Method for communication, and apparatus

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method for communication, an apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium. In some embodiments, at a first transmission resource, a device transmits a first message, the first message comprising an identifier of a communication apparatus; and the device receives a second message, the second message comprising first information, and the first information indicating that the second message is associated with the first transmission resource. In this way, the device may receive the second message associated with the transmission resource used by the device, without receiving all second messages, thereby reducing power consumption of the device.

Description

Methods and apparatus for communication

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510145180.0, filed on February 7, 2025, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Communication", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of this disclosure mainly relate to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for communications. Background Technology

[0003] With the continuous development of communication technology, especially in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT), Ambient IoT (A-IoT) systems based on cellular networks are gradually becoming an important communication architecture. In A-IoT systems, communication between devices not only relies on network infrastructure (such as base stations), but also requires efficient data exchange between readers and A-IoT devices to complete tasks. Therefore, how to achieve efficient data transmission is one of the problems that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] An example embodiment of this disclosure provides an information transmission scheme. In this scheme, a device can receive a second message from a reader associated with its transmission resources, thereby reducing the device's power consumption while ensuring message transmission efficiency.

[0005] In a first aspect, a method for communication is provided. The method is performed at a communication device. The method includes: at a first transmission resource, transmitting a first message, the first message including an identifier of the communication device; and receiving a second message, the second message including first information indicating that the second message is associated with the first transmission resource. The communication device may be an A-IoT device or a chip within an A-IoT device, etc.

[0006] In this way, the device can receive a second message associated with the transmission resources used by the device, instead of receiving all the second messages, thus saving the device's power consumption. For example, the first transmission resource is a first access resource, the first message is Msg1 in the random access procedure, and the second message is Msg2 in the random access procedure.

[0007] In some possible embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: a resource index of a first transmission resource, a group index of a first resource group, the first resource group including the first transmission resource, at least one resource index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or a sequence number of the second message. In this way, the communication device can determine the associated second message based on the first information, thus ensuring that the communication device correctly receives the second message.

[0008] In some possible embodiments, the method further includes: receiving second information, the second information including one or more of the following: the number of multiple resource groups, the number of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, at least one index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or the proportion of transmission resources in the first resource group to the allocated transmission resources.

[0009] In some possible embodiments, the method further includes: determining a first resource group in which the first transmission resource is located based on the second information.

[0010] In this way, the second information can directly or indirectly indicate multiple resource groups, thereby facilitating the communication device to determine the first resource group in which the first transmission resource belongs. For example, the communication device can determine the group number of the first resource group based on the second information, and further receive the second message based on the group number.

[0011] In some possible embodiments, the second information further includes first time information, which indicates at least one of the following: multiple transmission times of multiple second messages associated with multiple resource groups, or the duration between two adjacent second messages among the multiple second messages.

[0012] In some possible embodiments, the method includes: determining second time information of a second message; and wherein receiving the second message includes: receiving a second message associated with a first resource group based on the second time information.

[0013] In this way, the communication device can determine the transmission time of the associated second message based on the second information, and then receive the associated second message at that transmission time, avoiding the communication device being in a monitoring state to receive all second messages, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0014] In some possible embodiments, determining the second time information of the second message includes determining the second time information based on at least one of the following: the duration of the message carrying the second information, the second information, the group index of the first resource group, the position of the first resource group among multiple resource groups, or the position of the first transmission resource. In this way, the communication device can determine the transmission time (i.e., the second time information) of the associated second message, and accordingly, the communication device can receive the second message at the second time information without having to receive all the second messages.

[0015] In some possible embodiments, the method further includes switching to a sleep state based on second time information. Exemplarily, the communication device may determine the sleep time, for example, the end time of the sleep session prior to the second time information.

[0016] In this way, the communication device can determine the sleep time based on the second information and switch to sleep mode based on the sleep time, reducing unnecessary energy consumption of the communication device and saving power.

[0017] In some possible embodiments, the method further includes: waking from a sleep state, such as switching from a sleep state to a wake state, to receive another message, such as a second message associated with another resource group; and performing frequency calibration based on the other message. In this way, the communication device can perform frequency calibration before receiving the associated second message, avoiding communication failure due to frequency offset.

[0018] In some possible embodiments, the second information is included in at least one of the following: a paging message, a second message associated with a first resource group, or a second message associated with a second resource group among multiple resource groups. For example, the second information may be included in the earliest second message among multiple second messages corresponding to multiple resource groups or may be included in a paging message. In this way, the communication device can conveniently determine the first resource group in which the first transmission resource is located as early as possible, avoid receiving unnecessary other second messages, and save energy.

[0019] In some possible embodiments, at least one index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group is indicated by an index list or bit mapping. This allows for convenient indication of the resource group, facilitating the communication device to quickly determine the first resource group in which the first transmission resource it uses belongs.

[0020] In some possible embodiments, the paging message may indicate multiple allocated transmission resources. Exemplarily, the second information may indicate multiple resource groups based on the multiple allocated transmission resources, thus facilitating the communication device to determine the first resource group based on the first transmission resources used.

[0021] In some possible embodiments, the second message associated with the first transmission resource may include an identifier of the communication device. In this way, the communication device can further determine the association based on the second message, and optionally, the communication device may further send Msg3 based on the second message.

[0022] In some possible embodiments, the first message includes uplink data, and the second message includes feedback on the uplink data. Exemplarily, the first information in the second message can explicitly or implicitly indicate whether the uplink data was successfully transmitted. Optionally, the first information is associated only with the first transmission resource of the communication device. Optionally, the first information is associated with multiple transmission resources of multiple communication devices (including the first transmission resource of the communication device). In this way, feedback can flexibly indicate whether data transmission was successful without adding additional bit overhead.

[0023] In some possible embodiments, the communication device may use a first transmission resource to transmit uplink data and receive feedback associated with the first transmission resource (or the communication device). Exemplarily, the communication device receives a second message associated with the first transmission resource (or the communication device), and the second message includes feedback. Optionally, the second message (or feedback) is associated with more than one communication device, and the more than one communication device includes that communication device. Optionally, the second message (or feedback) is associated with more than one transmission resource (such as a first resource group), and the more than one transmission resource includes the first transmission resource.

[0024] In a second aspect, a method for communication is provided. This method can be used in a reader or a chip disposed in a reader. The method includes: receiving, at a first transmission resource, a first message from a communication device, the first message including an identifier of the communication device; and sending a second message, the second message including first information indicating that the second message is associated with the first transmission resource.

[0025] In this way, the reader / writer responds to the first message using the first transmission resource by associating the second message with the first transmission resource. This facilitates the communication device's reception of the associated second message.

[0026] In some possible embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: a resource index of a first transmission resource, a group index of a first resource group, the first resource group including the first transmission resource, at least one resource index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or a sequence number of the second message.

[0027] In some possible embodiments, the method further includes: sending second information, the second information including one or more of the following: the number of multiple resource groups, the number of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, at least one index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or the proportion of transmission resources in the first resource group to the allocated transmission resources.

[0028] In this way, the reader can use the second information to indicate multiple resource groups, thereby facilitating the communication device to determine the first resource group in which the first transmission resource is located.

[0029] In some possible embodiments, the second information further includes first time information, which indicates at least one of the following: multiple transmission times of multiple second messages associated with multiple resource groups, or the duration between two adjacent second messages among the multiple second messages.

[0030] In some possible embodiments, the second information is included in at least one of the following: a paging message, a second message associated with a first resource group, or a second message associated with a second resource group among multiple resource groups. For example, the second information may be included in the earliest second message among multiple second messages corresponding to multiple resource groups or may be included in a paging message. In this way, the communication device can conveniently determine the first resource group where the first transmission resource is located as early as possible, avoid prolonged information listening by the communication device, and save energy consumption.

[0031] In some possible embodiments, at least one index of at least one transport resource in the first resource group is indicated by an index list or bit mapping. This allows for convenient indication of the resource group and saves signaling overhead.

[0032] In some possible embodiments, the first message includes uplink data, and the second message includes feedback on the uplink data. Exemplarily, the first information in the second message may explicitly or implicitly indicate whether the uplink data was successfully transmitted. Optionally, the first information is associated only with the first transmission resource of the communication device. Optionally, the first information is associated with multiple transmission resources of multiple communication devices (including the first transmission resource of the communication device).

[0033] In some possible embodiments, the communication method includes: receiving uplink data from a plurality of communication devices; and sending a second message, the second message including feedback on the uplink data of at least one of the plurality of communication devices. Optionally, the feedback is associated with at least one communication device. Optionally, the feedback is associated with at least one transmission resource (such as a first resource group) used by each of the at least one communication device.

[0034] In a third aspect, an apparatus (e.g., a device) for communication is provided, including components for performing operations according to the method described in the first aspect or any of the embodiments thereof. Optionally, the components may be implemented as units, modules, etc.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus (e.g., a reader / writer) is provided, including components for performing operations according to the methods described in the second aspect or any of the embodiments thereof. Optionally, the components may be implemented as units, modules, etc.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a transceiver, a processor, and a memory, the memory storing instructions that are executed by the processor, which, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform operations according to the method of the first aspect or any of the embodiments thereof via the transceiver.

[0037] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a transceiver, a processor, and a memory, the memory storing instructions that are executed by the processor, such that when the instructions are executed by the processor, the communication device performs operations according to the method of the second aspect or any of the embodiments thereof via the transceiver.

[0038] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the operation of the method according to the first or second aspect or any embodiment thereof described above.

[0039] In an eighth aspect, a chip or chip system is provided. The chip or chip system includes processing circuitry configured to perform operations according to the methods described in the first or second aspect or any embodiment thereof.

[0040] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: means for communication as in the third aspect and means for communication as in the fourth aspect, or including communication devices as in the fifth aspect and communication devices as in the sixth aspect, or including a reader and a device, wherein the device is configured to perform the method according to the first aspect or any embodiment, and the reader is configured to perform the method according to the second aspect or any embodiment.

[0041] In a tenth aspect, a computer program or computer program product is provided. The computer program or computer program product is tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium and includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause a device to perform operation according to the method of the first or second aspect described above, or any embodiment thereof.

[0042] It should be noted that some of the embodiments and beneficial effects of the aforementioned methods are also applicable to apparatus, communication equipment, computer-readable storage media, chips or chip systems, communication systems, computer programs or computer program products, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity. Attached Figure Description

[0043] The above and other features, advantages and aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure will become more apparent when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.

