart city, environmental monitoring, smart home, forest fire prevention, etc. for the purpose of sensing and data acquisition. In order to increase the number of devices that can be accommodated in the IoT scene, it is a trend to reduce the size of IoT devices. However, due to various factors, the size of IoT devices cannot be further reduced, for example, IoT devices need to be powered by high-capacity batteries. Therefore, for IoT devices with limited size, it is not possible to set a high-capacity battery, and it is desirable to reduce the power consumption of IoT devices to prolong the endurance time of IoT devices.

[0073] Compared with NR terminal devices (e.g., NR terminal devices of releases (R) 15, 16, 17), an A-IoT device has at least one of the following features:

[0074] 1) Maximum bandwidth: The maximum bandwidth of an A-IoT device can be smaller than the maximum bandwidth (e.g., 100 MHz) of R15 terminal devices and R16 terminal devices. The maximum bandwidth of an A-IoT device can be smaller than the maximum bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz) of a reduced capability (RedCap) in R17 terminal devices. For example, the maximum bandwidth of an A-IoT device is 1 resource block (RB), 1.44 MHz, 1.5 MHz, 2.88 MHz, 3 MHz, etc.

[0075] 2) Supported number of antennas: An A-IoT device supports one transmit antenna and one receive antenna, or an A-IoT device supports one transmit antenna and two receive antennas.

[0076] 3) The transmission channel of an A-IoT device to a reader is not aligned with the start and / or boundary of a slot, a frame, a symbol, etc. of NR.

[0077] 4) The transmission of an A-IoT device to a reader adopts a single-carrier waveform.

[0078] 5) The transmission channel of a reader to an A-IoT device is not aligned with the start and / or end boundary of a slot, a frame, etc. of NR; the transmission channel of a reader to an A-IoT device is aligned with the start and / or end boundary of an OFDM symbol of NR.

[0079] 6) The transmission of a reader to an A-IoT device adopts an OFDM waveform.

[0080] 7) The modulation mode supported by an A-IoT device includes at least one of binary on-off keying (OOK), frequency-shift keying (FSK), binary phase shift keying (BPSK), and minimum shift keying (MSK). Among them, FSK can also be called binary frequency shift keying (BFSK) or 2FSK or OOK-FSK.

[0081] IoT devices include IoT devices requiring a battery (also referred to as IoT devices with energy storage or active IoT devices), IoT devices not requiring a battery (also referred to as IoT devices without energy storage or passive IoT devices), and IoT devices with limited energy storage (also referred to as semi-passive IoT devices). The IoT devices with limited energy storage do not require manual battery replacement or charging. The active IoT devices can independently generate signals and have active radio frequency components for transmission. The passive IoT devices do not have energy storage and cannot independently generate signals and are based on backscatter communication for transmission. The semi-passive IoT devices have energy storage and cannot independently generate signals and are based on backscatter communication for transmission. The passive IoT devices or the semi-passive IoT devices can also be referred to as A-IoT devices, which can serve and communicate by collecting energy from the environment.

[0082] A typical IoT device is, for example, a tag. The tag can also be referred to as an RFID tag or an electronic tag, or an IoT tag. In embodiments of the present application, the tag can serve as a terminal device to communicate with a network device. The "tag" is only an optional name, and the name can be changed, for example, the "A-IoT tag" can be changed to another name, and embodiments of the present application do not limit the name. For the convenience of description, the following continues to take "tag" as an example.

[0083] The tag uses a low-precision, low-power mid-low frequency ring oscillator or a completely non-local oscillator to receive a downlink signal. When the tag is working, the energy and / or carrier of the communication is supplied by the reader, and the communication is based on reflected carrier.

[0084] The tag is a miniature wireless transceiver device, mainly including an internal antenna, a coupling element, and a chip. The tag chip has a storage space that can support the reader to read or write tag data. After the tag receives the radio frequency signal sent by the reader through the antenna, the coupling element can be used to couple the radio frequency signal, and the chip of the tag can be powered in the coupling channel, and the data stored in the chip can be fed back to the reader through the antenna. A communication network based on a cellular network infrastructure, including a reader and a tag, can be referred to as A-IoT.

[0085] There are various types of A-IoT devices, and embodiments of the present application do not limit the classification method of A-IoT device types. The following illustrates several classification methods of A-IoT device types.

[0086] In the classification manner 1, the A-IoT devices can be classified into three categories, namely Type 1 (referred to as device1), Type 2 (also referred to as device2a) and Type 3 (also referred to as device2b). Among them, the A-IoT device of Type 1 does not support uplink amplification and downlink amplification, and the uplink is transmitted in a backscatter manner based on an externally provided carrier wave, and cannot generate a signal by itself. The A-IoT device of Type 2 supports uplink amplification or downlink amplification, and the uplink is transmitted in a backscatter manner based on an externally provided carrier wave, and cannot generate a signal by itself. The A-IoT device of Type 3 supports uplink amplification or downlink amplification, and the uplink is transmitted in a manner of internally generating a carrier wave.

[0087] Optionally, the A-IoT device of Type 1 has an output power consumption of about 1 μW and has a certain energy storage capability. The peak power of the A-IoT device of Type 2 does not exceed a few hundred μW. The peak power of the A-IoT device of Type 3 does not exceed a few hundred μW.

[0088] Optionally, the initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) of the A-IoT device of Type 1 is at most 10 ppm, and X1 can be 5 or 4 or 3 or 2. The initial sampling frequency offset of the A-IoT device of Type 2 is at most 10 ppm, and X2 can be 5 or 4 or 3 or 2. The initial sampling frequency offset of the A-IoT device of Type 3 is at most 10 ppm, and X3 can be 5 or 4 or 3 or 2. X1 X2 X3

[0089] As shown in FIG. 4A, the A-IoT device of Type 1 includes:

[0090] 1. Antenna: receiving radio frequency (RF) energy and the receiver / transmitter can be shared and can be separated.

[0091] 2. Matching network: matching the impedance between the antenna and other parts (including the RF energy collector and the receiver-related module).

[0092] 3. RF energy collector: including a rectifier for converting a radio frequency signal (alternating current) into direct current.

[0093] 4. Energy storage (such as a capacitor): storing the collected energy from the RF energy receiver.

[0094] 5. Power management unit (PMU): managing the energy stored by the energy collector and providing energy to the active modules that need energy supply.​​​

[0095] 6. Digital baseband logic: includes functional blocks such as encoders, decoders, and controllers, etc.

[0096] 7. Memory: includes two types of memory: 1) non-volatile memory such as electrically EPROM (EEPROM), etc.; 2) registers that hold information temporarily, only when the energy storage has enough energy.

[0097] 8. Clock generator: provides clock signals.

[0098] 9. Receive related blocks such as:

[0099] 1) RF band pass filter (BPF): improves frequency selectivity.

[0100] 2) RF envelope detector: converts RF signal to baseband.

[0101] 3 baseband low pass filter (LPF): filters out harmonic and high frequency components, improves the quality of the signal input to the comparator.

[0102] 4) Comparator: decides the high / low (level) of the input signal.

[0103] 10. Transmit related blocks such as: backscatter modulator: switches impedance to modulate backscatter signal with transmit signal from baseband logic.

[0104] 11. Clock generator: provides clock signals.

[0105] As shown in FIG. 4B, a Type 2 A-IoT device includes:

[0106] 1. Antenna: receives RF energy and receiver / transmitter can be shared, can be separate.

[0107] 2. Matching network: matches impedance between antenna and other parts (including RF energy harvester and receive related blocks).

[0108] 3. RF energy harvester: includes rectifier, converts RF signal (AC) to DC.

