Communication method, communication device, storage medium, and program product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communications, and relates to a communication method, a communication device, a storage medium, and a program product. The method comprises: receiving indication information sent by a second device, and determining number N of terminal devices supporting frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), or on the basis of a first parameter, determining the number N of terminal devices supporting FDM. The number of devices supporting FDM in uplink D2R transmission is determined on the basis of the indication information or the first parameter, so that FDM of the devices is performed on the basis of the number of devices supporting FDM, thereby improving the efficiency of a first device in transmitting uplink messages.

Description

Communication methods, communication equipment, storage media and software products Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to communication methods, communication devices, storage media, and program products. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of communications, passive IoT designs support non-activate devices. These devices do not have radio frequency transmission capabilities and need to obtain transmission energy through backscattering. For IoT devices in 6th generation mobile networks (6G), further research is needed on application scenarios for sensing and positioning. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This disclosure provides a communication method, communication device, storage medium, and program product that can be used in the field of communication technology to determine the number of devices supporting frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) in uplink device-to-reader (D2R) transmission.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, executed by a first device, comprising: receiving indication information sent by a second device to determine the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing; or determining the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing based on a first parameter.

[0005] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, performed by a second device, comprising: sending indication information to a first device, the indication information being used by the first device to determine the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing.

[0006] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided that can implement the communication methods described in the first and second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0007] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer storage medium is provided, wherein the computer storage medium stores computer-executable instructions; after being executed by a processor, the computer-executable instructions are able to implement the communication method described in any one of the first and second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0008] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a program product is provided, including at least one of a program and instructions, wherein when the program and instructions are executed by a communication device, they implement the communication method described in any one of the first and second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0009] According to the communication method proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure, the number of devices supporting FDM can be determined during uplink D2R transmission. Attached Figure Description

[0010] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings required for the description of the embodiments are introduced below. The following drawings are only some embodiments of this disclosure and do not impose specific limitations on the protection scope of this disclosure.

[0011] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0012] Figure 2A is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] Figure 2B is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 3 is an interactive schematic diagram of another communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a frequency domain guard interval provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a first device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a second device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram of the chip structure proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0020] This disclosure provides a communication method, communication device, storage medium, and program product.

[0021] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method, which is executed by a first device and includes: receiving indication information sent by a second device to determine the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing; or determining the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing based on a first parameter.

[0022] In the above embodiments, the device can receive indication information or first parameters sent by the second device, and determine the number of devices supporting FDM in the uplink D2R transmission based on the indication information or first parameters. This facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM, and can improve the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0023] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the indication information is sent by the second device via the first signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate N.

[0024] In the above embodiments, by receiving the first signaling, receiving the indication information, and determining the number of devices supporting FDM in the uplink D2R transmission based on the indication information, it is convenient to perform frequency division multiplexing of the devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM, which can improve the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0025] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first signaling includes any one of the following: higher-layer signaling; physical layer control signaling; broadcast message; paging message; repaging message; system message.

[0026] In the above embodiments, a first signaling can be determined, which facilitates receiving indication information by receiving the first signaling and determining the number of devices supporting FDM in uplink D2R transmission based on the indication information. This facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM and can improve the efficiency of the first device in transmitting uplink messages.

[0027] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, N is determined by the second device based on a set of frequency offset factors.

[0028] In the above embodiments, the number of devices supporting FDM can be determined according to the set of frequency offset factors, which facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM and can improve the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0029] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, N is equal to the number M of frequency offset factors in the set of frequency offset factors.

[0030] In the above embodiments, the number of devices supporting FDM can be determined according to the set of frequency offset factors, which facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM and can improve the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0031] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending signaling and / or data to a second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner.

[0032] In the above embodiments, signaling and / or data can be sent to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner, which can improve the efficiency of the first device in sending signaling and / or data.

[0033] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, signaling and / or data is sent to a second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner, including any one of the following: sending signaling and / or data encoded in a first encoding method to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner, wherein the first encoding method is line encoding, and the value of the frequency offset factor is used to represent the number of times different terminal devices repeatedly send one bit of information within the same time period; sending signaling and / or data encoded in a second encoding method to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner, wherein the second encoding method is to XOR the information bits sent by the terminal device to the second device using Manchester encoding with a square wave having a preset frequency offset value, and the value of the frequency offset factor is used to represent the number of square wave cycles of different terminal devices within the same time period.

[0034] In the above embodiments, signaling and / or data can be sent to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner, which can improve the efficiency of the first device in sending signaling and / or data.

[0035] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first parameter includes at least one of the following: the frequency domain interval B between the first frequency point where the first tone is located and the second frequency point where the second tone is located; the transmission bandwidth Btx of the first device sending signaling and / or data to the second device; the first frequency domain guard band 1 between different terminal devices in frequency division multiplexing; and the second frequency domain guard band 2 between the two sidebands of the same terminal device located between the first tone and the second tone when sending signaling and / or data to the second device.

[0036] In the above embodiments, a first parameter can be determined, which facilitates the determination of the number of devices supporting FDM based on the first parameter. This facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM, and improves the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0037] In some embodiments, in conjunction with the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving a second signaling sent by a second device, the second signaling including the first parameter.

[0038] In the above embodiments, the number of devices supporting FDM can be determined based on the first parameter, which facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices according to the number of devices supporting FDM and improves the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0039] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the second signaling includes at least one of the following: higher-layer signaling; physical layer control signaling.

[0040] In the above embodiments, a second signaling can be determined, which facilitates the determination of a first parameter based on the second signaling and the determination of the number of devices supporting FDM based on the first parameter. This facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM and improves the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0041] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining the transmission bandwidth Btx based on the chip length and the value of the frequency offset factor.

[0042] In the above embodiments, the transmission bandwidth can be determined, which facilitates the determination of the number of devices supporting FDM based on the transmission bandwidth. It also facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM, and can improve the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0043] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the chip length is determined by the first device or sent to the first device by the second device, and the value of the frequency offset factor is sent to the first device by the second device.

[0044] In the above embodiments, the values ​​of chip length and frequency offset factor can be determined in order to determine the transmission bandwidth, and the number of devices supporting FDM can be determined based on the transmission bandwidth. This facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM, and can improve the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0045] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a bandwidth value or frequency domain resource unit sent by a second device; and determining a transmission bandwidth Btx based on the bandwidth value or frequency domain resource unit.

[0046] In the above embodiments, the transmission bandwidth can be determined, and the number of devices supporting FDM can be determined based on the transmission bandwidth. This facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM, and can improve the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0047] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the number N of first devices supporting frequency division multiplexing is determined based on the first parameter, including: N satisfies: B=N×Btx+(N-1)×2×guard band 1+guard band 2.