[0044] In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements, wherein:

[0045] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0046] Figures 2A-2E illustrate schematic diagrams of various topologies in an A-IoT scenario;

[0047] Figure 3 shows a schematic flowchart of a communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0048] Figure 4 illustrates a timing diagram of the random access process of a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0049] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of a frame structure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0050] Figure 6 illustrates a timing diagram of a two-step random access procedure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0051] Figure 7 shows a schematic flowchart of the communication process in an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0052] Figure 8 shows a schematic flowchart of another communication process in an O-RAN architecture according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0053] Figure 9 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0054] Figure 10 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0055] Figure 11 shows a schematic block diagram of an example device that can be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0056] Embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While some embodiments of this disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that this disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of this disclosure. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings and embodiments of this disclosure are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0057] In the description of embodiments of this disclosure, the term "comprising" and similar terms should be understood as open-ended inclusion, i.e., "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "at least partially based on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc., may refer to different or the same objects. The term "and / or" means at least one of the two items associated therewith. For example, "A and / or B" means A, B, or A and B. Other explicit and implicit definitions may also be included below. In the description of embodiments of this disclosure, unless expressly stated to the contrary, "a plurality" means at least two, i.e., two or more.

[0058] The technical solutions of the embodiments disclosed herein are applicable to communication systems that follow any suitable communication protocol, such as: Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Time Division-Synchronization Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, Time Division Duplex (TDD), fifth-generation (5G) system or New Radio (NR), future evolution 6G, 7G communication systems, etc.

[0059] It should be understood that the embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to any communication system with similar problems, such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired communication systems, or other communication systems developed in the future.

[0060] As used in this disclosure, the term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wired or wireless communication with network devices or with each other. A terminal device may sometimes be referred to as User Equipment (UE). A terminal device can be any type of mobile terminal, fixed terminal, or portable terminal. As examples, a terminal device may include a mobile phone, site, unit, device, mobile terminal (MT), subscription station, portable subscription station, internet node, communicator, desktop computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, tablet computer, personal communication system device, personal navigation device, personal digital assistant (PDA), positioning device, radio receiver, e-book device, gaming device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, in-vehicle device, aircraft, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wearable device, terminal device in a 5G network, or any terminal device in an evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), other devices that can be used for communication, or any combination thereof. Embodiments of this disclosure are not intended to limit this.

[0061] As used in this disclosure, the term "network device" refers to an entity or node that can be used to communicate with terminal devices, such as an access network device (i.e., an access network equipment). An access network device can be a means deployed in a RAN to provide wireless communication functionality for mobile terminals, such as a RAN network device. Access network devices can include various types of base stations (BS). As examples, access network devices can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, pico base stations, femtobase stations, relay stations, access points, satellites, remote radio units (RRUs), radio heads (RHs), remote radio heads (RRHs), etc., and can also be devices that perform base station functions in device-to-device (D2D) communication and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. In systems employing different wireless access technologies, the names of access network equipment may vary. For example, in Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, it is called an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB); in 3G networks, it is called a Node B (NB); and in 5G networks, it may be called a g Node B (gNB) or NR Node B (NR NB), and so on. In some scenarios, access network equipment may include a Central Unit (CU) and / or a Distributed Unit (DU). CU and DU can be placed in different locations; for example, the DU may be located remotely in a high-traffic area, while the CU is located in a central equipment room. Alternatively, CU and DU can be located in the same equipment room. CU and DU can also be different components within the same rack. Access network equipment can also be devices deployed in an Open RAN (O-RAN) to provide wireless communication functions for mobile terminals; for example, access network equipment may include an Open-CU (O-CU) and / or an Open-DU (O-DU). For ease of description, in the subsequent embodiments of this disclosure, the devices that provide wireless communication functions for mobile terminals are collectively referred to as network devices, and the embodiments of this disclosure are no longer specifically limited.

[0062] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a system 100 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The system 100 in Figure 1 includes a plurality of A-IoT devices 110-1 to 110-N (where N is a positive integer), a terminal device 120-1, a network device 120-2, and a core network (CN) entity 140. For ease of description, the A-IoT devices 110-1 to 110-N can be individually or collectively referred to as Device 110, and the terminal device 120-1 and the network device 120-2 can be individually or collectively referred to as Reader 120. It should be noted that although the terminal device 120-1 and the network device 120-2 are shown as readers in Figure 1, the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the type of reader.

[0063] In some examples, CN entity 140 may be a function or module in the core network, such as an A-IoT function, a mobility management function, or an A-IoT management function. The embodiments of this disclosure do not limit the name of CN entity 140. In some examples, terminal device 120-1 and network device 120-2 may communicate using any communication protocol, such as currently known or future-developed communication protocols.

[0064] In some examples, a transfer from device 110 to reader 120 can be referred to as a device-to-reader (D2R) transfer (or uplink transfer), and a transfer from reader 120 to device 110 can be referred to as a reader-to-device (R2D) transfer (or downlink transfer).

[0065] The device 110 in this embodiment can be a first-type device, which has energy storage capability and an initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) of up to 10. X The power consumption is ppm, and it is capable of uplink transmission by scattering on an externally provided carrier wave. In embodiments of this disclosure, both the reader 120 and the device 110 can be implemented based on infrastructure within a cellular network. For example, the device 110 can be an extremely low-power, extremely low-complexity IoT terminal within a cellular network. In some examples, the reader 120 and the device 110 can perform contactless data communication; for example, the reader 120 can read information from the device 110 and / or write information that needs to be stored to the device 110.

[0066] In system 100, reader 120 communicates with device 110 to support various services such as inventory, positioning, sensing, and commands. Application scenarios include logistics, warehousing, industrial manufacturing, identity recognition, and environmental monitoring. Inventory service involves reader 120 connecting to A-IoT devices 110 within its coverage area. Successfully connected devices 110 need to send their unique identifier (e.g., the identifier that reader 120 can use to identify device 110) to reader 120. Positioning service uses positioning signals to locate the position of A-IoT devices 110. Sensing service involves A-IoT devices 110 reporting sensor data, such as temperature data, to reader 120. Command service can implement write or lock processes. In a write process, reader 120 can send downlink commands and data, instructing A-IoT devices 110 to write data into their storage area. During the locking process, the reader 120 can send downlink commands to instruct the A-IoT device 120 to lock the location of a specified address in the storage area, wherein the contents of that segment of memory cannot be changed and / or cannot be read.

[0067] In system 100, A-IoT device 110 can be a passive device (device A), a semi-passive device (device B), or an active device (device C). Device A does not have energy storage capabilities and does not have independent signal generation or amplification capabilities (such as scattering transmission). Device B has energy storage capabilities but does not have independent signal generation or amplification capabilities, and the use of stored energy can include amplification of reflected signals. Device C has energy storage capabilities and independent signal generation capabilities, for example, it can have active radio frequency (RF) components for transmission.

[0068] It should be noted that the system 100 shown in FIG1 is only for the purpose of making the embodiments of this disclosure easier to describe, and is not intended to limit the application environment of the embodiments of this disclosure. It is understood that the embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to other systems or environments besides system 100, and this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0069] As described above, the reader 120 can be implemented as a terminal device 120-1 or a network device 120-2. Figures 2A to 2E illustrate schematic diagrams of various topologies in an A-IoT scenario. Figure 2A shows Topology 1 between the A-IoT device 110 and the network device 120-2. In Topology 1, the A-IoT device 110 and the network device 120-2 communicate directly bidirectionally. The communication between the network device 120-2 and the A-IoT device 110 includes environmental IoT data and / or signaling. This Topology 1 includes the network device 120-2 sending messages to the A-IoT device 110 and the network device 120-2 receiving messages from the A-IoT device 110; that is, there is uplink and downlink data / signaling between the network device 120-2 and the A-IoT device 110, and they can communicate directly.

[0070] Figure 2B illustrates Topology 2 between A-IoT device 110 and network device 120-2 via intermediate node 120-3. In Topology 2, bidirectional communication occurs between A-IoT device 110 and intermediate node 120-3, and between network device 120-2 and intermediate node 120-3. In Topology 2, intermediate node 120-3 can be implemented as a repeater, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a user equipment, etc., enabling environmental IoT. Intermediate node 120-3 transmits A-IoT data and / or signaling between network device 120-2 and A-IoT device 110.

[0071] Figure 2C illustrates a downlink-assisted topology 3 between A-IoT device 110 and network device 120-2, and Figure 2D illustrates an uplink-assisted topology 3 between A-IoT device 110 and network device 120-2. In the downlink-assisted topology 3 shown in Figure 2C, A-IoT device 110 sends data / signaling to network device 120-2 and receives data / signaling from network device 120-2 from auxiliary node 120-4. In the uplink-assisted topology 3 shown in Figure 2D, A-IoT device 110 receives data / signaling from network device 120-2 and sends data / signaling to auxiliary node 120-4. In topology 3, auxiliary node 120-4 can be implemented as a repeater, IAB node, user equipment, etc.

[0072] Figure 2E illustrates topology 4 between A-IoT device 110 and terminal device 120-1. In topology 4, A-IoT device 110 and terminal device 120-1 communicate bidirectionally. The communication between terminal device 120-1 and A-IoT device 110 includes environmental IoT data and / or signaling.

[0073] Device 110 can perform a random access procedure (or a quasi-random access procedure), after which data transmission, such as R2D and / or D2R transmission, can occur between device 110 and reader 120. However, since device 110 is a terminal with extremely low power consumption and low complexity, and there are many of them, how to effectively realize random access between device 110 and reader 120 is one of the problems that needs to be solved.

[0074] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a scheme for random access. In this scheme, after sending a first message for random access, the device can receive a second message from the reader associated with its transmission resources. Thus, the device can determine and receive the second message associated with its transmission resources without having to receive all second messages, thereby reducing the device's power consumption while ensuring random access.

[0075] In the following embodiments of this disclosure, the term "device" can refer to an A-IoT device, such as a device with extremely low power consumption and extremely low complexity, including but not limited to wearable devices, industrial control devices, autonomous driving devices, satellites, and other terminal devices. The term "reader / writer" can refer to network devices, mobile terminals, logistics trackers, etc.

[0076] The term "D2R" refers to the communication process from device to reader, widely used in A-IoT and RFID systems, involving communication and data exchange between devices and readers. It can be replaced by device-to-network communication, tag-to-reader or satellite-to-ground communication, device-to-cloud streaming media, etc. For example, D2R messages can also be called uplink messages, and D2R data can also be called uplink data. D2R messages (or D2R data) can be carried in a device-to-reader channel, such as the Physical Device-to-Reader Channel (PDRCH).

[0077] The term "R2D" refers to the communication process from a reader or control node to an A-IoT device. This data flow is often necessary in RFID, IoT, and communication systems, especially in scenarios requiring device control, configuration, or querying. It can be replaced with reader-to-tag, controller-to-device, and so on. For example, R2D messages can also be called downlink messages, and R2D data can also be called downlink data. R2D messages (or R2D data) can be carried in a reader-to-device channel, such as the Physical Reader-to-Device Channel (PRDCH).