[0109] 4. Power management unit (PMU): manages energy stored from energy harvester, provides energy to active blocks that need energy supply.

[0110] 5. Digital baseband logic: includes functional blocks such as encoders, decoders, controllers, etc.

[0111] 6. Memory: includes two types of memory: 1) non-volatile memory, such as EEPROM, etc. 2) registers that hold information temporarily, only when the energy storage has enough energy.

[0112] 7. Clock generator: provides a clock signal.

[0113] 8. Local oscillator (LO): generates a carrier frequency for the transmitter or a carrier frequency offset for the intermediate frequency (IF) receiver.

[0114] 9. Receive-related modules, such as:

[0115] 1) RF band-pass filter (BPF): improves frequency selectivity.

[0116] 2) Mixer: converts the RF signal to an intermediate frequency signal.

[0117] 3) Intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier (amf): amplifies the intermediate frequency signal.

[0118] 4) Intermediate frequency (IF) filter: filters out unwanted RF and LO signals at the intermediate frequency.

[0119] 5) Intermediate frequency (IF) envelope-demodulation (ED): detects the envelope from the intermediate frequency signal.

[0120] 6) Baseband (BB) amplifier (amf): may or may not exist depending on implementation.

[0121] 7) Baseband (BB) low-pass filter (LPF): filters out harmonics and high-frequency components to improve the quality of the signal input to the comparator / ADC.

[0122] 8) Comparator / N-bit ADC.

[0123] 10. Transmit-related modules, such as:

[0124] 1) Transmit modulation: modulates the baseband bits according to the modulation method, which can be part of the baseband logic module.

[0125] 2) Digital-to-analog converter (DAC): converts digital signals to analog signals.

[0126] 3) Low-pass filter (LPF): filters out unwanted signals.

[0127] 4) Mixer: up-converts baseband signals to the RF frequency range.

[0128] 5) Power amplifier (PA): if present, amplifies the transmit signal.

[0129] 11. Energy storage (e.g., capacitor): stores harvested energy from the RF energy receiver.

[0130] In addition, in the chip shown in FIG. 4B, a low noise amplifier (LNA) and an energy harvester (other than RF) are also included.

[0131] In the classification manner 2, the A-IoT device can be divided into three categories, namely passive A-IoT device, semi-passive A-IoT device and active A-IoT device. Among them, the passive A-IoT device and the semi-passive A-IoT device can adopt the communication mode based on reflection, and the active A-IoT device adopts the communication mode of actively generating carrier.

[0132] In the classification manner 3, the A-IoT device can also be divided into three categories, namely device A, device B and device C. Among them, device A has no energy storage and cannot independently generate signals, and uses backscatter to transmit signals; device B has energy storage but cannot independently generate signals, and uses backscatter to transmit signals, wherein the energy stored by device B can amplify the reflected signal; device C has energy storage and can independently generate signals, and has active radio frequency elements for transmission.

[0133] The A-IoT device in the embodiment of the application can be classified according to the classification manner 1, the classification manner 2 or the classification manner 3, and the embodiment of the application is applicable to any category of A-IoT device under the classification manner 1, the classification manner 2 or the classification manner 3. Alternatively, the A-IoT tag in the embodiment of the application can also have other classification manners or not be classified, and this is not limited.

[0134] (4) In the embodiments of the present application, "transmit" includes "send" and / or "receive". Wherein, "send" and "receive" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as that the destination of the information is XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and also includes indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as that the source of the information is YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through the air interface, and also includes indirect receiving from YY through the air interface by other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between an access network device and a terminal device, or can be carried out within a device, for example, between components, between modules, between chips, between software modules or hardware modules in the device through a bus, a wire or an interface.

[0135] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns represents "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more" unless otherwise specified. "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, wherein A / B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it. For example, A / B means A or B. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b and / or c means the following combinations: a exists alone, b exists alone, c exists alone, a and b exist together, a and c exist together, b and c exist together, or a and b and c exist together, wherein a, b and c can be single or multiple.

[0136] In the embodiments of the present application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, not limited to time, and also does not require the device to have a judgment action when it is implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations. Unless otherwise specified, "if" and "if" can be replaced, and "when" and "in the case of" can be replaced. "When" and "if" / "if" can be replaced. "Correlation" and "correspondence" can be replaced.

[0137] In the embodiments of the present application, the word "exemplary" or "for example" is used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration, and not necessarily to imply any preference or superiority. In fact, an "exemplary" or "for example" embodiment should not necessarily be considered to have any advantage over other embodiments.

[0138] The ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish different objects, and are not used to represent the size, content, order, timing, priority or importance of the objects. For example, the first parameter and the second parameter refer to two different parameters, and do not mean that the priority or importance of the two parameters is different.

[0139] In the embodiments of the present application, the schemes in the embodiments can be reasonably combined, and the explanation or description of each term, similar operations or steps appearing in the embodiments can be mutually referenced or explained in the embodiments, and this is not limited.

[0140] An A-IoT system is an asynchronous system, and before an A-IoT device receives a data signal, the A-IoT device needs to acquire the start of the data signal and the length of a chip in the data signal. Therefore, before sending the data signal, the network side needs to first send time acquisition to the A-IoT device. For reader to device (R2D) communication, one R2D transmission includes time acquisition and a data signal, wherein the time acquisition includes a start-indicator signal and a clock acquisition signal, and the data signal is carried on a data channel for transmission. For R2D transmission, the data channel is called a physical reader device channel (PRDCH). Alternatively, the PRDCH can also be replaced by an ambient physical downlink shared channel (APDSCH). Wherein, the "start-indicator signal" can be replaced by a start-indicator part, and the "clock acquisition signal" can be replaced by a clock acquisition part. For convenience of description, the start-indicator signal and the clock acquisition signal are taken as examples in the following.

[0141] For example, please refer to Fig. 5, the start indication signal is located before the clock acquisition signal. There is no time interval between the start indication signal and the clock acquisition signal, i.e. the end of the start indication signal is the start of the clock acquisition signal. Further, the clock acquisition signal is located before the data signal, and there is no time interval between the two, i.e. the end of the clock acquisition signal is the start of the data signal. It can be understood that in the R2D transmission, the data signal is transmitted in the PRDCH, and the transmission of the data signal can also be described as PRDCH transmission, or data channel transmission, etc. Accordingly, the start of the data signal can be described as the start of the data channel or the start of the data transmission.

[0142] The start indication signal can be used to determine or provide the start of the data transmission. Since the end of the start indication signal is the start of the clock acquisition signal, and the end of the clock acquisition signal is the start of the data signal. Therefore, the start indication signal can be used to determine the start of the data transmission, which can also be described as: the start indication information can be used to determine the start of the clock acquisition signal, or the start indication signal can be used to determine the start of the PRDCH.

[0143] The clock acquisition signal can be used to determine the chip length of the data signal, and also determine the start of the PRDCH. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the chip length can also be described as: chip duration, time length of chip, or time unit of chip, etc. For example, the chip length of the PRDCH can also be described as the chip duration of the PRDCH, or the transmission time unit of the PRDCH, etc. The clock acquisition signal can be used to determine the length of the chip in the data transmission / data signal / data channel. Or, the clock acquisition part provides at least the chip synchronization of the subsequent physical channel transmission. The process that the A-IoT device detects the start indication signal and the clock acquisition signal, and performs corresponding operations according to the start indication signal and the clock acquisition signal.

[0144] In the UHF RFID protocol, the start indication is all low. Before sending the start indication, the default sender sends a high-level signal to the A-IoT device without interruption, which serves to charge the A-IoT device. When the A-IoT device detects low, it can be considered to have detected the start indication, so as to start preparing for the reception of the PRDCH transmission according to the start indication.