[0048] In the above embodiments, the number of devices supporting FDM can be determined based on the first parameter, which facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM and improves the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0049] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method executed by a second device, comprising: sending indication information to a first device, the indication information being used by the first device to determine the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing.

[0050] In the above embodiments, indication information can be sent to the first device to facilitate the first device in determining the number of devices supporting FDM in uplink D2R transmission based on the indication information. This facilitates frequency division multiplexing of devices based on the number of devices supporting FDM and improves the efficiency of the first device in sending uplink messages.

[0051] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the indication information is sent by the second device via the first signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate N.

[0052] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first signaling includes any one of the following: higher-layer signaling; physical layer control signaling; broadcast message; paging message; repaging message; system message.

[0053] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments the method further includes: determining N based on a set of frequency offset factors.

[0054] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, determining N based on the set of frequency offset factors includes: determining the number M of frequency offset factors in the set of frequency offset factors as N.

[0055] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving signaling and / or data transmitted by the first device in a frequency division multiplexing manner.

[0056] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the signaling and / or data sent by the second device are decoded using a first decoding method, wherein the first decoding method corresponds to a first encoding method, the first encoding method is line encoding, and the value of the frequency offset factor is used to represent the number of times different terminal devices repeatedly send one bit of information within the same time period; the signaling and / or data sent by the second device are decoded using a second decoding method, wherein the second decoding method corresponds to a second encoding method, the second encoding method is to XOR a square wave with a preset frequency offset value and a codeword after Manchester encoding of the information bits sent by the terminal device to the second device, and the value of the frequency offset factor is used to represent the number of square wave cycles of different terminal devices within the same time period.

[0057] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a first parameter to a first device, the first parameter being used by the first device to determine N.

[0058] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first parameter includes at least one of the following: the frequency domain interval B between the first frequency point where the first tone is located and the second frequency point where the second tone is located; the transmission bandwidth Btx of the first device sending signaling and / or data to the second device; the first frequency domain guard band 1 between different terminal devices in frequency division multiplexing; and the second frequency domain guard band 2 between the two sidebands of the same terminal device located between the first tone and the second tone when sending signaling and / or data to the second device.

[0059] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first parameter is indicated by a second signaling sent by the second device.

[0060] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending at least one of a chip length and a frequency offset factor to a first device, wherein the chip length and the frequency offset factor are used by the first device to determine the transmission bandwidth Btx.

[0061] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a bandwidth value or a frequency domain resource unit to a first device, the bandwidth value or frequency domain resource unit being used by the first device to determine the transmission bandwidth Btx.

[0062] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device for performing the methods described in any one of the first and second aspects of embodiments of this disclosure.

[0063] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method described in any one of the first or second aspects of embodiments of this disclosure.

[0064] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a program product, including at least one of a program and instructions, wherein when the program or instructions are executed by a communication device, they implement the steps of the method described in any one of the first and second aspects of embodiments of this disclosure.

[0065] It is understood that the aforementioned communication equipment, storage medium, and program product are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here.

[0066] This disclosure provides a communication method, a communication device, a communication system, a storage medium, and a program product. In some embodiments, terms such as communication method and information processing method can be used interchangeably, as can terms such as network device, information processing apparatus, and communication apparatus, and terms such as information processing system and communication system.

[0067] This disclosure is not exhaustive, but merely illustrative of some embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. Unless otherwise specified, each step in a particular embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a particular embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily interchanged. Furthermore, the optional implementation methods in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; moreover, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments. In all embodiments of this disclosure, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0068] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0069] In this embodiment of the disclosure, unless otherwise stated, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "this," etc., can mean "one and only one," or "one or more," "at least one," etc. For example, when using articles such as "a," "an," "the," etc. in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as either a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0070] In the embodiments disclosed herein, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0071] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one of A or B, at least one of A and B", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple" and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0072] In some embodiments, the notation "at least one of A and B", "A and / or B", "A in one case, B in another", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether there is a branch B); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether there is a branch A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, both A and B are executed. The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0073] In some embodiments, the notation "A or B" may include the following technical solutions, depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether a branch B exists); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether a branch A exists); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0074] The prefixes "first," "second," etc., used in the embodiments of this disclosure are merely for distinguishing different descriptive objects and do not impose restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity, or content of the descriptive objects. The description of the descriptive objects is found in the claims or the context of the embodiments, and the use of prefixes should not constitute unnecessary restrictions. For example, if the descriptive object is a "field," the ordinal numbers preceding "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not restrict the position or order of the "fields." "First" and "second" do not restrict whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they restrict the order of "first field" and "second field." Similarly, if the descriptive object is a "level," the ordinal numbers preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not restrict the priority between "levels." Furthermore, the number of descriptive objects is not limited by ordinal numbers and can be one or more. For example, in "first device," the number of "devices" can be one or more. Furthermore, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the object being described is "device", then "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. Similarly, if the object being described is "information", then "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their content can be the same or different.

[0075] In some embodiments, “including A,” “containing A,” “for indicating A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0076] In some embodiments, terms such as "time / frequency" and "time-frequency domain" refer to the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0077] In some embodiments, terms such as “in response to…”, “in response to determining…”, “in the case of…”, “when…”, “when…”, “if…”, etc. can be used interchangeably. These descriptions all refer to the device making a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances. They do not necessarily limit the time, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when implementing it, nor do they mean that there must be other limitations.

[0078] In some embodiments, the terms “greater than,” “greater than or equal to,” “not less than,” “more than,” “more than or equal to,” “not less than,” “higher than,” “higher than or equal to,” “not lower than,” and “above” can be used interchangeably, as can the terms “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not greater than,” “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not more than,” “lower than,” “lower than or equal to,” “not higher than,” and “below”.

[0079] In some embodiments, devices, etc., may be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to those described in the embodiments. Terms such as “device,” “equipment,” “circuit,” “network element,” “network function,” “network device,” “function,” “node,” “unit,” “section,” “system,” “network,” “chip,” “chip system,” “entity,” and “subject” are interchangeable.

[0080] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in a network (e.g., access network devices, core network devices, etc.).

[0081] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)," "radio access network device (RAN device)," "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "node," "access point," "transmission point (TP)," "reception point (RP)," "transmission / reception point (TRP)," "panel," "antenna panel," "antenna array," "cell," "macro cell," "small cell," "femto cell," "pico cell," "sector," "cell group," "serving cell," "carrier," "component carrier," and "bandwidth part (BWP)" can be used interchangeably.

[0082] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", "subscriber station", "mobile unit", "subscriber unit", "wireless unit", "remote unit", "mobile device", "wireless device", "wireless communication device", "remote device", "mobile subscriber station", "access terminal", "mobile terminal", "wireless terminal", "remote terminal", "handset", "user agent", "mobile client", and "client" can be used interchangeably.