[0078] The various terms involved in the embodiments of this disclosure, such as message, information, signaling, field, information domain, information element, signaling element, information element, report, etc., can be used interchangeably, and the embodiments of this disclosure do not limit the specific format or structure of these terms.

[0079] The embodiments of this disclosure involve identifiers of devices, such as the identifier of device 110. For ease of description, the following embodiments of this disclosure use the random identifier (random ID) of device 110 as an example. However, it should be understood that the embodiments of this disclosure do not limit the specific form of the identifier. For example, the name of the identifier can be a random identifier, a random access identifier, a random access request identifier, an A-IoT Msg1 identifier, etc., and this disclosure does not limit this. It should be noted that the embodiments of this disclosure do not limit the length of the identifier, for example, it can be 16 bits, 8 bits, 6 bits, or another length. Exemplarily, the identifier of the first device mentioned in the embodiments of this disclosure can be used, for example, for contention resolution or competition during the random access process, and / or can be used by a second device to identify or recognize the first device.

[0080] Figure 3 shows a schematic flowchart of a communication process 300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication process 300 in Figure 3 relates to a first device 310 and a second device 320. Referring to Figure 1, in some examples, the first device 310 may be implemented as device 110 or a device within device 110 or a device including device 110, and the second device 320 may be implemented as reader 120 or a device within reader 120 or a device including reader 120.

[0081] As shown in the figure, at 301, the first device 310 sends a first message to the second device 320 at the first transmission resource, wherein the first message includes the identifier of the first device 310.

[0082] In some implementations, the first transmission resource can be a first access resource, and the first message can be message 1 for random access, i.e., Msg1. Exemplarily, the identifier can be a random identifier of device 110. Exemplarily, the random identifier can be used as identification information for contention-based access and / or to identify the first device 310. For example, the random identifier can be used as, or can be used to generate, one or more of the following: access stratum identification (AS ID), temporary identifier, scrambling (or descrambling) sequence, cyclic redundancy check mask (CRC mask), CRC masking (or scrambling or descrambling or demasking) sequence, etc. For example, the second device 320 includes or indicates a random identifier, such as an access stratum identifier, temporary identifier, scrambling (or descrambling) sequence, CRC mask, CRC masking (or scrambling or descrambling or demasking) sequence, etc., in an R2D message (such as one including scheduling information or downlink data) sent to the first device 310, to associate it with the identification of the first device 310.

[0083] Optionally, access resources may include time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources. Optionally, access resources may also be access timing, and access timing may include time-domain resources and / or frequency-domain resources.

[0084] In some implementations, the first message can be a message used to carry or include data. Exemplarily, the first transmission resource can be a time-frequency resource used to transmit the first message. For example, the first message can be a D2R message including D2R data (also known as uplink data). Exemplarily, the first message can be sent based on scheduling from the second device 320; for example, the second device 320 can send an R2D message for scheduling or sending R2D data. Exemplarily, the first message can include a random identifier of the first device 310, for example, for associating with the first device 310.

[0085] In some embodiments, the first device 310 may send a first message to the second device 320 and may expect to receive a second message. For example, the second message may include a response to the first message. It is understood that the second device 320 may receive multiple messages from multiple devices (including the first message from the first device 310), and the second device 320 may send the second message in a cascaded or non-cascaded manner. For example, the second device 320 may merge the response content (e.g., contention resolution identifiers for multiple devices) to at least two messages from at least two devices before sending them. For example, the at least two devices may be a device group (corresponding to a resource group) among the multiple devices; specific embodiments can be described in detail below in conjunction with the grouping. Cascading allows processing of information related to multiple devices in a single message, thereby improving communication efficiency and resource utilization. For example, the second device 320 may not use cascading and may respond to only one message from one device (such as the first message from the first device 310). Non-cascading avoids processing delays for multiple responses and allows for faster responses to messages from a single device.

[0086] As an example, the first message could be Msg1 during the random access procedure, and the second message could be Msg2. As another example, the first message could be a D2R message including D2R data, and the second message could be feedback regarding the D2R data. For example, this feedback could be carried within an R2D message.

[0087] It should be understood that the aforementioned feedback can be feedback on D2R data (or uplink data, or upper-layer data, etc.), such as feedback on other D2R data after msg3 or msg4. Optionally, D2R data (or uplink data, uploaded data, etc.) may include the device ID of the first device 310 and / or data such as Non-Access Stratum (NAS) or application layer data, or any other upper-layer data, wherein upper layer can refer to a protocol layer above the MAC layer, and the name of the protocol layer is not limited in this disclosure. Optionally, upper-layer data may be a response to commands such as read / write / deactivate / lock / sensing. Optionally, the second device 320 may further forward the upper-layer data from the first device 310 to the core network entity 140.

[0088] For example, if the first message may include D2R data (such as D2R data sent during the data transmission process after successful access), the second message may include feedback. The second message may indicate that the data transmission failed (or instruct the first device 310 to re-access or continue re-accessing), or it may indicate that the data transmission was successful (or instruct the first device 310 not to re-access or continue re-accessing).

[0089] For example, feedback may include indication information, such as a 1-bit value. This indication information has a first value (e.g., 0) indicating data transmission failure. The indication information has a second value (e.g., 1) indicating successful data transmission.

[0090] For example, the feedback could be a negative acknowledgment (NACK). Alternatively, if the second message (including the feedback) is associated with the first transmission resource (or the first device 310), the feedback indicates that the D2R data transmission of the first device 310 has failed.

[0091] For example, the feedback could be an affirmative acknowledgment (ACK). Alternatively, if the second message (including the feedback) is associated with the first transmission resource (or the first device 310), the feedback indicates that the data transmission of the first device 310 was successful.

[0092] For example, the second message (including feedback) may be associated with at least one transmission resource, such as the first transmission resource. Alternatively, the second message (including feedback) may be associated with the number of at least one transmission resource to implicitly indicate whether the D2R data transmission of the first device 310 has failed or succeeded.

[0093] As an example of implicit indication, the feedback may be associated with only one transmission resource (i.e., the first transmission resource) or one first device (i.e., first device 310), in which case the feedback indicates that the D2R data transmission of the associated first device 310 failed. As an example of implicit indication, the feedback may be associated with more than one transmission resource (or more than one first device), in which case the feedback may indicate that the data transmission of the more than one first device was successful. Optionally, the feedback may be associated with multiple identical indices to indicate that only the D2R data transmission of the first device 310 was successful (D2R data transmission of other devices failed).

[0094] In this way, the second device 320 can immediately report a failure after failing to receive a D2R message. The second device 320 can send feedback to a single first device to indicate that the D2R message transmission failed. The first device can then reconnect or retransmit the D2R data. Optionally, the second device 320 can send feedback after receiving multiple D2R messages (e.g., before the next round of random access or reconnection process) to indicate that multiple first devices have successfully transmitted the data.

[0095] As an example of implicit indication, the feedback may be associated with only one transmission resource (i.e., the first transmission resource) or one first device (i.e., first device 310), in which case the feedback indicates that the D2R data transmission of the associated first device 310 was successful. As an example of implicit indication, the feedback may be associated with more than one transmission resource (or more than one first device), in which case the feedback may indicate that the data transmission of the more than one first device failed. Optionally, the feedback may be associated with multiple identical indices to indicate that only the D2R data transmission of the first device 310 was successful (D2R data transmission of other devices failed).

[0096] In this way, the second device 320 can immediately report success upon successfully receiving a D2R message. The second device 320 can send feedback to a single first device to indicate that the D2R message transmission was successful. This eliminates the need for the first device to listen for subsequent R2D messages, thus saving energy. Optionally, the second device 320 can send feedback after receiving multiple D2R messages (e.g., before the next round of random access or re-access procedure) to indicate that multiple first devices have failed to transmit. These first devices can then re-access or re-transmit D2R data.

[0097] The above implicit indication method allows for flexible indication of whether the first message (or D2R message or D2R data) transmission was successful or failed without incurring additional bit overhead.

[0098] Optionally or additionally, the first device 310 may receive a paging message from the second device 320. Exemplarily, the paging message may allocate resources for the transmission of the first message; for example, the paging message may indicate multiple transmission resources, or multiple candidate transmission resources. Optionally, the paging message may include multiple candidate access resources. Exemplarily, the first device 310 may send the first message based on the paging message.

[0099] It is understood that the embodiments of this disclosure do not limit the manner in which the second device 320 indicates multiple transmission resources (such as multiple candidate access resources). For example, one or more of the following may be indicated: the number of multiple candidate access resources, the number of multiple candidate frequency domain resources, the number of multiple candidate time domain resources, the minimum index position among multiple candidate frequency domain resources, the maximum index position among multiple candidate frequency domain resources, the minimum index position among multiple candidate time domain resources, the maximum index position among multiple candidate time domain resources, etc.

[0100] In some implementations, the second device 320 may indicate multiple candidate transmission resources (e.g., O transmission resources, O = X * Y, where X represents the number of resources in the time domain and Y represents the number of resources in the frequency domain). For example, the first device 310 may select a suitable transmission resource, i.e., a first transmission resource, from the multiple candidate transmission resources based on the current network conditions. For instance, the position index of the first transmission resource among the multiple transmission resources may be represented as x1, or (x1, y1).

[0101] For example, multiple candidate access resources may be included in paging messages, R2D messages, or access trigger messages (e.g., to trigger a round of random access, or to re-access, or to trigger one or more access opportunities / access resources).

[0102] In other implementations, the second device 320 may explicitly indicate the transmission resources that the first device 310 can use in the downlink message. In this case, the first device 310 may select the indicated transmission resources for transmitting the first message based on the indication from the second device 320. This disclosure does not limit the method of determining the first transmission resources.

[0103] In some embodiments, the identifier (e.g., a random ID) of the first device 310 in the first message is generated by the first device 310 and serves as the identifier of the first device 310 in subsequent message exchanges. The random ID can be generated by a random number generation algorithm or based on the device ID of the first device 310. This disclosure does not limit the method of determining the identifier.

[0104] In one possible implementation, the first device 310 may select a first access resource to use from a plurality of candidate access resources, for example, by randomly selecting from the plurality of candidate access resources. The plurality of candidate access resources may be configured via R2D messages, for example, by indicating or carrying the plurality of candidate access resources in one or more of the following ways.

[0105] Method 1: A-IoT paging message, also known as an initial (paging) message, an initial trigger message, or an initial selection message, etc. This application does not limit the name of the A-IoT paging message. This A-IoT paging message is used to paging, select, or trigger the first device (access and / or data transmission). Method 2: R2D message used to schedule D2R transmission. This R2D message is used to schedule the first device to transmit data. Method 3: (Random) access trigger message, which can trigger a round of random access, re-access, or trigger one or more access opportunities / access resources. Method 4: Information cells or fields, which can be carried in at least one of the following: a medium access control (MAC) header, a MAC control element (MAC CE), a MAC information cell, or a physical layer sequence, etc., and can be carried with other R2D messages or data. It should be understood that this application does not limit the name of the R2D message in the above methods.