[0145] However, in possible scenarios, the transmitter can not send a high level signal to the A-IoT device before sending the start indication. For example, in R19 of 3GPP, considering that all A-IoT devices have energy storage capability, the transmitter can not send a high level signal to the A-IoT device before sending the start indication. In this case, the A-IoT device detects the start indication by detecting a low level, which can miss or misjudge the start indication signal.

[0146] To this end, it is proposed to design the start indication signal based on an ON / OFF pattern. Here, ON can also be described as a high level and can be coded as "1"; OFF can also be described as a low level and can be coded as "0", where the high and low levels are relative. For example, a certain level is higher than a first threshold, and the level is a high level; a certain level is lower than a second threshold, and the level is a low level, where the second threshold is less than or equal to the first threshold. In other words, the start indication signal includes both high and low levels. It should be understood that in the case of a fixed subcarrier spacing, the duration of a symbol is fixed. An OFDM symbol includes multiple chips, and the lengths of the multiple chips can not be the same. Accordingly, the lengths of the high and / or low levels of the start indication signal in an OFDM symbol can also vary with the lengths of the chips. Thus, when the A-IoT device detects the start indication signal, it needs to detect all possible lengths of ON and / or all possible lengths of OFF, which is relatively complex and increases the power consumption of the A-IoT device.

[0147] In view of this, the scheme of the embodiments of the present application is provided. In the embodiments of the present application, the start indication signal can include a first high level and a first low level. For multiple values of the length of the chip of the clock capture signal / data signal, the length of the first low level is a fixed value, for example, the length of the first low level is a first length. In this way, when the A-IoT device detects the start indication signal, it only needs to detect the low level of the first length, without the need to detect multiple lengths, thereby reducing the complexity and power consumption of detecting the start indication. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the length of the level can also be described as the time length of the level, or the duration of the level. For example, the length of the first level can be replaced by: the time length of the first level, or the duration of the first level, etc.

[0148] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below.

[0149] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the network architecture shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3. The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application takes the access of a first terminal device to a network as an example. It should be understood that, in addition to the first terminal device, other terminal devices can also access the network by using the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, and the behaviors of the other terminal devices are the same as that of the first terminal device. The method provided in the embodiments of the present application is taken as an example of being executed by the first terminal device and a network device. The steps executed by the first terminal device can be implemented by the first terminal device itself, or by a device (for example, a terminal device) including the first terminal device, for example, the first terminal device can be a hardware component (such as a baseband chip, or other processing unit or processor, etc.) in the terminal device, or a logic node, logic module or software module implementing part or all functions of the first terminal device. The steps executed by the network device can be implemented by the network device itself, or by a component (such as a baseband chip, or other processing unit or processor, etc.) in the network device, or by a component (such as a CU, DU or RU) implementing part or all functions of the network device.

[0150] In the scheme of the embodiments of the present application, the first terminal device can be an A-IoT device, for example, the first terminal device can be an A-IoT device or a chip (system) in the A-IoT device shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3. The type of the A-IoT device is not limited. For example, the A-IoT device in the embodiments of the present application can be a type 1 A-IoT device, or a type 2 A-IoT device, which is not limited. For the type of the A-IoT device, refer to the foregoing description. The network device can be a network device in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, or can be a chip (system) in the network device in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3. The network device has part or all functions of a reader / writer. When the scheme of the embodiments of the present application is applied to the network architecture shown in FIG. 3, at this time, the network device can be an intermediate node.

[0151] In addition, the A-IoT device and the reader / writer can be implemented based on infrastructure in a cellular network, or the A-IoT device and the reader / writer can be devices in the cellular network. For example, the functions of the reader / writer can be implemented by a network device or a terminal device, and the A-IoT device can be implemented by a terminal device in the cellular network, for example, the A-IoT device can be an extremely low-power, extremely low-complexity Internet of Things terminal. When the terminal device has the functions of the A-IoT device, the terminal device can perform non-contact data communication with the network device or another terminal device.

[0152] Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 6 introduces the method from the perspective of the interaction between the first terminal device and the network device. It should be understood that the communication method can also be implemented by other devices, such as a chip or a communication device with communication function. In addition, the processing performed by a single execution subject can also be divided into processing performed by multiple execution subjects, which can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, the processing performed by the network device can be performed by at least one of the multiple entities divided from the network device. As shown in FIG. 6, the flow of the communication method includes the following steps.

[0153] S601, the network device generates a first signal.

[0154] The first signal includes a start indication signal, which can be used to determine the start of the clock capture signal. For example, the end of the start indication signal is the start of the clock capture signal. And the end of the clock capture signal is the start of the data signal. When the length of the clock capture signal is fixed, the start of the data signal can be determined according to the start of the clock capture signal. Therefore, the start indication signal can also be used to determine the start of the data transmission. Alternatively, in the embodiment of the present application, the "start indication signal is used to determine the start of the clock capture signal" can be replaced by "start indication signal is used to determine the start of the data transmission", or "start indication signal is used to determine the start of the clock capture signal and the start of the data transmission". Wherein, the start of the data transmission can also be replaced by: the start of the R2D transmission, the start of the data channel transmission, the start of the PRDCH, the start of the ambient physical downlink shared channel (APDSCH), the start of the PRDCH transmission or the start of the APDSCH transmission. Optionally, for the network device side, the start of the data transmission can be the start of the data transmission. The first terminal device detects the start indication signal and prepares to receive data from the start of the data transmission. From this perspective, for the terminal device side, the start indication signal can be used to determine the start of the data reception. The name of the start indication signal in the embodiment of the present application is not limited, for example, it can be called start indication part. Correspondingly, the start indication part provides the start of the R2D transmission (Start-indicator part provides the start of the R2D transmission).

[0155] In a possible design, the start indication signal and the clock capture signal can occupy all or part of time domain resources of the N OFDM symbols, where N is a positive integer. For example, when N is 1, the start indication signal and the clock capture signal can occupy all time domain resources of the 1 OFDM symbol. Alternatively, the start indication signal and the clock capture signal can occupy the first 1 / 2 of the 1 OFDM symbol. For another example, when N is 2, the start indication signal and the clock capture signal can occupy all time domain resources of the 2 OFDM symbols. Alternatively, the start indication signal and the clock capture signal can occupy one of the 2 OFDM symbols and a part of the other OFDM symbol. No limitation is imposed on the remaining part of the N OFDM symbols. For example, the remaining part of the N OFDM symbols can be used to transmit or carry a data signal. That is, the first signal can further include a data signal occupying the time domain resources of the N OFDM symbols other than those occupied by the start indication signal and the clock capture signal.

[0156] Each of the N OFDM symbols can include a plurality of chips, and each chip can correspond to a high level or a low level, or a bit of {1} or {0}, where {1} is equal to the high level and {0} is equal to the low level, or a state of on or off, where on is equal to the high level and off is equal to the low level. The duration of one OFDM symbol is fixed. In a case where one OFDM symbol includes M chips, the length of each chip is 1 / M of the duration of one OFDM symbol, or the duration of one OFDM symbol is the duration of M chips, or the duration of one OFDM symbol is M times the duration of one chip. The duration of one OFDM symbol can be replaced by the length of one OFDM symbol, and the duration of one chip can be replaced by the length of one chip.

[0157] The length of a chip of each of the N OFDM symbols can be the same or different, or each of the N OFDM symbols can have a plurality of chip lengths. Accordingly, the high level and / or the low level in the start indication signal can correspond to a plurality of chip lengths or a plurality of chip numbers, and the terminal device needs to detect a plurality of lengths of the level when detecting the start indication signal, which is relatively complex.