[0083] In some embodiments, access network devices, core network devices, or network devices can be replaced by terminals. For example, embodiments of this disclosure can also be applied to structures where communication between access network devices, core network devices, or network devices and terminals is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (e.g., device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the structure can also be configured such that the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can be replaced with terms corresponding to communication between terminals (e.g., "sidelink"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc., can be replaced with sidelink channel, and uplink link, downlink, etc., can be replaced with sidelink link.

[0084] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, core network device, or network device may also be configured to have all or some of the functions of the terminal.

[0085] In some embodiments, the acquisition of data, information, etc., may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0086] In some embodiments, data, information, etc., may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0087] In some embodiments, "acquire," "get," "obtain," "receive," "transmit," "bidirectional transmission," and "send and / or receive" can be used interchangeably and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, acquiring from protocols, acquiring from higher layers, obtaining through self-processing, or autonomous implementation. Protocols include, for example, at least one of the 3GPP protocol, Wi-Fi protocol, and audio and / or video protocols.

[0088] Furthermore, each element, each row, or each column in the table of this disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0089] This disclosure provides a communication method, communication device, communication system, storage medium, and program product that can be used to determine the number of FDM-supporting devices in uplink D2R transmission.

[0090] The method proposed in this disclosure is applicable to various communication systems, including but not limited to 4G, 5G, 5G-advance and subsequent communication technologies (such as 6G).

[0091] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include a first device 101 and a second device 102.

[0092] The first device can be an AIoT terminal device, such as an AIoT Device or AIoT Tag, or a 6G IoT device. The 6G IoT device can be an AIoT device or an IoT device with stronger capabilities than an AIoT device. The second device can be an A-IoT network device, namely an A-IoT Reader, which can be any of a 5G base station, intermediate node, auxiliary node, or UE, or any of a 6G base station, intermediate node, auxiliary node, or UE. Optionally, the intermediate node can be any of a relay, IAB node, UE, or repeater.

[0093] In the above embodiments, the method disclosed herein can be applied to network topology 1 or network topology 2. In network topology 1, the first device can be an AIoT terminal device or a 6G IoT device, and the second device can be a base station (e.g., a 5G or 6G base station). In this case, the first device and the second device can directly perform uplink or downlink data transmission. In network topology 2, the first device can be an AIoT terminal device or a 6G IoT device, and the second device can be any of a 5G intermediate node, auxiliary node, or UE, or any of a 6G intermediate node, auxiliary node, or UE. In this case, the first device and the base station can perform uplink or downlink data transmission through the second device.

[0094] In some embodiments, the method disclosed herein can be applied to a communication system. Optionally, the second device can send indication information or a first parameter to the first device, and the first device can determine the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing based on the indication information or the first parameter. In the case of network topology 1, the second device can be a base station, that is, the base station can directly send indication information or the first parameter to the second device. In the case of network topology 2, the second device can be, for example, an intermediate node. In this case, the base station can send indication information or the first parameter to the second device, and then the second device can send indication information or the first parameter to the first device.

[0095] In some embodiments, the terminal includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: mobile phone, wearable device, Internet of Things device, car with communication function, smart car, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal device in industrial control, wireless terminal device in self-driving, wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal device in smart grid, wireless terminal device in transportation safety, wireless terminal device in smart city, and wireless terminal device in smart home.

[0096] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that connects a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include at least one of the following in a 5G communication system: evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), node B (NB), home node B (HNB), home evolved node B (HeNB), radio backhaul device, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), base band unit (BBU), mobile switching center, base station in a 6G communication system, open RAN, cloud RAN, base station in other communication systems, and access node in a Wi-Fi system, but is not limited thereto.

[0097] In some embodiments, a core network device may be a single device comprising one or more network elements, or it may be multiple devices or a group of devices, each comprising all or part of the aforementioned one or more network elements. Network elements may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of the following: Evolved Packet Core (EPC), 5G Core Network (5GCN), and Next Generation Core (NGC).

[0098] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of this disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within access network devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of Open RAN. The processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented by software or programs.

[0099] In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU may also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can separate the protocol layer of the access network device. Some of the protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU and centrally controlled by the CU. However, this is not the only possibility.

[0100] It is understood that the communication system described in this disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of this disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0101] The following embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1, or to some of the main bodies, but are not limited thereto. The main bodies shown in FIG1 are illustrative. The communication system may include all or some of the main bodies in FIG1, or may include other main bodies outside of FIG1. ​​The number and form of each main body are arbitrary. Each main body may be physical or virtual. The connection relationship between the main bodies is illustrative. The main bodies may not be connected or may be connected. The connection can be in any way, it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection, it can be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

[0102] The embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), 6G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New Radio Access (NX), Future Generation Radio Access (FX), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), and IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX, a registered trademark), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth (a registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) systems, systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems built upon them. Furthermore, multiple systems can be combined (e.g., a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0103] Passive Internet of Things (AIoT) is a brand-new Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Compared with traditional IoT technologies, a significant feature is the large number of A-IoT terminals (A-IoT UE, A-IoT device, A-IoT Tag) that can be accessed in the network. A-IoT terminals are simple in structure, have low hardware and maintenance costs, low power consumption, and can operate for long periods without needing to replace batteries.

[0104] IoT can be applied to scenarios involving large-scale inventory management, where A-IoT devices report Electronic Product Codes (EPCs) to the network / intermediate node X / UE. This can be applied to smart home and environmental monitoring scenarios, where data is reported upon meeting certain trigger conditions. Furthermore, it can be used in location-based scenarios for finding items or locating devices within a shopping mall. It can also be used in command-line scenarios, responding to commands sent by network devices.

[0105] Passive IoT devices can be divided into three types:

[0106] Device 1: Peak power consumption is 1uW. It can store energy but cannot generate / amplify signals independently. For example, Device 1 uses a backscattering mode and does not have the ability to amplify DL and / or UL signals. The UL transmission of Device 1 is backscattered on an externally provided carrier.

[0107] Device 2a: Peak power consumption is several hundred µW, it has energy storage capability, cannot generate signals independently, and operates using backscattering. The stored energy can be used for DL ​​and / or UL signal amplification.

[0108] Device 2b: Peak power consumption is several hundred uW, with energy storage capacity, and it can independently generate signals, such as having a radio frequency (RF) module that actively transmits signals. Alternatively, Device 2b can simultaneously possess the ability to actively transmit information and backscatter.

[0109] In addition, Devices 1 and 2a can only use the backscattering mode and cannot actively transmit signals. When they need to transmit information, they must be provided with electromagnetic waves (continuous waves, CW) for backscattering from the outside. Device 2b is not based on the backscattering mode and does not require an external CW. It can actively transmit signals.