[0106] In one possible implementation, when the first device 310 determines the transmission resource (i.e., the first transmission resource, or the first access resource) to be used, it determines the identification information corresponding to the first transmission resource. For example, the identification information corresponding to the first transmission resource can be determined using any one of the following methods one to three, or any combination thereof.

[0107] Method 1 determines the resources based on time-domain resources (location) and frequency-domain resources (location). For example, the candidate transmission resources include 16 time-domain resources and 4 frequency-domain resources, for a total of 16*4=64 candidate transmission resources.

[0108] In one possible implementation, the first device 310 may randomly select one of the 64 candidate transmission resources as the first transmission resource, for example, selecting the 38th candidate transmission resource as the first transmission resource. Assuming the identification information is a resource index, the identification information (e.g., index) corresponding to the first transmission resource can be 38 (or 37, for example, counting the first index from 0).

[0109] Another possible implementation is that the first device 310 randomly selects time-domain resources and frequency-domain resources respectively. Assuming that the index is determined in the order of time domain first and then frequency domain, for example, selecting the 10th time-domain resource from the above 16 time-domain resources and the 2nd frequency-domain resource from the above 4 frequency-domain resources, then the starting index of the index corresponding to the 10th time-domain resource is first determined to be (10-1)*4=36, and then the index 2 of the frequency-domain resource is added, that is, the index of the first transmission resource is 36+2=38, or the index of the first transmission resource is 37 (for example, starting from 0 to count the first index).

[0110] Assuming the index is determined in the order of frequency domain first and then time domain, for example, if the second frequency domain resource is selected from the above 4 frequency domain resources and the tenth time domain resource is selected from the above 16 time domain resources, then the starting index of the index corresponding to the second frequency domain resource is first determined to be (2-1)*16=16, and then the index 10 of the time domain resource is added, that is, the index of the first transmission resource is 16+10=26, or the index of the first transmission resource is 25 (for example, starting from 0 to count the first index).

[0111] Method 2: Determination based on time-domain resources (location). For example, the identification information of the first transmission resource can correspond to the position or index of its time-domain location among multiple candidate time-domain resources. For instance, if the candidate transmission resources include 16 time-domain resources (e.g., corresponding to 16 time units, each time unit may have the same or different lengths), assuming the first device selects the 10th time-domain resource from these 16 resources as the first transmission resource, then the index of the first transmission resource (i.e., the transmission resource in the time dimension) can be 10 (or 9, for example, starting from 0 for the first index).

[0112] Method 3: Determination based on frequency domain resources (location). For example, the identification information of the first transmission resource can correspond to the position or index of its frequency domain location among multiple candidate frequency domain resources. For instance, if the candidate transmission resources include four frequency domain resources (e.g., corresponding to four frequency domain locations, each of which can be determined via R2D messages), assuming the first device selects the second time-domain resource from these four frequency domain resources as the first transmission resource, then the index of the first transmission resource (i.e., the transmission resource in the frequency domain dimension) can be 2 (or 1, for example, starting from 0 to count the first index).

[0113] Optionally, the protocol can specify which of the above methods should be used to determine the index corresponding to the transmission resource. Alternatively, the protocol can include the above methods, with the second device configuring or instructing (e.g., via R2D messages such as paging messages, access trigger messages, configuration messages, etc.) which method should be used to determine the index corresponding to the transmission resource, or the first device actively selecting which method should be used to determine the index corresponding to the transmission resource.

[0114] It is understood that the first device 310 in FIG3 can be any of the devices 110 in FIG1. ​​In some embodiments, multiple devices 110 can respectively receive paging messages from the second device 320 and send Msg1 on their respective selected transmission resources (such as access resources).

[0115] At point 302, the first device 310 receives a second message from the second device 320, wherein the second message includes first information indicating that the second message is associated with a first transport resource. Exemplarily, as previously described, the first message may be Msg1, and the second message may be message 2, i.e., Msg2, used in response to message 1 for random access. Optionally, the second message may include an identifier of the first device 310. Exemplarily, as previously described, the first message may be a D2R message including D2R data, and the second message may include feedback. Optionally, the feedback may not include the identifier of the first device 310.

[0116] In some implementations, the second message may include a resource index of the first transport resource to indicate that the second message is associated with the first transport resource.

[0117] For example, the second message may include fields indicating the type and index of the first transmission resource. For instance, the resource index of the first transmission resource may include a time-domain index and a frequency-domain index of the first transmission resource. For example, the time-domain index may be a "time-domain ID" or a position index "x1" among X time-domain resources, and the frequency-domain index may be a "frequency-domain ID" or a position index "y1" among Y frequency-domain resources. These transmission resource identifiers may indicate to device 310 that the second message corresponds to the first transmission resource.

[0118] Additionally or optionally, at 303, the first device 310 may receive second information from the second device 320, wherein the second information may explicitly or implicitly indicate multiple resource groups. Exemplarily, the second information may include grouping information. It should be noted that although 303 is shown in FIG. 3 after 301 and before 302, the embodiments of this disclosure do not limit the order of the various operations; for example, 303 may be performed before 301, or 303 may be combined with 302 for execution, etc.

[0119] In some implementations, the second information may be included in the paging message as described above, i.e., the paging message includes the second information. Exemplarily, the second device 320 may divide multiple transmission resources (e.g., X*Y transmission resources) into multiple resource groups. In some implementations, the second information may be included in Msg2. The second device 320 may receive Msg1 from multiple devices 110 on some or all of the multiple transmission resources, and the second device 320 may divide the transmission resources receiving Msg1 (i.e., some or all of the multiple transmission resources) into multiple resource groups.

[0120] In some embodiments, the second information may include the number of multiple resource groups, for example, denoted as M, where M is a positive integer. Exemplarily, the first device 310 may divide multiple transmission resources into M resource groups based on a predetermined rule, and further determine the group associated with the first transmission resource (e.g., the first resource group). For example, the first device 310 may determine which group the first resource group is among the M resource groups. For instance, the predetermined rule may be to arrange the multiple transmission resources in order of their resource index size, and then group them evenly. Optionally, during the arrangement, the time-domain resources may be arranged in ascending (or descending) order of their time-domain size, and for several frequency-domain resources of the same time-domain resource, they may be arranged in ascending (or descending) order of their frequency-domain index. For instance, the predetermined rule may be to divide the resource indexes of the multiple transmission resources modulo the number M. For example, the first device 310 may determine the index (or number, or group number, etc.) of the first resource group by a modulo operation. As an example, suppose there are 10 transmission resources divided into 5 resource groups (M=5), with indices of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. And suppose the index of the first transmission resource used by the first device 310 is x1=7. Then, the index of the first resource group can be determined to be K=2 by calculating K=mod(x1,M)=mod(7,5)=2, for example, the third group among the 5 resource groups. In this way, by indicating the number of resource groups to indicate packet information, signaling overhead is low, and the bandwidth usage is minimal.

[0121] In some embodiments, the second information may include the number of transmission resources in a resource group, for example, denoted as N, where N is a positive integer. For example, the second information indicates the number of transmission resources included in each of a plurality of resource groups. Exemplarily, for X*Y transmission resources, every N transmission resources can be grouped together. Exemplarily, the first device 310 may divide the plurality of transmission resources into X*Y / N groups based on a predetermined rule, and further determine the group associated with the first transmission resource (e.g., the first resource group). For example, the plurality of transmission resources may be sorted, and every N adjacent transmission resources may be grouped together, with no overlap between different resource groups. Similarly, the first device 310 may also determine the first resource group through a modulo operation. For example, the first device 310 may determine which group the first resource group is in among X*Y / N resource groups. Thus, by indicating the number of resources in each group to indicate packet information, signaling overhead is low, and the consumption of transmission bandwidth is low.

[0122] In some embodiments, the second information may include the proportion of transmission resources in a resource group to the total number of transmission resources, for example, denoted by Q, where Q is a number less than 1 and greater than 0. For example, the second information indicates the proportion of the number of transmission resources included in each resource group to the total number of transmission resources (X*Y). Exemplarily, for X*Y transmission resources, the first X*Y*Q transmission resources can be designated as a first group, the adjacent X*Y*Q transmission resources as a second group, and so on. For example, if Q = 0.5 or 50%, then the X*Y transmission resources are divided into two resource groups. Exemplarily, the first device 310 can determine the group (e.g., the first resource group) associated with the first transmission resources based on X*Y and Q. Thus, by indicating the proportion of resources in each group to indicate packet information, signaling overhead is low, and transmission bandwidth usage is minimal.

[0123] In some embodiments, the second information may include grouping information indicating the resource index of the transmission resources included in each resource group. For example, the second information indicates that the resource index in the first resource group is [x1, x2, ..., xn]. The first device 310 can determine the first resource group associated with the first transmission resource more quickly. In this way, the first device 310 does not need to perform complex calculations and processing to determine the first resource group, which can save processing power and energy consumption at the first device 310.

[0124] In some embodiments, the second information may include grouping information and indicate the resource index of the transmission resources included in each resource group via a bitmap. For example, the second information indicates the first resource group via 101000, meaning the first resource group includes transmission resources corresponding to bit "1". The first device 310 can determine the first resource group associated with the first transmission resource more quickly. In this way, the first device 310 does not need to perform complex calculations and processing to determine the first resource group, which can save processing power and energy consumption at the first device 310.

[0125] For ease of illustration, we can assume that the number of resource groups (i.e., the total number of groups) is M, the number of candidate transmission resources is O, the number of time-domain resources is X, and the number of frequency-domain resources is Y, with O = X * Y. We can also assume that the index (or unknown) of the first transmission resource (such as the first access resource) selected by the first device 310 is n. As one implementation, M = O = X * Y, or M = X, or M = Y.

[0126] For example, the first device 310 may determine the group number of its corresponding first resource group (or based on the following value, plus or minus one) by any of the following methods: Floor(n,M), or Ceil(n,M), or mod(n,M), or Floor(n,X / M), or Ceil(n,X / M), or mod(n,X / M), etc. In these methods, Floor(a,b) represents a / b rounded up, Ceil(a,b) represents a / b rounded down, and Mod(a,b) or a mod b represents a modulo b.

[0127] As an example, M = X. The total number of groups can then correspond to the number of time-domain resources. Correspondingly, the number of second messages can be equal to the number of time-domain resources, i.e., X. Therefore, the first device 310 can determine its group number based on the time-domain location of its selected first transmission resource, and thus determine the corresponding second message.

[0128] For example, the first device 310 may store information related to the first resource group (referred to as group information), such as the total number of groups, the number of multiple candidate transmission resources, the number of time-domain resources, the number of frequency-domain resources, the index (or position) of the first transmission resource, the group number, etc.