[0158] To this end, in the embodiments of the present application, the starting indication signal can include a first high level and a first low level. For various values of the length of a chip of the clock capture signal, the length of the first low level is a fixed value, for example, the length of the first low level is a first length. For the convenience of description, the chip of the clock capture signal is taken as a first chip as an example. It should be understood that the chip of the data signal is also a first chip. The length of 1 OFDM symbol is the length of M2 first chips, that is, the length of the first chip is 1 / M2 of the length of 1 OFDM symbol, or the length of 1 OFDM symbol is M2 times the length of the first chip, or in other words, 1 OFDM symbol includes M2 first chips, and M2 is a positive integer. The length of the first chip has multiple values. Correspondingly, M2 also has multiple values. The value set of M2 includes at least two values in {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24}. For the value set of M2, the length of the first low level is always the first length. In this way, when the A-IoT device detects the starting indication signal, it only needs to detect the low level of the first length. Compared with detecting multiple chip lengths, the complexity and power consumption of detecting the starting indication can be reduced.

[0159] In addition, in order to distinguish the first length and the length of the chip of the data signal, or in order to distinguish the first length and the length of the low level of the data signal, the first length is different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip. The first length is different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip. Among them, the integer multiple of the length of the first chip is 1 or 2, in order to be suitable for more modulation modes.

[0160] In design 1, the starting indication signal starts with a first high level and ends with a first low level. That is, the starting indication signal only includes the first high level and the first low level. The first high level can be regarded as providing a falling edge, indicating from which time to detect the first low level. After the terminal device detects the high level, it detects the low level, and if it detects the first low level of the first length, it can be considered that the starting indication signal is detected, which is relatively simple.

[0161] In a possible implementation, the first length is the length of X second chips, and X is a positive integer. Among them, the length of 1 OFDM symbol is the length of M1 second chips, that is, the length of the second chip is 1 / M1 of the length of 1 OFDM symbol, or the length of 1 OFDM symbol is M1 times the length of the second chip, or in other words, 1 OFDM symbol includes M1 second chips, and M1 is a positive integer. There are multiple implementations of the value of M1, so that the length of the remaining part of N OFDM symbols except the starting indication signal is the length of an integer chip, which is introduced as an example as follows.

[0162] In example 1, the value of M1 is not in the value set of M2. That is, the value of M1 is different from any value of M2. For example, the value set of M2 is {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24}, and the value of M1 is one of {3, 5, 7, 9}. Alternatively, the value of M1 can be a specific value in the value set of M1, for example, M1 is the maximum value in the value set of M1, to distinguish the length of low level in the data signal under all values of M2, and to reduce the false detection of the start indication signal.

[0163] In example 2, the value of M1 is one of the value set of M2. That is, the value of M1 can be the same as the value of M2. For example, the value set of M2 is {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24}, and the value of M1 is one of {12, 16, 24}. Alternatively, the value of M1 can be a specific value in the value set of M2, for example, M1 is the maximum value in the value set of M2, to distinguish the length of low level in the data signal under all values of M2, and to reduce the false detection of the start indication signal.

[0164] wherein X is a fixed value, or the value of X is fixed to a specific value. For example, X is a constant, or X is a predefined or preconfigured value, and X is always a specific value for all values of M2. For example, when M2 = 12, the value of X is a first value; when M2 = 24, the value of X is still the first value.

[0165] For the convenience of understanding, the possible values of X are introduced below in combination with FIG. 7. In FIG. 7, the length of the start indication signal is taken as an example of 1 / 2 OFDM for all values of M2. The remaining 1 / 2 OFDM symbol in the 1 OFDM symbol except for the 1 / 2 OFDM symbol occupied by the start indication signal can be used as a transmission clock acquisition signal (as shown in (a) of FIG. 7), or can be used as a transmission clock acquisition signal and a data signal (as shown in (d) of FIG. 7).

[0166] wherein the length of the chip corresponding to the remaining 1 / 2 OFDM symbol in the 1 OFDM symbol except for the 1 / 2 OFDM symbol occupied by the start indication signal is the length of a first chip. That is, the length of the remaining 1 / 2 OFDM symbol is 1 / M2 of the length of the 1 OFDM symbol. For example, M2 = 24, then the length of the remaining 1 / 2 OFDM symbol is the length of 12 first chips; M2 = 6, then the length of the remaining 1 / 2 OFDM symbol is the length of 3 first chips; M2 = 12, then the length of the remaining 1 / 2 OFDM symbol is the length of 6 first chips; M2 = 2, then the length of the remaining 1 / 2 OFDM symbol is the length of 1 first chip.

[0167] In the introduction of FIG. 7, the length of the first high level is the second length, the second length is the length of Y second chips, and M1 = 24, X = 11, and Y = 1 are taken as examples. As shown in (a) of FIG. 7, assuming M2 = 2, X + Y = 12, and assuming X = 11, Y = 1. As shown in (b) of FIG. 7, assuming M2 = 6, X + Y = 12, and assuming X = 11, Y = 1. As shown in (c) of FIG. 7, assuming M2 = 12, X + Y = 12, and assuming X = 11, Y = 1. As shown in (d) of FIG. 7, assuming M2 = 24, X + Y = 12, and assuming X = 11, Y = 1. As can be seen from (a) of FIG. 7 to (d) of FIG. 7, when M2 = 2, 6, 12, or 24, the value of X is always 11.

[0168] In the introduction of FIG. 7, M1 = 24 is taken as an example, and in possible designs, M1 can also have other values, for example, M1 = 12, or M = 16, etc. The value of M1 is different, and the value of X is also different. For example, refer to FIG. 8, which shows various examples of a start indication signal. (a) of FIG. 8 to (c) of FIG. 8 respectively show a start indication signal. FIG. 8 takes an example of a start indication signal occupying 1 / 2 OFDM symbol, and accordingly, X + Y = 12. As shown in (a) of FIG. 8, when M1 = 24, X = 11, and Y = 1. As shown in (b) of FIG. 8, when M1 = 12, X = 5, and Y = 1. As shown in (c) of FIG. 8, when M1 = 16, X = 7, and Y = 1.

[0169] The start indication signal in FIG. 7 can also be a start indication signal in FIG. 8, for example, the start indication signal in FIG. 7 can also be a start indication signal shown in (b) of FIG. 8 or (c) of FIG. 8. The value of M1 and the value of X can be defined to determine the start indication signal. In addition, the value of X in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 is only an example. As described above, in order to be different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip, the value of X can also be other values. For example, the value of X is one of {5, 7, 9, 11}. The value of X can be predefined or agreed by both the transmitting end and the receiving end.

[0170] In implementation 1, Y is a fixed value, or the value of Y is fixed to a certain specific value. That is, the second length is fixed, or the total length of the start indication signal is fixed. For example, Y is a constant, or Y is a predefined or preconfigured value, and for all values of M2, Y is always a specific value. For example, when M2 = 12, the value of Y is a second value, and when M2 = 24, the value of Y is still the second value.

[0171] The terminal device only needs to detect the first high level with a fixed length and the first low level with a fixed length, which is simpler. In addition, the remaining part of the OFDM symbol except the start indication signal includes an integer number of second chips to ensure the integrity of the information as much as possible, reduce the false detection, and improve the detection performance. For example, the remaining part of the OFDM symbol except the start indication signal includes Z second chips, and Z is a positive integer.

[0172] In the above-mentioned embodiments, the first high level can provide a falling edge as a reference time for starting to detect the first low level, or the first high level can provide a reference time for starting to detect the first low level. Therefore, the length of the first high level can be shorter. For example, in the examples shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8, the value of Y can be 1. In possible implementation manners, a fixed value of Y can be predefined or agreed, for example, Y = 1. After the terminal device detects the length of the Y second chips, the terminal device starts to detect the first low level. If a low level with a length of the first length is detected, it is considered that the start indication signal is detected.