[0110] For devices using backscattering, a continuous wave (CW) energy source (CW node) is required to provide the electromagnetic waves for reflection while transmitting data. The CW is typically of constant amplitude. A CW node can be a standalone node or a network / intermediate node (e.g., UE) communicating with the device. The A-IoT device reflects the received CW, loading the signaling / data to be transmitted onto the reflected wave before sending it out. The reflected wave and the CW are on the same frequency or have a certain frequency offset. Simultaneously, the CW also powers the A-IoT device. When device 1 receives the wireless CW signal, it activates its internal receiving and processing module to encode and modulate the signaling / data that the A-IoT device needs to upload.

[0111] A-IoT network devices include networks, terminals, intermediate nodes, and auxiliary nodes. Intermediate nodes can be relays, IAB nodes, UEs, or repeaters.

[0112] Currently, AIoT devices support two deployment structures:

[0113] Topology 1: Ambient IoT devices and the network directly receive and transmit DL and UL data;

[0114] Topology 2: Ambient IoT devices and the network indirectly receive and transmit DL and UL data through intermediate nodes; intermediate nodes are used for forwarding, such as relay, IAB, UE, and repeater.

[0115] In passive IoT systems, there are three types of data transmission from terminals:

[0116] Case 1: Based on network demand report data, such as inventory count. (That is, a service initiated autonomously by a device (terminal), but requiring a reader to trigger it (Device-originated-device-terminated triggered, DO-DTT)).

[0117] Case 2: Based on environmental IoT triggers, proactively report data, for example, when the sensor temperature exceeds a configured threshold. (i.e., Device-originated (DO) service)

[0118] Case 3: Periodic Data Reporting. Based on ambient IoT self-triggered operation, periodic environmental IoT data reporting is achieved (i.e., device-originated-autonomous, DO-A)).

[0119] Case 4: The network sends a command, and the device performs the corresponding operation based on the command. (That is, the device terminates the service (DT)).

[0120] For 6G IoT devices, further research is needed on sensor and positioning application scenarios. Sensors refer to devices that can perceive their surroundings and obtain environmental information such as temperature and humidity. This requires support for device-initiated services (DOA), typically periodic uplink transmissions that do not require network device triggering, to support environmental awareness applications. Positioning scenarios involve information exchange between network devices and devices (terminals), allowing network devices to obtain location information. Currently, the carrier wave uses two unmodulated single-tone waveforms. To improve efficiency, uplink D2R transmission supports multiple devices transmitting uplinks simultaneously on different frequency domains using FDM. Therefore, determining the number of FDM-enabled devices for this waveform requires a specific solution.

[0121] Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this disclosure proposes a communication method that can be used to determine the number of FDM-supporting devices in uplink D2R transmission.

[0122] The following is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in this disclosure. Embodiments of this disclosure relate to a communication method that can be executed by a terminal in a communication system, such as terminal 101 in the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The communication system includes terminal 101 and network device 102. The communication method may include the following specific methods:

[0123] Figure 2A is one of the interactive schematic diagrams of the communication method provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2A, the method includes the following steps:

[0124] Step 2101: The second device sends an instruction message to the first device.

[0125] In some embodiments, the indication information is sent by the second device via the first signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate the number N of terminal devices (first device) supporting frequency division multiplexing. In other words, the second device can directly indicate the value of N to the first device. Optionally, in network topology 1, the second device can be a base station (network device), in which case the base station can directly indicate the value of N to the first device. In network topology 2, the second device can be an intermediate node, in which case the base station can indicate the value of N to the second device. After receiving the value of N, the second device can send indication information to the first device to indicate the value of N.

[0126] In some embodiments, the first device may be a terminal device, which may be an AIOT terminal device, such as an AIOT Device or an AIOT Tag, or a 6G IoT device, which may be an AIOT device or an IoT device with stronger capabilities than an AIOT device. The second device may be a base station, such as a 5G base station or a 6G base station.

[0127] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc., are not limited to the names described in the embodiments. Terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0128] In some embodiments, the terms "codebook," "codeword," and "precoding matrix" can be used interchangeably. For example, a codebook can be a collection of one or more codewords / precoding matrices.

[0129] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes any one of the following: higher-layer signaling; physical layer control signaling; broadcast message; paging message; repaging message; system message.

[0130] Optionally, in network topology 1, the second device can be a base station. In this case, the second device can directly send higher-layer signaling to the first device to send indication information. In network topology 2, the second device can be an intermediate node. In this case, the base station can send higher-layer signaling to the second device to send indication information. Subsequently, the second device can send indication information to the first device through higher-layer signaling or other signaling. This disclosure does not limit this. In other words, the network device can configure the value of N for the first device through higher-layer signaling, or, optionally, the network device can pre-configure the value of N for the first device, that is, the first device can determine the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing according to the protocol agreement.

[0131] In some embodiments, the first device may be a terminal device, which may be an AIOT terminal device, such as an AIOT Device or an AIOT Tag, or a 6G IoT device, which may be an AIOT device or an IoT device with stronger capabilities than an AIOT device. The second device may be any of a 5G base station, intermediate node, auxiliary node, or UE, or any of a 6G base station, intermediate node, auxiliary node, or UE. Optionally, the intermediate node may be any of a relay, IAB node, UE, or repeater.

[0132] In some embodiments, physical layer control signaling can be control signaling from the second device to the first device. For example, physical layer control signaling from the second device to the first device can be Reader to Device (R2D) control signaling, that is, the second device can indicate to the first device the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing through R2D signaling. When the first signaling is a broadcast message, the second device can broadcast on the broadcast channel, and the first device can listen to the broadcast information and determine the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing based on the broadcast information. Optionally, the system message is a message broadcast by the network during the access process, such as System Information Blocks (SIB), Master Information Block (MIB), etc.

[0133] In some embodiments, this step is optional, for example, when the first device can determine N using the first parameter.

[0134] In some embodiments, "acquire," "get," "obtain," "receive," "transmit," "bidirectional transmission," and "send and / or receive" can be used interchangeably and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, acquiring from protocols, acquiring from higher layers, obtaining through self-processing, or autonomous implementation. Protocols include, for example, at least one of the 3GPP protocol, Wi-Fi protocol, and audio and / or video protocols.

[0135] In some embodiments, terms such as “send,” “transmit,” “report,” “distribute,” “transfer,” “bidirectional transmission,” “send and / or receive” can be used interchangeably.

[0136] Step 2102: The first device determines the number N of terminal devices that support frequency division multiplexing based on the instruction information.

[0137] In some embodiments, optionally, the second device can directly indicate the value of the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing to the first device, that is, the indication information can directly indicate the value of N. In this case, the first device can directly determine the number of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing based on the indication information; or, optionally, the indication information can indicate parameters, information, etc. related to the value of N. The first device can determine the data of N based on the parameters, information, etc. related to the value of N.