[0129] Optionally, the second information may include first time information. For example, the first time information may be used by the first device 310 to determine the time length between two adjacent Msg2, and / or to determine second time information of a second message associated with the first transmission resource.

[0130] In some embodiments, the first time information may indicate the duration between two adjacent second messages (Msg2), for example, it may be represented as T0. Exemplarily, the duration T0 may include: the duration of Msg2, and the sum of the durations of each message (such as Msg3, commands, etc.) between adjacent Msg2. For example, the first device 310 may determine the transmission time (hereinafter referred to as the second time information) of the second message associated with the first resource group (such as index K) as t0 + K * T0 based on the first time information, where t0 is the transmission time of the first message or the transmission time of the first Msg2 after the first message.

[0131] In some embodiments, the first time information may indicate multiple transmission times of multiple second messages associated with the plurality of resource groups. For example, the first time information may include M transmission times of M second messages corresponding to M resource groups, such as t1, t2, ..., tM. For example, the first device 310 may determine the transmission time (hereinafter referred to as the second time information) of the second message associated with the first resource group (e.g., index K) as tK based on the first time information.

[0132] In process 300, the first device 310 can determine a first resource group based on the second information and the first transmission resource; and further receive a second message corresponding to the first resource group. In embodiments of this disclosure, the second message corresponding to the first resource group is the aforementioned second message associated with the first transmission resource, wherein the first resource group includes the first transmission resource. Exemplarily, the first information in the second message can indicate that the second message corresponds to the first resource group (or indicate that the second message is associated with the first transmission resource).

[0133] In some embodiments, the first information may include a resource index of the first transmission resource (e.g., time-domain resource x1 and / or frequency-domain resource y1) to indicate the position of the first transmission resource among multiple transmission resources.

[0134] In some embodiments, the first information may include a group index of a first resource group, for example, group index K, wherein the first resource group includes a first transmission resource. For example, the group index may also be referred to as a group number, sequence number, etc.

[0135] In some embodiments, the first information may include at least one resource index of at least one transport resource in the first resource group. For example, the first information may include resource indexes of all transport resources in the first resource group, such as these resource indexes may be indicated in the form of an index list or a bitmap.

[0136] In some embodiments, multiple second messages corresponding to multiple resource groups may have different sequence numbers, for example, the sequence number indicates the order in which the corresponding second messages are sent. Exemplarily, the first information may include the sequence number of the second message to which it belongs. For example, this sequence number can be understood as the group number of the first resource group among multiple resource groups, for example, denoted as m.

[0137] In some implementations, the first device 310 may determine whether the received second message is associated with the first transmission resource. For example, this association may be determined based on a paging message or R2D message (such as one received prior to the first message), the second information, the first information, etc.

[0138] The method for determining the identification information (e.g., index or location, or the corresponding index or location among multiple candidate transmission resources) of the first transmission resource is as described above. For ease of description, it can be assumed that the index or location corresponding to the first transmission resource is the first index or the first number, and the method for determining whether the second message is associated with the first transmission resource can be implemented in the following way or any combination thereof.

[0139] Method 1: The second message (or the first message) explicitly includes an index or number.

[0140] For example, if the second message includes a first index or a first number, then the second message is determined to be associated with the first transmission resource; otherwise, the second message is determined not to be associated with the first transmission resource. Alternatively, if the second message includes a first index or a first number and includes a first random number, then the second message is determined to be associated with the first transmission resource; otherwise, the second message is determined not to be associated with the first transmission resource.

[0141] Optionally, determining whether the second message indicates successful access and / or successful data transmission (or, if the second message includes feedback, a random number) further includes determining whether the second message includes a first random number; if so, it indicates successful access and / or successful data transmission. Alternatively, it may determine whether the random number corresponding to the first index or the first number is the first random number (e.g., each index and its corresponding random number are adjacent in the field, or the order of multiple indices corresponds to the order of random numbers, and the order of each index and its corresponding random number is the same); if so, it indicates successful access and / or successful data transmission. In the case where the second message includes feedback, it may also indicate data transmission failure (or indicate re-access).

[0142] Method 2: The second message (or the first information) is processed by a sequence associated with an index or number (e.g., scrambling (or descrambling), or CRC, or CRC masking, or CRC demasking, etc. Specifically, the scrambling sequence is associated with an index or number, or the CRC sequence (or CRC mask) is associated with an index or number).

[0143] For example, if the scrambling (or descrambling) sequence or CRC sequence (or CRC mask) of the second message is associated with the first index or the first number, then the second message is determined to be associated with the first transmission resource; otherwise, the second message is determined not to be associated with the first transmission resource. Alternatively, if the scrambling (or descrambling) sequence or CRC sequence (or CRC mask) of the second message is associated with the first index or the first number, and the second message includes a first random number, then the second message is determined to be associated with the first transmission resource; otherwise, the second message is determined not to be associated with the first transmission resource.

[0144] Assuming the scrambling (or descrambling) sequence or CRC sequence (or CRC mask) is the first sequence, its association with the first index or first number can be determined as follows:

[0145] Method 1: If the first sequence is the first index or the first number, then determine that the first sequence is associated with the first index or the first number.

[0146] Method 2: If the first sequence is part of the first index or the first number (e.g., the first 6 bits or the first 16 bits, or the last 6 bits or the last 16 bits, the number of bits is unlimited), then the first sequence is determined to be associated with the first index or the first number.

[0147] Method 3: If the first sequence is a sequence after filling the first index or the first number with fixed bit information (for example, a 16-bit first sequence is obtained by filling the first index or the first number with 10 bits of all 0s), then the first sequence is determined to be associated with the first index or the first number.

[0148] Method 4: If the first sequence is obtained by calculation and processing through the first index or the first number (complete information or partial information), such as by XORing with the specified sequence or by obtaining it through a hash function, then the first sequence is determined to be associated with the first index or the first number.

[0149] Optionally, the aforementioned first index or first number can be represented by a bitmap. For example, the second index out of four corresponds to a bitmap of 0100, meaning that the position of 1 in the bitmap is the value corresponding to the first index or first number (or related to the value corresponding to the first index or first number; for example, if the index is counted from 0, then the first index needs to be incremented by 1). Alternatively, the second index out of four corresponds to a bitmap of 1011, meaning that the position of 0 in the bitmap is the value corresponding to the first index or first number (or related to the value corresponding to the first index or first number; for example, if the index is counted from 0, then the first index needs to be incremented by 1).

[0150] Method 3: The second message includes a bitmap, where the position with a value of 1 indicates the index or number.

[0151] For example, if a position in the bitmap where the value is 1 includes the value corresponding to the first index or the first number, then the second message is determined to be associated with the first transmission resource; otherwise, the second message is determined not to be associated with the first transmission resource. Alternatively, if a position in the bitmap where the value is 1 includes the value corresponding to the first index or the first number, and the second message includes the first random number, then the second message is determined to be associated with the first transmission resource; otherwise, the second message is determined not to be associated with the first transmission resource.

[0152] Method 4: The second message includes a bitmap, where the position of the bitmap with a value of 0 indicates the index or number.

[0153] For example, if the position in the bitmap where the value is 0 includes the value corresponding to the first index or the first number, then the second message is determined to be associated with the first transmission resource; otherwise, the second message is determined not to be associated with the first transmission resource. Alternatively, if the position in the bitmap where the value is 0 includes the value corresponding to the first index or the first number, and the second message includes the first random number, then the second message is determined to be associated with the first transmission resource; otherwise, the second message is determined not to be associated with the first transmission resource.

[0154] In some implementations, the first device 310 may determine second time information of a second message corresponding to a first resource group and receive the second message at 302 based on the second time information. In some embodiments, the first device 310 may determine the second time information based on the order of the first resource group among multiple resource groups and the first time information. In some embodiments, the second information may not include the first time information, and the first device 310 may detect to determine the duration between two adjacent Msg2 messages and further determine the second time information.

[0155] In some embodiments, if the length of the time interval between the second time information and the current time is greater than (or not less than) a predetermined threshold, the first device 310 can switch to a sleep state and wake up at a certain offset time before the second time information. This can save power consumption at the first device 310.

[0156] For example, the first device 310 can wake up a certain time before the second time information and can perform calibration and / or synchronization based on messages received before the second time information, thus ensuring time alignment with respect to the second time information and ensuring the efficiency of random access. Specific embodiments regarding calibration can be found in the following description in conjunction with Figure 5.

[0157] The second message (such as Msg2) received by the first device 310 at 302 may include the identifier of the first device 310. Furthermore, the first device 310 may send a third message (such as Msg3) based on the received second message (such as Msg2) to continue the random access process.

[0158] In some implementations, the first device 310 may also delete (or remove, discard, or release) previously saved information related to the first resource group (referred to as group information). For example, the first device 310 may delete the group information when it determines that predetermined conditions are met. Optionally, the predetermined conditions may include: receiving a confirmation response confirming successful D2R data transmission; receiving a paging message; entering the next round of random access; receiving a trigger message for the next access opportunity; timeout (the time since information was saved exceeds a threshold); battery level below a threshold, etc. Optionally, the predetermined conditions may include: after the first device 310 successfully accesses or successfully transmits D2R data (a confirmation message associated with the first device 310 may be explicitly received, or failure feedback information may not be associated with the first device 310); receiving a trigger message for the next group or receiving a second message (such as the next second message); etc.

[0159] It should be noted that the above embodiments of this disclosure discuss multiple resource groups. In other embodiments, multiple resource groups can be understood as or replaced by multiple device groups. For example, a first resource group includes at least one transmission resource, and the corresponding first device group includes at least one device that uses at least one transmission resource to send Msg1. Accordingly, Msg2 corresponding to the first resource group can be Msg2 corresponding to the first device group. For example, the Msg2 includes an identifier for each of the at least one device. It should be noted that embodiments based on multiple device groups are also within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0160] In this manner, in the embodiments of this disclosure, the device can determine, based on the second information, that the first transmission resource used by the first device to send the first message belongs to the first resource group, and can further receive the second message corresponding to the first resource group. Thus, the first device does not need to receive all Msg2 messages, avoiding prolonged power consumption caused by receiving all Msg2 messages, thereby improving resource utilization and preventing waste.

[0161] Figure 4 illustrates a timing diagram of the random access process of a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, 400.