[0173] In the implementation manner 2, the value of Y is related to one or more of the values of M2 and Z. Z is the number of first chips included in the remaining part of the OFDM symbol except the start indication signal, and Z is a positive integer. It can be considered that the second length changes with the change of the values of M2 and Z. In this case, for all values of M2, the second length can be flexibly adjusted or the length of the first high level is allowed to be adjusted, and the data transmission efficiency is improved.

[0174] For example, referring to FIGS. 9-11, the starting indication signal is shown under different values of M2. In FIGS. 9-11, X=7 and M1=24 are taken as examples. In FIGS. 9-11, the length of the starting indication signal is 1 / 2 OFDM for all values of M2. In FIG. 9, (a) takes M2=2 as an example, and accordingly, Z=1; (b) takes M2=6 as an example, and accordingly, Z=3. When M1=24 and X=7, Y=5. In FIG. 10, the length of the starting indication signal is 1 / 3 OFDM for all values of M2. In FIG. 10, (a) takes M2=12 as an example, and accordingly, Z=8; (b) takes M2=24 as an example, and accordingly, Z=16. When M1=24 and X=7, Y=1. In FIG. 11, the length of the starting indication signal is 3 / 8 OFDM for all values of M2. In FIG. 11, (a) takes M2=8 as an example, and accordingly, Z=5; (b) takes M2=16 as an example, and accordingly, Z=10. When M1=24 and X=7, Y=2. As can be seen from FIGS. 9-11, when M2 and / or Z changes, Y also changes, i.e., the length of the first high level also changes. For different values of M2, the value of Z can be adjusted adaptively, so as to flexibly adjust the length of the first high level, and improve the data transmission efficiency.

[0175] In the design 1, it can be understood that the design of the starting indication signal satisfies: (1) the starting indication signal includes a first high level and a first low level, and starts with the first high level and ends with the first low level; (2) for all values of M2, the length of the first low level (i.e., the first length) is a fixed length, or for all values of M2, the length of the first low level is the same. In this way, the terminal device detects the first high level, and can detect the first low level according to the fixed length, thereby reducing the detection complexity of the terminal device.

[0176] Further, in addition to satisfying (1) and (2), the design of the starting indication signal also satisfies: (3) for all values of M2, the length of the first high level (i.e., the second length) is a fixed length, or for all values of M2, the length of the first high level is the same. In this way, the terminal device can detect the first high level according to the fixed length, and then detect the first low level according to the fixed length, thereby reducing the detection complexity of the terminal device. Alternatively, in addition to satisfying (1) and (2), the design of the starting indication signal also satisfies: (4) the length of the first high level (i.e., the second length) is variable, and the length of the first high level may

[0177] In addition, in the design 1, the value of M1 is large, for example, the value of M1 can be a fixed large value, or can be a large value in the value set of M2, for example, the value of M1 is the largest value in the value set of M2. The large value of M1 can distinguish the length of the first low level from the length of the low level in the data signal, thereby reducing the false detection of the start indication signal.

[0178] In addition, the length of the remaining part of the OFDM symbol except the start indication signal is the length of an integer number of first chips, so as to improve the detection performance, for example, improve the error correction detection performance of the data signal transmission.

[0179] In the design 2, the start indication signal further includes a second high level and a second low level, wherein the second high level and the first low level are located before the first high level and the first low level, and the length of the second high level and the second low level is the third length. Alternatively, the start indication signal includes the second high level, the second low level, the first high level and the first low level in sequence. In this case, the start indication signal starts with the second high level and ends with the first low level. The second high level and the second low level are used for detecting the high level or the low level. Alternatively, the second high level and the second low level are used to provide a detection threshold of the high level and / or the low level. The second high level and the second low level can enable the terminal device to obtain an effective threshold and quantize the high level or the low level, so as to facilitate the subsequent detection of the first high level and the first low level. The third length can be the length of P second chips, and P is a positive integer, so as to improve the detection performance of the second high level and the second low level. For example, please refer to FIG. 12, which shows a start indication signal. In FIG. 12, M1=24, M2=24, Y=2, X=6, and P=2 are taken as examples.

[0180] In the design 2, the specific implementation of the first high level and the first low level can refer to the related description in the design 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0181] In the design 2, it can be understood that the design of the start indication signal satisfies: (1) the start indication signal includes the second high level, the second low level, the first high level and the first low level in sequence, and starts with the second high level and ends with the first low level; (2) the length of the second high level and the second low level is the third length; (3) for all values of M2, the length of the first low level (i.e. the first length) is a fixed length, or for all values of M2, the length of the first low level is the same. In this way, the terminal device detects the first high level, and can detect the first low level according to the fixed length, thereby reducing the detection complexity of the terminal device.

[0182] Further, in addition to satisfying (1) to (3), the design of the start indication signal also satisfies: (4) the third length is the length of an integer number of second chips.

[0183] Further, the design of the start indication signal satisfies (1) to (4) and (5): the length of the first high level (i.e., the second length) is a fixed length for all values of M2, or the length of the first high level is the same for all values of M2. In this way, the terminal device can detect the first high level according to the fixed length, and then detect the first low level according to the fixed length, reducing the detection complexity of the terminal device. Alternatively, the design of the start indication signal satisfies (1) to (4) and (6): the length of the first high level (i.e., the second length) is variable, and the length of the first high level can be the same or different according to different values of M2 and / or different values of Z. In this way, the terminal device can flexibly adjust the length of the first high level, and then select appropriate M2 and Z, improving the data transmission efficiency.

[0184] In addition, in the design 2, the value of M1 is large, for example, the value of M1 can be a fixed large value, or can be a larger value in the value set of M2, for example, the value of M1 is the largest value in the value set of M2. The value of M1 is large, which can distinguish the length of the first low level and the length of the low level in the data signal, thereby reducing the false detection of the start indication signal. The length of the remaining part of one OFDM symbol except the start indication signal is the length of an integer number of first chips, so as to improve the detection performance, for example, to improve the error correction detection performance of the data signal transmission.

[0185] S602, the network device sends the first signal and the clock capture signal.

[0186] The network device generates the first signal, and can send the first signal on N OFDM symbols, where N is a positive integer. The first signal includes the start indication signal, or the first signal is the start indication signal. The network device sending the first signal can be the network device sending the start indication signal. Correspondingly, the first terminal device receives the first signal. The first terminal device receiving the first signal can also be replaced by the first terminal device detecting the first signal. The process of the first terminal device receiving the first signal can include the first terminal device receiving the start indication signal.

[0187] If there are remaining time domain resources on the N OFDM symbols except the start indication signal, the network device can send the clock capture signal on the remaining time domain resources. Correspondingly, the network device also generates the clock capture signal. In addition to receiving the first signal, the first terminal device also receives the clock capture signal. It should be understood that the first terminal device has received the first signal, and can determine the start of the clock capture signal according to the start indication signal included in the first signal, and the first terminal device starts receiving the clock capture signal from the start of the clock capture signal.

[0188] If there are remaining time domain resources on the N OFDM symbols except for the start indication signal and the clock acquisition signal, the network device can send a data signal in the remaining time domain resources. Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the data signal in addition to the first signal and the clock acquisition signal. It should be understood that for the first terminal device, receiving the first signal, detecting the start indication signal, and determining the start of the clock acquisition signal and the start of the data signal according to the start indication signal when the start indication signal is detected. Further, receiving the clock acquisition signal starting from the start of the clock acquisition signal and receiving the data signal starting from the start of the data signal.