[0138] In some embodiments, optionally, when the indication information indicates the value of N, the value of N is determined by the second device, and optionally, N is determined by the second device according to a set of frequency offset factors.

[0139] In some embodiments, N is equal to the number M of frequency shift factors in the set of small frequency-shift factors. That is, the second device can determine N as the number M of frequency shift factors in the set of small frequency-shift factors. Specifically, when the set of indicated small frequency-shift factor values ​​contains M values, then N = M. Optionally, in network topology 1, the second device can directly determine the value of N; in network topology 2, the network device can determine the value of N and send indication information to the second device to indicate the value of N.

[0140] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending signaling and / or data to a second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner.

[0141] In some embodiments, sending signaling and / or data to a second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner includes any one of the following: sending signaling and / or data encoded in a first encoding scheme to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner, wherein the first encoding scheme is line encoding, and the value of the frequency offset factor is used to represent the number of times different terminal devices repeatedly send one bit of information within the same time period; sending signaling and / or data encoded in a second encoding scheme to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner, wherein the second encoding scheme is a method of XORing a square wave with a preset frequency offset value and a codeword after Manchester encoding of the information bits sent by the terminal device to the second device, and the value of the frequency offset factor is used to represent the number of square wave cycles of different terminal devices within the same time period.

[0142] In other words, after determining the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing, the first device can send signaling and / or data to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner. That is, multiple first devices can send signaling and / or data to the second device at the same time on different frequency bands. In other words, the first device can use frequency division multiplexing for uplink D2R transmission.

[0143] In some embodiments, the terms "uplink", "uplink", and "physical uplink" can be used interchangeably, as can the terms "downlink", "downlink", and "physical downlink", as well as the terms "sidelink", "sidelink", "sidelink communication", "sidelink communication", "direct connection", "direct link", "direct communication", and "direct link communication".

[0144] In some embodiments, the terms “downlink control information (DCI),” “downlink (DL) assignment,” “DL DCI,” “uplink (UL) grant,” and “UL DCI” can be used interchangeably.

[0145] In some embodiments, terms such as "physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)" and "DL data" can be used interchangeably, as can terms such as "physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)" and "UL data".

[0146] In some embodiments, terms such as “moment,” “point in time,” “time,” and “time location” can be used interchangeably, as can terms such as “duration,” “segment,” “time window,” “window,” and “time.”

[0147] In some embodiments, optionally, the first device can determine whether it can perform uplink D2R transmission using frequency division multiplexing, i.e., whether the first device is included among the multiple devices performing uplink D2R transmission using frequency division multiplexing. For example, the second device can indicate the resource information of the first device to the first device, such as sending resource indication information. The first device can determine whether it can perform uplink D2R transmission using frequency division multiplexing based on the resource indication information. Optionally, the resource indication information can be the same as or different from the above indication information, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0148] In some embodiments, the first device can perform uplink D2R transmission through the Physical Device Reader Channel (PDRCH) between the device and the reader, that is, the uplink D2R information transmitted by the first device can be carried in the PDRCH.

[0149] In some embodiments, R2D control signaling may optionally be transmitted separately on the PRDCH channel, or R2D control signaling and data may be transmitted together on the PRDCH channel.

[0150] In some embodiments, optionally, when sending signaling and / or data to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner, a first encoding method can be used to achieve frequency division multiplexing of signaling and / or data transmission to the second device. The first encoding method is line coding; in other words, the first device can use line coding to achieve frequency division multiplexing of uplink D2R transmissions from multiple devices. In this case, the value of the frequency shift factor is used to represent the number of times different terminal devices repeatedly transmit one bit of information within the same time period. For example, the set of small frequency-shift factor values ​​is {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32}, meaning the first device retransmits once, the second device retransmits twice, the third device retransmits four times, and so on. The same time period can be, for example, the bit duration Tb.

[0151] In some embodiments, optionally, when sending signaling and / or data to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner, a second encoding method can be used to achieve frequency division multiplexing of the signaling and / or data to the second device. The second encoding method is to XOR the information bits sent by the terminal device to the second device with a square wave having a preset frequency offset value and the codeword after Manchester encoding. That is, the first device can use a square wave with a certain frequency offset value and the information bits transmitted by D2R to XOR the codeword after Manchester encoding to implement FDM of multiple devices. At this time, the value of the frequency offset factor is used to represent the number of square wave cycles of different terminal devices in the same time period.

[0152] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0153] Figure 2B is one of the interactive schematic diagrams of the communication method provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2B, the method includes the following steps:

[0154] Step 2201: The second device sends the first parameter to the first device.

[0155] In some embodiments, the second device may send a first parameter to the first device. The first parameter is related to the value of the number N of terminal devices that support frequency division multiplexing. That is, the second device may send a parameter related to the value of the number N of terminal devices that support frequency division multiplexing to the first device, which can facilitate the first device to determine the value of N based on the parameter.

[0156] Optionally, in network topology 1, the second device can be a base station, which can directly send the first parameter to the first device. In network topology 2, the second device can be an intermediate node, where the network device can send the first parameter to the second device, and then the second device can send the first parameter to the first device.

[0157] In some embodiments, the first device may be a terminal device, which may be an AIOT terminal device, such as an AIOT Device or an AIOT Tag, or a 6G IoT device, which may be an AIOT device or an IoT device with stronger capabilities than an AIOT device. The second device may be any of a 5G base station, intermediate node, auxiliary node, or UE, or any of a 6G base station, intermediate node, auxiliary node, or UE. Optionally, the intermediate node may be any of a relay, IAB node, UE, or repeater.

[0158] In some embodiments, the first device may receive second signaling sent by the second device, the second signaling including a first parameter, wherein the second signaling includes at least one of the following: higher-layer signaling; physical layer control signaling. That is, the first parameter may be configured for the first device by the network device through higher-layer signaling, or the first parameter may be configured for the first device by the network device through physical layer control signaling.

[0159] Optionally, the first parameter may be sent to the first device by other devices. For example, when the second device is an intermediate node, the network device may directly send the first parameter to the first device, or the first device may determine the first parameter according to the protocol, or the first device may process the first parameter to obtain it, etc. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0160] In some embodiments, the first parameter includes at least one of the following: the frequency domain interval B between the first frequency point where the first tone is located and the second frequency point where the second tone is located; the transmission bandwidth Btx of the first device sending signaling and / or data to the second device; the first frequency domain guard band 1 between different terminal devices in frequency division multiplexing; and the second frequency domain guard band 2 between the two sidebands of the same terminal device located between the first tone and the second tone when sending signaling and / or data to the second device. The transmission bandwidth can be expressed as Btx, or it can be expressed as Btx,D2R, that is, the transmission bandwidth can be the transmission bandwidth of the device sending signaling and / or data to the reader.