[0162] At 401, reader 120 sends a paging message, and correspondingly, at least one device 110 can receive the paging message from reader 120. For example, at least one device 110 may be in an active state 410. In some examples, reader 120 may receive a service request from CN entity 140 and determine at least one device 110 based on the service request. Exemplarily, the paging message may indicate at least one device 110; for example, the paging message may include a single device ID. For example, the paging message may include a group ID of at least one device, such as a group ID mapped to multiple devices. Exemplarily, the paging message may not include any device ID, indicating that all devices capable of receiving the paging message need to respond. For example, reader 120 may send the paging message in a broadcast manner. In embodiments of this disclosure, the paging message may also be referred to as a random access trigger message or other names, etc., and this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0163] In some implementations, the paging message can indicate multiple transmission resources, as shown in the figure, X*Y transmission resources, where X represents the number of resources in the time domain and Y represents the number of resources in the frequency domain. Each of at least one device 110 can determine a transmission resource for Msg1 and send Msg1 to the reader 120 on the determined transmission resource. For example, a device 110 can determine transmission resource 402 and use transmission resource 402 to send Msg1.

[0164] In some embodiments, the paging message may include second information, such as indicating to device 110 the number of multiple resource groups (i.e., the total number of groups M). For example, the total number of groups M may be determined by reader 120 based on the number of multiple transmission resources. Optionally, the paging message may also include first time information, such as T0. Device 110 may determine its group number (e.g., K) based on the total number of groups M and the selected transmission resources. In this case, if the group to which device 110 belongs is the first group, then device 110 performs Msg2 monitoring and prepares to receive the first Msg2403.

[0165] If device 110 is in a later group (the order in which Msg2 is sent follows the order of resource groups), device 110 can determine the sleep time based on the time T0 indicated by the second information after sending Msg1, and then go into sleep mode based on the sleep time. For ease of discussion, referring to Figure 4, it is assumed that the resource group to which device 110 belongs corresponds to Msg2 407.

[0166] In some embodiments, the time T0 indicated by the second information may include the transmission time of Msg2 corresponding to each resource group, and the device 110 can determine its own receiving time of Msg2 based on the group number obtained above. Optionally, the device 110 may also determine a sleep time.

[0167] In some embodiments, the time T0 indicated by the second information may include a fixed transmission time for sending a group of Msg3, for example, T0 = 10ms. Assuming that the device 110 determines that it is in the fifth group (i.e., K = 5), the sleep time can be determined as: K * T0 = 50ms.

[0168] In some embodiments, the time T0 indicated by the second information can be compatible with command scenarios. For example, in Figure 4, there may be other R2D commands and corresponding D2R responses between Msg3 404 and the next Msg2 405. In this case, the reader 120 can determine T0 as the sum of the durations of Msg2 403, Msg3 404, and the durations of the R2D commands and their corresponding D2R responses, based on whether there are any R2D commands.

[0169] In some embodiments, the device 110 may also determine the transmission time of receiving the corresponding Msg2 by counting. For example, if K=5, the device 110 can end the sleep period during the sleep process and receive the next Msg2 at intervals (e.g., the transmission interval of Msg3 is fixed) until the counter confirms that the first four Msg2s have been received. Then the device 110 ends the sleep period, starts monitoring Msg2, and waits to receive the corresponding Msg2.

[0170] In some embodiments, T0 can also be calculated by the first device 110. For example, if the transmission time of each Msg3 is known to be 2ms, then T0 = the number of resources in each resource group * the duration of Msg3 (2ms).

[0171] At 402, device 110 transmits Msg1 on selected transmission resources (e.g., time-domain resource x1 and frequency-domain resource y1), and simultaneously, as shown, multiple devices that received the paging message also transmit their corresponding Msg1 to reader 120. In some embodiments, Msg1 includes the identifier of device 110, i.e., a random ID.

[0172] After receiving Msg1, reader 120 sends a first Msg2 associated with the first resource group at 403 based on the resource group information. It should be noted that although the first Msg2 is associated with the first resource group, reader 120 still sends the first Msg2 to all devices that sent Msg1, and the devices only respond to the Msg2 corresponding to their group.

[0173] In some implementations, paging message 401 may not include second information (and first timing information). After sending Msg1 at transmission resource 402, device 110 may receive Msg2 403, for example, Msg2 403 being the first (or earliest) Msg2 sent by reader 120 after receiving multiple Msg1s. In some embodiments, Msg2 403 may include second information that indicates to device 110 the number of multiple resource groups (i.e., the total number of groups M). For example, the total number of groups M may be determined by reader 120 based on the number of multiple transmission resources. Optionally, the second information may also include first timing information, such as T0.

[0174] Device 110 can determine the group number (e.g., K) based on the total number of groups M and the selected transmission resources. Optionally, Msg2 403 may include the sequence number m corresponding to the current resource group. Device 110 can determine whether the resource group corresponding to the current Msg2 403 is the same resource group as device 110 by comparing the sequence number m and the group number K. For example, if the group that device 110 belongs to is the first group, i.e., m = K = 1, then device 110 can send the corresponding Msg3.

[0175] In some embodiments, device 110 does not belong to the first group. In this case, after receiving the first Msg2, device 110 determines the sleep time. The method for determining the sleep time is as described above and will not be repeated here. Device 110 then enters the sleep 420 state.

[0176] As shown in the figure, after device 110 enters sleep state 420, at 404, devices corresponding to the first group can transmit Msg3. Subsequently, at 405, reader 120 can continue to send the second Msg2 corresponding to the second group. Optionally, the second Msg2 may include the current group number m. Correspondingly, at 406, devices corresponding to the second group can transmit Msg3, and so on, until at 407, reader 120 sends the third Msg2 corresponding to the group to which device 110 belongs. Optionally, the third Msg2 may include the current group number m. Device 110 can end sleep based on a determined sleep time and enter start state 430, that is, start Msg2 monitoring and receive the third Msg2 corresponding to the group to which device 110 belongs. Device 110 sends its corresponding Msg3 at 408.

[0177] The above embodiments are all based on the initial transmission of Msg2. In some embodiments, there may be a situation where the device fails to send Msg3, in which case it is necessary to retransmit Msg2. In this case, the reader 120 can regroup the resources associated with the retransmitted Msg2, and the specific implementation is similar to the above embodiments, so it will not be repeated here.

[0178] In this way, in the embodiments of this disclosure, the device can determine the time it enters a sleep state and the time it restarts based on the second information. Thus, the device can enter a low-power mode during inactive periods, thereby saving resources, while being able to wake up promptly and process messages when it needs to receive Msg2. This mechanism ensures that the device can effectively save energy while guaranteeing correct message reception, optimizing resource utilization and communication efficiency.

[0179] Figure 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a frame structure 500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Frame structure 500 is an R2D frame structure transmitted from reader 120, also referred to as a downlink frame structure. Frame structure 500 includes a delimiter field 520, a calibration field 530, and a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) 540, wherein the delimiter field 520 and calibration field 530 are header portions, and the PDSCH 540 is a payload portion. For example, the PDSCH 540 can be a scrambling portion used to carry user data and control information.

[0180] For device 110, device 110 can receive downlink signaling with frame structure 500 from reader 120. Exemplarily, the header portions (i.e., delimiter field 520 and calibration field 530) of different downlink signaling can be the same.

[0181] For example, when device 110 wakes up from a sleep state, it can receive downlink signaling (such as any downlink signaling, regardless of whether the downlink signaling is a message that device 110 can parse) and perform frequency calibration based on the header portion of the received downlink signaling. For example, device 110 may only rely on the calibration field 530 in the message header or frame header for frequency calibration to address the problem of low crystal oscillator accuracy (e.g., SFO = 10^5 ppm) to ensure that the device can wake up accurately and receive downlink messages.

[0182] Referring to the timing 400 in Figure 4 above, assume that device 110 enters a sleep state after Msg2 403. In some embodiments, considering that the timing of device 110 may have deviations, device 110 can wake up early to avoid missing downlink messages (i.e., Msg2 407). For example, if the sleep duration determined by device 110 is 10ms, but due to frequency offset, it may actually wake up at 11ms, resulting in missing downlink messages. By using the early wake-up method, in the case of a sleep duration of 10ms, device 110 can wake up early after 9ms of sleep to ensure timely reception of downlink messages, such as the corresponding Msg2.

[0183] In some embodiments, device 110 can continuously monitor or receive Msg2 for a period of time after waking up during a sleep period, or continuously monitor for multiple cycles. For example, assuming that the group number corresponding to device 110 is K, device 110 can wake up early and start receiving Msg2 with group number K-2 (or K-3, or K-1, or others), and perform frequency calibration based on the received Msg2. As described above, each Msg2 may include the corresponding current group number m, and device 110 can complete the calibration by comparing the received current group number m with the result obtained by device 110 timing or counting.

[0184] In some embodiments, device 110 can periodically wake up during sleep periods and perform monitoring to ensure that the corresponding Msg2 can be received each time it wakes up. For example, if the determined group number is large (e.g., greater than a number threshold, such as a number threshold of 10 or other values), then device 110 can wake up multiple times before the corresponding Msg2 407 to perform calibration. For example, the period can be the duration between two adjacent Msg2s or the average duration, then device 110 can wake up once every P (e.g., P=3, P=4 or other values) periods to perform calibration, thus ensuring calibration accuracy.

[0185] In this way, the device in the embodiments of this disclosure can receive fixed frame header information in the downlink signaling during wake-up to perform frequency calibration, compensating for the low accuracy of the device's crystal oscillator. This improves the accuracy of the device receiving downlink signaling and reduces missed signals caused by frequency deviation. Furthermore, the embodiments of this disclosure also provide a method for mapping signaling names in different communication systems to achieve cross-system signaling function integration and optimization, providing a consistent signaling interaction mechanism in different communication scenarios. This not only improves processing speed but also avoids parsing errors caused by inconsistent message formats, thereby ensuring the reliability and stability of communication.

[0186] Figure 6 illustrates a timing diagram of a two-step random access procedure 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, at 601, reader 120 sends a paging message to device 110, at which point the device is in the startup state 610. The paging message may indicate multiple transmission resources, for example, X*Y transmission resources. Device 110 may select a first transmission resource for sending Msg1 based on the multiple transmission resources indicated in the paging message.

[0187] For example, the paging message may include second information, which may include packet information. The second information may indicate the number of multiple resource groups (i.e., the total number of groups M). For example, the total number of groups M may be determined by the reader 120 based on the number of multiple transmission resources. Optionally, the second information may indicate the number of transmission resources included in each resource group, for example, denoted as d, where d is a positive integer. The device 110 may determine the total number of groups based on the number of multiple transmission resources and the second information. For example, assuming the number of multiple transmission resources (such as multiple candidate access resources) is O, the total number of groups M can be obtained by dividing O by d, i.e., O / d = M.

[0188] Optionally, the second information may include the proportion of transmission resources in a resource group among multiple transmission resources, or the number of transmission resources in a resource group, or the resource index of the transmission resources included in each resource group, etc. Specific embodiments may be similar to the description in conjunction with Figure 3 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0189] Optionally, the second information may include first time information, such as T0, indicating the duration between two adjacent Msg2.