[0189] Optionally, the start indication signal and the clock acquisition signal can be contained in the same signal (e.g., the second signal), or the start indication signal, the clock acquisition signal, and the data signal can be contained in the second signal. The network device sends the first signal and the clock acquisition signal for the network device to send the second signal.

[0190] Optionally, S601 and S602 can be executed simultaneously, or S601 and S602 can be one step. That is, the network device can execute S602 and S603 without executing S601, and therefore, S601 is illustrated in a dashed line. In the process of executing S602, the network device generates the first signal and the clock acquisition signal.

[0191] S603, the network device sends a data signal.

[0192] If there are no remaining time domain resources on the N OFDM symbols except for the start indication signal and the clock acquisition signal, the network device can send a data signal in time domain resources after the N OFDM symbols. The network device sends the data signal in addition to the first signal. It should be understood that if there are remaining time domain resources on the N OFDM symbols except for the start indication signal and the clock acquisition signal, the data signal can be sent in the remaining time domain resources. Therefore, S603 is not a step that must be executed, and is illustrated in a dashed line in FIG. 6.

[0193] Accordingly, the first terminal device receives the data signal. It should be understood that the first terminal device can determine the start of the data signal according to the previously received start indication signal, and therefore, receives the data signal starting from the start of the data signal.

[0194] In possible implementations, the network device can generate N OFDM signals, each OFDM symbol comprising at least one chip, and the chip length within the same OFDM symbol may vary. For example, the N OFDM symbols may sequentially include Y first chips, X first chips, and the remaining portion or all of the remaining portion except for X+Y first chips may include Z second chips. Another example is that the N OFDM symbols may sequentially include P first chips, P first chips, Y first chips, X first chips, and the remaining portion or all of the remaining portion except for 2P+X+Y first chips may include Z second chips. The specific process is as follows: The Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) module in the Discrete Fourier Transform-Spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) functional module of the network device performs a DFT on the N... ′ An N′-point DFT is performed on the time-domain sequence. Each of the (X+Y+Z) chips maps to N′ / X+Y+Z points, or each of the (2P+X+Y+Z) chips maps to N′ / 2P+X+Y+Z points. Optionally, the processing module in the network device takes Q points from the DFT-generated signal and pads them with zeros to form N′ points. The inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT) module in the DFT-S-OFDM functional module performs an N′-point IFFT on the N′-point frequency-domain signal. Alternatively, the processing module in the network device pads the DFT-generated signal with zeros to form N points, and the IFFT module in the DFT-S-OFDM functional module performs an N-point IFFT, where N ≥ N′. The network device adds a CP to each OFDM symbol.

[0195] The first terminal device receives a first signal, or the first terminal device receives both a first signal and a data signal. Receiving the first signal can also be replaced by the first terminal device detecting the first signal. If the start indication signal in the first signal adopts the scheme of Design 1 described above, the first terminal device detects a first high level and begins detecting a low level. If a low level of a first length is detected, it is considered that a start indication signal has been detected, and data is received based on the detected start indication signal. If the start indication signal in the first signal adopts the scheme of Design 2 described above, the first terminal device detects a second high level and a second low level of a third length sequentially, determines a high level detection threshold and a low level detection threshold, detects a first high level based on the high level detection threshold, begins detecting a low level, and if a low level of a first length is detected based on the low level detection threshold, it is considered that a start indication signal has been detected, and data is received based on the detected start indication signal.

[0196] The embodiments of the present application provide two designs of the start indication signal, which can reduce the complexity of the terminal device detecting the start indication signal and improve the detection performance.

[0197] The above embodiments of the present application are introduced by taking the first terminal device and the network device as examples. In the present application, each embodiment can be independently implemented or implemented based on certain internal relations; different implementation manners in each embodiment can be combined or independently implemented. In order to implement the functions in the above method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the steps performed by the first terminal device can be implemented by the terminal device itself or by a functional entity (for example, a terminal device) including the first terminal device. The steps performed by the network device can be implemented by the network device itself or by a functional entity (for example, a network device) including the network device. In order to implement the functions in the above method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the first terminal device and the network device can include hardware structures and / or software modules, and the above functions are implemented in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules. Whether a certain function in the above functions is implemented in the form of hardware structure, software module, or hardware structure plus software module depends on the specific application of the technical solution and the design constraint conditions.

[0198] Based on the same concept as the method embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication device. The communication device used to implement the above method in the embodiments of the present application is introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The above contents can be used in the subsequent embodiments, and the repeated contents will not be described in detail.

[0199] FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1300 provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 1300 can correspond to the functions or steps implemented by the first terminal device in the above various method embodiments. For example, the communication device 1300 can be the A-IoT device in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3; or the communication device 1300 is a chip (system) in the A-IoT device; or the communication device 1300 is a software module of the A-IoT device. Alternatively, the communication device 1300 can correspond to the functions or steps implemented by the network device in the above various method embodiments. For example, the communication device 1300 can be the network device in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3; or the communication device 1300 is a chip (system) in the network device; or the communication device 1300 is a software module of the network device. Optionally, the network device has part or all of the functions of the reader.

[0200] The communication apparatus 1300 can include a processing module 1310 and a transceiver module 1320. Optionally, it can also include a storage module, which can be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The storage module can be, for example, a memory. The processing module 1310 and the transceiver module 1320 can be coupled with the storage module. For example, the processing module 1310 can read instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage module to implement corresponding methods. For example, when the communication apparatus 1300 is a chip in an A-IoT device, the storage module can be a storage module in the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc. For example, the storage module can also be a storage module in the A-IoT device, which is external to the chip, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc. The above-mentioned various units can be independently arranged, or partially or entirely integrated.

[0201] The processing module 1310 can be a processor or a controller, which can be, for example, a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processing (DSP), an application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various exemplary logical blocks, modules and circuits described in combination with the disclosure. The processor can also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc. The transceiver module 1320 is a transceiver, an interface circuit, a bus, a pin or other possible communication interface, which is used to receive signals from other apparatuses. For example, when the apparatus is implemented in the form of a chip, the transceiver module 1320 is an interface circuit of the chip for receiving signals from other chips or apparatuses, or is an interface circuit of the chip for transmitting signals to other chips or apparatuses.

[0202] In an implementation, the communication apparatus 1300 can correspond to implement the behavior and functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The communication apparatus 1300 can be a network device, or a component (for example, a chip or a circuit) in the network device, or a part in a chip or a chip set in the network device for performing the functions of the related method, or a software module in the network device capable of implementing the above communication method, which is not limited. Optionally, the network device has part or all of the functions of a reader. Details can be referred to the related content in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0203] For example, the processing module 1310 is configured to generate a first signal, the first signal comprising a start indication signal used to determine a start of a clock capture signal, the start indication signal comprising a first high level and a first low level, wherein a chip length of the clock capture signal is a length of a first chip, and the length of the first chip is one of a plurality of values, and for the plurality of values, the length of the first low level is constant, and the length of the first low level is a first length, and the first length is different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip. The transceiver module 1320 is configured to transmit the first signal and the clock capture signal.

[0204] Optionally, the transceiver module 1320 is further configured to transmit a data signal, and a chip length of the data signal is the length of the first chip.

[0205] In an implementation, the communication apparatus 1300 can correspond to implement the behavior and functions of the first terminal device in the above method embodiments. The communication apparatus 1300 can be an A-IoT device, or a component (for example, a chip or a circuit) in the A-IoT device, or a part in a chip or a chip set in the A-IoT device for performing the functions of the related method, or a software module in the first terminal device capable of implementing the above communication method, which is not limited. Details can be referred to the related content in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0206] For example, the transceiver module 1320 is configured to receive a first signal and a clock capture signal, the first signal comprising a start indication signal used to determine a start of the clock capture signal. The start indication signal comprises a first high level and a first low level, wherein a chip length of the clock capture signal is a length of a first chip, and the length of the first chip is one of a plurality of values, and for the plurality of values, the length of the first low level is constant, and the length of the first low level is a first length, and the first length is different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip. The processing module 1310 is configured to determine the start of the clock capture signal.