[0161] In some embodiments, the first device can determine the transmission bandwidth Btx,D2R for transmitting signaling and / or data. For example, the first device can determine the transmission bandwidth Btx,D2R based on the values ​​of chip length and small frequency-shift factor. For example, it can be determined using the following formula: Btx,D2R = 2 / (chip length × small frequency-shift factor)

[0162] Wherein, the chip length is determined by the first device or sent to the first device by the second device. The second device can indicate the chip length in the R2D physical layer control signaling, and the second device can carry the chip length in the R2D physical layer control signaling. The chip length can indicate the granularity of the uplink transmission time of the first device, and the value of the frequency offset factor is sent to the first device by the second device. That is, the second device can send the value of the frequency offset factor and the chip length to the first device, so that the first device can determine the transmission bandwidth and determine the value of N based on the transmission bandwidth.

[0163] Alternatively, Btx,D2R = X, where the unit of X can be a bandwidth value or a frequency domain resource unit (FROM). The value of X can be indicated by the second device. That is, the method further includes: the first device receiving the bandwidth value or FROM sent by the second device; and determining the transmission bandwidth Btx,D2R based on the bandwidth value or FROM. The second device can indicate the uplink transmission bandwidth value to the first device. For example, the second device can directly indicate the uplink transmission bandwidth value in the R2D physical layer control signaling, and the first device can determine the bandwidth value as the transmission bandwidth value.

[0164] In the above embodiments, the first frequency domain guard band 1 can be used to reduce interference between D2R transmissions of different devices during uplink FDM, and the second frequency domain guard band 2 can be used to avoid overlap and interference between D2R transmissions of the same device located on different tones, which would prevent the receiver from recovering D2R transmissions on two tones and thus be unable to resist channel fading.

[0165] In some embodiments, this step is optional, for example, when the first device can determine N using indication information.

[0166] Step 2202: The first device determines the number N of terminal devices that support frequency division multiplexing based on the first parameter.

[0167] In some embodiments, the first device may determine N based on the second signaling, that is, the first device may determine the value of N based on the first parameter contained in the second signaling.

[0168] In some embodiments, the number N of first devices supporting frequency division multiplexing is determined based on a first parameter, including: N satisfying: B = N × Btx + (N-1) × 2 × guard band 1 + guard band 2

[0169] N can be determined according to the above formula, where B is the frequency domain interval between the first frequency point where the first tone is located and the second frequency point where the second tone is located; Btx,D2R is the transmission bandwidth of the first device sending signaling and / or data to the second device; guard band 1 is the first frequency domain protection interval between different terminal devices in frequency division multiplexing; guard band 2 is the second frequency domain protection interval between the two sidebands of the same terminal device located between the first tone and the second tone when sending signaling and / or data to the second device.

[0170] In some embodiments, after determining the number N of terminal devices that support frequency division multiplexing, the first device may send signaling and / or data to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner. The first device may also determine whether it can use frequency division multiplexing for uplink D2R transmission. For specific implementation details, please refer to the embodiment shown in Figure 2A, which will not be elaborated here.

[0171] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0172] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of one of the communication methods provided in this disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, the method includes the following steps:

[0173] Step 3101: The second device sends instruction information to the first device.

[0174] In some embodiments, the steps and optional implementations of other embodiments (such as the embodiment in Figure 2A) described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts of the specification, can be referred to, which will not be repeated here.

[0175] Step 3102: The first device determines the number N of terminal devices that support frequency division multiplexing based on the instruction information or the first parameter.

[0176] In some embodiments, refer to the steps and optional implementations of other embodiments (such as the embodiments in Figures 2A and 2B) described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts of the specification, which will not be repeated here.

[0177] The following is an exemplary description of the above method.

[0178] The method disclosed herein relates to a method for determining the number of frequency division multiplexing (FDM) terminals in IoT, which can determine the number of devices supporting FDM in uplink D2R transmission. The complete content of the method is as follows.

[0179] Method 1

[0180] The number of FDM-enabled devices that can be supported for uplink transmission is N, where N is determined by the network device. These FDM-enabled devices can be AIoT terminal devices, such as AIoT Devices or AIoT Tags, or 6G IoT devices. 6G IoT devices can be AIoT devices or IoT devices with enhanced capabilities. The network device can be an A-IoT network device, i.e., an A-IoT Reader, which can be any of the following: a 5G base station, intermediate node, auxiliary node, or UE; or a 6G base station, intermediate node, auxiliary node, or UE. Optionally, the intermediate node can be any of the following: a relay, an IAB node, a UE, or a repeater.

[0181] Optionally, the N value is determined by the network device, which configures or pre-configures it to the terminal through higher-layer signaling, or indicates it to the terminal in Reader to Device (R2D) control signaling.

[0182] Optionally, the value of N is determined by the network device. For example, it may be notified to the terminal by the network device through broadcast information, such as carrying the value in a paging message or repaging message, or notifying the terminal in a broadcast channel or System Information Blocks (SIBs).

[0183] Specifically, the determination of the N value is related to the set of small frequency-shift factor values ​​indicated by the reader to the device. When the set of small frequency-shift factor values ​​indicated contains M values, then the N value = the M value.

[0184] For example, if the set of small frequency-shift factor values ​​is {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32}, i.e., M = 6, then the number of FDM devices that can support uplink transmission is 6, meaning that 6 devices can simultaneously perform uplink D2R transmission on different frequency domain resources. Uplink D2R transmission refers to transmission on the PRDCH channel.

[0185] R2D control signaling can be sent separately on the PRDCH channel, or R2D control signaling and data can be sent together on the PRDCH channel.

[0186] This method is only suitable for device1 and device2a. Device1 and device2a use line code to implement uplink FDM for multiple devices. The small frequency-shift factor refers to the number of times different devices repeatedly send 1 bit of information within the same bit duration (Tb). Alternatively, FDM for multiple devices can be implemented by XORing a square wave with a certain frequency offset with the information bits transmitted by D2R using a codeword encoded in Manchester. In this case, the small frequency-shift factor refers to the number of times the square wave cycles through different devices within the same bit duration (Tb).

[0187] Method 2

[0188] The number of FDM devices that can be supported for uplink transmission is N. The value of N is determined by the device (terminal) based on one or more of the following parameters.

[0189] One or more of the parameters are:

[0190] 1) The frequency domain spacing B between the frequency points (f1 and f2) where the two unmodulated tones are located;

[0191] 2) The terminal transmits the uplink D2R transmission bandwidth Btx, D2R;

[0192] 3) Frequency domain guard band 1 between different terminals in frequency division multiplexing

[0193] 4) The frequency domain guard band 2 between the two sidebands transmitted by the same terminal between two tones in D2R;

[0194] The above parameter values ​​are configured to the terminal by higher-layer signaling or indicated to the terminal in R2D physical layer control signaling. The uplink D2R transmission bandwidth Btx and D2R of the terminal are determined according to the following formula:

[0195] 1) Btx, D2R = 2 / (chip length × small frequency-shift factor), can be used to implement FDM of multiple devices in the uplink by using line code, or to implement FDm of multiple devices by XORing the information bits transmitted by D2R with a square wave with a certain frequency offset and the codeword after Manchester encoding.