[0190] In some embodiments, device 110 may determine the group number (e.g., K) based on the total number of groups M and the selected first transmission resource. For example, the method of determining the group number K is similar to the embodiments described above in conjunction with Figures 3 to 5, and will not be repeated here.

[0191] In some embodiments, the device 110 may determine the group number based on second information in the message (e.g., the number of transmission resources in a resource group, the proportion of transmission resources in a resource group among multiple transmission resources, or the resource index of the transmission resources included in each resource group).

[0192] For example, it can be assumed that device 110 belongs to the third group. Optionally, device 110 can determine the sleep period based on the first time information T0 in the second information and enter the sleep 620 state.

[0193] In some embodiments, assuming the number of multiple transmission resources is O, the sleep time can be obtained by mod(n, O / d)*T0, where T0 is the duration (or interval) between two adjacent Msg2, and n represents the index (or position) of the first transmission resource determined by device 110. In some embodiments, the sleep time can be calculated by mod(n, d)*T0.

[0194] At 602, the device belonging to the first group sends Msg1, and then at 603, the reader 120 sends the first Msg2 to indicate to the devices in the first group whether the access was successful or failed. For example, Msg2 at 603 is the first Msg2 after the reader 120 has received multiple Msg1s from multiple devices.

[0195] In some implementations, Msg2 603 may optionally include second information, such as the current group number m, for example, m = 0 (group numbers start from 0) or m = 1 (group numbers start from 1).

[0196] Similarly, at 604, the device belonging to the second group sends Msg1, and then at 605, the reader 120 sends a second Msg2 to indicate to the devices in the second group whether the access was successful or failed.

[0197] Referring to Figure 6, device 110 can wake up after 605, for example, device 110 switches from a hibernation state 620 to a wake-up state. Further, device 110 belonging to the third group, in the startup state 630, can send Msg1 at 606. For example, device 110 can send Msg1 on a first access resource, and the Msg1 includes a first random number.

[0198] Additionally or optionally, device 110 may receive Msg2 (not shown in FIG. 6) from reader 120. Exemplarily, device 110 may determine whether access was successful based on Msg2. For example, Msg1 sent by device 110 on the first access resource may include a first random number. Optionally, device 110 may determine that the identification information in Msg2 is associated with the first access resource, and that the associated random number in Msg2 is the first random number, thereby determining that access was successful.

[0199] In some implementations, the paging message (or Msg2) from reader 120 may not include the second information, or may include the first time information but not the packet information. Optionally, device 110 may determine the sleep time based on the location of its selected transmission resource (such as a first access resource). In some embodiments, the sleep time of device 110 can be calculated by (n-1)*T0+m*Msg2, where n is the index (or location) of the first transmission resource determined by device 110, and m is the number of Msg2 messages that do not need to be listened to (e.g., skipped) during the sleep period.

[0200] In this manner, in the embodiments of this disclosure, the device can also perform Msg1 packet transmission based on group information during the two-step random access process, enabling the device to minimize resource conflicts and data loss during the access process, thereby optimizing the access process and power consumption management. These technical means work together to improve access efficiency and system reliability, and are particularly suitable for scenarios with a large number of devices and limited resources.

[0201] In some implementations, the embodiments of this disclosure can also be applied to a non-contention-based random access procedure. Exemplarily, device 110 can send Msg1 to reader 120. Reader 120 can receive multiple Msg1s from multiple devices. If a device fails to access the network, reader 120 can send a negative acknowledgment (NACK) response message. For example, the response message can include a cascading of responses from multiple devices. Optionally, the response message can include second information, such as packet information indicating the device that failed to access the network. Accordingly, the device that failed to access the network can further retransmit Msg1 based on the second information. The method of retransmitting Msg1 based on packet information is similar to the embodiments described above and will not be repeated here.

[0202] The above-described scheme of random access procedure based on multiple resource groups is illustrated in conjunction with the embodiments in Figures 3 to 6. It is understood that multiple resource groups can be understood as or replaced by multiple device groups or multiple Msg2, etc. For example, the index (or group number) of the resource group can correspond to the index of the device group or the index (or serial number) of Msg2, etc. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0203] Additionally, in some implementations, multiple resource groups may not exist; for example, there may be only one resource group, or no grouping may exist at all. In some embodiments, the paging message or Msg2 may include indication information to indicate whether multiple resource groups exist. In some embodiments, the paging message may include indication information indicating whether Msg2 is cascaded. In some embodiments, the paging message may include indication information indicating whether Msg2 includes responses to multiple Msg1s. For example, the header of the paging message or Msg2 may indicate whether a grouping exists. For example, the indication information may include at least one bit, such as 1 bit. For example, 1 bit as a first value (such as 1) indicates the existence of multiple resource groups, i.e., a grouping exists, for example, the Msg2 includes responses to a certain resource group. For example, 1 bit as a second value (such as 0) indicates that multiple resource groups do not exist, i.e., no grouping exists, for example, the Msg2 includes responses to all Msg1s. Optionally, in another example, the first value may be 0 and the second value may be 1, which is not limited in this disclosure.

[0204] Figure 7 shows a schematic flowchart of a communication process 700 in an O-RAN architecture according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Process 700 involves device 110 and terminal device 120-1 in Figure 1, as well as DU 710, CU 720, and RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 730 in the O-RAN architecture, wherein terminal device 120-1 is a reader / writer that transmits data with device 110.

[0205] In process 700, at point 701, RIC 730 can send configuration information to CU 720. At point 702, CU 720 sends the configuration information to DU 710, and then at point 703, DU 710 sends the configuration information to terminal 120-1.

[0206] The configuration information includes prior information of device 110 (such as battery power and transmission capability). Prior information can indicate the charging status, power requirements, historical communication records, etc. of device 110. Terminal 120-1 can determine a suitable group for device 110 based on this information.

[0207] In some embodiments, device 110 may also report its current charging status or desired sleep cycle to terminal 120-1. For example, if device 110 wants the battery to be fully charged, it may request a longer sleep cycle to save energy, and correspondingly, terminal 120-1 may assign it to a later group based on device 110's request.

[0208] In some embodiments, the configuration information also includes the number of devices, estimated inventory time, etc., to indicate to the base stations (CU and DU) whether there are still devices that have not been inventoried.

[0209] If it is determined that there are still devices not yet inventoried, at point 704, terminal 120-1 sends a paging message to device 110 to instruct device 110 to access the base station through terminal 120-1. In some embodiments, the paging message may include multiple transmission resources (e.g., X*Y transmission resources). Device 110 may determine a suitable first transmission resource for transmitting the first message based on the multiple transmission resources indicated in the paging message.

[0210] In some embodiments, such as at 705, terminal 120-1 may send an access round indication to device 110 to directly or indirectly indicate the number of access opportunities, or to trigger the first access opportunity.

[0211] In some embodiments, such as at 706, terminal 120-1 may send an access slot indication to device 110 to indicate the access timing.

[0212] In some embodiments, terminal device 120-1 may receive messages (such as inventory commands) from a CN entity. In other embodiments, terminal 120-1 may receive messages from a CN entity via base stations (CU 720 and DU 710).

[0213] Next, at 707, device 110 sends a first message (e.g., Msg1) to terminal 120-1 for random access. The first message may include the identifier of device 110, i.e., a random ID, for example, for a contention-based random access procedure.

[0214] Subsequently, at 708, terminal 120-1 sends a second message to device 110. The second message may include a resource index of the first transmission resource to indicate that the second message is associated with the first transmission resource.

[0215] Additionally or optionally, device 110 may receive second information from second device 320, wherein the second information may explicitly or implicitly indicate multiple resource groups.

[0216] In some embodiments, the second information may be included in the paging message; in other embodiments, the second information may be included in a second message. Device 110 can determine its current group based on the second information. Optionally, the second information may include time information. Device 110 can determine the sleep time based on the time information in the second information and enter a sleep state according to the sleep time. The specific method for device 110 to determine its current group and sleep time is as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0217] In some embodiments, if the device 110 is in the first group, the device 110 can immediately send the third message after receiving the second message at 708. If the device 110 is not in the first group, the device 110 enters a sleep state according to the sleep time until the device 110 receives the second message corresponding to its group, at which point the device 110 can send the third message.

[0218] At point 709, after receiving the second message corresponding to its group, device 110 sends a third message to terminal 120-1.

[0219] In some embodiments, the RIC 730 can determine the device's capabilities and power consumption through prior information, thereby prioritizing low-power devices for data continuation during idle time slots.

[0220] In this manner, in the embodiments of this disclosure, RIC 730 provides prior information to terminal device 120-1 so that when terminal device 120-1 groups device 110, it fully considers its power consumption status and expected sleep time, and assigns device 110 to a suitable group.

[0221] Figure 8 shows a schematic flowchart of another transmission process 800 in an O-RAN architecture based on some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Process 800 involves device 110 in Figure 1, DU 710, CU 720, and RIC 730 in the O-RAN architecture, wherein DU 710 is a reader / writer that transmits data with device 110.

[0222] At point 801, RIC 730 sends configuration information to CU 720. At point 702, CU 720 sends the configuration information to DU 710. Details regarding the configuration information can be found in the description above in conjunction with Figure 7, and will not be repeated here.

[0223] Based on the configuration information, DU 710 can confirm that there are still devices that have not been inventoried. At point 803, DU 710 can send a paging message to device 110, instructing device 110 to access DU 710. Optionally, as shown in the figure, at point 804, DU 710 can send an access round indication to device 110, and at point 805, DU 710 can send an access timeslot indication to device 110.

[0224] Upon receiving the paging message, at point 806, device 110 selects a first transmission resource based on the transmission resource indication in the paging message and sends a first message on the first transmission resource.

[0225] Subsequently, at 807, DU 710 sends a second message to device 110.

[0226] In some implementations, DU 710 sends second information to device 110. The second information may be included in the paging message and the second message. Device 110 may determine its group number based on the second information. Optionally, device 110 may determine the sleep time based on the time information in the second information.

[0227] At 808, after receiving the second message corresponding to its group, device 110 sends a third message to DU 710.

[0228] In this way, in the embodiments of this disclosure under the O-RAN architecture, the DU can perform data transmission with the device based on prior information, ensuring that the device can send messages when it has sufficient power, thereby ensuring the efficiency of data transmission.

[0229] It should also be understood that the manner, situation, category, and division of embodiments in the present disclosure are for the convenience of description only and should not constitute a special limitation. Various manners, categories, situations, and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other where logically consistent.