[0207] Optionally, the transceiver module 1320 is further configured to receive a data signal, and a chip length of the data signal is the length of the first chip.

[0208] When the communication apparatus 1300 is a chip type apparatus or circuit, the transceiver module can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface; the processing module is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

[0209] FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 1400 can be the first terminal apparatus or the network apparatus in the above embodiments. For example, the communication apparatus 1400 can be the A-IoT device or the chip (system) in the A-IoT device in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3. For another example, the communication apparatus 1400 can be the network device or the chip (system) in the network device in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. The specific functions can be referred to the description of the method embodiments.

[0210] The communication apparatus 1400 includes one or more processors 1401 for implementing or supporting implementation of the functions of the first terminal apparatus or the network apparatus in the method according to the embodiments of the present application. For details, refer to the description of the method embodiments, which will not be repeated here. The processor 1401 can also be referred to as a processing unit or a processing module, and can implement certain control functions. The processor 1401 can be a general purpose processor or a special purpose processor. For example, it includes a baseband processor, a central processing unit, an application processor, a modem processor, a graphics processor, an image signal processor, a digital signal processor, a video coding and decoding processor, a controller, a memory, and / or a neural network processor, etc. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit can be used to control the communication apparatus 1400 (such as a terminal device or a network device), execute software programs and / or process data. Different processors can be independent devices, or can be integrated into one or more processors, such as integrated into one or more application specific integrated circuits.

[0211] In one design, the processor 1401 can include a program 1403 (which can also be referred to as code or instructions), which can be run on the processor 1401, so that the communication apparatus 1400 performs the methods described in the following embodiments. In another possible design, the communication apparatus 1400 includes a circuit (not shown in FIG. 14) for implementing the functions of the first terminal apparatus or the network apparatus in the above embodiments.

[0212] In one design, the communication device 1400 can include one or more memories 1402 that store instructions 1404 (which can also be referred to as code or a program) that can be executed by the processor 1401 to cause the communication device 1400 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0213] In one possible design, the processor 1401 and / or the memory 1402 can also store data. The processor and the memory can be separately provided or integrated together.

[0214] In one possible design, the communication device 1400 can also include a transceiver 1405 and / or an antenna 1406. The processor 1401 can also be referred to as a processing unit, and can control the communication device 1400. The transceiver 1405 can also be referred to as a transceiving unit, a transceiver, a transceiving circuit, or a transceiver, and can be used to implement the transceiving functions of the communication device 1400 through the antenna 1406.

[0215] In one possible design, the communication device 1400 can also include one or more of the following components: a wireless communication module, an audio module, an external memory interface, an internal memory, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a power management module, an antenna, a speaker, a microphone, an input / output module, a sensor module, a motor, a camera, or a display screen, among other components. It can be understood that the communication device 1400 can include more or less components, or some components can be integrated, or some components can be split, in some embodiments. These components can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0216] The communication device in the above embodiments can be a first terminal device or a network device, can be a circuit, and can be a chip or other combination device, component, etc. having the first terminal device or the network device. When the communication device is a terminal device, the transceiver module can be a transceiver and can include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, etc., and the processing module can be a processor, such as a CPU. When the communication device is a chip system, the communication device can be an FPGA, can be an ASIC, can be a SoC, can be a CPU, can be a network processor (NP), can be a DSP, can be a micro controller unit (MCU), can be a programmable logic device (PLD), or can be another integrated chip. The processing module can be a processor of the chip system. The transceiver module or the communication interface can be an input / output interface or an interface circuit of the chip system. For example, the interface circuit can be a code / data read / write interface circuit. The interface circuit can be used to receive code instructions (the code instructions are stored in a memory and can be directly read from the memory or can be read from the memory through another device) and transmit the code instructions to the processor. The processor can be used to run the code instructions to perform the method in the above method embodiments. For another example, the interface circuit can also be a signal transmission interface circuit between a communication processor and a transceiver.

[0217] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, including at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The terminal device is a terminal device used to implement the functions related to the above communication method, and the network device is a network device used to implement the functions related to the above communication method.

[0218] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the method performed by the first terminal device or the network device in the above communication method to be executed.

[0219] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product including computer program code, which, when executed, causes the method performed by the first terminal device or the network device in the above communication method to be executed.

[0220] The embodiments of the present application provide a chip system including a processor and can further include a memory, which is used to implement the functions of the first terminal device or the network device in the above communication method. The chip system can be composed of a chip or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0221] To implement the functions of the communication apparatus in FIG. 13-14, the embodiments of the present application further provide a chip, comprising a processor, configured to support the communication apparatus to implement the functions of the first terminal apparatus or the network apparatus involved in the above method embodiments. In a possible design, the chip is connected with a memory or the chip comprises a memory, and the memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions and data necessary for the communication apparatus.

[0222] It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process described above does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0223] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. The functions described above can be performed in hardware or software, depending on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0224] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the system, apparatus and unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0225] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0226] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, i.e. they can be located in one place or distributed on a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiments of the present application.

[0227] If the functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the part of the technical solutions of the present application that essentially contributes or the part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

[0228] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: generating a first signal, the first signal comprising a start indication signal, the start indication signal being used to determine a start of a clock capture signal, the start indication signal comprising a first high level and a first low level, wherein a chip length of the clock capture signal is a length of a first chip, the length of the first chip being one of a plurality of values, for the plurality of values, the length of the first low level is constant, the length of the first low level being a first length, the first length being different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip; sending the first signal and the clock capture signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The start indication signal starts with the first high level and ends with the first low level.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein, The method further comprises: sending a data signal, a chip length of the data signal being the length of the first chip.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The integer multiple of the length of the first chip is 1 or 2.

5. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The first length is a length of X second chips, the X being a fixed value, the X being a positive integer, and a length of 1 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol being a length of M1 second chips, the M1 being a positive integer.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The M1 is not in a value set of M2, wherein a length of 1 OFDM symbol is a length of M2 first chips, the M2 being a positive integer.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein, The M1 is in the value set of M2, wherein a length of 1 OFDM symbol is a length of M2 first chips, the M2 being a positive integer.

8. The method of any one of claims 5-7, wherein, The length of the first high level is a second length, the second length being a length of Y second chips, the Y being a fixed value, and a part of 1 OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal comprising Z first chips, the Z being a positive integer.

9. The method of any one of claims 5-7, wherein, The length of the first high level is a second length, the second length being a length of Y second chips, the Y being related to one or more of the values of the M2 and Z, and a part of 1 OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal comprising the Z first chips, the Z being a positive integer.

10. The method of any one of claims 5-9, wherein, The M1 is in {12, 16, 24}, or the M1 is in {3, 5, 7, 9}.

11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, The start indication signal further comprises a second high level and a second low level, the second high level and the second low level being located before the first high level and the first low level, the second high level and the second low level both having a third length.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The start indication signal starts with the second high level and ends with the first low level.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein, The second high level and the second low level are used to detect a high level or a low level.

14. The method of any one of claims 11-13, wherein, The third length is a length of P second chips, the P being a positive integer, and a length of 1 OFDM symbol being a length of M1 second chips, the M1 being a positive integer.