[0196] The small frequency-shift factor, indicated in the R2D physical layer control signaling, refers to the number of times different devices repeatedly transmit 1 bit of information within the same bit duration (Tb) when using line code to implement FDM for multiple devices in the uplink. If FDM for multiple devices is implemented by XORing a square wave with a certain frequency offset with the information bits transmitted by D2R using a codeword encoded in Manchester, then the small frequency-shift factor refers to the number of times the square wave cycles through different devices within the same bit duration (Tb).

[0197] The chip length can be determined by the device itself, or indicated to the terminal in the R2D physical layer control signaling.

[0198] 2) Btx, D2R = X, directly indicates the uplink transmission bandwidth value in the R2D physical layer control signaling. The unit of X can be the bandwidth value or the frequency domain resource unit.

[0199] For example, if the uplink D2R transmission bandwidth is specified as 180kHz, then Btx,D2R = 180kHz; or if Btx,D2R = 15PRB, then the uplink transmission uses 15 PRBs.

[0200] The value of N is calculated using the following formula: B = N × Btx + (N-1) × 2guard band 1 + guard band 2

[0201] As shown in the figure, the guard interval 1 can reduce interference between D2R transmissions of different devices during uplink FDM, and the guard interval 2 can prevent overlap and interference between D2R transmissions of the same device located on different tones, which would lead to the inability to recover D2R transmissions on the two tones at the receiving end and the inability to resist channel fading.

[0202] As shown in Figure 4, the frequency domain spacing B between the frequency points (f1 and f2) of the two unmodulated tones allows uplink multiplexing of 3 devices. The D2R transmission of the devices uses double-sideband transmission, so a guard band 1 is required between the D2R transmissions of every two adjacent devices. For device 3, there will be a guard band 2 between the D2R transmissions on the two tones.

[0203] In summary, the above examples of this disclosure can enable the determination of the number of devices supporting Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) in uplink D2R transmission.

[0204] In the embodiments disclosed herein, some or all of the steps and their optional implementations may be arbitrarily combined with some or all of the steps in other embodiments, or may be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementations in other embodiments.

[0205] This disclosure also proposes an apparatus (also referred to as a communication device, etc.) for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is proposed, which includes units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the terminal in any of the above methods.

[0206] It should be understood that the division of units or modules in the above device is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, the units or modules in the device can be implemented by a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor connected to a memory containing instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of the units or modules in the above device. The processor can be, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory can be internal or external to the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits. The functionality of some or all of the units or modules can be achieved through the design of these hardware circuits, which can be understood as one or more processors. For example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The functionality of some or all of the units or modules is achieved through the design of the logical relationships between the components within the circuit. In another implementation, the hardware circuit can be implemented using a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gates. The connection relationships between the logic gates are configured through configuration files, thereby achieving the functionality of some or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above device can be implemented entirely through processor-called software, entirely through hardware circuits, or partially through processor-called software with the remaining parts implemented through hardware circuits.

[0207] In this embodiment, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction read and execute capabilities, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationships of hardware circuits. The logical relationships of the aforementioned hardware circuits are fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented using an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and configuring the hardware circuit can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. Furthermore, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU), a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), or a Deep Learning Processing Unit (DPU).

[0208] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first device proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. The first device 5100 is used to perform any of the above methods. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5A, the first device 5100 may include: a transceiver module 5101 and a processing module 5102.

[0209] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to receive indication information sent by the second device; optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as receiving / sending performed by the first device 5100 in any of the above methods (e.g., steps 2101, 2201, 3101, etc., but not limited thereto), which will not be elaborated here.

[0210] In some embodiments, the first device further includes a processing module 5102 for determining the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing; optionally, the processing module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as processing performed by the first device 5100 in any of the above methods (e.g., step 2102, step 2202, step 3102, etc., but not limited thereto), which will not be described in detail here.

[0211] In some embodiments, the processing module may be a single module or may include multiple sub-modules. Optionally, the multiple sub-modules may each perform all or part of the steps required by the processing module.

[0212] In some embodiments, the processing module can be interchanged with the processor, and the transceiver module can include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module. The transmitting module and the receiving module can be separate or integrated together, and the transceiver module can be interchanged with the transceiver.

[0213] Figure 5B is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second device proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. The second device 5200 is used to perform any of the above methods. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5B, the second device 5200 may include a transceiver module 5201.

[0214] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to send indication information to the first device, the indication information being used by the first device to determine the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing; optionally, the transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as receiving and / or sending performed by the network device 5200 in any of the above methods (e.g., steps 2101, 2201, 3101, etc., but not limited thereto), which will not be elaborated here.

[0215] In some embodiments, the transceiver module may include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the transceiver module may be interchangeable with a transceiver.

[0216] Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device 6100 proposed in an embodiment of this disclosure. The communication device 6100 can be a network device (e.g., access network device, core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., user equipment, etc.), a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the network device in implementing any of the above methods, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal in implementing any of the above methods. The communication device 6100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0217] As shown in Figure 6A, the communication device 6100 is used to execute any of the above methods. In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 includes one or more processors 6101. The processor 6101 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control communication devices (e.g., base stations, baseband chips, terminal devices, terminal device chips, DUs or CUs, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. Optionally, the communication device 6100 is used to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, one or more processors 6101 are used to invoke instructions to cause the communication device 6100 to execute any of the above methods.

[0218] In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more transceivers 6102. When the communication device 6100 includes one or more transceivers 6102, the transceiver 6102 performs at least one of the communication steps (e.g., steps 2101, 3101, but not limited thereto) in the above method, such as sending and / or receiving, and the processor 6101 performs at least one of other steps (e.g., step 2102, but not limited thereto). In optional embodiments, the transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated together. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, interface circuit, interface, etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, sending unit, transmitter, sending circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0219] In some embodiments, the communication device 6100 further includes one or more memories 6103 for storing data and / or instructions. Optionally, one or more processors 6101 are used to invoke instructions stored in the memory 6103 to cause the communication device 6100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, all or part of the memory 6103 may also be located outside the communication device 6100. In an optional embodiment, the communication device 6100 may include one or more interface circuits 6104. Optionally, the interface circuit 6104 is connected to the memory 6102 and can be used to receive data and / or instructions from the memory 6102 or other devices, and can be used to send data and / or instructions to the memory 6102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 6104 can read data and / or instructions stored in the memory 6102 and send the data and / or instructions to the processor 6101.