[0230] It should also be understood that the above description is only intended to help those skilled in the art better understand the embodiments of this disclosure, and is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications, variations, or combinations based on the above description. Such modifications, variations, or combinations are also within the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0231] It should also be understood that the above description focuses on highlighting the differences between the various embodiments. Similarities or commonalities can be referenced or learned from each other, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0232] It should be noted that some exemplary embodiments have been described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in this disclosure. However, these exemplary embodiments and the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. For example, operations (or steps) in different drawings can be recombined. For example, some operations (or steps) shown in the drawings can be omitted, removed, or combined. For example, one or more additional operations (or steps) may be further included in the drawings. For example, the order of operations (or steps) shown in the drawings can be rearranged or adjusted. It should be understood that other embodiments obtained based on the foregoing embodiments also fall within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0233] Figure 9 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device 900 based on some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some examples, the device 900 may be implemented as the device 110 shown in Figure 1, or as a device within the device 110, or as a device including the device 110. As shown in Figure 9, the device 900 includes a transmitting module 910 and a receiving module 920, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0234] The sending module 910 can be configured to send a first message at a first transmission resource, the first message including an identifier of a communication device. The receiving module 920 can be configured to receive a second message, the second message including first information indicating that the second message is associated with the first transmission resource.

[0235] For example, the first information includes at least one of the following: a resource index of a first transmission resource, a group index of a first resource group, the first resource group including the first transmission resource, at least one resource index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or a sequence number of the second message.

[0236] In some embodiments, the receiving module 920 may be specifically configured to receive second information, the second information including one or more of the following: the number of multiple resource groups, the number of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, at least one index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or the proportion of transmission resources in the first resource group to the allocated transmission resources.

[0237] For example, the second information also includes first time information, which indicates at least one of the following: multiple transmission times of multiple second messages associated with multiple resource groups, or the duration between two adjacent second messages among the multiple second messages.

[0238] For example, the device 900 may further include a first determining module configured to determine a first resource group in which the first transmission resource is located based on second information.

[0239] Exemplarily, the device 900 may further include a second determining module configured to determine second time information of the second message. And the receiving module 920 may be configured to receive the second message associated with the first resource group based on the second time information.

[0240] For example, the second determining module may be specifically configured to determine the second time information based on at least one of the following: the duration of the message carrying the second information, the second information, the group index of the first resource group, the position of the first resource group in multiple resource groups, or the position of the first transmission resource.

[0241] For example, the second determining module can be specifically configured to switch to a sleep state based on the second time information.

[0242] For example, the second information is included in at least one of the following: a paging message, a second message associated with a first resource group, or a second message associated with a second resource group among a plurality of resource groups.

[0243] For example, at least one index of at least one transport resource in the first resource group is indicated by an index list or bit map.

[0244] The device 900 in Figure 9 can be used to implement the various processes performed by the first device 310 or the equipment 110 in conjunction with Figures 3 to 8. For the sake of brevity, these will not be described in detail here.

[0245] Figure 10 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1000 based on some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some examples, the device 1000 may be implemented as the reader / writer 120 shown in Figure 1, or as a device within the reader / writer 120, or as a device including the reader / writer 120; the present disclosure does not limit this. As shown in Figure 10, the device 1000 includes a receiving module 1010 and a transmitting module 1020.

[0246] The receiving module 1010 can be configured to receive a first message from a communication device (e.g., device 110) at a first transmission resource, the first message including an identifier of the communication device. The sending module 1020 can be configured to send a second message, the second message including first information indicating that the second message is associated with the first transmission resource.

[0247] For example, the first information includes at least one of the following: a resource index of a first transmission resource, a group index of a first resource group, the first resource group including the first transmission resource, at least one resource index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or a sequence number of the second message.

[0248] For example, the sending module 1020 may be specifically configured to send second information, which includes one or more of the following: the number of multiple resource groups, the number of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, at least one index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or the proportion of transmission resources in the first resource group to the allocated transmission resources.

[0249] For example, the second information is included in at least one of the following: a paging message, a second message associated with a first resource group, or a second message associated with a second resource group among a plurality of resource groups.

[0250] For example, at least one index of at least one transport resource in the first resource group is indicated by an index list or bit map.

[0251] The device 1000 in Figure 10 can be used to implement the various processes performed by the second device 320 or the reader 120 in conjunction with Figures 3 to 8, which will not be described in detail here for the sake of brevity.

[0252] The division of modules or units in the embodiments of this disclosure is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Furthermore, the functional units in the disclosed embodiments may be integrated into one unit, exist as separate physical entities, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit described above can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0253] Figure 11 shows a schematic block diagram of an example device 1100 that can be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 1100 may be implemented as or included in device 110 of Figure 1, or may be implemented as or included in reader 120 of Figure 1.

[0254] As shown in Figure 11, device 1100 includes one or more processors 1110, one or more memories 1120 coupled to processor 1110, and communication module 1140 coupled to processor 1110.

[0255] The communication module 1140 can be used for bidirectional communication. The communication module 1140 may have at least one communication interface for communication. The communication interface may include any interface necessary for communication with other devices.

[0256] Processor 1110 can be any type suitable for a local technology network and can include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), or a controller-based multi-core controller architecture. Device 1100 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-subordinate to a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0257] Memory 1120 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: Read-Only Memory (ROM) 1124, Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Flash Memory, Hard Disk, Compact Disc (CD), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), or other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: Random Access Memory (RAM) 1122, or other volatile memories that do not persist during the duration of a power outage.

[0258] Computer program 1130 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by associated processor 1110. Program 1130 may be stored in ROM 1124. Processor 1110 may perform any appropriate actions and processes by loading program 1130 into RAM 1122.

[0259] The embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented using program 1130, enabling device 1100 to perform any of the processes discussed with reference to Figures 3 through 8. Embodiments of this disclosure can also be implemented in hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0260] Program 1130 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may include in device 1100 (such as in memory 1120) or other storage device accessible by device 1100. Program 1130 may be loaded from the computer-readable medium into RAM 1122 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.

[0261] In some embodiments, the communication module 1140 in device 1100 may be implemented as a transmitter and receiver (or transceiver), which may be configured to send / receive, such as multiple TCIs, at least one message, capability information, etc. Additionally, device 1100 may further include one or more of a scheduler, controller, and radio frequency / antenna, which will not be described in detail in this disclosure.

[0262] For example, the device 1100 in FIG11 may be implemented as an electronic device, or may be implemented as a chip or chip system in an electronic device, and the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0263] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a chip, which may include an input interface, an output interface, and processing circuitry. In embodiments of this disclosure, the input and output interfaces can be used to complete the interaction of signaling or data, while the processing circuitry can be used to generate and process the signaling or data information.

[0264] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a chip system including a processor for supporting a computing device to implement the functions involved in any of the foregoing embodiments. In one possible design, the chip system may further include a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device on which the chip system is mounted to implement the methods involved in any of the foregoing embodiments. Exemplarily, the chip system may consist of one or more chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0265] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a processor for coupling with a memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform the methods and functions involved in any of the above embodiments.

[0266] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a computer program or computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods and functions involved in any of the embodiments described above.

[0267] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the methods and functions involved in any of the above embodiments.

[0268] Generally, the various embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software, which can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or represented using some other illustration, it should be understood that the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented as, as non-limiting examples, in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0269] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, which execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the processes / methods as described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. Typically, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of program modules can be combined or divided among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions for the program modules can execute within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can reside in both local and remote storage media.

[0270] Computer program code used to implement the methods of this disclosure may be written in one or more programming languages. This computer program code may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be performed. The program code may be executed entirely on a computer, partially on a computer, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server.

[0271] In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried on any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, and so on. Examples of signals may include electrical, optical, radio, sound, or other forms of propagation signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, etc.

[0272] A computer-readable medium can be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program for or relating to an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable medium can be, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of computer-readable storage media include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0273] Furthermore, although the operation of the methods of this disclosure is described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that these operations must be performed in that specific order, or that all of the operations shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Rather, the steps depicted in the flowcharts may be performed in a different order. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or one step may be broken down into multiple steps. It should also be noted that the features and functions of two or more devices based on this disclosure may be embodied in one device. Conversely, the features and functions of one device described above may be further divided and embodied by multiple devices.

[0274] Various implementations of this disclosure have been described above. These descriptions are exemplary and not exhaustive, nor are they limited to the disclosed implementations. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described implementations. The terminology used herein is chosen to well explain the principles, practical applications, or improvements to technology in the market, or to enable others skilled in the art to understand the various implementations disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A communication method, performed at a communication device, the method comprising: At the first transmission resource, a first message is sent, the first message including the identifier of the communication device; as well as Receive a second message, the second message including first information, the first information indicating that the second message is associated with the first transmission resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: The resource index of the first transmission resource, The group index of the first resource group, which includes the first transmission resource. At least one resource index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or The sequence number of the second message.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: Receive second information, which includes one or more of the following: The number of multiple resource groups, The number of the at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, The at least one index of the at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or The proportion of transmission resources in the first resource group to the allocated transmission resources.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second information further comprises first time information, the first time information indicating at least one of the following: Multiple transmission times of multiple second messages associated with the multiple resource groups, or The duration between two adjacent second messages in the plurality of second messages.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising: Based on the second information, the first resource group in which the first transmission resource is located is determined.

6. The method according to claims 3 to 5, further comprising: Determine the second time information of the second message; And receiving the second message includes: Based on the second time information, the second message associated with the first resource group is received.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining the second time information of the second message comprises: The second time information is determined based on at least one of the following: The duration of the message carrying the second information. The second information, The group index of the first resource group, The position of the first resource group among the plurality of resource groups, or The location of the first transmission resource.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising: Based on the second time information, switch to sleep mode.

9. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the second information is included in at least one of the following: Paging message, The second message associated with the first resource group, or A second message associated with a second resource group among the plurality of resource groups.

10. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein the at least one index of the at least one transmission resource in the first resource group is indicated by an index list or a bit mapping.

11. A communication method, comprising: At the first transmission resource, a first message is received from the communication device, the first message including the identifier of the communication device; as well as Send a second message, the second message including first information, the first information indicating that the second message is associated with the first transmission resource.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: The resource index of the first transmission resource, The group index of the first resource group, which includes the first transmission resource. At least one resource index of at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or The sequence number of the second message.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: Send a second message, which includes one or more of the following: The number of multiple resource groups, The number of the at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, The at least one index of the at least one transmission resource in the first resource group, or The proportion of transmission resources in the first resource group to the allocated transmission resources.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second information further comprises first time information, the first time information indicating at least one of the following: Multiple transmission times of multiple second messages associated with the multiple resource groups, or The duration between two adjacent second messages in the plurality of second messages.

15. The method according to any one of claims 13 or 14, wherein the second information is included in at least one of the following: Paging message, The second message associated with the first resource group, or A second message associated with a second resource group among the plurality of resource groups.

16. The method according to claims 13 to 15, wherein the at least one index of the at least one transmission resource in the first resource group is indicated by an index list or a bit mapping.

17. A communication device comprising a corresponding module for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

19. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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