15. A method of communication, comprising: The method comprises: receiving a first signal, the first signal comprising a start indication signal, the start indication signal being used to determine a start of a clock capture signal, the start indication signal comprising a first high level and a first low level, wherein a chip length of the clock capture signal is a length of a first chip, the length of the first chip being one of a plurality of values, for the plurality of values, a length of the first low level is constant, the length of the first low level being a first length, the first length being different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip; receiving the clock capture signal.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, the start indication signal starts with the first high level and ends with the first low level.

17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving a data signal, a chip length of the data signal being the length of the first chip.

18. The method of any one of claims 15-17, wherein, The integer multiple of the length of the first chip is 1 or 2.

19. The method of any one of claims 15-18, wherein, The first length is a length of X second chips, the X being a fixed value, the X being a positive integer, and a length of 1 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, OFDM, symbol is a length of M1 second chips, the M1 being a positive integer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The M1 is not in a value set of M2, wherein a length of 1 OFDM symbol is a length of M2 first chips, the M2 being a positive integer.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein, The M1 is in the value set of M2, wherein a length of 1 OFDM symbol is a length of M2 first chips, the M2 being a positive integer.

22. The method of any one of claims 19-21, wherein, The length of the first high level is a second length, the second length being a length of Y second chips, the Y being a fixed value, and a part of 1 OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal comprises Z first chips, the Z being a positive integer.

23. The method of any one of claims 19-21, wherein, The length of the first high level is a second length, the second length being a length of Y second chips, the Y being in a value set of the M2 and Z, and a part of 1 OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal comprises the Z first chips, the Z being a positive integer.

24. The method of any one of claims 19-23, wherein, The M1 is in {12, 16, 24}, or the M1 is in {3, 5, 7, 9}.

25. The method of any one of claims 15-23, wherein, The start indication signal further comprises a second high level and a second low level, the second high level and the second low level being before the first high level and the first low level, the second high level and the second low level both being a third length.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein, The start indication signal starts with the second high level and ends with the first low level.

27. The method of claim 25 or 26, wherein, The second high level and the second low level are used to detect a high level or a low level.

28. The method of any one of claims 25-27, wherein, The third length is a length of P second chips, the P being a positive integer, and a length of 1 OFDM symbol is a length of M1 second chips, the M1 being a positive integer.

29. A communications device, characterized by comprising: The processing unit is configured to generate a first signal, the first signal comprising a start indication signal, the start indication signal being used to determine a start of a clock capture signal, the start indication signal comprising a first high level and a first low level, wherein a chip length of the clock capture signal is a length of a first chip, the length of the first chip being one of a plurality of values, for the plurality of values, a length of the first low level is constant, the length of the first low level being a first length, the first length being different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip; The transceiving unit is configured to transmit the first signal and the clock capture signal.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein, The start indication signal starts with the first high level and ends with the first low level.

31. The apparatus of claim 29 or 30, wherein, The transceiving unit is further configured to: transmit a data signal, a chip length of the data signal being the length of the first chip.

32. The apparatus of any one of claims 29-31, wherein, The integer multiple of the length of the first chip is 1 or 2.

33. The apparatus of any one of claims 29-32, wherein, The first length is a length of X second chips, the X being a fixed value, the X being a positive integer, and a length of one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol being a length of M1 second chips, the M1 being a positive integer.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein, The M1 is not in a value set of M2, wherein a length of one OFDM symbol is a length of M2 first chips, the M2 being a positive integer.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein, The M1 is in the value set of M2, wherein a length of one OFDM symbol is a length of M2 first chips, the M2 being a positive integer.

36. The apparatus of any one of claims 33-35, wherein, The length of the first high level is a second length, the second length being a length of Y second chips, the Y being a fixed value, and a part of one OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal comprising Z first chips, the Z being a positive integer.

37. The apparatus of any one of claims 33-35, wherein, The length of the first high level is a second length, the second length being a length of Y second chips, the Y being in a value set of the M2 and Z, and a part of one OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal comprising the Z first chips, the Z being a positive integer.

38. The apparatus of any one of claims 33-37, wherein, The M1 is in {12, 16, 24}, or the M1 is in {3, 5, 7, 9}.

39. The apparatus of any one of claims 29-38, wherein, The start indication signal further comprises a second high level and a second low level, the second high level and the second low level being located before the first high level and the first low level, the second high level and the second low level both having a third length.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein, The start indication signal starts with the second high level and ends with the first low level.

41. The apparatus of claim 39 or 40, wherein, The second high level and the second low level are used to detect a high level or a low level.

42. The apparatus of any one of claims 39-41, wherein, The third length is a length of P second chips, the P being a positive integer, and a length of one OFDM symbol being a length of M1 second chips, the M1 being a positive integer.

43. A communications device, characterized by The method comprises: The transceiver unit is configured to receive a first signal and receive the clock acquisition signal, the first signal comprising a start indication signal used to determine a start of the clock acquisition signal, the start indication signal comprising a first high level and a first low level, wherein a chip length of the clock acquisition signal is a length of a first chip, the length of the first chip being one of a plurality of values, for the plurality of values, the length of the first low level is constant, the length of the first low level being a first length, the first length being different from an integer multiple of the length of the first chip; The processing unit is configured to determine the clock acquisition signal.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein, The start indication signal starts with the first high level and ends with the first low level.

45. The apparatus of claim 43 or 44, wherein, The transceiver unit is further configured to: receive a data signal, a chip length of the data signal being the length of the first chip.

46. The apparatus of any one of claims 43-45, wherein, The integer multiple of the length of the first chip is 1 or 2.

47. The apparatus of any one of claims 43-46, wherein, The first length is a length of X second chips, the X being a fixed value, the X being a positive integer, and a length of one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol being a length of M1 second chips, the M1 being a positive integer.

48. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein, The M1 is not in a value set of M2, wherein a length of one OFDM symbol is a length of M2 first chips, the M2 being a positive integer.

49. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein, The M1 is in the value set of M2, wherein a length of one OFDM symbol is a length of M2 first chips, the M2 being a positive integer.

50. The apparatus of any one of claims 47-49, wherein, The length of the first high level is a second length, the second length being a length of Y second chips, the Y being a fixed value, and a part of one OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal comprising Z first chips, the Z being a positive integer.

51. The apparatus of any one of claims 47-49, wherein, The length of the first high level is a second length, the second length being a length of Y second chips, the Y being in one or more of values of the M2 and Z, and a part of one OFDM symbol other than the start indication signal comprising the Z first chips, the Z being a positive integer.

52. The apparatus of any one of claims 47-51, wherein, The M1 is in {12, 16, 24}, or the M1 is in {3, 5, 7, 9}.

53. The apparatus of any one of claims 43-51, wherein, The start indication signal further comprises a second high level and a second low level, the second high level and the second low level being located before the first high level and the first low level, the second high level and the second low level each having a third length.

54. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein, The start indication signal starts with the second high level and ends with the first low level.

55. The apparatus of claim 53 or 54, wherein, The second high level and the second low level are used to detect a high level or a low level.

56. The apparatus of any one of claims 53-55, wherein, The third length is a length of P second chips, the P being a positive integer, and a length of one OFDM symbol being a length of M1 second chips, the M1 being a positive integer.

57. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises at least one processor configured to cause the method of any one of claims 1-14 to be performed by the communication device, or the at least one processor is configured to cause the method of any one of claims 15-28 to be performed by the communication device.

58. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium is for storing a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the method of any one of claims 1-14 to be performed, or causes the method of any one of claims 15-28 to be performed.

59. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the method of any one of claims 1-14 to be performed, or causes the method of any one of claims 15-28 to be performed.

60. A chip system, characterized by The chip system comprises: a processor and an interface, the processor being configured to call and run instructions from the interface, the processor implementing the method of any one of claims 1-14, or the method of any one of claims 15-28, when executing the instructions.

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