[0220] The communication device 6100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 6100 described in this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 6100 may not be limited by FIG. 6A. The communication device may be a standalone device or a part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) a standalone integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the IC collection may also include storage components for storing data, programs and / or instructions; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, terminal device, smart terminal device, cellular phone, wireless device, handheld device, mobile unit, vehicle device, network device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0221] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of chip 6200 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. For cases where the communication device 6100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of chip 6200 shown in Figure 6B, but it is not limited thereto.

[0222] Chip 6200 includes one or more processors 6201. Chip 6200 is used to perform any of the methods described above.

[0223] In some embodiments, chip 6200 further includes one or more interface circuits 6202. Optionally, terms such as interface circuit, interface, and transceiver pin can be used interchangeably. In some embodiments, chip 6200 further includes one or more memories 6203 for storing data and / or instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 6203 may be located outside of chip 6200. Optionally, interface circuit 6202 is connected to memory 6203, and interface circuit 6202 can be used to receive data and / or instructions from memory 6203 or other devices, and interface circuit 6202 can be used to send data and / or instructions to memory 6203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 6202 can read data and / or instructions stored in memory 6203 and send the data and / or instructions to processor 6201.

[0224] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 6202 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above-described method (e.g., steps 2101, 3101, but not limited thereto). For example, the interface circuit 6202 performing the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above-described method means that the interface circuit 6202 performs data and / or instruction interaction between the processor 6201, the chip 6200, the memory 6203, or the transceiver device. In some embodiments, the processor 6201 performs at least one of other steps (e.g., step 2102, but not limited thereto).

[0225] The modules and / or devices described in the various embodiments, such as virtual devices, physical devices, and chips, can be combined or separated arbitrarily as needed. Optionally, some or all steps can also be performed collaboratively by multiple modules and / or devices, which is not limited here.

[0226] This disclosure also proposes a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0227] This disclosure also proposes a program product, including a program and / or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product. Optionally, the program product is stored on the storage medium.

[0228] This disclosure also proposes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is performed by a first device, and the method includes: Receive the indication information sent by the second device to determine the number N of terminal devices supporting frequency division multiplexing; or Based on the first parameter, determine the number N of terminal devices that support frequency division multiplexing.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The indication information is sent by the second device via the first signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate the N.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first signaling includes any one of the following: High-level signaling; Physical layer control signaling; Broadcast message; Paging messages; Re-paging message; System message.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The N is determined by the second device based on the set of frequency offset factors.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The number N is equal to the number M of frequency offset factors in the set of frequency offset factors.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Signaling and / or data are sent to the second device using frequency division multiplexing.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, Sending signaling and / or data to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner includes any one of the following: The signaling and / or data encoded in a first encoding method are sent to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner, wherein the first encoding method is line encoding, and the value of the frequency offset factor is used to indicate the number of times that different terminal devices repeatedly send one bit of information in the same time period. The signaling and / or data encoded in a second encoding method are sent to the second device in a frequency division multiplexing manner. The second encoding method is to XOR the information bits sent by the terminal device to the second device with a square wave having a preset frequency offset value and the codeword after Manchester encoding. The value of the frequency offset factor is used to represent the number of square wave cycles of different terminal devices in the same time period.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first parameter includes at least one of the following: The frequency domain interval B between the first frequency point where the first single tone is located and the second frequency point where the second single tone is located; The first device sends signaling and / or data to the second device via a bandwidth of Btx. The first frequency domain guard band 1 between different terminal devices in frequency division multiplexing; The second frequency domain guard band 2 is the two sidebands between which the same terminal device, located between the first tone and the second tone, sends signaling and / or data to the second device.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a second signaling sent by the second device, wherein the second signaling includes the first parameter.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The second signaling includes at least one of the following: High-level signaling; Physical layer control signaling.

11. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: The transmission bandwidth Btx is determined based on the chip length and the value of the frequency offset factor.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The chip length is determined by the first device or sent to the first device by the second device, and the value of the frequency offset factor is sent to the first device by the second device.

13. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive the bandwidth value or frequency domain resource unit sent by the second device; The transmission bandwidth Btx is determined based on the bandwidth value or the frequency domain resource unit.

14. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The N satisfies: B=N×Btx+(N-1)×2×guard band 1+guard band2.

15. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is performed by a second device, and the method includes: Send indication information to the first device, the indication information being used by the first device to determine the number N of terminal devices that support frequency division multiplexing.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The indication information is sent by the second device via the first signaling, and the indication information is used to indicate the N.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The first signaling includes any one of the following: High-level signaling; Physical layer control signaling; Broadcast message; Paging messages; Re-paging message; System message.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, The method further includes: The N is determined based on the set of frequency offset factors.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, Determining N based on the set of frequency offset factors includes: The number M of frequency offset factors in the set of frequency offset factors is determined as N.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive signaling and / or data transmitted by the first device in a frequency division multiplexing manner.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The signaling and / or data sent by the second device are decoded using a first decoding method, wherein the first decoding method corresponds to a first encoding method, the first encoding method is line encoding, and the value of the frequency offset factor is used to represent the number of times different terminal devices repeatedly send one bit of information within the same time period; The signaling and / or data sent by the second device are decoded using a second decoding method. The second decoding method corresponds to a second encoding method. The second encoding method is to XOR the information bits sent by the terminal device to the second device with a square wave having a preset frequency offset value and the codeword after Manchester encoding. The value of the frequency offset factor is used to represent the number of square wave cycles of different terminal devices in the same time period.

22. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first parameter to the first device, the first parameter being used by the first device to determine the N.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The first parameter includes at least one of the following: The frequency domain interval B between the first frequency point where the first single tone is located and the second frequency point where the second single tone is located; The first device sends signaling and / or data to the second device via a bandwidth of Btx. The first frequency domain guard band 1 between different terminal devices in frequency division multiplexing; The second frequency domain guard band 2 is the two sidebands between which the same terminal device, located between the first tone and the second tone, sends signaling and / or data to the second device.

24. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The first parameter is indicated by a second signaling sent by the second device.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The second signaling includes at least one of the following: High-level signaling; Physical layer control signaling.

26. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The method further includes: The chip length and the frequency offset factor are sent to the first device, wherein the chip length and the frequency offset factor are used by the first device to determine the transmission bandwidth Btx.

27. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The method further includes: A bandwidth value or a frequency domain resource unit is sent to the first device, wherein the bandwidth value or the frequency domain resource unit is used by the first device to determine the transmission bandwidth Btx.

28. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-14 or 15-27.

29. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that, When the instructions are executed on the communication device, the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1-14 or 15-27.

30. A program product comprising at least one of a program and instructions, characterized in that, When at least one of the programs or instructions is executed by a communication device, it implements the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-14 or 15-27.

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